As a historian who also happens to be German, that was my spontaneous reaction to Ursula von der Leyen’s annual grand – and always grandiloquent – “state of the union” address to the European Parliament in Strasbourg. It’s not really a “union,” of course, and not really a “parliament,” either: tech»»»

The “Russophobic” new sanctions bill empowering US President Donald Trump to impose steep tariffs on buyers of Russian energy will lead to ever-higher prices at the pumps for Americans, the Russian Embassy in Washington has warned. The legislation was championed by the late Senator Lindsey Graham, »»»

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has suggested that he is returning to public life, following a hiatus after his release from British custody in 2024. The transparency activist spent five years behind bars while fighting a US extradition request that could have resulted in a lengthy sentence in a h»»»

Jakarta: The death toll from a Java Sea shipwreck has risen to nine after Indonesian Navy search and rescue teams recovered three additional bodies from the sunken vessel on Friday. Indonesian Navy spokesperson First Admiral Tunggul said naval divers entered the sunken vessel and found the bodies o»»»

The Agriculture and Food Ministry called for an objective account of the allocation of State fuel aid, without political distortion ahead of the elections. The ministry sent an official position to BTA in response to comments by political leaders on the government's fuel aid package, aimed at suppo»»»

Bangkok: Thailand will scale up its residential solar power initiative to a capacity of 10 gigawatts, purchasing excess electricity from participants at 2.20 baht ($0.07) per kilowatt-hour through 20-year agreements, a government official announced Friday. The National Energy Policy Council raised »»»

HUTA, Ukraine - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Ukrainian mountain village of Huta on Friday. Earlier in the day, Vucic attended a Carpathian Initiative summit hosted by Zelenskyy in Huta. Vucic: I had very important, substantial discussion»»»

Eligible babies born in government-run hospitals will receive a one-gram gold ring Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay will launch the state’s one-gram gold ring scheme for newborns on September 28, with 1.28 lakh rings procured for the first phase of the programme, the state government said o»»»

UAE denounces deadly Philippines school attack, urges rejection of extremism Abu Dhabi: The United Arab Emirates has strongly condemned the shooting at a school in South Cotabato province in the Republic of the Philippines, which resulted in a number of deaths and injuries. In a statement, the Mini»»»

Lebanon, through its negotiating delegation, is currently considering incorporating the Ali al-Taher hills and surrounding towns into an expansion of the first pilot zone, a Western diplomatic source told Asharq al-Awsat newspaper. The proposal entails establishing an international observation post»»»

Carrier won a first-of-its-kind award for onboard Wi-Fi, while keeping its 5-star rating Dubai: Qatar Airways picked up four titles at the Skytrax World Airline Awards 2026, including a first-of-its-kind award for onboard Wi-Fi, while holding onto its 5-star airline rating. The carrier won World's »»»

292 villas from Dh8.5m go on sale September 26, with 45 on the waterway Aldar has launched Yas Riva Reserve, a gated villa community on the northeast waterfront of Yas Island, adding to a growing string of low-rise developments the company has rolled out across the destination in recent years. The »»»

Part of Bucharest Design Festival’s Professional Format, the exhibition FRANCO RAGGI. Nomadic Digressions on Design, presented by Francesca Molteni together with Muse Factory of Projects and Franco Raggi, in collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institute in Bucharest, aimed to highlight design c»»»

The disposal marks the Group’s exit from the Baltic region and releases capital for redeployment into high-growth markets in CEE where NEPI Rockcastle holds leading position as well as the expansion into the newly entered Spanish market. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions an»»»

The transition to digital communication has fundamentally transformed the way in which companies conduct their business. Commercial discussions, negotiations and information exchange are increasingly taking place via electronic means of remote communication. Authors: Cătălin Suliman (partner), Bian»»»

The Council of Ministers hosted a press conference dedicated to corruption in Bulgaria. Several key figures from the cabinet spoke at the event on Friday. Prime Minister Rumen Radev reported that as part of a comprehensive anti-corruption drive, high-profile and potentially flawed public procuremen»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russian President Vladimir Putin voted in the State Duma elections in an online format on Friday. The head of state chose the electronic voting format for the sixth time and voted from his office in the Kremlin.Elections to the ninth State Duma, Russia’s lower house of parliament»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russia is not seeking to replace the Arctic Council with other platforms regardless of widespread phobias in the West, Vladislav Maslennikov, the chief of the Department of European Issues at the Russian Foreign Ministry, said on Friday. "I would like to note here that, despite t»»»

