Suhail Akram | The National

Catholic devotees pray during mass outside Quiapo Church to celebrate the Feast of the Black Nazarene in Manila on January 9, 2023. (Photo by JAM STA ROSA / AFP)

Thousands in Manila attend mass to mark 'Black Nazarene' feast amid Covid concerns

In pre-Covid years, millions of Catholic devotees would join the mass

WorldJanuary 09, 2023

SHARJAH, 8th January, 2023 (WAM) -- Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, visited the wheat farm in the Mleiha area on Sunday. H.H. Dr. Sheikh Sultan inspected the wheat plant, cultivated last November on an area of 400 hectares, as a first stage for the farm along with all operations related to the follow-up of the cultivation of the wheat crop, including irrigation, cleaning, and other procedures. Wam

Sharjah ruler visits wheat farm spread over 400 hectares

Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi visited the farm in Mleiha on Sunday

UAEJanuary 08, 2023

People demonstrate against the right-wing government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in Habima Square in Tel Aviv, Israel, January 7, 2023. REUTERS / Amir Cohen

Thousands protest against Israeli government plan to reform judiciary

Yariv Levin, justice minister in the new Benjamin Netanyahu government, announced the proposal on Wednesday

MENAJanuary 08, 2023

Rare scenes in Makkah as mountains turn green after recent rains

Rain and flooding have forced people to stay indoors in several parts of western Saudi Arabia

Saudi ArabiaJanuary 08, 2023

FILE - Cristiano Ronaldo, warms up during his first training after the official unveiling as a new member of Al Nassr soccer club in in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Jan. 3, 2023. Ronaldo is not the first soccer superstar to head off to one of the world’s supposed minor leagues in the latter years of his career. Many of soccer's biggest names like Pelé, Johan Cruyff, Zico, Xavi Hernandez and now the 37-year-old Ronaldo at Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr have found themselves prolonging their careers at unlikely soccer outposts usually for vast amounts of money. (AP Photo / Amr Nabil, File)

Ronaldo says joining Al Nassr is being part of the new generation

Portuguese serving two-match ban as he waits to make his debut for Saudi club

WorldJanuary 08, 2023

Rahul Gandhi, leader of India's opposition Congress party, centre in white T-shirt, walks with his supporters during a march, in New Delhi, India, Saturday, Dec. 24, 2022. Rahul Gandhi, leader of India's beleaguered opposition Congress party, on Saturday marched in New Delhi along with his supporters, part of his five-month-long 3,570km (2,218-mile) countrywide trek through 12 states that began 105 days ago. (AP Photo / Altaf Qadri)

Why is India’s Rahul Gandhi marching across the country?

The scion of the country's main opposition Indian National Congress has covered more than 3,000 kilometers so far, meeting voters before the 2024 election

WorldJanuary 05, 2023

People walk outside shops at the Atrium Mall in Karachi, Pakistan, January 3, 2023. REUTERS / Akhtar Soomro

Pakistan to shut malls and markets early to save energy

The move has angered many and traders say they will resist if told to shut shops and businesses

WorldJanuary 04, 2023

In this photo made with a slow shutter speed, a vehicle passes under a billboard showing Cristiano Ronaldo with Arabic wording which reads, Welcome Ronaldo, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, late Monday, Jan 2, 2023. Ronaldo completed a lucrative move to Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr on Friday in a deal that is a landmark moment for Middle Eastern soccer but will see one of Europe's biggest stars disappear from the sport's elite stage. (AP Photo / Amr Nabil)

What do we know about Ronaldo's new club Al Nassr

Five-time Ballon d'Or winner to undergo medical and complete formalities of free transfer to Riyadh club on Tuesday

WorldJanuary 03, 2023

Rescuers look down into the site of where a 10-year-old boy is thought to be trapped in a 35-metre deep shaft at a bridge construction area in Vietnam's Dong Thap province on January 2, 2023. - Hundreds of rescuers in Vietnam battled January 2 to free a 10-year-old boy who fell into a 35-metre deep hole on a construction site two days ago. (Photo by AFP)

Vietnam rescuers race to rescue boy from 35-metre hole

The 10-year-old was heard crying for help after he fell into the hole at a building site on Saturday

WorldJanuary 02, 2023

Brazil's new President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva delivers a speech next to his wife First Lady Rosangela "Janja" da Silva (L) at the stage of the music concert Festival do Futuro as part of his inauguration ceremony in Brasilia on January 1, 2023. - Lula da Silva, a 77-year-old leftist who already served as president of Brazil from 2003 to 2010, takes office for the third time with a grand inauguration in Brasilia. (Photo by CAIO GUATELLI / AFP)

Lula sworn in as Brazil's President for a third term

The inauguration has capped a remarkable political comeback for the veteran politician

WorldJanuary 02, 2023

Faithful gather while Pope Francis recites the Angelus prayer from the window of his office overlooking St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, 01 January 2023. EPA / FABIO FRUSTACI

Pope Francis remembers Benedict XVI during New Year's Eve service

Pope Benedict XVI, who died on Saturday, will be buried on Thursday

WorldJanuary 01, 2023

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy poses after an interview with Reuters in Kyiv, Ukraine, March 1, 2022. REUTERS/Umit Bektas TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

'I want to wish all of us one thing: victory,' Zelenskyy says in New Year address

Ukrainian President wants 2023 to be the year that his nation's citizens can return home

WorldJanuary 01, 2023

People enjoy fireworks during New Year celebrations, at the Copacabana beach, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, January 1, 2023. REUTERS/Aline Massuca NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVE

Watch New Year fireworks across major cities of the world

Many countries are celebrating for the first time since 2019 following the end of coronavirus restrictions

WorldJanuary 01, 2023

A general view of fireworks exploding during New Year celebrations, over Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates January 1, 2023. Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES

Watch Ras Al Khaimah's record-breaking New Year fireworks

The show featured pyro drones, nano lights, colours and shapes along the 4.7km long waterfront between Al Marjan Island and Al Hamra Village

UAEJanuary 01, 2023

People gather in front of the Grand Diamond City hotel-casino, as Thai and Cambodian rescuers struggle to extricate dozens of people feared trapped after a fire broke, killing at least 10 and injuring dozens in Poipet near Thailand border, Cambodia, December 29, 2022. REUTERS / Athit Perawongmetha

11 dead in Cambodia hotel casino fire

Inferno leaves 30 injured as harrowing video footage shows people jumping from burning building to escape the flames

WorldDecember 29, 2022