BEIRUT/PARIS (Reuters) – French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday gave Lebanese politicians until the end of October to start delivering on reforms, saying financial aid would be withheld and sanctions imposed further down the line if corruption gets in the... More »
BEIRUT (Reuters) – French President Emmanuel Macron marked Lebanon’s centenary on Tuesday by planting a cedar tree, the emblem of the Middle East country that is collapsing under the weight of a crippling economic crisis. In his second trip to Lebanon in less ... More »
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Turkish police have arrested the Islamic State militant group’s top figure in Turkey, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said on Tuesday. Soylu said on Twitter “important plans” had been seized along with the militant. No further details wer... More »
MELBOURNE/SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Oil prices gained on Tuesday, reversing overnight losses, as investors moved into risk assets and stayed away from the safe-haven U.S. dollar which hit multi-year lows. Brent crude LCOc1 futures climbed 47 cents, or 1%, to $45.7... More »
ALGIERS (Reuters) – Algerian authorities said on Monday they will carry out further measures to ease a coronavirus lockdown from Sept. 1, including lifting a ban on some cultural activities such as reopening museums and libraries. Nurseries would also be reope... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – The option of a one-time payment holiday during times of intense crisis might enable countries to pandemic-proof their bonds, a prominent debt fund believes. Economic fallout from COVID-19 has triggered a record number of sovereign defaults ... More »
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Lebanon should be locked down for two weeks after a spike in COVID-19 infections, the caretaker government’s health minister was quoted as saying on Monday. “We declare today a state of general alert and we need a brave decision to close (th... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s vaccine specialist CanSino Biologics Inc has won a patent approval from Beijing for its COVID-19 vaccine candidate Ad5-nCOV, state media reported, citing documents from the country’s intellectual property regulator. It is the first ... More »
1/WALL STREET WATCHES WASHINGTON U.S. lawmakers negotiating a fresh dose of stimulus have reached an impasse. Trillions of dollars injected by the Federal Reserve and huge government spending increases have stemmed coronavirus-linked economic damage, fuelling ... More »
(Reuters) – Evidence used by the United States to justify the extradition of Huawei Technologies Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou is “unreliable and defective” and should not be considered by a Canadian court, Meng’s lawyers argued in documents released to... More »
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Two decades of Maya Husseini’s work to restore stained glass windows destroyed in the Lebanese civil war was lost in an instant in the seismic port explosion in Beirut. “I can say that in this blast, 20 years of my professional life was on t... More »
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – The chairman of El Al Israel Airlines (ELAL.TA), Eli Defes, is stepping down immediately because of an undisclosed medical condition, he said on Sunday. Defes joined El Al’s board in 2015 and became chairman in 2017. It was not immediatel... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi may recall lawmakers from a summer recess to address changes at the Postal Service that have prompted anger among Democrats and alarm about possible impact on the 2020 election. A Democratic congressional ... More »
CAIRO (Reuters) – The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday it had appealed for $76 million in aid for Lebanon after last week’s massive explosion in Beirut destroyed or damaged hospitals, clinics and medical supplies. Lebanon was already strugglin... More »
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Curtains flutter through broken windows, piles of debris block the streets and top-floor apartments with their roofs blown off are exposed to the sky. As the residents of Beirut try to pick up their lives after an explosion that shook the co... More »
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Lebanese police fired tear gas to try to disperse rock-throwing protesters blocking a road near parliament in Beirut on Sunday in a second day of anti-government demonstrations triggered by last week’s devastating explosion. Fire broke out a... More »
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Before he went missing on Aug. 4, Ghassan Hasrouty, an employee of Beirut’s giant grain silos for 38 years, thought he was working in the safest place in the city. The reinforced concrete walls and underground rooms were his shelter for many... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Oil rose on Monday, supported by an improvement in Chinese factory data and rising energy demand as countries eased coronavirus-related lockdowns, but traders remained cautious due to U.S.-China tensions and uncertainty over a U.S. stimulus ... More »
DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran said on Monday that countries should refrain from politicising the massive blast in Beirut last week, and that the United States should lift sanctions against Lebanon. “The blast should not be used as an excuse for political aims … the c... More »
CAIRO (Reuters) – Egypt’s annual urban consumer price inflation fell to 4.2% in July from 5.6% in June, the central statistics agency CAPMAS said on Monday. Month on month inflation increased to 0.4% in July from 0.1% in June mainly on the back of an increase ... More »
