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Lebanon’s parliament approved the country’s first budget in more than a decade, restoring control over state finances and easing a long-standing political deadlock that has stifled development. After three days of deliberations, 61 members of parliament voted to pass the budget while four voted against and eight abstained, state-run National …

A civil rights group on Friday called unconstitutional a Houston suburb’s hurricane repair grant program that says residents cannot boycott Israel as a condition of receiving any money. The American Civil Liberties Union said it’s considering legal action against the city of Dickinson over its Hurricane Harvey repair grant program, …

The Spanish government is set to hold a special cabinet meeting to approve measures to take direct control over Catalonia. The meeting comes almost three weeks after the region held an independence referendum, which was ruled illegal by the country’s supreme court. Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont has refused to abandon …

I do not want to be a purveyor of doom, but I dare say the business community’s financial troubles are even close to being over. In fact, current circumstances don’t warrant any analytical skills to surmise that this is all set to continue for a couple of years at least. …

As Saudi Arabia feverishly portrays itself as ready to join the ranks of modern, tolerant societies, the kingdom has turned to a once-unlikely messenger — one of its daughters — to make its case to the West. On Fatimah Baeshen’s first day as the Saudi Embassy in Washington’s official spokeswoman, …

As confusion surrounding the world’s largest IPO builds, many market players are hoping for further clarification from authorities. Excitement about the international initial public offering of state-owned Saudi Arabian Oil Company, or Saudi Aramco, was sky high last year as investors saw the development as a sign that Riyadh was …

efense Secretary James N. Mattis, troubled by a lack of information two weeks after an ambush on a special operations patrol in Niger left four U.S. soldiers dead, is demanding a timeline of what is known about the attack, as a team of investigators sent to West Africa begins its …

The head of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) has said that it has finalised funding for its Dh100 billion ($27 billion) green investment fund, ahead of next week’s World Green Economy Summit (WGES) in Dubai. He added that the fund’s headline investors, and the amount so far raised, would …

American-backed forces have barely begun to clear the land mines from Raqqa after pushing the Islamic State from the city, the de facto capital of its self-declared caliphate. But the militants’ defeat there is already setting the stage for a new round of conflict and instability in Syria’s long civil …

Qatari Emir Shaikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani and Kuwaiti First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Shaikh Sabah Al Khalid Al Hamad Al Sabah discussed in Doha the latest developments regarding the Kuwaiti mediation to resolve the Gulf crisis, the official news agencies of both countries said. …

His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has unveiled a new Cabinet tasked with making the UAE the world’s best prepared for artificial intelligence and other advanced technologies. “The new government will catapult the UAE into its prosperous …

Quebec has approved a law that would require citizens of the Canadian province to uncover their faces while giving or receiving any public service — a rule critics say is aimed at Muslim women who wear the niqab or burqa. The Associated Press writes: “The new law has two basic …

A federal judge in Maryland early Wednesday issued a second halt on the latest version of President Trump’s travel ban, asserting that the president’s own comments on the campaign trail and on Twitter convinced him that the directive was akin to an unconstitutional Muslim ban. U.S. District Judge Theodore D. …

The United States said on Wednesday it would push the United Nations Security Council to renew within days an international inquiry into who is to blame for chemical weapons attacks in Syria, setting the stage for a likely showdown with Russia. Russia has questioned the work and future of the …

China will “compel” Saudi Arabia to trade oil in yuan and, when this happens, the rest of the oil market will follow suit and abandon the U.S. dollar as the world’s reserve currency, a leading economist told CNBC on Monday. Carl Weinberg, chief economist and managing director at High Frequency …

Saudi Arabia is to monitor interpretations of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) teachings to prevent them being used to justify violence or terrorism, the Culture and Information Ministry has said. In a decree, King Salman bin Abdulaziz al Saud ordered the establishment of an authority to scrutinise uses of the hadith …

Chinese President Xi Jinping proclaimed the arrival of “a new era” in which a reinvigorated Communist Party will lead his nation to modernity, wealth and power as he opened the 19th national congress of China’s ruling Communist Party on Wednesday. The meeting is expected to give him a second five-year …

President Donald Trump on Wednesday denied telling the widow of a fallen soldier during a condolence call that the serviceman “must’ve known what he signed up for” — a claim made by a Florida congresswoman who was present for the call. “I didn’t say what that congresswoman said, I didn’t …

Oman cancelled the bidding process to select its third mobile phone operator in favour of a group backed by its wealth funds, a month after delaying a decision on the licence. The Gulf state’s third mobile operator will be run by a local company owned by the funds and a …

Oil may last for 50 years or 100 years and the UAE does not have to be entirely dependent on fossil fuels and alternative sustainable solutions for the next generation must be found, a symposium was told at Zayed University on Wednesday. Khalil Ailabouni, a senior Emirati journalist in Abu …

A changing climate across the Middle East in the coming years will force Gulf retailers to evolve, according to the head of Majid Al Futtaim’s shopping division. The Gulf countries will experience a dramatic increase in temperature over the next 80 years, leaving large parts of the region beyond the …

Financing for one of the largest wind power projects in mainland Europe, which will power more than 100,000 homes, has been agreed by the Masdar-led project’s shareholders and lenders in the Serbian capital of Belgrade. Due for completion in the first half of 2019, the 158 megawatt capacity Cibuk 1 windfarm …

Inflammation is a normal response by the immune system. When used properly, it can aid the healing process. However, more often than not the immune system attacks healthy cells. The immune system is confused over the cells and components that are good and bad for the body and acts thinking …

