RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s overall unemployment rate fell to 3 percent in the second quarter of the year, an annual drop of 0.2 percentage points as the economy pushes ahead with diversification and job creation. The rate, which covers Saudis and non-Saudis, also represented a 0.1 percentage point fall»»»

Two former ministers from Viktor Orbán’s governments have been caught up in a major corruption investigation, with one ordered into pre-trial detention and prosecutors seeking the detention of another. The cases involving former national development minister Miklós Seszták and former culture minist»»»

Hamas and the allied Islamic Jihad group have agreed to form an unlikely electoral coalition with a former top Fatah official who has close ties to the United Arab Emirates, Israel's closest ally in the Middle East, Palestinian officials told The Associated Press. The alliance could be well positio»»»

The heads of six top US-based AI companies signed a pledge at the White House on Tuesday to introduce stronger controls to ensure that their technology does not go rogue. The document, titled the White House Accord on Super Intelligence – Joint Commitment on Frontier Responsibilities, was signed by»»»

Sputnik brings you a live broadcast from Moscow, Russia where Russian President Vladimir Putin is addressing Russian State Duma deputies following elections. Russian State Duma elections were held on on September 18-20, with Russian authorities noting unfriendly nations tried intervening into the e»»»

First female lawyer from Hazara community honoured for defending minorities Dubai: Pakistani human rights lawyer Jalila Haider, who has spent more than a decade defending some of the country’s most vulnerable communities despite death threats has won the 2026 Right Livelihood Award, widely known as»»»

DUBAI: A pilot suffered multiple stab wounds in a midair fight with a colleague onboard a FlyDubai aircraft enroute from Dubai to Tel Aviv on Wednesday, Israeli media have reported. Airport authorities quoted by AFP that the pilots had been injured and hospitalized. Flight FZ1073 transmitted sqawk »»»

The 2026 Abu Dhabi Championship will be held from November 5–8 at Yas Links Dubai: Rory McIlroy will return to the UAE this year after confirming his participation in the Abu Dhabi Championship, with the six-time Major champion targeting a first victory at Yas Links. The reigning Masters champion a»»»

Five young men from London who were caught near a British airbase heavily used by the US in its war against Iran have triggered a media frenzy across the London establishment's mainstream media. The so-called “Fairford incident” lit up the British deep state media echo chamber. However, what was in»»»

Crew of oil tanker M/T Eureka to return home after diplomatic efforts secure release Dubai: Eight Egyptian seafarers held captive aboard the oil tanker M/T Eureka for several months have been freed off Somalia’s Puntland region following intensive diplomatic efforts to secure their release, Egypt’s»»»

Lőrinc Mészáros and his family remain by far the wealthiest Hungarians, with an estimated fortune of HUF 1,785.7 billion (EUR 4.87 billion), according to the Forbes Hungary 2026 rich list. This year’s ranking is the magazine’s first to feature the 100 richest Hungarians rather than 50, and is publi»»»

DUBAI: A pilot suffered multiple stab wounds in a midair fight with a colleague onboard a FlyDubai aircraft enroute from Dubai to Tel Aviv, Israeli media have reported. Flight FZ1073 transmitted sqawk code 7700, indicating an emergency state at about 9am local time, prompting security systems to go»»»

After Iceland voted down EU membership in an August referendum, Montenegro regained its status as the most-likely 28th member state of the bloc. Its government plans to close negotiations on all the chapters of the accession agreement by the end of the year and enter the Union in 2028 – a challenge»»»

Doha, Qatar: QatarEnergy has announced the fuel prices for October 2026. According to the announcement, the prices of Super-grade petrol and diesel will remain unchanged. The price of Premium-grade petrol has decreased from QR2 per litre to QR1.95 per litre for the coming month. Meanwhile, the Supe»»»

The prosecution formally served former environment and water minister Borislav Sandov with an indictment in connection with the Petrohan case. Sandov’s lawyer, Alexander Kashumov, told the media that although they considered the summons procedurally irregular, they had agreed to proceed with the ch»»»