DUBAI (Reuters) – State oil giant Saudi Aramco’s profit plunged 73% in the second quarter of the year, as a slump in energy demand and prices due to the coronavirus crisis hit sales at the world’s biggest oil exporter. But the company stuck with plans to pay $... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Chinese government-linked hackers have been targeting U.S. election infrastructure ahead of the 2020 presidential election, White House National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien said on Sunday, indicating a more active level of alleged Ch... More »
DUBAI (Reuters) – Saudi information security company Elm is to acquire digital services company Tabadul from Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, Elm said in a statement on Sunday. The Public Investment Fund (PIF) also owns Elm and was considering an initial ... More »
SYDNEY (Reuters) – As countries scramble to test for the novel coronavirus, a Chinese company has become a go-to name around the world. BGI Group, described in one 2015 study as “Goliath” in the fast-growing field of genomics research, is using an opening crea... More »
DUBAI (Reuters) – Abu Dhabi state defence and security entity Tawazun is to build a satellite assembly, integration and testing centre with Airbus in the United Arab Emirates’ oasis city of Al Ain, state news agency WAM reported on Wednesday. The centre also i... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Oil prices steadied on Monday, pressured by rising COVID-19 cases around the globe and by oversupply worries as OPEC and its allies are set to wind back output cuts in August, but supported by positive industry data in Europe and Asia. Brent... More »
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Lebanese Foreign Minister Nassif Hitti resigned on Monday, blaming a lack of political will to enact reforms to halt a financial meltdown which he warned could turn Lebanon into a failed state. Foreign donors have made clear there will be no... More »
GENEVA (Reuters) – The World Health Organization warned on Monday that, despite strong hopes for a vaccine, there might never be a “silver bullet” for COVID-19, and the road to normality would be long. More than 18.14 million people around the world are report... More »
(Reuters) – This year’s Diamond League athletics meeting in Doha, initially scheduled for Oct. 9, has been brought forward by a fortnight and will take place on Sept. 25, organisers announced on Monday. The event in Doha, which serves as the traditional season... More »
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian oil and gas condensate output increased to 9.8 million barrels per day (bpd) on Aug. 1-2 from 9.37 million bpd in July as the country eases production curbs under an OPEC+ deal, a source familiar with data said on Monday. The Energy ... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – After failing to secure a Senate confirmation hearing, U.S. President Donald Trump’s most divisive nominee for a Pentagon position so far has taken a different, less-senior policy role at the Defense Department, a spokeswoman said on Sun... More »
GENEVA (Reuters) – Bans on international travel cannot stay in place indefinitely, and countries are going to have to do more to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus within their borders, the World Health Organization said on Monday. A surge of infection... More »
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – The Israeli military said a there has been a “security incident” on Israel’s northern border with Lebanon on Monday and ordered residents in the area to remain indoors. Israel’s N12 TV News reported an exchange of fire between Israeli for... More »
SINGAPORE/LONDON (Reuters) – Oil prices edged higher on Monday helped by a weak dollar and expected U.S. stimulus measures but gains were capped by rising global coronavirus cases and tensions between the United States and China. Brent crude LCOc1 rose 32 cent... More »
(Reuters) – Iranian government spokesman Ali Rabiei has been hospitalized with COVID-19, the Mehr news agency reported on Monday, the latest among several officials to have been infected with the new coronavirus. Iran has the Middle East’s highest number of re... More »
CAIRO/LONDON/DUBAI (Reuters) – The threat of conflict in Libya, water security worries and a flatlining tourist sector risk upending a nascent rally in Egyptian bonds, bankers and economists say. The North African country has attracted a wave of foreign invest... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Oil prices fell on Monday as coronavirus cases increased in many countries across the globe, but investors remained cautiously optimistic about ongoing talks over a European Union-wide recovery fund to revive economies affected by the pandem... More »
PARIS (Reuters) – Investigators have begun work on the flight recorders from the Ukrainian jet accidentally shot down by Iran in January, France’s BEA accident investigation bureau said on Monday. Iranian forces say they downed the Ukraine International Airlin... More »
DUBAI (Reuters) – The United Arab Emirates launched its first mission to Mars on Monday as it strives to develop its scientific and technological capabilities and reduce its reliance on oil. The Hope Probe blasted off from Japan’s Tanegashima Space Center at 1... More »
RIYADH (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia’s 84-year-old ruler, King Salman bin Abdulaziz, has been admitted to hospital in the capital Riyadh, suffering from inflammation of the gall bladder, state news agency SPA said on Monday. The king, who has ruled the world’s larg... More »
