Libya has executed a landmark transaction by selling one million barrels of crude oil to an Indian buyer, securing a premium that stands as potentiall...

Libya’s Ministry of Oil and Gas announced yesterday that it will be hosting the National Conference on Just and Sustainable Energy Transition on 24 Se...

The combined toll from the deadly incident now stands at 1,446 people dead and at least 6,669 missing.

It's the end of an era for India's popular instant digital payments system, which has been free of charge until now.

South Africa police have cautioned against assuming that all the killings are linked but many women are afraid.

The body of veteran broadcaster Owen Ndlovu was found hours after armed men kidnapped him near Johannesburg.

Austin Tice’s abduction was approved by Syria’s former leader Bashar al-Assad, a source claims.

The US State Department extended visa sanctions after accusing Palestinian officials of failing to live up to peace process commitments.

Syria's court issues first sentences over 2025 Alawite massacres Submitted by Alex MacDonald on Thu, 09/17/2026 - 10:21 Two Assad loyalists were sentenced to death and life imprisonment, while a government soldier received a 20-year prison term A man holds up a sign that reads "Release of the detained" and "No to killing" during a protest in the Syrian city of Latakia over attacks against Alawites, on 25 November 2025 (Haidar Mustafa/AFP) Off A court in Aleppo has handed down the first sentences for the 2025 massacre of Alawites in Syria. Two supporters of former President Bashar al-Assad were sentenced to death by the Military Criminal Court in Aleppo, while a government officer received a 20-year prison term. The trials, which have been ongoing since November, concern 14 people, seven members of forces loyal to the government of President Ahmed al-Sharaa and seven Assad loyalists. Last year, armed attacks on security forces by suspected Assad loyalists in the coastal Alawite heartland of Latakia spiralled into brutal sectarian bloodshed. At least 1,500 Alawites were killed, with a Reuters investigation tracing much of the violence back to security officials in Damascus. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); According to AFP, the court delivered verdicts for four individuals on Thursday, with further rulings expected on 24 September. Judge Zakaria Bakkar, president of the court, said the government soldier sentenced to 20 years - a member of the Ministry of Defence forces - was found guilty of "intentional murder". At the start of the trial, several defendants identified as supporters of the former regime pleaded not guilty - one claimed he was in Lebanon at the time of the violence. Among them, a man from Latakia was sentenced to death by hanging for "aggression aimed at inciting civil war and sectarian clashes". Another received a life sentence and a third was acquitted. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Sectarian revenge attacks Syria's 13-year war, which saw hundreds of thousands killed and millions displaced both internally and externally, was sparked in 2011 after government forces cracked down on pro-democracy activists. While some Alawites supported the pro-democracy movement initially, a combination of government persecution and fears over the increasing proliferation of sectarian armed groups among the opposition saw much of the community throw its weight behind Assad. With the president's ousting and flight to Moscow in December 2024, there have been increasing calls from Alawites for protection from sectarian revenge attacks and kidnappings. Syria protests spread as fuel prices rise by up to 40 percent Read More » In July, Amnesty International said it had documented credible reports of 36 kidnappings of Alawite women and girls since December 2024, while the Syrian Feminist Lobby reported that 80 Alawite women and girls had disappeared since early 2025, confirming 26 of those cases to be kidnappings. Some of those abducted say they were subjected to sectarian abuse, framing the assaults as revenge attacks against the Alawite community, to which the Assad family belonged. The transitional government of President Sharaa has, however, said the reports have been overstated.  Nour al-Din Baba, the interior ministry spokesman, told the New York Times in April that a government investigation examining 42 reported kidnappings had found that only one of them was “real”. During a visit to London earlier this year, Sharaa was subjected to protests from Alawites and Alevis - a distinct but historically related religious group, common among Turkish and Kurdish communities - who accused him of facilitating a "genocide" in Syria. "At a time when Syrians continue to endure displacement, insecurity, and marginalisation, allowing such a figure to enter the UK risks sending the wrong message: that accountability can be overlooked, and that those associated with violence can be normalised on the international stage," said Maher Hamadouch, director of the Syrian Coastal Society (SCS), a UK-based advocacy group for Alawites.  Hamadouch, who has previously defended Assad's rule over Syria, told Middle East Eye that the SCS was calling on the UK government to deny "any platform or legitimacy to individuals linked to extremist activity or human rights abuses". Syria after Assad News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0

