The megaship which blocked Egypt's Suez Canal and crippled world trade for nearly a week has been "seized" on court orders until the vessel's owners pay $900 million, canal authorities said Tuesday.

Egypt has freed prominent dissident journalist and politician Khaled Dawoud after more than 18 months in detention, a fellow journalist and a lawyer said Tuesday. 

Dubai restaurants are no longer required to shield passersby from the sight of food during Ramadan fasting hours, according to authorities in the Gulf emirate, where the Muslim holy month began Tuesday.

The Syrian president on Tuesday dismissed central bank governor Hazem Karfoul whose three-year tenure coincided with a severe economic crisis.

Iran said Tuesday it will start enriching uranium up to 60 percent, state media reported, two days after an explosion it blamed on Israel damaged its enrichment plant in Natanz.

Japan will release more than a million tons of treated water from the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant into the ocean, the government said Tuesday, triggering a furious regional reaction and fierce opposition from local fishing communities.

A coalition of Lebanese civil society groups and parties called Tuesday for a unified electoral bloc to try to defeat traditional leaders in 2022 polls.

The joint appeal by 16 groups, including the National Bloc, Beirut Madinati and Mintishreen, marks the most concerted effort yet towards forming an opposition umbrella to take on the ruling elite in parliamentary elections scheduled for May 2022.

Florentino Perez has been re-elected unopposed as president of Real Madrid for a sixth term, the Spanish champions announced on Tuesday.

Asian and European stocks markets mostly rose Tuesday, as investors geared up for vital US inflation data and earnings, while bitcoin powered to a record peak on the eve of a key IPO.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Tuesday told Russia to end its "unjustified" military build-up around Ukraine as Kiev and Washington's top diplomats gathered for talks in Brussels.