WASHINGTON/BERLIN (Reuters) – Finance officials from the Group of 20 major economies on Saturday vowed to resolve major differences over taxing big tech companies and reach a broad, consensus-based solution on international taxation this year. The United State... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Investors pumped money into riskier bonds and equity funds, BofA’s weekly fund flow statistics showed on Friday, as unprecedented stimulus measures helped offset worries about rising COVID-19 case numbers in the United States. The policy sup... More »
DUBAI (Reuters) – The United Arab Emirates said on Friday it would launch its mission to Mars on July 20, depending on weather conditions at the launch site in Japan, Dubai’s media office said on Twitter. The launch of the UAE’s Hope Probe from Japan’s Tanegas... More »
DUBAI (Reuters) – The United Arab Emirates has rescheduled the launch of its mission to Mars to a preliminary window between July 20 and July 22, depending on weather conditions at the launch site in Japan, the government’s communications office said on Thursd... More »
DUBAI (Reuters) – The United Arab Emirates has postponed the launch of its mission to Mars for a second time due to weather conditions at the launch site in Japan, the government’s communications office said on Wednesday. A new launch date in July will be anno... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Oil prices fell on Monday on a record daily rise in global coronavirus cases, with big spikes in infections over the weekend in the United States, while traders await an OPEC meeting expected to recommend an easing of supply cuts. Brent crud... More »
TUNIS (Reuters) – Tunisia has asked four countries to delay debt repayments, it said on Monday as it announced more pessimistic economic and budget forecasts for 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic. It is negotiating with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, France and I... More »
DUBAI (Reuters) – The United Arab Emirates wants to see a return of Libya’s oil production as soon as possible but with safeguards in place to prevent proceeds from fuelling further conflict in the north African country, a senior Emirati official tweeted on Mo... More »
MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) – After UEFA’s attempt to ban Manchester City from European football was overturned by sport’s highest court on Monday, the continental governing body’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) system, under which they were charged, faces likely... More »
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – A Turkish court on Friday annulled a 1934 government decree that had turned Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia into a museum, opening the way for the sixth-century building to be converted back into a mosque. President Tayyip Erdogan, whose ruling AK... More »
PARIS (Reuters) – UNESCO must be notified of any change in the status of Istanbul’s sixth-century Hagia Sophia museum and the changes may have to be reviewed by its World Heritage committee, the United Nation’s cultural body said on Thursday. Turkey’s top admi... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s decision to allow China’s Huawei to play a limited role in building its 5G network is not “fixed in stone” and is being reviewed following the imposition of U.S. sanctions, culture minister Oliver Dowden said on Monday. Britain gra... More »
NAIROBI, (Reuters) – Eat them, poison them, and use scent to drive them to cannibalism – as a second wave of locusts threatens to devour East Africa’s crops, scientists in a Nairobi lab are experimenting with novel ways to kill them. Swarms are the worst for t... More »
KOBLENZ, Germany (Reuters) – Forty-nine faceless figures stand on the lawn outside a German courthouse, facing the windows of a courtroom behind which two suspected members of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s security services are standing trial for torture ... More »
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Thousands of Turkish lawyers protested outside Istanbul’s main courthouse on Tuesday against a government plan to reform bar associations, saying it aims to silence dissent and will lead to politicization of their profession. Under a draft... More »
DUBAI (Reuters) – Louisa Sumagui and her family wanted a final momento of their 12 years in Dubai before returning to Australia after losing jobs in the tourism industry due to the coronavirus pandemic. The moment was captured for Sumagui, her husband and two ... More »
DUBAI (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia’s central bank governor said it was encouraging commercial banks to lend more to sustain businesses during the coronavirus crisis. Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) Governor Ahmed al-Kholifey was speaking at a virtual econo... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – McLaren’s Formula One future was never in doubt despite a cash crisis brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic and now resolved by a fresh injection of funds, team principal Andreas Seidl said on Tuesday. The National Bank of Bahrain announced on... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Oil prices slipped on Tuesday amid rising COVID-19 cases and a possible return of Libyan oil production, which has been down to a trickle since the start of the year. The more-active September contract for Brent LCOc2 fell 37 cents, or 0.88%... More »
