KUWAIT, Dec 12 (KUNA) -- 1970 -- Kuwait Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah signed a decree transforming the Planning Council into an independent body annexed to the cabinet. The Council's mandate is to prepare, and supervise implementation of, economic, social and housing policies. 1976 -- The Kuw»»»

Bangkok: Thailand's prime minister dissolved parliament on Friday, paving the way for general elections early next year as deadly border clashes continue with neighbour Cambodia. The move comes earlier than expected and just three months after Anutin Charnvirakul — of the conservative Bhumjaithai p»»»

More than 800,000 Gazans are at risk from flooding, the UN says, as a powerful winter storm sweeps through the Strip. The heavy rain has already deluged camps, and led several buildings to collapse. A steady stream of water trickles through openings in the tent Ghadir al-Adham shares with her husba»»»

Dubai: Dubai’s gold market remained steady on Friday morning, with 24-karat gold trading at Dh515.75 per gram and the 22-karat variant at Dh477.50. The market held firm after three consecutive sessions of gains, mirroring global trends as bullion prices consolidated near record levels. (Check lates»»»

The winner of last year's Eurovision Song Contest, Nemo, has said they are returning their trophy in protest over Israel's continued participation in the event. The 26-year-old Swiss singer said there is a "clear conflict" between Israel's involvement in the competition and the ideals of "unity, in»»»

Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro says escalating pressure from the US comes down to one thing: Washington wants to grab the South American nation's vast oil reserves. This week the American military seized an oil tanker, which was allegedly carrying Venezuelan oil being shipped in violation of US s»»»

USFK commander Gen. Xavier Brunson (L) said Friday that joint military exercises are "critically important" for defending the Korean Peninsula. In this January photo, Brunson is saluting alongside then-chairman of South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff Kim Myung-soo. Photo by Yonhap SEOUL, Dec. 11 (UP»»»

Abu Dhabi: A man has been ordered by the Abu Dhabi Family, Civil and Administrative Cases Court to pay Dh50,000 in compensation after insulting and humiliating another individual. The ruling followed a civil lawsuit filed by the claimant, who sought Dh100,000 in damages, alleging that the defendant»»»

Economies.com, a multilingual financial intelligence platform, has announced the launch of the Honeycomb Economies AI Index, a new predictive model that analyses relationships between macroeconomic indicators and market behaviour across gold, oil, foreign exchange, equities and emerging asset class»»»

Abu Dhabi: A civil court in Abu Dhabi has ordered a man to pay Dh20,000 in compensation to a woman after threatening and blackmailing her into transferring money to him to prevent him from filing a complaint against her. The court found that the emotional harm caused by the man’s actions warranted »»»

Lebanon’s Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri dismissed what he called efforts to intimidate the Lebanese and underscored the "fundamental principles” that he says anchor negotiations with Israel via the Mechanism Committee. He insisted that the May parliamentary elections will go ahead as scheduled and»»»

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Ashgabat to take part in the celebrations for the 30th anniversary of Turkmenistan's declaration of neutrality. WorldIslamic Countries May Create Single Energy Belt in Eurasia17 May, 10:13 GMTTurkmenistan's path of neutrality has justified itself, allowin»»»

Dubai: This holiday season, Dubai Holding Entertainment invites residents and visitors to celebrate across Dubai Parks and Resorts, The Green Planet™ Dubai and Wild Wadi Waterpark, where each destination delivers its own festive atmosphere through sparkling décor, themed shows, cheerful parades and»»»

An illustration picture shows the introduction page of ChatGPT, an interactive AI chatbot model trained and developed by OpenAI, on its website in Beijing, China, in 2023. President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday limiting the ability of American states to regulate AI. File Photo Ch»»»

Abu Dhabi: A civil court in Abu Dhabi has ordered a driver to pay Dh30,000 in compensation to a delivery rider after hitting him while driving under the influence of alcohol, an incident that caused both physical injury and financial hardship. The Abu Dhabi Family, Civil and Administrative Cases Co»»»

Tens of thousands of people were under evacuation orders on Thursday in western North America after days of heavy rain caused rivers to overflow. Storms have lashed Washington state and Canada’s British Columbia for several days, with authorities warning that water levels are still rising and flood»»»

