Latest World News

Features A photo released by the Iranian supreme leader’s official website shows Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib in November last year

Esmail Khatib, Iran Spy Chief, from Shadow War to Assassination

Within Iran’s ruling structure in Tehran, the post of intelligence minister is far from a routine cabinet role. The ministry, established after the 1979…

Asharq Al Awsat (London, Tehran)
Arab World Israeli soldiers and a bulldozer conduct an operation in a southern Lebanese village along the border, as seen from a position in the Upper Galilee in northern Israel on March 18, 2026. (AFP)

Israel Doubles Troops in Hezbollah Fight, Searches Homes in South Lebanon

Israel has more than doubled the number of troops along its border with Lebanon since March 1 and they are searching homes in southern Lebanese villages that…

Arab World New settlements near Abu Falah village, near Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, March 11, 2026. (Reuters)

Israel Army Chief Says West Bank Settler Attacks ‘Ethically Unacceptable’

Israel's military chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir on Wednesday criticized a recent rise in settler attacks in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, calling the…

Arab World  Palestinian policemen inspect a vehicle in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, March 16, 2026. (Reuters)

Israel Ramps up Qassam Killings in Gaza for Fourth Consecutive Day

Israel has stepped up targeted killings of fighters in Gaza for a fourth day in a row, zeroing in on field commanders in the military wings of Palestinian…

Asharq Al Awsat (Gaza)

Both Sides in Iran War Ratchet up Attacks on Energy Facilities, as Oil Prices Surge

World Destroyed buildings of a police station and nearby houses are seen after Friday's US-Israeli strike in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, March 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Both Sides in Iran War Ratchet up Attacks on Energy Facilities, as Oil Prices Surge

Israel kept up its campaign of targeting Iran’s leaders on Wednesday, killing the country’s intelligence minister, and an Iranian offshore natural gas field…

Asharq Al Awsat

Arab World This photograph shows the destroyed Qasmiye Bridge built over the Litani River, following an Israeli airstrike, in Qasmiye on March 18, 2026. (AFP)

Israel Struck Two Bridges Over Lebanon’s Litani River, Defense Minister Says

Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Wednesday that the military struck and destroyed two additional bridges over ‌Lebanon's Litani ‌River,…

Gulf Ambulances carrying the bodies of victims killed in a Pakistani airstrike on a drug rehabilitation center, make their way to the Badam Bagh Hilltop for a funeral and mass burial in Kabul on March 18, 2026. (AFP)

Saudi Arabia Welcomes Temporary Truce between Pakistan and Afghanistan

Saudi Arabia welcomed on Wednesday the temporary truce agreement reached between Pakistan and Afghanistan on the advent of Eid Al-Fitr. In a statement, the…

Prince Mohammed bin Salman Project Restores Historical Al-Saidan Mosque in Al-Jouf Region

Culture The renovation uses traditional Al-Jouf mud-brick techniques and natural materials - SPA

Prince Mohammed bin Salman Project Restores Historical Al-Saidan Mosque in Al-Jouf Region

The Prince Mohammed bin Salman Project for the Development of Historical Mosques has commenced the restoration of Al-Saidan Mosque in Dumat Al-Jandal, Al-Jouf…

Asharq Al Awsat

Culture The inauguration of the new layout and archaeological area of the southern ambulacra of the Colosseum in Rome, Italy, 17 March 2026. (EPA)

Rome’s Colosseum Gets a Fresh Look That Recreates the Footprints of Long-Gone Columns

The Colosseum has a bright new look following a restoration using the same travertine marble of ancient Rome to recreate parts of columns from 2,000 years ago…

Culture The study documented human settlement at the site dating back about 13,500 years. (Saudi Ministry of Culture)

Northern Arabia Archaeological Site Reveals 13,500-Year-Old Human Settlement

The Saudi Heritage Commission, one of 11 sector-specific commissions under the Ministry of Culture, announced findings documenting archaeological evidence of…

Culture The Qasr Al-Shariah Mosque in Al-Haytham, Al-Kharj Governorate.(SPA)

Qasr Al-Shariah Mosque: An Architectural and Cultural Landmark

The Prince Mohammed bin Salman Project for Development of Historical Mosques focuses on preserving and restoring historical mosques across Saudi Arabia while…

Asharq Al Awsat
Culture Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz. SPA

Royal Order Issued on Establishment of Riyadh University of Arts

A royal order has been issued approving the establishment of the Riyadh University of Arts, an independent educational institution headquartered in Riyadh…

