The Latest Breaking News from Asharq Al-Awsat

The United States and the Philippines on Tuesday launch their largest combat exercises in decades that will involve live-fire drills, including a boat-sinking rocket assault in waters across the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait that will likely inflame China. The annual drills by the longtime treaty allies called…

Not even the annual White House Easter Egg Roll is safe from presidential politics. President Joe Biden, the host of Monday's festivities on the South Lawn, said he plans to participate in “at least three or four more Easter egg rolls, maybe five.” Biden was alluding to his expected reelection…

Michael Lerner, the Brooklyn-born character actor who played a myriad of imposing figures in his 60 years in the business, including monologuing movie mogul Jack Lipnick in “Barton Fink,” the crooked club owner Bugsy Calhoun in “Harlem Nights” and an angry publishing executive in “Elf” has died. He was 81.…

Under the patronage of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the The Saudi National Cybersecurity Authority (NCA) will hold the Global Cybersecurity Forum (GCF) in Riyadh on November 8-9. The event will be held under the patronage of Custodian of the Two Holy…

A number of masked people attacked police with petrol bombs and other objects at a parade opposing the Good Friday peace accord in Londonderry, police said on Monday, a day before US President Joe Biden visits Belfast. A Reuters photograph showed four young people in the mainly Irish nationalist area…

The General Presidency of the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and Prophet's Mosque activated on Monday emergency plans at the Grand Mosque amid heavy rain on the holy city of Makkah. Over 200 supervisors and 4,000 observers are at the Grand Mosque to weather the conditions and ensure the safety…

Russia and Ukraine carried out a major prisoner swap on Monday, with 106 Russian prisoners of war being freed in exchange for 100 Ukrainians, both sides said. In a Telegram post, Ukrainian presidential aide Andriy Yermak said the released Ukrainians included defenders of Mariupol city and its Azovstal steel plant,…

The UN food agency said Monday it urgently needs $800 million for the next six months to help Afghanistan, which is at the highest risk of famine in a quarter of a century. Aid agencies have been providing food, education and health care support to Afghans in the wake of…

The Russian-installed head of the Moscow-controlled part of Ukraine's Donetsk region said on Monday that Russian forces controlled more than 75% of the besieged city of Bakhmut. The battle for Bakhmut has been one of the bloodiest of the 13-month war, drawing comparisons with World War One due to massive…

Japan stressed on Monday the importance of peace in the Taiwan Strait during a meeting of senior Japanese and Chinese officials after Beijing held three days of war games around the island. The talks, focusing on concerns over disputed waters in the East China Sea, came as China was ending…

Credit reference agencies and financial institutions should cooperate to prevent financial fraud in the Middle East, especially the Gulf countries, which have become one of the world's important financial and economic centers, according to a financial expert. Comprehensive framework Director of Financial Crime Compliance and Payments, LexisNexis Risk Solutions, Jonny…