MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Indian government hopes to continue strengthening bilateral ties with Russia, Indian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on Saturday in response to the Russian Foreign Ministry's congratulations on Independence Day. Earlier in the day, the Russian Foreign Minis»»»

JERUSALEM: Israel wants new and more ambitious US-brokered talks with Lebanon after carrying out deadly strikes targeting Hezbollah, a spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday. The Israeli strikes against Hezbollah “should jumpstart the talks and make them much more serious,»»»

LONDON: Syrian security forces have arrested an Assad-era police officer who was convicted in an Austrian court for torturing opponents of the former president. Musab Abu Rukba was detained in southern Syria “as part of ongoing operations against people implicated in terrorism cases,” the state new»»»

CEUTA, Spain: Moroccan police ​arrested at least 111 people on Saturday as they tried to enter Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta, amid tightened security on both sides of the border after social media posts called for another mass migrant crossing. The attempted crossing came two weeks after m»»»

A cold front will sweep across Hungary on Monday, bringing scattered showers and thunderstorms as well as a significant drop in temperatures – although the eastern part of the country will have to wait until Tuesday for the cooler weather. After another hot and predominantly dry weekend, a noticeab»»»

A massive 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Indonesia just before 6 AM local time on Saturday, damaging buildings causing a tsunami. At least five people were killed, according to preliminary reports. The earthquake’s epicenter hit the seafloor around 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) north»»»

Tehran: Iranian authorities on Saturday called for the release of three pilots they say were captured in Qatar during the Middle East war. "Three Iranian pilots were captured alive by Qatari forces after their Su-24 fighter jets crashed during the war," said General Mohammad Bagherzadeh of the Iran»»»

ANKARA: A Turkish minibus taking a family to a wedding party overturned Saturday killing five people, including two children, and injuring 11, authorities said. The vehicle, transporting a family to a wedding in the southeastern city of Mus, was at Lice in Diyarbakir province when a tire burst and »»»

HUERTGENWALD, Germany: A wildfire in western Germany that forced the evacuation of thousands of people on Friday has stabilized, local authorities said on Saturday, although residents were still barred from returning home. More than 2,000 people were evacuated from the ‌village of Gey, ‌near the Be»»»

Israel wants new and more ambitious U.S.-brokered talks with Lebanon after carrying out deadly strikes targeting Hezbollah, a spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday. The Israeli strikes against Hezbollah "should jumpstart the talks and make them much more serious, not do t»»»

Rescuers evacuate a victim after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Maumere, East Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia, Saturday. At least 47 people are dead. Photo by BASARNAS Handout/EPA Aug. 15 (UPI) -- A powerful 7.7 magnitude earthquake that hit Indonesia early Saturday has killed 47 people so far, au»»»

A French family was rescued after drifting for more than 16 hours off the coast of the Thai island of Koh Samui, where their jet ski had capsized, a local official told AFP on Saturday. A French family spent more than 16 hours floating at sea after their jet ski capsized off Thailand's Koh Sam»»»

QUSRA, West Bank: Israeli settlers attacked municipal crews attempting to restore water and electricity to three besieged Palestinian homes in the West Bank village of Qusra on Saturday, while Israeli forces detained four workers, according to the village’s mayor, Abdul Azim Wadi. The crews were di»»»

LONDON: British ‌Prime Minister Andy Burnham said on Saturday the death of an academic — who was the University of Cambridge’s youngest ever Black professor but who resigned after accusations of plagiarism — was a tragedy that needed reflection. “It’s a tragedy on so many levels, but ‌particularly »»»

Abu Dhabi: Temperatures in the UAE climbed above 50°C on Saturday, with Sweihan in Al Ain recording 50.2°C at 2.30pm, the highest temperature registered across the country, according to the National Centre of Meteorology. The extreme heat comes just before a shift towards more unsettled conditions,»»»

Bogotá, Aug. 15 (SANA) Former Colombian President Gustavo Petro said Saturday that Colombians consider the occupied Syrian Golan to be Syrian territory, not Israeli territory. Petro said on X that Colombians, like most of the international community, consider the Golan to be Syrian territory rather»»»

The record-low water levels of the Danube are no longer simply an environmental or agricultural concern. A new regional analysis warns that the drought is putting energy security under growing pressure across Central and Eastern Europe – and highlights the need for countries along the river to tack»»»

