The IMF has begun "preparatory" talks with Lebanon on a new aid package after receiving an official request from Beirut, an IMF spokesman said Thursday.

Two major delivery companies have canceled or drastically scaled back their services between Saudi Arabia and Lebanon, employees said on Wednesday, following a major diplomatic row between the two countries.

DHL has stopped inbound and outbound shipments between the two countries, a company employee, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told AFP.

Australia leaking French President Emmanuel Macron's text messages to the media was a "new low" and a warning to other world leaders that their private communications with the Australian government could be weaponized and used against them, the French ambassador said on Wednesday.

French Ambassador to Australia Jean-Pierre Thebault used an address to Australia's National Press Club to make a withering attack on Canberra's surprise decision to scrap a 90 billion Australian dollar ($66 billion) contract with France to build a fleet of 12 diesel-electric submarines.

China and Russia are urging the U.N. Security Council to end a host of sanctions against North Korea ranging from the export of seafood and textiles to the cap on imports of refined petroleum products and the ban on its citizens working overseas and sending home their earnings.

A draft resolution circulated to council members and obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press stresses the economic difficulties in North Korea and says these and other sanctions should be lifted "with the intent of enhancing the livelihood of the civilian population."

The king and queen of the Netherlands visited a strawberry farm Wednesday as part of a tour of the United Arab Emirates, which will see the royals also stop by Dubai's Expo 2020.

King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima visited a strawberry farm in the deserts of Abu Dhabi near the city of Sweihan. While there, they toured the facility, walking among the rows of strawberries growing inside the facility.

Over five days abroad at two global summits, President Joe Biden showed a new willingness to openly confront China over climate change and its lack of leadership on the global stage.

Biden ended his time at the U.N. climate summit in Scotland on Tuesday by chastising Chinese President Xi Jinping for physically skipping the event and failing to make the level of commitments that roughly 100 other nations did to curb greenhouse gasses. Xi also avoided the earlier Group of 20 summit in Rome, allowing Biden to dominate the conversation as he met with his French, Italian, British and German counterparts.

Upon arrival at Dubai's international airport, travelers can pick up a free guide to the city's top attractions and events. Curiously, the cover of this month's "Time Out-DXB" beckons visitors to Saudi Arabia. Emblazoned with an image of the kingdom's ancient Diriyah fort near the Saudi capital, it reads: "Welcome to Arabia. A Journey You've Never Imagined".

The landlocked, once ultraconservative capital of Riyadh is pitching itself as a city of concerts, movie theaters, world class sporting events and deal-making; a city where revamped cultural heritage sites wait to be discovered, distinguishing Saudi Arabia from other Gulf Arab capitals defined by sprawling malls and high-rise hotels.

While pandemic style saw people put on pajamas and their hair up in a bun, 2021 is more about mascara and lip liners — and makeup sales in the multi-billion-dollar Mideast market are beginning to improve.

For women in the region — and particularly the Gulf Arab states — makeup is one of their biggest spends, offering an opportunity for expression even to those who cover their hair and part of their face with black veils.

Around 2,500 Amazon employees at seven sites across Germany were on strike Tuesday and unions warned stoppages could continue up to Christmas.

The world's largest oil company, Saudi Aramco, has reported $30.4 billion in third-quarter net income, bolstered by a surge in oil prices and recovery in demand as the coronavirus pandemic eases.

Saudi Arabia's majority state-owned oil giant Aramco, formally known as the Saudi Arabian Oil Co., said its net income more than doubled from $11.8 billion during the same three-month period a year earlier. Last year's figure came after profits plunged dramatically as global lockdowns slammed oil prices. Net income refers to the amount left after taxes and preferred dividends have been paid.