Asharq Al Awsat (Riyadh)

Fernandez Uncertain over Chelsea Future after Champions League Exit

Sports Chelsea's Argentinian midfielder #08 Enzo Fernandez gives a thumb up at the end of the UEFA Champions League round of 16 second leg football match between Chelsea FC and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) at Stamford Bridge, west London on March 17, 2026. (Photo by Adrian Dennis / AFP)

Fernandez Uncertain over Chelsea Future after Champions League Exit

Enzo Fernandez has suggested he could leave Chelsea at the end of the current season after the London club were knocked out of the Champions League. Leroy…

Asharq Al Awsat

Sports 18 February 2025, Bavaria, Munich: Celtic's goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel in action during the UEFA Champions League layoff second leg soccer match between Bayern Munich and Celtic Glasgow at the Allianz Arena. (dpa)

Celtic Keeper Schmeichel Fears Shoulder Injury Could End His Career

Kasper Schmeichel has revealed a major shoulder injury could end his career. The Celtic goalkeeper has been playing through the pain since hurting his left…

Sports  Liverpool's Dutch manager Arne Slot attends a press conference at Anfield stadium in Liverpool, north-west England on March 17, 2026, on the eve of their UEFA Champions League, last 16 second leg football match against Galatasaray. (AFP)

Champions League: Barcelona, Liverpool Have Work to Do as Bayern Looks to Set Up Madrid Quarterfinal

Barcelona and Atletico Madrid will look to complete a trio of Spanish successes over English rivals in the Champions League 's round of 16 on Wednesday. A…

Sports Manchester City's Spanish manager Pep Guardiola reacts on the touchline during the UEFA Champions League, round of 16 second leg football match between Manchester City and Real Madrid at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, north west England, on March 17, 2026. (Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP)

Guardiola Says 'Everybody Wants to Fire Me' after Man City's Loss to Real Madrid

Pep Guardiola wore a lumberjack-style shirt and Real Madrid chopped Manchester City down in the Champions League once again. Who knows how many more…

Asharq Al Awsat
Sports (FILES) Senegal's forward #10 Sadio Mane holds up the trophy as he celebrates with his teammates after winning the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) final football match against Morocco at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat on January 18, 2026. (Photo by SEBASTIEN BOZON / AFP)

Morocco Declared African Champions, Senegal Seek to Overturn Decision

Morocco were declared Africa Cup of Nations champions and Senegal were stripped of the title after an appeal over the result of the final was upheld by the…

Asharq Al Awsat (Dakar)

Emergency Room for Injured Wild Birds Opens at Warsaw Zoo in Poland

Varieties A male bullfinch is treated at the birds' hospital at the Warsaw Zoo after crashing against the window of an apartment building, in Warsaw, Poland, Monday, March 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Claudia Ciobanu)

Emergency Room for Injured Wild Birds Opens at Warsaw Zoo in Poland

When a male bullfinch smashed into Marcin Jarzębski’s apartment window, he took it in but realized it needed expert treatment. So the next morning he brought…

Asharq Al Awsat

Varieties A tourist looks at a view of Mt. Everest from the hills of Syangboche in Nepal December 3, 2009. REUTERS/Gopal Chitrakar

Nepal's 'Icefall Doctors' Fix Everest Route for Spring Season

Highly skilled mountaineers known in Nepal as "icefall doctors" have begun fixing ropes and ladders on Mount Everest to prepare for the coming spring climbing…

Asharq Al Awsat
Varieties FILE PHOTO: A couple react during their wedding photoshoot near the Forbidden City, as the city is hit by sandstorm, in Beijing, China March 15, 2021. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang/File Photo

Chinese University Tells Students to 'Fall in Love' During Spring Break

A Chinese university is urging students to "enjoy the flowers, fall in love" during their mid-term break, an unusual directive in a nation obsessed with…

Asharq Al Awsat
Varieties Trespasser Caught in Viral Hippo Moo Deng's Thai Zoo Pen

Trespasser Caught in Viral Hippo Moo Deng's Thai Zoo Pen

A Thai man broke into the zoo enclosure of Moo Deng, an endangered baby pygmy hippo and internet sensation, police said Wednesday, as the zoo filed a…

Asharq Al Awsat
Varieties Researchers may have created a substance slightly harder than natural diamonds. (Shutterstock)

‘Hexagonal Diamond’… Harder Than the Real Thing

Chinese scientists claim to have created the long theorized hexagonal diamond, stronger than the real thing, and only found until now at sites of meteorite…

Asharq Al Awsat (London)