US bans Palestinian president from speaking at the UN Submitted by Elis Gjevori on Thu, 09/17/2026 - 11:34 US again bars Mahmoud Abbas from UN General Assembly, citing Palestinian efforts to pursue Israel at international courts and win international recognition The United Nations logo is seen on a gate outside the UN headquarters ahead of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on 21 September 2025 (Kena Betancur/AFP) Off The Palestinian foreign ministry on Thursday condemned the US decision to bar Palestinian officials from attending the UN General Assembly for a second year in a row. The US has denied Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas a visa to attend the UN General Assembly in New York next week, repeating a move that drew widespread criticism last year. In a statement on Wednesday, the US State Department said it would extend visa restrictions to members of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and officials with the Palestinian Authority (PA). The Palestinian foreign ministry condemned the decision as an “unjustified measure that contradicts efforts to restore confidence, develop Palestinian-American relations, and create the necessary political climate for implementing the two-state solution and achieving peace and stability in the region”. The State Department said it was extending the restrictions on PA officials as "a consequence of their failure to reform, contrary to their commitments to the United States, and their ongoing activities that undermine the prospects for peace". (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Abbas is among those barred from entering the US for the gathering. The Trump administration took the same step last year, preventing Abbas and other senior Palestinian officials from attending the General Assembly in person. The decision prompted criticism of Washington’s role as host of the UN headquarters, and sparked calls for a major UN meeting on Palestine to be moved to Geneva. The UN General Assembly later voted 145-5 to allow Abbas to address the gathering remotely. Israel trying to 'eliminate' living conditions for Palestinians in occupied West Bank, says report Read More » As part of its justification for once again barring Palestinian officials, the US explicitly cited Palestinian efforts to pursue Israel through international courts and secure greater international recognition for a Palestinian state. The Palestinian Authority was "taking actions to internationalize the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including through the International Criminal Court (ICC) and International Court of Justice (ICJ) [and] seeking to bypass negotiations through seeking unilateral recognition,” the State Department said. In response, the Palestinian foreign ministry rejected the US claim that the “Palestinian people's recourse to the United Nations, the International Court of Justice, and the International Criminal Court constitutes an act that undermines peace. “Resorting to international institutions and international law is a legitimate right of the State of Palestine and a peaceful and legal means to protect our people and their rights, and cannot be equated with the policies of occupation, settlement, annexation, displacement, and settler violence, which constitute the real danger to the two-state solution and to the chances for peace,” the statement added. The move again places Washington and Israel at odds with much of the international community over Palestinian diplomatic representation and statehood. Palestine is recognised by 157 UN member states, more than 80 percent of the organisation’s membership. The US decision also comes amid escalating Israeli settler violence and displacement in the occupied West Bank. The UN said in August that settler violence had reached “unprecedented levels”, with more than 1,430 incidents documented in 2026 by 10 August. Occupation News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0

OpenAI has disclosed six previously unreported cases of AI misconduct, including agents concealing mistakes, fabricating information and communicating without authorisation, renewing concerns over whether advanced AI systems can remain aligned with human goals. The company is calling for greater transparency, outside oversight and a slowdown in AI development as debate over regulation intensifies.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney addressed the European Parliament as Ottawa and Brussels deepen ties against a backdrop of strained relations with the United States. FRANCE 24's Doug Herbert explains how the speech illustrates a broader shift in alliances, with a message that, until recently, would more likely have been delivered in Washington than Brussels.

DUBAI: The Dubai International Film Festival is set to return on Dec. 8, 2027, with a special Middle East edition focused on Arab cinema. Mona Ghanem Al-Marri, vice chairperson and managing director of the Dubai Media Council and chairperson of the Arab Media Summit’s Organizing Committee, announced that the festival’s first edition in its new format — coming 10 years after its original run came to a close — will spotlight films and filmmakers from across the region. It will provide directors, p

RIYADH: Syria has signed its first syndicated bank financing agreement structured under Islamic finance principles, bringing together three banks to fund two development projects in Damascus and provide an alternative to government budget financing. The arrangement involves Al Baraka Bank Syria, QNB Syria and the Commercial Bank of Syria, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency, or SANA. The financing is sponsored by the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Syria and carries a sovereign

Mbappé said his decision was not intended as a rejection of Ceuta or its residents. He said he wanted to express solidarity with migrants who have lost their lives and those living in difficult conditions.

As Ebola threatens parts of Africa, the Federation of West African Medical Laboratory Science opened its first conference Wednesday, in Lomé, Togo, to discuss the challenges posed by epidemics in Africa