The Latest Breaking News from Asharq Al-Awsat

Fitch ratings has upgraded Saudi Arabia’s Long-term foreign-currency issuer default rating (Idr) to ‘A+’ from ‘A’, with stable outlook. This reflects Saudi Arabia's strong fiscal and external balance sheets, with government debt/GDP and sovereign net foreign assets (SNFA) considerably stronger than both the 'A' and 'AA' medians, and significant fiscal…

Saudi Minister of Defense Prince Khalid bin Salman said Thursday that he has met with Chairman of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) Dr. Rashad Al-Alimi. Prince Khalid said on Twitter that he met with Al-Alimi and members of the PLC to convey the greetings of the Custodian of the Two…

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has directed to disburse Ramadan assistance to beneficiaries of the social security, with each head of a family receiving SAR1,000 and each member of a family receiving SAR500. The amount of aid, estimated at more than SAR3 billion,…

Egypt’s net foreign reserves increased $95 million by the end of March 2023 to $34.447 billion, compared to $34.352 billion by the end of February 2023, the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) said Wednesday.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu will discuss the conflict in Ukraine, energy cooperation and the Black Sea grain deal during a two-day visit by a Russian delegation this week. Türkiye has positioned itself as a potential intermediary between Kyiv and Moscow in the 13-month…

Israeli police stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City early Wednesday, firing stun grenades at Palestinians who hurled stones and firecrackers in a burst of violence during a sensitive holiday season. Palestinian militants in Gaza responded with rocket fire on southern Israel, prompting repeated Israeli airstrikes. The fighting, which…

French energy giant TotalEnergies announced Wednesday an agreement with Iraq on a long-delayed $10 billion project to improve the country's rundown electricity grid after resolving disputes over the terms of the deal. The contract -- which includes investments in oil, gas and solar production -- was signed in September 2021…

At least 21 people including six children have died in Somalia’s flash flooding over the last week, according to the UN humanitarian agency. Nearly 100,000 people have been affected by the heavy rains and flash floods in the Bardhere district of the Gedo region of southern Somalia, according to the…

The head of the UN's atomic energy watchdog met with Russian officials in Kaliningrad on Wednesday for negotiations on the safety of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, currently held by Russian forces. International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi’s trip to the Russian exclave came a week after he visited…