Indiana’s Republican-led Senate on Thursday overwhelmingly rejected a Trump-backed congressional map that would have eliminated two Democratic-held districts, denting GOP hopes for a nine-seat sweep in next year’s midterms.  The conservative US state of Indiana on Thursday overwhelmingly »»»

Washington has reaffirmed its commitment to providing extended deterrence to South Korea, officials said Friday. This Oct. 29 file photo shows U.S. President Donald Trump and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung at the APEC summit in Gyeongju. File Photo by Yonhap The United States has reaffirmed i»»»

Walt Disney and OpenAI agreed a three-year licensing deal on Thursday allowing users to generate short videos featuring Disney characters with artificial intelligence. It is the first time a major studio has permitted such broad generative-AI use of its protected characters, from Mickey Mouse to Ma»»»

A U.S. travel association, a top Democrat, and would-be travelers from Europe and Australia are bristling at President Donald Trump's new plan to require Europeans and other visitors using the visa waiver program to provide social media handles used over the past five years. FRANCE 24's Sharon Gaff»»»

A British backpacker who struck and killed a man while riding an e-scooter drunk has been jailed for four years in Australia. Alicia Kemp, 25 - from Redditch, Worcestershire - was driving at speeds of 20 to 25km/h (12 to 15mph) when she hit 51-year-old Thanh Phan from behind on a Perth sidewalk in »»»

President Donald Trump on Thursday said he has pardoned election denier Tina Peters. Photo by Shawn Thew/UPI | License Photo Dec. 11 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump on Thursday said he granted "a full Pardon" to election denier Tina Peters who was convicted for helping outsiders illegally breach vo»»»

US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order aimed at blocking states from enforcing their own artificial intelligence (AI) regulations. "We want to have one central source of approval," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday. It will give the Trump administration tools to p»»»

Democratic lawmakers called for US Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem's resignation Thursday as she defended the Trump administration's mass deportation program at a fiery congressional hearing. "You promised America that you would go after the worst of the worst," Democratic Representative Seth M»»»

Kyrgyzstan has approved the official production calendar for 2026. The Ministry of Labor has published the official schedule of public holidays and days off. According to the document, the New Year holidays will last from January 1 to January 7 inclusive — giving citizens seven consecutive days of »»»

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip: Rains drenched Gaza’s tent camps and dropping temperatures chilled Palestinians huddling inside them Thursday as winter storm Byron descended on the war-battered territory, showing how two months of a ceasefire have failed to sufficiently address the spiraling humanitaria»»»

Maria Corina Machado is the lynchpin of opposition to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's regime, a fearless activist with rock star appeal whose inability to attend her own Nobel prize ceremony underlined the dangers she faces. Hailed as "la libertadora," in an allusion to Venezuela's historic i»»»

SAN FRANCISCO: A gas explosion set off a major fire in a San Francisco Bay Area neighbourhood on Thursday after obliterating at least one home, blowing out windows and shaking nearby houses. Six people were taken to hospitals for injuries, fire officials said. Also In This Package Gas station explo»»»

Share: Elections are looming, war drums are beating and the prime minister will soon be a lame duck In his first speech after being named prime minister, Nawaf Salam promised to build a new Lebanon. He set two main goals. One was to assert the authority of the state, a polite way of saying the gove»»»

Dubai: The UAE is set for a spell of unstable weather from Friday through next week, with the National Centre of Meteorology (NCM) forecasting cloudy skies, chances of rain, and cooler nights across many parts of the country. On Friday, conditions will be fair to partly cloudy, turning increasingly»»»

MELBOURNE: Global online forum Reddit on Friday filed a court challenge to Australia’s world-first law that bans Australian children younger than 16 from holding accounts on the world’s most popular social media platforms. California-based Reddit Inc.’s suit filed in the High Court follows a case f»»»

Dubai: Ireland is making a strategic push to attract UAE tourists to its lesser-known rural destinations, with Tourism Ireland set to return to the UAE in January 2026 after years of absence, the country’s Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment has revealed. Sign up for our daily business »»»

BANGKOK: An airstrike by Myanmar ’s military destroyed a hospital in an area controlled by a leading rebel armed force, killing 34 patients and medical staff, according to a rescue worker and independent media reports Thursday. About 80 other people were injured in the attack Wednesday night on the»»»

