Latest World News

Gulf The flow of pilgrims to Mina proceeded smoothly and easily, supported by all services (Photo: Ali Khamaj)

Pilgrims Pray on Mount Arafat as Hajj Reaches Peak

Huge numbers of Muslims prayed on Mount Arafat on Tuesday at the climax of the hajj pilgrimage. From daybreak, thousands of white-robed worshippers recited…

Asharq Al Awsat (Makkah)
World People watch the news on a television screen at a station in Seoul, South Korea, 26 May 2026. EPA/JEON HEON-KYUN

North Korea Launches Ballistic Missile, Other Weapons Over the Sea

North Korea launched a close-range ballistic missile and other weapons toward the sea on Tuesday, South Korea's military said, the latest in a series of…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World Firefighters work at a strike scene in southern Lebanon, following an Israeli strike on Kfar Roummane, Lebanon May 25, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer

Israel Escalates... Threatens to Bomb Beirut

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday Israel would intensify strikes against Lebanon’s Hezbollah. Israel's military soon thereafter said…

Asharq Al Awsat (Beirut)
Gulf Saudi air ambulances are lifelines in the sky that provide pilgrims with medical assistance. (Bashir Saleh)

Saudi Arabia Dedicates Integrated Health System for Hajj Pilgrims

Saudi authorities have dedicated a unique health system that accompanies Hajj pilgrims every step of the way of their holy journey. They are surrounded with…

Ibrahim al-Qurashi (Holy sites)

US Carries Out 'Self-defense' Strikes in Iran, Rubio Says Deal Still Possible Within Days

World A woman walks next to a huge billboard in a street in Tehran, Iran, 25 May 2026. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH

US Carries Out 'Self-defense' Strikes in Iran, Rubio Says Deal Still Possible Within Days

The US military has said that it carried out “self-defense” strikes in southern Iran, including on missile launch sites and boats placing mines, even as…

Asharq Al Awsat

Gulf People inspect the wreckage of vehicles the day after a deadly train blast, in Quetta, Pakistan, 25 May 2026. (EPA)

Saudi Arabia Condemns Terrorist Attack on Train in Pakistan’s Balochistan

Saudi Arabia condemned on Monday the “heinous terrorist” attack targeting a train in Pakistan’s Balochistan province. In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign…

World Response team members are helped to wear protective suits before burying a person suspected of having died from Ebola in Bunia, in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, on May 25, 2026. (AFP)

WHO Urges DR Congo's Neighbors to Act Immediately on Ebola Risk

States neighboring the Democratic Republic of Congo are at great danger from Ebola and should act immediately to counter the deadly virus, the head of the…

As Iran Diplomacy Picks Up, Rubio Tours Taj Mahal

Culture United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio poses with his wife, Jeanette Rubio, during their visit to the Taj Mahal in Agra, India, Monday, May 25, 2026. Pool via Reuters

As Iran Diplomacy Picks Up, Rubio Tours Taj Mahal

As diplomacy intensifies on ending the Iran war, top US diplomat Marco Rubio was spending Monday not in negotiations but at India's world-famous monument to…


Culture People walk along the Seine river next to "The Pont Neuf Cave," an inflated art installation by French street artist JR, on Paris' oldest bridge, the Pont Neuf, Thursday, May 21, 2026, which will be open to the public from June 6-28. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

French Artist Begins Giant ‘Cave’ Art Inflation Over Paris’ Oldest Bridge

The oldest bridge in Paris has begun to vanish this week, as the artist JR — who is known as the “French Banksy” — began inflating a giant “cave” over the Pont…

Asharq Al Awsat
Culture The 'Winston Churchill: The Painter' exhibition opens on Saturday at the Wallace Collection in London. Justin TALLIS / AFP

Winston Churchill's 'Playful' Paintings Go on Show in London

As Britain's wartime leader, Winston Churchill was known for his stirring speeches, but a new London exhibition explores another side to his creativity -- as a…

Asharq Al Awsat
Culture The Saudi Heritage Commission logo

Saudi Heritage Commission Discovers Abbasid-Era Gold Jewelry in Qassim

Saudi Arabia’s Heritage Commission announced the discovery of a collection of Abbasid-era gold jewelry at the archaeological site of Diriyyah in Qassim Region…

Asharq Al Awsat (Riyadh)
Culture The House of Islamic Arts in Jeddah marked International Museum Day 2026 with a special exhibition offering visitors a cultural journey into the past. (SPA)

