Billionaire and worldwide entrepreneur Richard Branson visited Saudi Arabia, becoming one of the few first to take advantage of the Kingdom’s growing opportunities in light of sweeping national reform being driven by Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman’s Kingdom Vision 2030. The business magnate
Cameroon authorities on Friday banned all gatherings of more than four people, ordered bus stations, eateries and shops to shut and forbade movement between divisions of its English-speaking region for three days to prevent planned protests. Anglophone Cameroonians plan to demonstrate on Oct. 1st, t
Cubans said they were both heartbroken and enraged by the United States’ decision on Friday to stop processing visas at its embassy in Havana that would further tear at the seams of families already divided by the Florida Straits. The United States said it was cutting its diplomatic presence in Cuba
Russian and North Korean officials announced that they will meet in Moscow to discuss the North Korea crisis, a move welcomed by the United States, which has been locked in am increasingly heated war of words with Pyongyang over its nuclear and missile programs. Russia’s Foreign Ministry said Oleg B
There are problems with cooperation between Russia and the United States in Syria, Interfax news agency cited Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as saying on Friday. “How we are cooperating on Syria – yes, not without problems of course, because not everyone takes things the same way,” Int
The price of OPEC basket of fourteen crudes stood at US$55.59 a barrel on Thursday, compared with $56.07 the previous day, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations, WAM reported. The OPEC Reference Basket of Crudes is made up of the following: Murban (UAE), Saharan Blend (Algeria), Girassol (Angol
More than 60 people are believed dead after a boat carrying Rohingya Muslims fleeing Myanmar capsized, the UN migration agency has said. The refugees drowned in heavy seas off Bangladesh late on Thursday, part of a new surge of people fleeing a Myanmar army campaign and communal violence that the UN
Shabaab militants killed at least 15 soldiers in an attack on a Somali military base near the capital Mogadishu, the group and officials said on Friday. The militants used guns and car bombs to take control of the Somali National Army military camp and a nearby town, Barire, 50 km southwest of Mogad
A commuter stampede on a crowded pedestrian bridge connecting two railway stations in India’s financial hub Mumbai during the morning rush hour Friday killed at least 22 people, officials said. Dozens of people took shelter on the bridge during a sudden monsoon downpour and the deadly crush started
No less than 10 children and four women were killed when a boat carrying Rohingya fleeing violence in Myanmar capsized in rough seas off Bangladesh on Thursday, police said. “They drowned before our eyes. Minutes later, the waves washed the bodies to the beach,” Mohammad Sohel, a local s
China announced on Thursday that all North Korean companies operating in the country will have to shut down by January as Beijing applies UN sanctions imposed following Pyongyang’s sixth nuclear test. The announcement comes days after China confirmed that it will apply another major part of th
Saudi Arabia confirmed on Thursday that operations led by the Arab coalition in Yemen began in 2015 upon the request of its legitimate government when it faced an illicit armed coup obstructing the process of peaceful political transition, said the Saudi Press Agency (SPA). The insurgency comprising
China on Thursday ordered North Korean-owned businesses to shut down by January, cutting foreign revenue for the isolated North under UN sanctions imposed over its nuclear and missile programs. North Korean businesses and ventures with Chinese partners must close within 120 days of the Sept. 11 appr
At least a dozen Afghan security forces were killed when a suicide attacker blew himself up in the southern province of Kandahar, police said Thursday. “Twelve security forces were killed and four others were wounded” in the attack in which an explosives-packed Humvee was used, Kandahar
UN special envoy Staffan de Mistura said Wednesday that he hopes to convene a new round of talks between the Syrian regime and opposition in Geneva in the coming weeks. “I am calling on both sides to assess the situation with realism and responsibility to the people of Syria and to prepare ser
An auction of items from screen icon Audrey Hepburn’s personal collection has made more than $6 million, including a world record for her script of the 1961 film “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”, Christie’s announced Thursday. The lots realized £4,635,500 ($6.21 million, 5.29 m
The United Nations on Wednesday raised concern for the safety of stateless Rohingya Muslims seeking asylum in Sri Lanka after Buddhist monks and hardline nationalists forced them to flee a UN shelter in the capital Colombo. According to Reuters, in Tuesday’s incident, the Sri Lankan monks and nation
In a move hoping to land humans one day on Mars, both Russia and the United States agreed to cooperate on a NASA-led project to build the first lunar space station. On Wednesday, the Russian space agency Roscosmos and NASA said they had signed a cooperation agreement at an astronautical congress in
The Iraqi parliament on Wednesday asked Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to send troops to the Kurdish-held region of Kirkuk and take control of its oilfields after rising tension caused by the independence referendum in northern Iraq, state TV reported. “The government has to bring back the oil
Interpol on Wednesday approved an application by the Palestinian Authority to join the international police organization in a move opposed by Israel. “New member countries State of Palestine and Solomon Islands bring INTERPOL’s membership to 192,” Interpol said on its Twitter accou
