A group of Syrian-American Jews have registered a nongovernmental organization in Syria in a bid to restore Jewish heritage in a country where the once-sizable religious minority has shrunk to almost nothing. "Jewish Syrians are an integral part of the Syrian fabric," Syrian Minister of Social Affa»»»

U.S. President Donald Trump has said that there are “countries that wanna come in and take care of Hezbollah in Lebanon.” “And I say that right now you don’t have to do that -- you may have to do that. We have countries that are volunteering to literally come in and take care of the whole thing. We»»»

The state-run Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation reported late Thursday that the Israeli army finalized a plan in recent weeks to launch a large-scale offensive against Hezbollah positions should the Lebanese government and army fail to dismantle the party's weapons before the end of 2025. It »»»

Geneva: Former Iraqi president Barham Salih will become the next United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees from January, a UN source told AFP on Friday. Salih was president of Iraq from 2018 to 2022. He takes over as the UN refugees chief from Filippo Grandi, who is leaving at the end of Decemb»»»

London: Britain's King Charles III, who has broken royal taboos to speak openly about battling cancer, will appear Friday in a "personal message" filmed for a TV campaign raising funds for research into the devastating disease. Charles, 77, announced in February 2024 that he had been diagnosed with»»»

Doha, Qatar: Q Life platform announced that tickets for the eagerly anticipated third edition of the Match for Hope charity football match are now on sale at www.match4hope.com. Scheduled to take place on Friday, January 30, 2026, at the iconic Ahmad bin Ali Stadium in Doha, Match for Hope 2026 is »»»

This holiday season isn't quite so merry for American shoppers as large shares are dipping into savings, scouring for bargains and feeling like the overall economy is stuck in a rut under President Donald Trump, a new AP-NORC poll finds. The vast majority of U.S. adults say they've noticed higher t»»»

Abu Dhabi: Etihad Airways carried 2.1 million passengers in November 2025, marking a 28 per cent increase compared with the same month last year and setting a new monthly record for the airline this year. The national carrier sustained strong operational performance, with a passenger load factor of»»»

President Rumen Radev will begin consultations with the parliamentary groups in the National Assembly on Monday, December 15, as part of the process of forming a new regular government, the head of State’s press secretariat said on Friday. The consultations will start at 10 a.m. on Monday with repr»»»

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (C) said he and his foreign policy team held a "a constructive and in-depth discussion" on security guarantees with senior U.S. officials on Thursday, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff»»»

Police officers escort South Korean crypto mogul Do Kwon (C) to a holding facility pending his extradition in Podgorica, Montenegro, on March 23, 2024. A U.S. judge sentenced Kwon to 15 years in prison Thursday for a fraudulent cryptocurrency scheme. File Photo by Boris Pejovic/EPA-EFE Dec. 12 (UPI»»»

US President Donald Trump said he has pardoned former Colorado elections clerk Tina Peters, who is serving a nine-year sentence for allowing unauthorised access to voting machines during the 2020 presidential election. Peters was convicted last year on seven state charges, including three counts of»»»

Investors and project developers increasingly look to Romania to secure large land plots for renewable energy projects, storage facilities, logistics parks and manufacturing/production facilities. Yet, land acquisition in extra muros areas, particularly agricultural land, is governed by a unique le»»»

Abu Dhabi: NMC Healthcare and its administrators have won a major court ruling in Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) that will let them see Bank of Baroda’s internal reports on suspected suspicious transactions in their case against NMC founder B.R. Shetty, Gulf News can reveal. Sign up for our daily b»»»

Swiss singer Nemo announced on Thursday that he is returning his 2024 Eurovision Song Contest trophy in protest over Israel’s continued participation in the competition. Nemo, who won last year’s contest with the song ‘The Code’, said on Thursday that the trophy “no longer belongs on my shelf.” “Eu»»»

British bankers have pushed back against plans to use the frozen Russian assets they hold to fund a loan for Ukraine, the Financial Times reported on Thursday. Kiev’s Western backers froze about $300 billion in Russian central bank assets after the conflict escalated in 2022. UK banks hold around £»»»

