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Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati said on Monday he had hoped for a quicker pace towards the formation of a new government and that his efforts would not be open-ended. “I had hoped for a pace that was faster than this in the government (formation). It is a bit slow,” …

A pandemic-related US government ban on residential evictions expired at midnight on Saturday, putting millions of American renters at risk of being forced from their homes. The expiration was a blow to President Joe Biden, who on Thursday made a last-ditch request to Congress to extend the moratorium, citing the …

Kim Yo-jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, has warned that a planned joint US-South Korea military exercise will undercut a renewed push for diplomacy on the Korean Peninsula, state-run media reported. South Korea and the United States regularly stage military exercises, mainly in the spring and …

A prominent Nigerian lawyer and human rights activist has revealed that the Kaduna State government has hastily filed a new charge against Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky, Leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, and his wife in a desperate move to block their release. Femi Falana, who led Sheikh Zakzaky’s defense …

Israeli authorities are plotting to confiscate more Palestinian land to expand settlements in the occupied al-Quds, as the Tel Aviv regime presses ahead with its land grab policies in the Occupied Territories. Abdullah Seyam, the Palestinian Authority’s Deputy Governor of al-Quds said that the Israeli projects in al-Quds were part …

An online debate has erupted on social media over a historical territorial dispute between Bahrain and Qatar. The decades-old territorial dispute between Qatar and Bahrain over Hawar Islands and Zubarah fort has resurfaced online over the past days triggering heated debates among users from the two countries on Twitter, according to Doha News. …

The authorities in Saudi Kingdom are making strenuous efforts to cover up the country’s poverty crisis as the ruling family, seeped in corruption, continues to grow wealthy, according to a new report. Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft (QIRS), a US-based think tank, said the ordinary Saudi citizens are grappling with …

The International Committee of the Red Cross in Gaza has warned that power shortages pose a threat to the health and daily life for the population of the besieged Gaza Strip, saying 80% of Gazans live much of their day in the dark. In a new study, the ICRC found that …

Hong Kong civil servants, teachers and healthcare workers must get vaccinated against the coronavirus or pay for regular testing, the city’s leader announced Monday, as her administration adopted a push into mandatory inoculations. The finance hub is one of the few places in the world to have secured ample supplies …

Firefighters in Oregon reported good progress in the battle against the nation’s largest wildfire, while authorities canceled evacuation orders near a major blaze in Northern California and another in Hawaii Firefighters in Oregon reported good progress in the battle against the nation’s largest wildfire, while authorities canceled evacuation orders near …

The death toll from floods in central China last month is at least 302 with dozens of people still missing, officials said Monday, after record downpours dumped a year’s worth of rain on a city in just three days. Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan province and the epicenter of the …

A blaze at a massive Tesla battery site in Australia that started three days ago was brought under control on Monday, firefighters said. Emergency services were first called to the Victoria Big Battery project — built by French renewable energy firm Neoen using Tesla batteries — on Friday morning. A …

The Afghan government forces have killed 38 members of the Taliban movement and injured two others when the insurgents attempted to storm a prison in the southwestern city of Lashkar Gah, Afghan defence ministry spokesman Fawad Aman said on Monday. Fighting broke out between the Afghan forces and the Taliban …

A large forest fire in the Greek island of Rhodes was taken under control early Monday morning, as the country continues to struggle with extreme temperatures and intense fires. #Rhodes seems to be calmer today. The smoke and ash cloud from Turkey seems to have blown away too. Not that …

A day after it recorded the newest daily cases since the start of the pandemic, Florida on Sunday broke a previous record for current hospitalizations set more than a year ago before vaccines were available. The Sunshine State had 10,207 people hospitalized with confirmed COVID-19 cases, according to data reported …

A preponderance of evidence proves the virus that caused the COVID-19 pandemic leaked from a Chinese research facility, said a report by U.S. Republicans released on Monday, a conclusion that U.S. intelligence agencies have not reached. The report also cited “ample evidence” that Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) scientists – …

A 5.9 magnitude quake struck off the coast of Indonesia’s easternmost Papua region today, the United States Geological Survey said, but there was no tsunami warning or immediate reports of damage. The quake hit at a relatively shallow depth of 12 kilometers (7.5 miles), about 180 kilometers northeast of Tual …

South Korean officials said a decision on the annual August drills with the US has not yet been finalized, and joint exercises should not raise tensions, following a strong warning from Pyongyang. “The timing and method [of the drills] were not finalized,” South Korean Defense Ministry spokesperson Boo Seung-chan told …

Oil prices fell on Monday on worries over China’s economy after a survey showed growth in factory activity slipped sharply in the world’s second-largest oil consumer, with concerns compounded by a rise in oil output from OPEC producers. Brent crude oil futures slid by 76 cents, or 1%, to $74.65 …

Millions of people were confined to their homes in China Monday as the country tried to contain its largest coronavirus outbreak in months with mass testing and travel curbs. China on Monday reported 55 new locally transmitted coronavirus cases, as an outbreak of the fast-spreading Delta variant reached over 20 …