Jeddah’s House of Islamic Arts Marks International Museum Day 2026

The House of Islamic Arts in Jeddah marked International Museum Day 2026 with a special exhibition offering visitors a cultural journey into the past. The…

Asharq Al Awsat

Monfils Aims to Emulate Ronaldo, LeBron after Roland Garros Farewell

Sports France's Gael Monfils (L) poses with a trophy next to French Tennis Federation's President Gilles Moretton (R) during a ceremony honoring his career on day 2 of the French Open tennis tournament on Court Philippe-Chatrier at the Roland-Garros Complex in Paris on May 25, 2026. (Photo by ALAIN JOCARD / AFP)

Monfils Aims to Emulate Ronaldo, LeBron after Roland Garros Farewell

Gael Monfils is determined to emulate the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and LeBron James by playing into his 40s and hopes to play at Wimbledon, Montreal and the…

Asharq Al Awsat (Paris)

Sports TIJUANA, MEXICO - MAY 25: Panoramic view of Estadio Caliente on May 25, 2026 in Tijuana, Mexico. Francisco Vega/Getty Images/AFP

FIFA Reveals 48 World Cup Team Base Training Sites

Defending champions Argentina and England will have their World Cup teams based in Kansas City under a list of training sites announced by FIFA on Monday. …

Asharq Al Awsat
Sports Saudi Minister of Sport and President of the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki bin Faisal and the Saudi national team and accompanying staff sit for a family before the team's departure to the US. (SPA)

Saudi Sports Minister Sees off National Team ahead of its Departure to US for FIFA World Cup

Saudi Minister of Sport and President of the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki bin Faisal met on Monday with the Saudi national…

Sports Spanish national team head coach Luis de la Fuente announces the final list of the 26 players for the 2026 World Cup during an act held in Madrid, Spain, 25 May 2026. (EPA)

Spain Leave Out Real Madrid Players as Barcelona Dominate World Cup Squad

European champions Spain will travel to next month's World Cup with plenty of Barcelona swagger but no-one from Real Madrid after manager Luis de la Fuente…

Sports Liverpool's Mohamed Salah reacts after his final match in a Liverpool shirt after the English Premier League match Liverpool FC against Brentford FC, in Liverpool, Britain, 24 May 2026. (EPA)

African Players in Europe: Liverpool Legend Salah Bids Farewell

Mohamed Salah struggled to hold back the tears during his final appearance for Liverpool on Sunday after a trophy-filled career with the Anfield outfit. The…


Holy Kaaba to Align with Sun on Thursday in Rare Astronomical Event

Varieties During the moment of alignment, shadows cast by vertical objects in Makkah’s surroundings nearly disappear as sunlight falls almost perpendicularly on the surface. (SPA)

Holy Kaaba to Align with Sun on Thursday in Rare Astronomical Event

The skies above Makkah will witness the phenomenon of the sun aligning directly over the holy Kaaba on Thursday, at approximately 12:18 PM local time. Jeddah…


Varieties A drone view shows people using kayaks and paddle boards in the River Thames at Teddington Lock, London’s first official river bathing water site, as temperatures climb over the bank holiday weekend due to a heat dome spreading across the region, in London, Britain, May 24, 2026. (Reuters)

Heat Dome Over Europe Scorches UK, France, Spain

Temperatures hit record highs for May in the United Kingdom and France on Monday, as forecasters warned of a prolonged period of extreme heat across Europe…

Varieties A golden monkey is seen in Volcanoes National Park in Kinigi, Rwanda, Thursday, March 19, 2026. (AP)

How Collecting DNA Samples in the Wild Could Transform Conservation

A guide called out to endangered golden monkeys with grunts and clicks to signal he posed no threat, a familiar sound in the mist-covered forests of Rwanda ’s…

Varieties An undated handout picture released on May 22, 2026 by the Charles Darwin Foundation shows a newly discovered blue pygmy octopus off the Galapagos Islands. (Charles Darwin Foundation / AFP)

‘He’s Tiny! It’s Blue!’: Scientists Find New Deep-Sea Octopus

On the ocean floor near the Galapagos Islands, a submersible controlled by scientists came across a mysterious octopus as blue as the ocean and no bigger than…

Varieties Shuetsu Sato, a security guard whose handmade duct-tape signs have gained widespread recognition, poses with duct-tape signs which he made at a security company office where he works, in Tokyo, Japan, May 1, 2026. (Reuters)

Japanese Security Guard Finds Fame as Designer of Duct Tape Signs

One of Japan's most in-demand graphic designers is neither hip nor an artist by training: he’s a septuagenarian security guard who works the graveyard shift at…