Saudi crown prince signs $10 billion deal on mega-city during Cairo visitCAIRO/RIYADH: Saudi Arabia and Egypt set up a $10 billion joint fund on Sunday to develop a planned mega-city, committing more than 1,000 square kilometres in the south Sinai, as Crown Prince Mohammed...
Sri Lanka imposes curfew in Kandy after anti-Muslim riotsSri Lanka imposed a curfew Monday in a central hill station town popular with tourists after days of communal unrest that saw a man killed and Muslim businesses set alight. Police had been placed on a...
Historic meeting lauds lifetime power for XiThousands of Chinese legislators erupted into enthusiastic applause on Monday over plans to give President Xi Jinping a lifetime mandate to mould the Asian giant into a global superpower. China’s rubb...
Euroskeptic parties surge in Italy election, but no majorityA surge for populist and far-right parties in Italy’s election could result in a hung parliament with a right-wing alliance likely to win the most votes but no majority after a campaign dominated by a...
US aircraft carrier arrives in Vietnam on landmark visitDANANG: A US aircraft carrier arrived in Vietnam on Monday for the first time since the end of the Vietnam War, dramatically underscoring the growing strategic ties between the former foes at a time w...
China says defense budget to rise 8.1 percent in 2018BEIJING: China’s defense budget will rise 8.1 percent to 1.1 trillion yuan ($173 billion) this year as the country prepares to launch its second aircraft carrier, integrate stealth fighters into its a...
France’s far-right National Front to change name as Le Pen seeks reboundPARIS: French far-right leader Marine Le Pen will this weekend unveil a new name for the 45-year-old National Front and a refocus on immigration as it searches for more voters and relevance in a polit...
South Korean team heads to North in bid to bring US, North to nuclear talksSEOUL: A South Korean delegation left for North Korea on Monday, a presidential official said, aiming to bring the North and the United States together for talks in a bid to rein in the North’s nuclea...
Iran foreign minister criticises EU ‘extremism’ towards TehranIran’s foreign minister slammed the European Union for “extremism” in relationship to Tehran in an interview published Monday ahead of a meeting with his French counterpart. “In order to keep the Unit...
Turkey detains 12 in anti-IS raids after US embassy closureTurkey on Monday launched a crackdown on the Islamic State extremist group and boosted security in Ankara after the US embassy said it would be closed for a day. The Ankara prosecutor said 12 suspects...
China warns Taiwan it won’t tolerate separatist activitiesBEIJING: China said on Monday that it would never tolerate any separatist schemes for self-ruled Taiwan and would safeguard China’s territorial integrity with the aim of “reunification” with an island...
New setback for Netanyahu as ex-aide signs state witness deal: mediaAn ex-aide to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has signed a state witness deal in a corruption probe linked to his former boss, Israeli media reported Monday, dealing a new setback to the pre...
… says can produce higher enriched uranium in less than two days – TVANKARA: Iran said on Monday it could produce higher enriched uranium within two days if the United States quit a 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and six major powers, Tehran's Arabic language al-Alam...