Saudi Arabia has thrown open its doors to foreign tourists, announcing that it would launch a new visa programme for 49 countries and also relax its strict dressing code in a bid to draw foreign companies to invest in the country’s tourism sector. The conservative Muslim kingdom strict dress codes for female visitors required them […]

Russia detained three North Korean vessels and more than 200 crew on Friday in the second such incident in two weeks as part of a clampdown on poaching by the secretive nation’s fishermen. The detentions mark rare confrontation between North Korea and Russia, which sees itself as an important player in international talks on defusing […]

The United States sent a message to European leaders that it was willing to lift all sanctions on Iran, according to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who said he had rejected talks with Washington while punitive US sanctions remained in place. Rouhani, speaking on his return from the United Nations General Assembly in New York said […]

Protesters opposing the election that Algeria’s veteran ruling cadre has set for December took to the streets of the capital on Friday seeking the release of a detained opposition figure, as two recent premiers said they would run for president. Weekly demonstrations since February have demanded that the old guard who have held power since […]

The White House scrambled to “lockdown” records of President Donald Trump’s phone call pressing for Ukraine’s interference in next year’s US election, according to an incendiary whistleblower complaint released Thursday, in the latest episode of an intensifying impeachment drama. The complaint caps a stunning week of revelations that have put Trump’s presidency in jeopardy, with […]

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani announced on Friday that the United States has offered to drop all sanctions against Iran in exchange for negotiations. Rouhani said the German Chancellor, the prime minister of Britain and the president of France were in New York and all insisted that the meeting take place.   “America says that it […]

The brother of Pakistan’s social media star Qandeel Baloch was on Friday sentenced to life in prison for her murder – the patriarchal country’s highest-profile “honour killing”. Baloch, 26, who shot to fame for her risque selfies – tame by Western standards, but considered provocative in deeply misogynistic Pakistan – was strangled in July 2016. […]

President of Iran, Hassan Rouhani on Friday slammed the U.S. and Saudi plot aimed at blaming the recent attacks on Saudi Aramco oil facilities in Tehran. Following the attacks, Saudi Arabia together with the U.S. and several European countries has accused Iran of being behind the act. However, the Yemeni Houthi movement had claimed full […]

A British dad is facing a medical bill of £100,000 after his wife prematurely gave birth while in a Dubai hospital. Azhar Saleem, 26, from Birmingham, says he and Syeda Khola Adnan, 23, have been told they can’t take their daughter Amal home until they start paying the money. The tiny baby was born at […]

Russian coastguard said on Friday that it detained more than 400 North Korean fishermen in September on allegations of illegal operation in Russian territorial waters. Russia’s coastguard announced that 262 fishermen were detained between sept. 23 to 27, 2019 with about 30,000 allegedly poached squids seized in the round-up. “The sailors were detained for poaching […]