As the sun rises over Arbil's historic bazaar, shopkeepers sweep their stoops and eagerly await the "istiftah" -- the first customer of the day, believed to be a good omen.

They were omnipresent on the streets of New York day and night, as emblematic of the Big Apple as the Empire State Building or Yankees caps. But the pandemic has made yellow taxis scarce and facing an uncertain future.

On a February morning in a parking lot near La Guardia Airport, a few dozen of the yellow cabs patiently queue in the freezing cold to catch a fare from one of the terminals.

As part of the Connecting Classrooms Global program, the British Council organized a virtual event to discuss how policy makers can identify the issues relating to health and well-being in schools, assess the needs for policy and practice and then apply their learning so that it meets the needs of their country school systems.

The family of Saudi activist Loujain al-Hathloul said Thursday U.S. President Joe Biden's election win helped secure her release after nearly three years' imprisonment, but cautioned she was still far from free.

A multi-faith memorial service for Lebanese activist Lokman Slim, who was killed last week, triggered a row Thursday after a Shiite cleric was attacked on social media for taking part.

In the garage where he sought shelter from bombs in his native Lebanon, Ara Malikian discovered the power of music.

Saudi authorities on Wednesday released prominent women's rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul, her siblings said, after nearly three years in detention.

Four people were arrested in Jerusalem after clashes between Israeli security forces and ultra-orthodox Jews opposed to coronavirus restrictions, the police said Wednesday.

Russian security services raided the homes of several Jehovah's Witnesses in Moscow on Wednesday, in an ongoing crackdown on the US-based religious movement.

Women in Kuwait are defying conservative norms and a culture of "shame" to speak out against harassment for the first time, in a social media campaign sparked by a popular fashion blogger.

Dozens of testimonies about being stalked, harassed or assaulted have emerged online, focused on the Instagram account "Lan Asket", Arabic for "I will not be silent".