Latest World News

Arab World  This picture taken from Lebanon's southern village of Shaqra on January 25, 2025 shows an Israeli army Merkava main battle tank moving along a road at the entrance of the village of Houla along the border with Israel in south Lebanon. (AFP)

Israeli Military Sets up Roadblocks in Southern Lebanon, Announces It Won’t Withdraw by Deadline

Israel's military Saturday set up roadblocks across border towns and roads in a strategic valley in southern Lebanon, a day before the deadline for it to…

World An aerial photograph taken by a drone shows Palestinians walking through the destruction caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive, in Rafah, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP)

White House Makes 2,000-Pound Bombs Available to Israel, Undoing Biden’s Pause

President Donald Trump's White House has instructed the US military to release a hold imposed by the Biden administration on the supply of 2,000-pound bombs to…

Arab World  This picture taken from Lebanon's southern village of Shaqra on January 25, 2025 shows an Israeli army Merkava main battle tank moving along a road on the outskirts of the village of Mais al-Jabal along the border with Israel in south Lebanon. (AFP)

Israel Warns Lebanese against Returning to Area at Border

The Israeli army on Saturday warned residents of dozens of Lebanese villages near the border against returning until further notice, a day after Israel said…

World  Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy attends a joint press conference with Moldova's President Maia Sandu (not pictured), amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine January 25, 2025. (Reuters)

Zelenskiy Hopes Europe, US Will Be Involved in Ukraine Peace Talks

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy hopes Europe and the United States will be involved in any talks about ending his country's war with Russia, he told…

Hamas Frees Four Israeli Soldiers in Swap for 200 Palestinian Prisoners

Arab World Four female Israeli soldiers, who had been held in Gaza since the deadly October 7, 2023 attack, are released by Hamas as part of a ceasefire and a hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel, in Gaza City, January 25, 2025. (Reuters)

Hamas Frees Four Israeli Soldiers in Swap for 200 Palestinian Prisoners

Hamas freed four female Israeli soldiers on Saturday in exchange for 200 Palestinian prisoners in the second swap under the Gaza truce, but a delay in…


World Supporters of South Korea's impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol (pictured on poster R) attend a rally on a road near the Constitutional Court in Seoul on January 23, 2025, after Yoon arrived at the court for hearings that will decide whether to remove him from office. (AFP)

Seoul Court Rejects Second Request to Extend Yoon Detention

A Seoul court rejected a second request Saturday to extend the detention of impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol over his failed attempt to declare martial law,…

Arab World Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan speaks during a joint press conference with Sweden's Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard and Sweden's Minister of Justice Gunnar Strommer (both not pictured) in Ankara, Türkiye, January 21, 2025. (Reuters)

Türkiye's Foreign Minister to Visit Iraq to Discuss Kurdish Militants and Security

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will visit Iraq on Sunday for talks with officials on the fight against Kurdish militants, security issues and bilateral…

King Charles Wears Kilt in Tartan Named after Him in New Photo

Culture This handout photograph released by Buckingham Palace on January 25, 2025, shows Britain's King Charles III, posing for a photograph in the library at Balmoral, Scotland in Autumn 2024. (Photo by Millie Pilkington / Buckingham Palace / AFP)

King Charles Wears Kilt in Tartan Named after Him in New Photo

Buckingham Palace published a new photograph of King Charles wearing a kilt made of a tartan named in his honor to mark the birthday of Scotland’s national…


Culture Indonesia Showcases Returned Artifacts it Had Sought for Decades from the Netherlands

Indonesia Showcases Returned Artifacts it Had Sought for Decades from the Netherlands

Centuries-old stone Buddha statues and precious jewelries repatriated by the Dutch government to its former colony are on display at Indonesia's National…

Asharq Al Awsat
Culture An aerial view of the fire damage caused by the Palisades Fire is shown in the Pacific Palisades, California, US January 22, 2025. REUTERS/Mike Blake

Los Angeles Artists, Collectors Reel from Wildfires

As the Los Angeles area begins the formidable task of rebuilding after the most destructive wildfires in its history, the city's artists and art collectors are…

Asharq Al Awsat
Culture The Parthenon temple atop the Acropolis hill as smoke from a wildfire is seen in the village of Varnava blankets Athens, Greece, August 11, 2024. REUTERS/Elias Marcou

2,000-year-old Statue is Found Abandoned in Garbage Bag in Greece

A marble statue of a woman believed to be more than 2,000 years old was found abandoned in a garbage bag near the Greek city of Thessaloniki, police said…