Tripoli based Libyan Prime Minister, Abd Alhamid Aldabaiba participated yesterday, in the Government Communication Forum as part of the Tripoli Media Days events, in a move, the Tripoli government says, aims at further strengthening communication between the government and citizens and developing c»»»

A report on the changes in the populations of 82 bird species in Bulgaria in the 2005-2025 period shows that 27% of the species are declining, 22% are stable, 28% are increasing, and 23% are undetermined. The overall bird index in the country declined by 12% for the entire period. The data, collect»»»

Geneva: Former Iraqi president Barham Salih will become the next United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, a UN source told AFP on Friday, taking over an agency tackling swingeing budget cuts. Salih was president of Iraq from 2018 to 2022. He will take over as UN refugees chief next month from»»»

Bangladeshi youth entrepreneur Md. Shakib Uddin has been awarded an honorary ‘Golden Visa’ by the UAE government in recognition of his business achievements and contributions. For a long time, he has been running a global trade and real estate business in Dubai. The Dubai government granted him thi»»»

The rescue operation to get Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel laureate María Corina Machado out of Venezuela involved disguises, two boats through choppy seas and a flight, the man who says he led it told the BBC. Dubbed Operation Golden Dynamite, the dangerous journey was cold, wet and long -»»»

NIS - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Friday in Nis the Serbian Armed Forces were not the same as they were ten years ago, especially when it comes to arms and equipment. "Only the emblems are the same, and the rest is not comparable, either when it comes to personnel or equipment. At th»»»

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BusinessSri LankaSri Lanka: Cyclone aftermath disrupts economic recovery Murali KrishnanCyclone Ditwah has devastated critical infrastructure and disrupted key sectors, threatening Sri Lanka's already fragile economic recovery program. https://p.dw.com/p/55EnnThe UN estimates over 16,000 kilometers»»»

Former Iraqi President Barham Salih is on track to become the next head of the U.N. refugee agency, according to a letter from U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres shared with The Associated Press on Friday. Salih, 65, is set to succeed longtime UNHCR veteran Filippo Grandi as the U.N. High Comm»»»

Russia's Central Bank has filed a lawsuit against Belgian financial institution Euroclear, the Brussels-based clearing house that holds most of Moscow's frozen assets in Europe, the bank said Friday. It wasn't immediately clear what the lawsuit could achieve since it was filed in Moscow. The Europe»»»

Jerusalem: Israel will ban children from using mobile phones in primary schools from February, the education ministry’s website said Friday, emphasising the devices’ “negative effects” on students. In implementing the ban, Israel will join a growing number of countries moving to prevent children fr»»»

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday to curb individual state-level regulation of artificial intelligence, until a nationwide policy is adopted. A fragmented legal landscape threatens America’s AI competitiveness compared to China, the US federal government has said. The »»»

US President Donald Trump has claimed that the Ukrainian people supported his peace proposal, which was rejected by Vladimir Zelensky. Trump previously said the Ukrainian leader was “losing” ground to Russia and urged him to hold elections, since his five-year presidential term expired in May 2024.»»»

As the festive season gets into full swing in France, a video showing people seizing Christmas trees has gone viral on social media. Some, including the spokesperson for Eric Zemmour's far-right Reconquête party, are falsely claiming that the footage is proof that immigrants are destroying Chr»»»

Police used tear gas to disperse protesting farmers on Friday as veterinarians moved in to cull over 200 cows infected with nodular dermatitis, or lumpy skin disease, at a farm in southern France. The deadly outbreak, which cannot be passed to humans, has sparked fears among locals and highlighted »»»

The decisions regarding Bulgaria’s accession to the eurozone have already been adopted and will remain in force, a spokesperson for the European Commission said Friday at a press conference in response to a question about whether a change could occur before January 1 next year due to the political »»»

The boss of Lululemon Athletica, the brand known for its expensive yoga leggings and other sports clothing, is to leave the company early next year. Calvin McDonald, the firm's chief executive, will depart at the end of January after more than seven years at the helm. The decision comes amid a run »»»