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - US-based artificial intelligence company Anthropic has quietly launched a biological laboratory as part of its efforts to apply AI in the pharmaceutical sector, media reported on Friday, citing sources. The company has built a laboratory for physical experiments in the San Fr»»»

Under the new partnership, Karpaten Turism customers can access financing for periods ranging from 4 to 60 months, depending on the purchase value and applicable terms. For amounts of up to RON 4,000, the cost can be split into 4 equal instalments, offering greater flexibility in budget planning an»»»

Al-Manar’s correspondent reported that a hostile force advanced before noon today toward the outskirts of the town of Deir Mimas, near a newly established position set up by the Lebanese Army at the town’s edge. The Lebanese Army sent reinforcements from its position in Bourj El Mlouk toward the ne»»»

London, UK: Qatar Airways has capped a successful Skytrax World Airline Awards 2026, winning four titles and retaining its 5-Star Airline rating. The four World Airline Awards presented to Qatar Airways were: World's Best Business Class (the thirteenth time to receive this award) Best Airline in th»»»

Hungary’s government says it will terminate the country’s 35-year motorway concession, launch criminal complaints and seek to return the operation of much of the motorway network to the state. The government argues that the contract is legally questionable and places excessive financial risks on ta»»»

HUTA - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Friday that, during a Carpathian Initiative summit in Huta, Ukraine, he had had important, good and substantial discussions with representatives of the countries of the initiative. "We discussed attracting foreign businesspeople and foreign innovati»»»

Johar will host the sixth Earthshot Prize Awards Night in Mumbai on November 17, 2026 Bollywood filmmaker and television host Karan Johar is set to make history as the first Indian to host The Earthshot Prize Awards Night when the prestigious environmental ceremony comes to Mumbai in November. Foun»»»

MP Hussein al-Hajj Hassan of Hezbollah on Friday warned against betting on “the weakness of Hezbollah and the Resistance.” “We would rather die than bow," he announced. He added that Hezbollah is counting on Iran’s confrontation against the U.S. in the region. “The equation of 'oil for oil' and 'ba»»»

Cadets will train in Europe and the US before progressing towards flydubai flight decks Dubai: flydubai is expanding the training pipeline for its future pilots through new partnerships with Egnatia Aviation and Skyborne Airline Academy, giving cadets a route from initial training towards becoming »»»

At a news conference at the Council of Ministers on Friday, the government unveiled a package of measures worth more than EUR 300 million to tackle high fuel prices. The measures include a one-off payment of EUR 50 for low-income individuals and families living below the poverty line, waiving excis»»»

The Education Ministry is proposing a package of measures to improve school discipline through earlier intervention, stronger individual support and a system of incentives and sanctions, Deputy Education Minister Tanya Pancheva told a news conference at the Ministry on Friday. The proposed model se»»»

Cash flow, governance and funding become harder to manage as SMEs expand Small and medium-sized enterprises play an important role in economic growth, employment and innovation. Across the UAE and the wider Middle East, many SMEs have been built by entrepreneurs who identified an opportunity, under»»»

Japan's central bank on Friday raised the benchmark interest rate to 1.25% from 1.0%, a 31-year-high. The Bank of Japan has been trying to normalize monetary policy after decades of keeping interest rates near or below zero to try to encourage more borrowing and spending to counter deflation and pu»»»

In an essay posted on 12 September, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei called on the AI industry to “pace the frontier” of artificial intelligence, arguing that it should deliberately slow down how quickly the most advanced AI systems become more capable. Within hours, Sam Altman, OpenAI’s CEO, said he wou»»»

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva signed a decree on Thursday increasing benefits under his flagship welfare program by 15%, weeks before the first round of the presidential elections. The minimum monthly benefit per family of Bolsa Familia, or Family Grant, will rise to 691 reais ($134»»»

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama has concluded a meeting with government ministers and political leaders of the Socialist Party after more than two hours of discussions in Tirana. The meeting, which began in the morning, was held at the “Red Villa” and focused on two documents known as “Besa” and “»»»

Sheikh Khaled chairs first council meeting to use agentic AI to analyse proposals Abu Dhabi: Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council, has chaired the council’s meeting, where an agentic AI platform was used for the fir»»»

PRAGUE: Prime Minister of the Czech Republic HE Andrej Babis has met with Ambassador of the State of Qatar to the Czech Republic HE Nasser bin Ibrahim Al Lenqawi. The meeting discussed relations between the two countries.»»»

