BEIRUT, LEBANON —Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian expressed hope Friday during a visit to Lebanon that diplomatic ties between Tehran and Riyadh could be restored through dialogue between the two regional archrivals.Saudi Arabia cut ties with Iran in January 2016, after protesters attacked its embassy in Tehran and consulate in the second city Mashhad following Riyadh's execution of Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr.Amir-Abdollahian told a news conference in Beirut we are ready

Concerns linger over Twitter's stance on free expression and safety since Elon Musk took over the platform in a $44 billion deal.Since taking ownership in late October, Musk has instituted changes including dissolving an oversight review channel, laying off a large portion of the team focused on combating misinformation, and suspending the accounts of several U.S. journalists.Two media advocacy groups on Wednesday called on Musk to reverse course and implement policies to protect the right t

BISHKEK —A Kyrgyz blogger known for his critical reports of authorities has been detained after the Bishkek City Court canceled his three-year parole-like probation.Adilet Ali Myktybek, known on social media as Alibek Baltabai, was sentenced to five years in prison in November on a charge of calling for social unrest via the internet, allegations he has called politically motivated.The court ruled at the time that Myktybek would not have to serve his prison sentence immediately, but instead wou

The World Health Organization said Wednesday it is calling on China to provide more information about its surge in COVID-19 cases.“WHO still believes that deaths are heavily underreported from China, and this is in relation to the definitions that are used but also to the need for doctors and those reporting in the public health system to be encouraged to report these cases and not discouraged,” Michael Ryan, WHO’s emergencies director, told reporters.Ryan did praise China’s efforts to incre

BEIJING —China reported Saturday nearly 60,000 deaths in people who had COVID-19 since early December following complaints it was failing to release data, and said the “emergency peak of its latest surge appears to have passed.The toll included 5,503 deaths due to respiratory failure caused by COVID-19 and 54,435 fatalities from other ailments combined with COVID-19 since Dec. 8, the National Health Commission announced. It said those “deaths related to COVID” occurred in hospitals, which le

CAIRO —China’s chief diplomat was in Cairo Sunday for talks with Egyptian and Arab League officials, marking his last stop in a multi-leg trip to Africa that aims to consolidate Beijing's footprint across the resource-rich continent.Foreign Minister Qin Gang met separately with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi and Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul-Gheit. He also met with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry.In a joint news conference, Foreign Minister Shoukry said the tal