Damascus, Dec. 12 (SANA) The governor of the Central Bank of Syria, Abdul Qader Husariya , said the U.S. repeal of the “Caesar Act” constitutes a pivotal moment that is expected to positively influence Syria’s monetary and economic stability. “If the repeal of the Caesar Act may appear miraculous, »»»

Parents are divided over how schools should adapt to the nationwide shift of Friday prayer time to 12:45 pm starting January 2026 – a change that could push school pick-ups even earlier than the current 12 pm dismissal. As education regulators gather feedback before issuing final guidelines, scores»»»

Doha, Qatar: The Ministry of Interior announced the launch of a project to replace existing vehicle number plates with newly developed plates featuring an enhanced design that aligns with the best international standards and supports modern technologies used in smart traffic systems. This national »»»

Tunis, Dec. 12 (TAP)- Tunisia is committed to moving ahead with reforms to improve the business environment and address obstacles encountered by local and foreign investors as enterprises are the driver of growth and national wealth, said Minister...»»»

Germany has accused Russia of a cyber-attack on air traffic control and attempted electoral interference, and summoned the Russian ambassador. A foreign ministry spokesman said Russian military intelligence was behind a "cyber-attack against German air traffic control in August 2024". The spokesman»»»

GENEVA, Dec 12 (KUNA) -- The World Food Programme (WFP) on Friday sounded alarm over the situation in Sudan, saying that its operations are on the verge of a major collapse due to a critical funding shortfall.The WFP said it will be forced to dramatically cut food rations starting in April 2026 at »»»

Lebanon has received warnings from Arab and international parties that Israel is preparing for a large-scale military operation against Lebanon, Foreign Minister Youssef Rajji said Friday. "We are intensifying our diplomatic contacts to protect Lebanon and Lebanese facilities from any Israeli strik»»»

The Culture Ministry, through the Hellenic Corporation of Assets and Participations, has announced an international tender for the long-term concession of 24 buildings – apart from the museums – at the historic Tatoi Estate to a private operator. The Tatoi Estate served as the summer palace and exp»»»

HEADLINES Friday’s print media focus heavily on the political crisis in the country, following the resignation of the government on Thursday, possible early elections, and decisions linked to the adoption of the euro and the 2026 State Budget. 24 Chasa leads with several political front-page headli»»»

GAZA, Dec 12 (KUNA) -- A severe storm in Gaza Strip has left 12 Palestinians dead, including two children, and caused widespread destruction to homes and shelters for displaced families, the Government Media Office said Friday.In a press statement, the office confirmed that the victims included tho»»»

President Joseph Aoun announced Friday that the return of the Lebanese captives held in Israel “represents a priority in the negotiations,” adding that “contacts are ongoing for their release.” In a meeting with a delegation from the Lebanese Association for Captives and and Liberated Detainees, Ao»»»

Doha, Qatar: Qatari passport holds a global passport power rank of 44 with a mobility score of 120, revealed the Global Passport Power Rank 2025 released by Arton Capital recently. The Qatari passport gives its citizens visa-free access to 69 countries and allows visa-on-arrival entry to 42 countri»»»

Tunis, Dec. 12 (TAP) – 4,586 agricultural investment operations, worth TND 323.027 million, were approved by the end of September 2025, representing a 30% increase in value compared with the same period in 2024, according to data published Friday...»»»

Beirut: A series of Israeli strikes hit south and east Lebanon on Friday, state media reported, as Israel’s army said it was targeting Hezbollah sites, the latest such raids despite a year-old ceasefire. Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported strikes in around a dozen locations, in»»»

Swiss Eurovision 2024 winner Nemo announced Thursday they are returning their trophy in protest over Israel’s continued participation in next year’s contest amid the Gaza war. The singer said the decision contradicts Eurovision’s values of inclusion and dignity, as several countries pull out amid g»»»

US prosecutors on Thursday sentenced cryptocurrency entrepreneur Do Kwon to 15 years in prison over fraud tied to the collapse of his company, which erased about $40 billion in investor funds and rattled global crypto markets. Kwon pleaded guilty in New York after an international manhunt and still»»»