Tunis, Sept. 18 (TAP) – Thunderstorms and locally heavy rain are expected Friday afternoon in the northwest and the midland, gradually spreading east, according to the National Institute of Meteorology (INM).Rain will affect the southwestern regions...»»»

Secretary's SpeechLebanon PalestineZionist EntityRegional and International International More Video Language Ar En Fr EsSubscribe for Weekly Updates Subscribe Aoun, Salam Review South Lebanon Developments, Paris Talks and Upcoming UN Meetings 18-09-2026 15:12 PM President Joseph Aoun received Prim»»»

An exhibition featuring the winners of the 2025 Andrei Stenin International Photojournalism Contest has opened in Tehran, the Iranian capital, with the support of the Mehr media group. The "House of Photographers" gallery, located within the Howzeh Honari art complex, is hosting this exhibition of »»»

The deadly collapse of a multistory building in Gaza has drawn new attention to the hardships facing Palestinians there nearly a year after a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas promised to kickstart reconstruction. But as talks faltered, plans for rebuilding stalled. Israel bars entry of almost all»»»

It's been a week since Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels stormed down the Red Sea coast, extending their reach to a key maritime chokepoint and threatening Saudi Arabia's oil exports. The Houthis' biggest land grab in years reignited Yemen's 12-year civil war and pushed up global fuel prices. It al»»»

Secretary's SpeechLebanon PalestineZionist EntityRegional and International International More Video Language Ar En Fr EsSubscribe for Weekly Updates Subscribe From Archive: Ayatollah Sayyed Mojataba Khamenei Visits Pager Attacks Victims 18-09-2026 15:19 PM Ayatollah Sayyed Mojtaba Khamenei visitin»»»

E-commerce and B2B model connects Korean cosmetics to UAE’s diverse market UAE-based Bellavest is developing a business model connecting South Korean cosmetics brands and manufacturers with consumers and businesses in the UAE, with the wider GCC and India forming part of its broader market strategy»»»

Airline says Dubai schedule could change depending on developments in the Middle East Dubai: Air Astana will resume scheduled flights to Dubai from its two main hubs in Kazakhstan in early October, restoring services that have been suspended since July because of regional security concerns. Flights»»»

Victims were suspects’ mother, two sisters and two brothers, whose bodies found in well Dubai: Two brothers have been arrested after five members of their family, including their mother, two sisters and two brothers, were found dead in a deep well in Tehran, with reports citing financial disputes a»»»

The implementation period for the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), the support programme created by the European Union (EU) for member states in response to the crisis caused by the Covid pandemic, has come to an end. Romania has so far received around EUR 13 billion of its revised EUR»»»

The US has made major progress in negotiations to establish a military base in Poland, President Donald Trump has announced. His remarks came as Russia warned that it would retaliate if the territory of Poland or the Baltic states were used for a NATO attack against the country. Poland, which borde»»»

The Council of Ministers hosted a press conference dedicated to corruption in Bulgaria. Several key figures from the cabinet spoke at the event on Friday. Prime Minister Rumen Radev reported that as part of a comprehensive anti-corruption drive, high-profile and potentially flawed public procuremen»»»

Democratic Bulgaria Co-chair and MP Ivaylo Mirchev said Friday that the Security Council at the Council of Ministers had been called to prevent a Consultative Council for National Security (CCNS) meeting with the President. He said the threats facing Bulgaria were clear and had already been identif»»»

Networking, expert insights and flexible study options for career-focused professionals For graduates and professionals ready for their next career step, advanced degrees and specialised qualifications can build the skills to progress, switch fields or take on leadership roles. Gulf News LevelUP br»»»