The Latest Breaking News from Asharq Al-Awsat

Syria on Tuesday condemned the European Union’s new sanctions on Damascus over making and trafficking an amphetamine saying the move was based on lies. The Syrian Foreign Ministry statement came a day after the EU imposed sanctions on several Syrians, including members of President Bashar Assad’s family, blaming them for…

Bondholders in French fashion group SMCP (SMCP.PA), the owner of labels such as Sandro and Maje, are expecting first-round, non-binding bids for their 37% stake in the company by mid-May, said two people with knowledge of the transaction. The bondholders, which include asset manager BlackRock and private equity firm Carlyle…

President Joe Biden on Tuesday formally announced that he is running for reelection in 2024, asking voters to give him more time to "finish the job" he began when he was sworn in to office and to set aside their concerns about extending the run of America’s oldest president for…

An appeals court on Monday upheld Apple’s exclusive control over the distribution of iPhone apps, rejecting the latest attempt to force one of the world’s most powerful companies to dismantle the digital walls protecting its most lucrative product. The 92-page decision issued by the US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals…

Several ministers and members of Israel's parliament have cancelled their participation in Memorial Day ceremonies, a day of remembrance for fallen Israeli soldiers, due to protests from some bereaved families. Housing and Construction Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf and Deputy Culture and Sports Minister Yaakov Tessler, from the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism…

Spotify Technology SA on Tuesday reported first-quarter monthly active users that crossed the half billion mark for the first time helped by the music streaming company's expansion into more markets. The number of monthly active users rose to 515 million in the quarter, beating Spotify's guidance and analysts' forecasts of…

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Tuesday the country supports the development of industrial uses of generative artificial intelligence technologies such as OpenAI's ChatGPT. Kishida met the chief executive of Microsoft-backed OpenAI in Tokyo earlier this month and has reportedly said the Group of Seven summit meeting next month…

The Gulf Cooperation Council on Tuesday hailed Saudi Arabia and its role in evacuating nationals of different Gulf and foreign countries besides its own from the battle-scarred country of Sudan. The GCC hailed the diplomatic and logistical Saudi role, evacuating a number of civilians, diplomats and senior international officials. Jasem…

Fighting in Sudan eased on Tuesday and more foreigners and locals fled the capital Khartoum, where marauding combatants created what a UN agency said was a "high risk of biological hazard" by seizing a laboratory. The World Health Organization (WHO) said one of the warring parties had taken control of…

A gunman fired at joggers from a passing car at a junction near the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah on Tuesday, medics said, and the Israeli military blocked roads and launched a search in response. Israel's ambulance service said it treated a 28-year-old with a hand injury before transferring…

The brother of Lebanon's central bank governor did not attend a hearing in Beirut on Tuesday with European investigators probing whether the siblings embezzled and laundered hundreds of millions of dollars in public funds over more than a decade. Governor Riad Salameh is being investigated alongside his brother Raja in…