Asharq Al Awsat
Culture People walk past a light installation ahead of the Lunar New Year of the Snake, at a new year lantern fair in Fuzhou, in eastern China's Fujian province on January 21, 2025. (AFP)

Lanterns Light up Southern Chinese City Ahead of Lunar New Year 

Dozens of giant lanterns in the shape of mythical creatures, flowers and legendary characters light up the night sky in southern China -- a dreamlike spectacle…

Keys Upsets 2-Time Champion Sabalenka in Women’s Final for 1st Grand Slam Title

Sports USA's Madison Keys celebrates with the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup after victory against Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka during their women's singles final match on day fourteen of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 25, 2025. (AFP)

Keys Upsets 2-Time Champion Sabalenka in Women’s Final for 1st Grand Slam Title

Madison Keys of the United States upset two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 in the Australian Open final on Saturday night to…


Sports Football - Europa League - TSG 1899 Hoffenheim v Tottenham Hotspur - PreZero Arena, Sinsheim, Germany - January 23, 2025 Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou before the match. (Reuters)

Spurs ‘Playing with Fire’ by Not Signing Players in January, Says Postecoglou

Tottenham Hotspur are "playing with fire" if the North London club do not sign new recruits during the January transfer window, manager Ange Postecoglou said…

Sports Amber Glenn celebrates on the medal podium after skating in the Championship Women Free Skate during the Prevagen US Figure Skating Championships at Intrust Bank Arena on January 24, 2025 in Wichita, Kansas. (Getty Images/AFP)

Amber Glenn Defends Her Title at US Figure Skating Championships as Alysa Liu Falters Late

Amber Glenn was disappointed but not defeated after her short program at the US Figure Skating Championships, the reigning champion defiantly vowing to "go on…

Sports  Italy's Jannik Sinner waves to the crowd after beating USA's Ben Shelton in their men's singles semi-final match on day thirteen of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 24, 2025. (AFP)

Sinner Eyes Back-to-Back Australian Open Titles against Zverev

Defending champion Jannik Sinner will look to seal back-to-back Australian Open titles and deny second seed Alexander Zverev a maiden Grand Slam crown in the…

Sports Alpine Skiing - FIS Alpine Ski World Cup - Men's Downhill - Val Gardena, Italy - December 21, 2024 France's Cyprien Sarrazin reacts after his run. (Reuters)

Double Vision Continues to Plague Sarrazin after Downhill Crash

French skier Cyprien Sarrazin said he cannot remember everything from the days after his heavy crash at the World Cup downhill event in Bormio, Italy and still…


Ireland and UK Clean up after Unprecedented Storm Brings Record Winds and Damage

Varieties  A man takes a picture of a fallen tree, after Storm Éowyn hits, in Phoenix Park, Dublin, Ireland, January 24, 2025. (Reuters)

Ireland and UK Clean up after Unprecedented Storm Brings Record Winds and Damage

Emergency crews began cleaning up Saturday after a storm bearing record-breaking winds left at least one person dead and more than a million without power…


Varieties  A woman directs passengers at the departure hall at the Beijing West Railway Station ahead of the Lunar New Year in Beijing on Friday, Jan. 24, 2025. (AP)

China Travel Peaks as Millions Head Home for Lunar New Year

Train stations and airports across China saw the biggest peak in travelers on Saturday ahead of the Lunar New Year, as millions of people returned home to…

Varieties Rudiger Koch has breakfast in his underwater home before emerging as a world record holder. MARTIN BERNETTI / AFP

German Man Sets World Record Living for 120 Days Underwater

A German aerospace engineer celebrated setting a world record Friday for the longest time living underwater without depressurization -- 120 days in a submerged…

Asharq Al Awsat
Varieties  This photograph taken on December 26, 2024 shows a worker holding shredded recyclable plastic waste at the Green Road Waste Management processing facility in Pokhara. Cars speeding along a smooth, black-colored street in Nepal's Pokhara are also driving over heaps of discarded plastic, transformed into an ingredient in road construction. (AFP)

Rubbish Roads: Nepal Explores Paving with Plastic

Cars speeding along a smooth, black-colored street in Nepal's Pokhara are also driving over heaps of discarded plastic, transformed into an ingredient in road…

Varieties This image provided by the City of Bend, Ore., shows a pair of googly eyes placed on a public art sculpture in Bend. (City of Bend, Oregon, via AP, File)

Man Says He Was behind Some of the Viral Googly Eyes on Public Art in Oregon

A resident of the central Oregon city of Bend says he was the person behind some of the googly eyes that appeared on sculptures around the city in recent…