Sharjah: A scientific research mission at sea was brought to an abrupt halt after a diver from another team went missing, prompting researchers and crew members to suspend their work and prepare to join an emergency search-and-rescue operation. The incident is documented in the second part of Echo »»»

Cambridge: UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham called for "reflection" Saturday after the death of Cambridge academic Jason Arday as his family denounced what they called years of harassment amid accusations of plagiarism. Arday, 41, was found dead Friday, just over a week after he quit as a Cambridge U»»»

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has described the UK as the “Islamic Republic of Britain,” as the country’s new Labour government weighs taking measures against Israel.Speaking on an Israeli Army Radio podcast on Friday, Netanyahu criticized the British media’s coverage of Israel, while c»»»

Secretary's SpeechLebanon PalestineZionist EntityRegional and International International More Video Language Ar En Fr EsSubscribe for Weekly Updates Subscribe Hezbollah: Israeli Occupation’s Continued Attacks on Lebanon Will Be Met With an Appropriate Response 15-08-2026 18:14 PM Hezbollah Stateme»»»

NIZI, Congo: Every day, community health worker Gédéon Banga Ngbape and his team fan out across communities in eastern Congo looking for people who may have crossed paths with the country’s fastest-growing Ebola outbreak in history. The workers investigate dozens of alerts, search for those exposed»»»

ADEN: Yemen’s military on Saturday promised a “tough response” after the Iran-backed Houthi militia fired six ballistic missiles at the western port city of Mokha on Friday, killing eight people. Armed forces spokesperson Col. Majed Al-Nazili said the military would not allow the Houthis to turn ci»»»

MILAN: Sicily’s Catania airport has restarted flights, ​it said on Saturday, after authorities downgraded to orange from red the aviation alert color ‌of Mount Etna’s ‌recent ​volcanic ‌activity. Ash ⁠from ​Etna’s eruptions ⁠have forced the Sicilian airport to cancel or reroute hundreds of flights »»»

BEIRUT: Hezbollah said that Israeli attacks on Lebanon would be met with an “appropriate” response after deadly strikes on the country’s south on Saturday, urging authorities to halt “humiliating” negotiations with Israel. Israel “must clearly understand that its attacks, violations and attempts to»»»

KYIV: A large-scale Ukrainian attack struck industrial infrastructure in Russia’s southwestern Samara region Saturday, a Russian official said. Ivan Noskov, head of the region’s capital, Samara, said air defense forces had repelled a “massive” missile attack, with “localized damage” to the city’s i»»»

Five people were shot at Virginia State University Saturday morning. One person is in critical condition. File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo Aug. 15 (UPI) -- Five people were injured by multiple shooters at Virginia State University in Ettrick, Va., early Saturday morning. Police respond»»»

Zambia resumed vote counting Friday after a nationwide suspension over alleged attacks on polling staff and stolen marked ballot papers. The halt came a day after presidential and parliamentary elections, with opposition leader Brian Mundubile already claiming victory. Sishuwa Sishuwa, Senior Lectu»»»

Chad’s President Mahamat Idriss Déby on Friday pardoned the jailed ex-prime minister and leader of Chad’s main opposition party Succès Masra, along with eight other party leaders. Masra had been serving a 20-year sentence, convicted of hate speech, xenophobia and inciting a massacre, in what Human »»»

LONDON: Liverpool’s double-header against Serie ‌A side Como on Sunday will be a good test ahead of the new Premier League season, manager Andoni Iraola said on Saturday. Liverpool, who lost pre-season fixtures against Leeds United and AS Monaco, will face Como twice on Sunday, with one match to be»»»

SYDNEY: Australia’s most populous state will start a gun buyback scheme in November, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Saturday, launching a reform promised after last year’s mass shooting at Bondi Beach. A father-and-son duo are accused of opening fire on a Jewish celebration in New South Wales»»»

Poland’s land market is accelerating as falling supply and rising demand push prices higher, especially for building plots. Nationwide supply has declined 13%, while demand has increased 7%. For building plots specifically, demand is up 21% and supply is down 11%. Warsaw and Kraków stand apart as p»»»

Poles are buying more fresh dairy products, with natural yogurt showing particularly strong growth. In the first half of 2026, fresh dairy sales increased 4.1% by volume and 7% by value, according to NielsenIQ. Natural yogurt sales rose much faster, up 12.7% by volume and 18.3% by value, while drin»»»

Poland is temporarily cutting VAT on gasoline and diesel to 8% from August 17 to 31 under the revived Ceny Paliwa Niżej fuel-price package. Energy Minister Miłosz Motyka said supplies will remain secure and there are no plans to release strategic reserves. Maximum prices from Monday are set at PLN »»»