Ukraine revealed Thursday that its long-range drones targetted a key offshore oil platform in the Caspian Sea earlier this week. The previously secret mission marks a major escalation in Kyiv's campaign to disrupt Russia's energy revenues fuelling the war, CNN reported. A Security Service of Ukrain»»»

Washington: China’s booming auto sector has been cast as both an economic and national security threat, lawmakers and experts warned during a high-stakes US Congressional hearing. Chinese-made vehicles could become “computers on wheels” capable of spying on Americans, crippling transport networks, »»»

1 of 3 | Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said unvetted migrants from Afghanistan pose significant threats against the country during a House Homeland Security Committee hearing in the Cannon House Office Building in Washington on Thursday. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo Dec. 11 (U»»»

Manila: Filipinos confront a stark political paradox today: rampant corruption intertwined with entrenched political dynasties, forming a multi-headed monster that’s nearly impossible to slay. Leaders trapped in their own webThe irony stings — the very leaders from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. do»»»

Dubai: A daredevil woman has broken the internet after dangling on a sky-high swing suspended from an airship 1,000 ft above the iconic Dubai skyline, before leaping into a freefall. Meet Magali Folkner Braff, whose death-defying stunt was shared by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum,»»»

Manila: A senior Philippine politician said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr could be "playing with fire" if the creation of an Independent Probe Commission (IPC) to investigate alleged large-scale corruption in government is not pushed. Former Justice Secretary and and ex-Senate president Franklin Dr»»»

The Small and Medium Enterprises Bank (SME Bank) signed 19 cooperation agreements and memoranda of understanding with entities from both the public and private sectors, with a total value exceeding SAR3 billion, in support of the development finance ecosystem and the empowerment of enterprises as p»»»

Behind the counter of his convenience store, surrounded by rows of crisps, sandwiches and spirits, Muhammed Rabani glances at a bank of CCTV screens, anticipating a shoplifter coming at any moment. Muhammed has grown wearily used to the crime. "It's every day," he says. He estimates it is costing t»»»

Dubai: After two expensive years of borrowing, many people in the UAE are finally getting a bit of good news: the cost of loans, mortgages and credit cards is expected to drift lower in 2026. The change won’t be dramatic, but it could make everyday life slightly easier for households trying to bala»»»

Saudi Arabia has secured 62 market access deals in goods and services since joining the World Trade Organization, alongside 379 rounds of in person and virtual negotiations, and 42 laws and regulations enacted to fulfill its pre-accession commitments, the General Authority for Foreign Trade said in»»»

US nuclear-capable bombers flew over the Sea of Japan alongside Japanese fighter jets on Wednesday, Tokyo said, in a show of force following Chinese and Russian drills in the skies and seas around US allies Japan and South Korea. Japan and the US "reaffirmed their strong resolve to prevent any unil»»»

Lebanon’s Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri dismissed what he called efforts to intimidate the Lebanese and underscored the "fundamental constants” that he says anchor negotiations with Israel via the Mechanism Committee. He insisted that the May parliamentary elections will go ahead as scheduled and »»»

A former crypto entrepreneur who was behind two digital currencies that collapsed and lost an estimated $40bn ($29.9bn) has been sentenced by a New York judge to 15 years in prison for an "epic" fraud. Do Kwon, a South Korean national, was co-founder of Singapore-based Terraform Labs, which develop»»»

Warning: This report contains details of physical and sexual abuse and discussion of suicide. Baobao's heart still races when she smells soil after morning rain. It takes her back to early military drills behind locked gates - and the constant fear that marked every one of her days at Lizheng Quali»»»

Lying on your back in a big hospital scanner, as still as you can, with your arms above your head – for 45 minutes. It doesn't sound much fun. That's what patients at Royal Brompton Hospital in London had to do during certain lung scans, until the hospital installed a new device last year that cut »»»

An unusual silence in the forests of north Sumatra in Indonesia is worrying wildlife experts and conservationists. Here, in the mountainous forests of Batang Toru, is where they had always seen and heard the world's rarest ape, the Tapanuli orangutans. But ever since Cyclone Senyar devastated Sumat»»»

The serenity of a late afternoon on the Moei River that divides Thailand from Myanmar is broken by three thunderous explosions. The ethnic Karen families bathing and playing in the water make a panicked dash for the river bank, as a plume of dark smoke rises from the trees behind them. The conflict»»»