TEL AVIV/ZURICH (Reuters) – Israeli start-up Redefine Meat plans to launch 3D printers to produce plant-based steaks mimicking real beef next year in a bid for a slice of the fast-growing alternative meat market. Meat substitutes are increasingly popular with ... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Famed for snapping up glitzy real estate and stakes in troubled international banks during the global financial crisis, sovereign wealth funds are investing more at home, a trend set to accelerate in the wake of the economic carnage wrought ... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – BlackRock’s Investment Institute said on Tuesday it was “warming up” to European assets following what it called the eurozone’s “impressive” efforts to tackle the coronavirus. The research arm of the world’s biggest fund manager said two fac... More »
JORDAN VALLEY, West Bank (Reuters) – Amid the barren hills of the Jordan Valley, Palestinian artist Khadeeja Bisharat paints scenes of bulldozers and demolitions, a reflection of fears of what may happen to her isolated Bedouin community if Israel annexes land... More »
READING, England (Reuters) – The English town of Reading held a minute’s silence on Monday for the victims of a stabbing that killed three people including an American in the latest terrorism-linked attack. Three people were also hospitalised after a man wield... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Oil prices were steady on Monday, supported by tighter supplies from major producers but held in check by concerns over a record rise in global coronavirus infections that could stall a recovery in fuel demand. Brent crude LCOc1 rose 5 cents... More »
READING, England (Reuters) – The man who went on a stabbing spree in the British town of Reading was acting alone, interior minister Priti Patel said on Monday. “This is a tragic, tragic event,” Patel said. She did not comment on whether the arrested man was L... More »
CHIAYI, Taiwan (Reuters) – A shimmering ring of light flashed into view on Sunday in parts of the eastern hemisphere as the moon drifted across the face of the sun in a rare eclipse on the longest day of the year. The path of the eclipse spanned East Asia, Sou... More »
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Many directors would have been devastated when their plans to show their first feature at the Cannes Film Festival were wrecked by the spread of COVID-19. But Lebanon’s Jimmy Keyrouz said he took heart from the themes of his movie “Broken Ke... More »
KHARTOUM (Reuters) – Sudan’s public prosecutor on Monday announced the discovery of a mass grave east of Khartoum suspected to contain the remains of students killed in 1998 as they tried escaping military service at a training camp. An investigation had been ... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Oil prices fell on Monday as new coronavirus infections hit the United States and China, feeding worries that renewed lockdowns could hamper economic recovery and dent fuel demand. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 35 cents, or 1%, t... More »
AMMAN (Reuters) – The toughest U.S. sanctions yet on Syria take effect this week, increasing the pressure on President Bashar al-Assad as he grapples with a deepening economic crisis after a decade of war. Washington says sanctions will help hold Assad and his... More »
QALQILYA, West Bank (Reuters) – Peacocks, ostriches and baboons joined in an animal baby boom at a Palestinian zoo during the coronavirus closure as they let nature take its course free from human distractions. Fifteen animals were born at the tiny Qalqilya Zo... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Oil prices fell on Tuesday weighed down by a stronger dollar and oversupply concerns after it was announced that a trio of Gulf producers would end voluntary output cuts. Brent crude was down 85 cents, or 2.1% to $39.95 a barrel by 0912 GMT.... More »
GAZA (Reuters) – Every day Ammar Abu Shamalla adds a little colour to drab routine life in Gaza, loading up his camper van with pictures he displays and sells in the Palestinian territory’s streets and markets. He and wife Arwa, both jobless college graduates,... More »
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Genetic sampling of the Dead Sea Scrolls has tested understandings that the 2,000-year-old artefacts were the work of a fringe Jewish sect, and shed light on the drafting of scripture around the time of Christianity’s birth. The research ... More »
DUBAI (Reuters) – Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways has laid off hundreds of employees this month, including cabin crew, after the coronavirus pandemic forced it to ground flights, according to industry and company sources. The state-owned airline, which had 20,530 e... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Investors are bearish on stocks, especially riskier assets, and expect a slower economic recovery as the risk of a second wave of infections from the novel coronavirus persists, a BofA fund manager survey showed. World stocks have bounced ba... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – The United States has overtaken China as the most attractive country in the world for renewables investment and the global clean energy sector is expected to bounce back quickly despite the coronavirus pandemic, research showed on Tuesday. I... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Oil prices rose for a fourth straight session on Tuesday amid signs that producers are cutting output as promised just as demand picks up, stoked by more countries easing out of curbs imposed to counter the coronavirus pandemic. Brent crude c... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump may have fired State Department Inspector General Steve Linick because he was investigating U.S. military sales to Saudi Arabia, Democratic lawmakers said on Monday, although Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he ... More »
