World

World Cup host Qatar has scrapped a requirement for visitors to obtain a negative COVID-19 test before departing for the Gulf Arab state, its health ministry said in a statement on Wednesday. Previously, Qatar had told fans attending the World Cup they must show proof of a negative COVID-19 test regardless of their vaccination status, before departing by air or …

CNN  —  World Cup host Qatar has praised the Australian men’s national team for their efforts to raise awareness on “important matters” and said that “no country is perfect,” a spokesperson for Qatar’s Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy said on Friday. In a video message produced by Professional Footballers Australia (PFA) and released Wednesday, 16 Socceroos called on Qatar …

The aging brick campus of the Sharif University of Technology, Iran’s elite technical school, has long been a magnet for the nation’s brightest minds, with a record of elevating its students to the highest reaches of society. Thousands of Sharif University alumni power Iran’s most sensitive industries, including nuclear energy and aerospace. One of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s closest …

Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saw “eye to eye” with President Donald Trump while he had a great “divergence” with President Barack Obama, he told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview. In his new memoir, “Bibi: My Story,” Netanyahu discusses many aspects of his personal and professional life, including his various relationships with presidents: he first held the …

Climate activists targeted Johannes Vermeer’s masterpiece “Girl with a Pearl Earring” with glue and liquid on Thursday but one of the world’s most iconic paintings was not damaged in the latest of such publicity-seeking stunts. A video posted on Twitter showed one man pouring a can of red substance over another protester who appeared to attempt to glue his head …

The Canadian government said Wednesday that France has denied an extradition request for Johannes Rivoire, a former priest accused of crimes against children in the northern territory of Nunavut. The Public Prosecution Service of Canada made the extradition request for Rivoire, who was in Canada from the early 1960s until 1993 but now lives in France. Rivoire, who has denied …

A close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin and CEO of state-owned oil company Rosneft, Igor Sechin, claimed on Thursday during an international convention that Taiwan was “on schedule” to be returned to China.  Speaking at an international economic forum in Azerbaijan, Sechin said Chinese President Xi Jinping’s ability to secure a historic third term would enable Beijing to accomplish top …

Mexico’s Senate approved a bill Wednesday to eliminate daylight saving time, putting an end to the practice of changing clocks twice a year. Some cities and towns along the U.S. border can retain daylight saving time, presumably because they are so linked to U.S. cities. The Senate approved the measure on a 59-25 vote, with 12 abstentions. Those who opposed …

Protests against the Iranian regime continue to punctuate forty days after the theocratic state’s notorious morality police allegedly murdered 22-year-old Mahsa Amini for failing to properly cover her hair with a hijab. The end of the forty-day Iranian mourning period for the Iranian Kurd Amini on Wednesday coincided with massive protests in Amini’s hometown of Saqqez and at her grave …

France and Germany face a difficult path as the two leaders appear to remain at odds ahead of a crucial meeting as Europe faces tough choices on China and a looming energy crisis.  German Chancellor Olaf Scholz traveled to Paris on Wednesday with a press corps, intent on a sit-down meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, but Macron’s camp said …