A 6.7-acre Beverly Hills compound owned by a member of the royal family of Saudi Arabia is being quietly shopped for $85 million, according to two people with knowledge of the deal. Joyce Rey of Coldwell Banker Previews International, who has the listing, said she is dealing with the director …

Former Chief of Army Staff General (r) Raheel Sharif has said that it was an honour for him to be part of Saudi-led Islamic Military Alliance as a commander. Addressing the Middle East Military Alliance and Coordination Conference, General (r) Raheel Sharif on Tuesday said that Muslim countries were facing …

The United States said it launched its first attack on Daesh’s deadly Yemen branch on Monday with a series of nighttime air strikes that residents said targeted two villages and killed several people. Unmanned US drones launched around 12 missiles at militant positions in Yakla and Al Abl in southern …

Riyadh- Saudi Arabia and Iraq will be cosigning the establishment of a joint Saudi-Iraqi Coordinating Council in Riyadh next week, sources told Asharq Al-Awsat. The body is said to cover various political, economic, security and cultural fields. Abdul Aziz al-Shammari, charge d’affaires of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques …

To engage young people in the decisions that determine their future, the Abu Dhabi Government has pledged to fund the next five youth forums that will be organised as part of the WorldSkills competition. The announcement was made on Tuesday at the closing session of the WorldSkills 2017 conference, a …

Value-added tax (VAT) will not be applicable on the sale and purchase of share transactions conducted by investors in UAE stock markets, said a senior government official. Khalid Al Bustani, director-general, Federal Tax Authority, pointed out that there would be no tax on profit margins as well. On Tuesday, Dubai …

Dubai-based Emirates airline, in a special offer, is offering a complimentary 96-hour UAE visa to all economy-class passengers travelling from Dhaka to destinations in Africa, Canada, Europe or US. Passengers booking a business- or first-class service will also get a two-night stay at the JW Marriott Marquis Dubai, along with …

The Value-Added Tax (VAT) set to be introduced in the UAE from next year is a dampener to the local gold and diamond industry as companies are planning to shift operations abroad, senior industry executives said at a conference in Dubai on Monday. Addressing the Dubai Diamond Conference, Dubai Multi …

A light seen in the night sky over the United Arab Emirates likely was a discarded Russian spaceship breaking up after re-entering the Earth’s atmosphere. Those in Abu Dhabi and Dubai shared online videos and pictures of the light seen in the sky Monday night. Aerospace websites and the Dubai Astronomy Group …

A US-backed alliance of Syrian Kurdish and Arab fighters says it has taken full control of so-called Islamic State’s one-time “capital” of Raqqa. Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) spokesman Talal Sello said the fighting was over after a four-month assault. Clearing operations were now under way to uncover any jihadist sleeper cells …

The Israeli Air Force attacked a Syrian antiaircraft battery on Monday that Israel said had fired a missile at its planes while they were on a reconnaissance mission over neighboring Lebanon. No Israeli planes were hit, the Israeli military spokesman Lt.-Col. Jonathan Conricus said. The counter-strike took place two hours …

Spain cut its economic growth forecast for 2018, acknowledging the impact of an escalating political crisis that led the National Court in Madrid to jail two leading Catalan separatists. The Spanish economy will grow 2.3 percent next year instead of the 2.6 percent previously projected, the economy ministry said in …

A journalist who exposed her country’s links to the shady world of offshore banking has been killed in a fiery car bombing. Daphne Caruana Galizia was driving near her home on the island of Malta around 3 p.m. on Monday when her vehicle exploded, with the charred remnants of the …

Shaikh Nahyan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Sports Council, and Barbara Eibinger-Miedl, Austrian Regional Minister for Economy, Tourism, Europe, Science and Research, attended the official signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two local organising committees for Special Olympics World Games Abu Dhabi 2019 …

Nearly half of residents in the UAE are still in debt, while a significant number are failing to save money, according to figures from Payfort. The company owned by Amazon revealed in a report published this week that about five in ten people in the UAE (46.7 per cent, or …

Sometime within the next few months, the heavens will come crashing down. Tiangong 1, which translates to “Heavenly Palace,” is China’s first space laboratory, launched in September 2011, serving as a prototype for a permanent space station that it aims to eventually build and launch. But six years after it first went into …

Another media mogul, director Oliver Stone, is facing allegations of sexual assault following the New York Times investigation of decades of allegations against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein. Former Playboy model Carrie Stevens came forward after Stone, unlike other high-profile industry members, defended Weinstein at the Busan International Film Festival in South Korea, according …

Iraqi government forces have captured key installations outside the disputed city of Kirkuk from Kurdish fighters. A military statement said units had taken control of the K1 military base, the Baba Gurgur oil and gas field, and a state-owned oil company’s offices. Baghdad said the Peshmerga had withdrawn “without fighting”, …

Senior Trump administration officials said on Sunday that the United States was committed to remaining part of the Iran nuclear accord for now, despite President Donald Trump’s criticisms of the deal and his warnings that he might pull out. Nikki Haley, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said that Tehran …

Venezuela’s opposition refused on Monday to recognize a surprise win for the ruling socialists in a weekend regional election, potentially rekindling protests and fresh foreign sanctions on the oil-rich country’s moribund economy. Venezuela’s pro-government electoral board said President Nicolas Maduro’s candidates took 17 governorships, versus six for the opposition, in …

An oil rig exploded Sunday night in Lake Pontchartrain in St. Charles Parish, a Louisiana police department said. Kenner Police Department spokesman Sgt. Brian McGregor said Sunday evening that rescue boats were being sent from the Kenner Boat Launch, and that officials with the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office are assisting, …