Tensions around the Strait of Hormuz remained elevated today, with Iran declaring it alone will control the strategic waterway and the UAE condemning an attack on a vessel linked to state oil company ADNOC. The US-Iran conflict has already disrupted some UAE flights to Bahrain and Kuwait, with airl»»»

Ukraine ⁠struck industrial infrastructure ​in Russia's ​Samara region on Saturday, local authorities said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed the attack, saying a rocket plant and air base were hit.  A large-scale Ukrainian attack struck industrial infrastructure in Russia’s sout»»»

MADRID: Spain’s cherished tourist hotspot of Granada was in shock on Saturday after a rare 5.0-magnitude earthquake woke residents in the middle of the night and damaged buildings in the southern city. The tremor took place shortly after 1:00 am (2300 GMT Friday) with its epicenter in the town of A»»»

LONDON: Afghanistan’s women are “fighting alone” against discrimination by the Taliban authorities and feel abandoned by the world, Afghan journalist Zahra Joya told AFP. “I lost everything in my country five years ago,” she said in an interview in London. The founder in 2020 of Rukhshana Media — a»»»

RIYADH: Five falcons were sold for a total of SR348,000 ($93,000) on the sixth night of this year’s International Falcon Breeders Auction, organized by the National Center for Falcons in Malham, north of Riyadh. The auction, which brings together leading falcon breeding farms from around the world,»»»

Oil pollution is affecting ​about 12 kilometers of coastline near Oman’s Ras Madraka, while Masirah ‌Island, a major wildlife sanctuary remains ‌unaffected, ​state ‌news ⁠agency ​ONA said on ⁠Saturday. The agency said efforts to tackle a spill ⁠from a leaking tanker ‌have ‌made ​progress. Oil ‌bega»»»

Hezbollah said that Israeli attacks on Lebanon would be met with an "appropriate" response after deadly strikes on the country's south on Saturday, urging authorities to halt "humiliating" negotiations with Israel. Israel "must clearly understand that its attacks, violations and attempts to impose »»»

Erste analyst Piotr Bogusz has upgraded Żabka shares from “sell” to “hold” and raised his target price from PLN 19.60 to PLN 34 following Couche-Tard’s takeover offer. The Canadian owner of Circle K plans to offer PLN 32 per share and has secured agreements to acquire 57.25% of Żabka from major sha»»»

A 1992 World Bank forecast projected that Poland’s population would reach about 44.1 mln by 2025, far above today’s estimates. Even an alternative measure based on administrative “signs of life” puts the 2025 population at about 38.8 mln. The forecast largely missed the sharp decline in fertility a»»»

NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday that India’s decades-long Maoist insurgency was nearing its end but warned that the country now faced a new battle against what he called “dimagi Naxals,” or people who align with the movement’s ideology. In his address to the nation o»»»

Maumere: Rescuers combed through debris for survivors on Saturday after a powerful earthquake struck off Indonesia's eastern Flores island, killing at least 40 people, according to a disaster official. A second strong quake was recorded thousands of kilometres away on Sumatra island in the west of »»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Romania, amid a protracted political crisis, has submitted a request to the European Commission for $3.29 billion from the EU recovery fund, interim European Funds Minister Dragos Pislaru said on Saturday. Romania's government is resigned, and parliament is on recess until the en»»»

Palestinians in the occupied West Bank village of Qusra have huddled inside their homes for days on end, unable to leave because of the threat posed by Israeli settlers. The Israeli military, which over the past three years has displayed staggering military and intelligence capabilities from Beirut»»»

UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham said Saturday the death of Jason Arday was "a tragedy on so many levels". Cambridge's youngest ever Black professor, who resigned from the university last week following a high-profile plagiarism scandal that raised claims of racism, was found dead Friday. B»»»

A wildfire fanned by strong, shifting winds swept overnight from the village of Lokva Rogoznica into the Croatian coastal town of Omiš, a popular summer tourist destination in the southern Dalmatia region, destroying houses, cars and boats, injuring at least 36 people and forcing the evacuation of »»»

The Taliban-appointed mayor of Faizabad in northeastern Afghanistan was on August 13 assassinated by the National Resistance Front (NRF), according to the insurgent group. Habibur Rahman Mansur was killed in a targeted operation aimed at a vehicle carrying the mayor around 100 metres from the gover»»»