Egypt will open an expansion to the Suez Canal to great fanfare on Thursday, the first of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s plans to revitalise the country’s economy after years of damaging political turmoil. World leaders, including dignitaries from neighbouring Arab nations such as King Abdullah II of Jordan, and Western countries such as French President Francois Hollande, are expected to ...

The United States has conducted its first drone strike into northern Syria from a base in Turkey, the Pentagon said Wednesday, ahead of what Ankara said would soon be a “comprehensive battle” against ISIS militants there. Also Wednesday, Syria’s foreign minister said Damascus would support efforts against ISIS, as long as the fight is coordinated with the Syrian government. Ending ...

President Barack Obama defended the Iran nuclear deal Wednesday against a furious lobbying effort by political opponents and Israel, and said abandoning the agreement would open up the prospect of war. Invoking the Cold War peacemaking initiatives of former Presidents John Kennedy and Ronald Reagan, Obama said that if the U.S. Congress blocked the deal it would accelerate Tehran’s path ...

The defense minister Wednesday night extended the terms of the Army commander, chief of staff and Intelligence head for more than one year each, political sources said, in a move likely to draw the ire of MP Michel Aoun, who has been pressing the government to appoint new military and security chiefs.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has agreed to speed up arms sales to Gulf countries after the talks with the six countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) on Monday in Qatar. He added that the U.S. and states in the region would also increase efforts to share intelligence. Qatari Foreign Minister Khalid al-Attiyah said the alliance wanted to ...

A suspected MH370 wing component was found by beach cleaners on the French island of Reunion in the western Indian Ocean. The debris is now confirmed to be part the wing of a Boeing 777, the same model of plane as Flight 370, which is believed to reveal the mystery of the missing Malaysian plane. Experts are to begin analysing ...

The Liberal Party has no intention of allowing the Nationals Bruce Scott become Speaker while Philip Ruddock lacks support as the jostling begins in earnest to replace Bronwyn Bishop. Sources have told The Australian Financial Review that the position will be filled by a Liberal and that the party room, not the Prime Minster, will decide. Early frontrunners include Victorian MPs Tony ...

PM says Israel ‘condemns’ such violence, while the PA ‘names public squares after the murderers of children’ Speaking in the wake of a firebombing attack in the West Bank that left a Palestinian toddler dead, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday lashed out at Mahmoud Abbas, accusing the Palestinian Authority president of failing to condemn acts of Palestinian terrorism. Netanyahu, ...

The signs of a slowing job market in the UAE because of falling oil prices have started to appear. A report from the recruiting company Morgan McKinley yesterday showed that professional hirings fell by 1 per cent in the second quarter to 8,109 compared with 8,213 in the first three months of the year. “The oil price went back up ...

Jean Abboud, president of the Association of Travel and Tourism Agencies, denied claims that the trash crisis in Lebanon has discouraged tourists from coming to the country this summer. Speaking to the Central News Agency, Abboud said that contrary to these claims, there were solid bookings up to the month of September. “If that happens [cancellation of bookings], we would ...