MELBOURNE/SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Oil futures rose on Tuesday, boosted by an unexpected commitment from Saudi Arabia to deepen production cuts in June in a bid to help drain the glut in the global market that has built up as the coronavirus pandemic crushed fuel... More »
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel’s top court on Monday heard challenges to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bid to secure a governing coalition, with opposition figures arguing a deal on a new unity administration would unlawfully shield him in a corruption tri... More »
ROME/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Italy and the United States were among a slew of countries easing lockdown restrictions on Monday to resurrect economies, but officials cautioned against moving too swiftly as global deaths from the coronavirus neared a quarter of a... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Oil prices were mixed on Monday as countries started to ease coronavirus lockdowns, though a fresh spat between the United States and China over the origin of the virus weighed on prices. Worldwide fuel demand fell by an estimated 30% in A... More »
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Hezbollah’s leader hailed the Lebanese government’s crisis plan as a “big, important step” on Monday and said any talks with the IMF must not blindly surrender the country to terms it can not bear. In a televised speech, Sayyed Hassan Nasral... More »
DUBAI (Reuters) – Uber Technologies’ Careem subsidiary said on Monday it was cutting 536 jobs this week, representing 31% of the Dubai-headquartered company’s workforce. The announcement came hours after Uber said it was shuttering its Eats delivery business i... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – World leaders launched a pledging “marathon” on Monday – without the United States – to raise at least $8 billion for research into a possible vaccine and treatments for the coronavirus. Organisers included the European Union, non-EU state... More »
TEL AVIV (Reuters) – Chipmaker Intel Corp is in advanced talks to acquire Israeli public transit app developer Moovit for $1 billion, financial news website Calcalist reported on Sunday. Moovit has raised $133 million from investors including Intel, BMW iVentu... More »
DUBAI (Reuters) – Japan’s Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc (MUFG) (8306.T) expects countries in the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to be in deep recession this year with overall real GDP contracting 3.7% from a previous growth forecast of 2.9%. Th... More »
RIYADH (Reuters) – The Saudi-led coalition engaged in Yemen on Monday urged a leading separatist group that declared self-rule in the south to rescind its move, saying it was an “escalatory action” at a time all parties should focus on confronting the novel co... More »
(Reuters) – Troubled hospital operator NMC Health (NMC.L) on Monday said it requested London Stock Exchange to delist its shares after they remained suspended for two months. The UAE-based company was placed into administration earlier this month, on the appli... More »
DUBAI (Reuters) – The United Arab Emirates stands against a decision by a main Yemeni southern separatist group to declare self-rule in areas it controls, and urges full implementation of a peace deal agreed last year for the south, minister of state for forei... More »
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Oil prices fell on Monday on signs that worldwide oil storage is filling rapidly, raising concerns that production cuts will not come fast enough to fully offset the collapse in demand from the coronavirus pandemic. U.S. oil futures led l... More »
(Reuters) – More than 2.97 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 205,948 have died, according to a Reuters tally, as of 0200 GMT on Monday. DEATHS AND INFECTIONS * For an interactive graphic tracking the global ... More »
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Citing grave dangers to privacy, Israel’s Supreme Court ruled on Sunday that the government must bring its use of mobile phone tracking deployed in the battle against the new coronavirus under legislation. Circumventing parliament in Marc... More »
TEL AVIV (Reuters) – Israel’s Corsight AI, which has developed technology to recognize faces concealed by masks, goggles and plastic shields, raised $5 million from Awz Ventures, a Canadian fund focused on intelligence and security technologies. Corsight said ... More »
TEL AVIV (Reuters) – Israeli defense contractor Elbit Systems said on Sunday it won a contract worth about $103 million to supply electronic warfare (EW) suites for an air force of an Asian country. The contract will be carried out over three years and include... More »
(Reuters) – Apple Inc (AAPL.O) on Tuesday said it would expand its App Store, Apple Music and other services to dozens of new markets in Africa, the Middle East and beyond in the biggest geographical expansion of its services in almost a decade. Apple said it ... More »
(Reuters) – A historic rout in oil markets sent U.S. crude prices plummeting to as much as minus $40 a barrel as traders rushed to get rid of unwanted stocks with storage capacity already overflowing amid a coronavirus-induced demand collapse. U.S. West Texas ... More »
(Reuters) – Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, Beyonce and Oprah Winfrey on Saturday headlined a special broadcast of music, comedy and personal stories celebrating those around the world on the frontlines of the coronavirus pandemic.... More »