Future Food Forum: 750 CEOs gather as UAE food sector rethinks planning and supply Dubai: With global shocks a constant threat, UAE food businesses are being encouraged to plan over months rather than years. The message came at the eighth Future Food Forum, a two-day event at Le Meridien Dubai that»»»

RIYADH: The Islamic Development Bank approved $938 million in development financing for projects covering energy, agriculture, and health across six member countries. Transport and water and sanitation developments will also benefit from the funding, which was signed off at a meeting of the IsDB Bo»»»

Budapest’s Semmelweis University has climbed to 247th place in the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2027, making it the highest-ranked university in Hungary and Central and Eastern Europe. Semmelweis University has made a major leap in the latest Times Higher Education (THE) g»»»

No single topic dominates Wednesday’s print media. The top news in online media and TV morning shows is that a businessman has been shot dead in Plovdiv (South Central Bulgaria), as well as that Greece will return the remains of Bulgaria's Tsar Samuel to Sofia. HOME AFFAIRS Segabg.com reports that »»»

BusinessUnited States of America'Super Intelligence': Is Trump right to rename AI?Nik MartinDonald Trump thinks the name artificial intelligence sounds "fake" and has ordered US agencies to use "Super Intelligence" instead. Yet, tech firms and researchers have little reason to play along. https://p»»»

Damascus, Sept. 30 (SANA) The price of 21-karat gold in the Syrian market rose by SYP 50 per gram Wednesday from the previous day, according to a bulletin issued by the General Authority for Precious Metals Management. The authority set the selling price of 21-karat gold at SYP 16,300 ($133.61) per»»»

At European level, 48% of the banks included in the study focus their AI investments on operational efficiency or staff productivity, whilst 30% cite customer experience or fraud prevention as the main driver of investment. The area in which the technology is applied influences the results achieved»»»

Iran’s meme followed Abbas Araghchi’s meeting with UN chief Antonio Guterres Iran has used a popular Bollywood character to take a swipe at the United Nations, with the Iranian Embassy in India sharing a meme comparing the world body to two very different fictional characters. The embassy posted th»»»

One took the train while the other drove. The train arrived about four minutes earlier. Abu Dhabi: Same start point. Same end destination. Two ways to get there. Two friends set out from Dubai to Abu Dhabi to put Etihad Rail's new passenger service to the test. Dmitrii Mednikov took the car, and hi»»»

October rates reflect global oil shock, but UAE petrol remains below many major markets Dubai: UAE residents filling a typical 60-litre fuel tank will pay up to Dh124.80 more than they did in February, after October fuel prices rose sharply as elevated international energy costs fed through to the »»»

US forces are withdrawing from their remaining bases in Iraq on Wednesday, completing a pullout agreed under former president Joe Biden as fears grow over the security vacuum it could leave. Iraqi officials and analysts warn the departure could embolden Iran-backed militias and give Islamic State g»»»

Continue the Change (CC) called on Wednesday for stronger action against drug dealing affecting children. MP Marin Tihomirov presented the parliamentary group’s proposals in a declaration read from the parliamentary rostrum. Tihomirov cited official figures showing 1,626 registered cases of acute i»»»

A FlyDubai aircraft signaled an emergency and, after some time, made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia. The initial version, which was reported by many media outlets, was that the incident might have been a hijacking or seizure of the aircraft, but this version was ruled out after the landing. A»»»

Iranian authorities said on Wednesday they received the formal U.S. response to their proposal to end the Middle East war, state media reported, days after U.S. President Donald Trump rejected the plan. "At today's cabinet meeting, the American side's proposal was presented to President Masoud Peze»»»

Sea-air surveillance leads to hot pursuit west of Lakshadweep Dubai: An Iranian boat carrying more than Rs30 billion ($338 million/more than Dh1.2 billion) worth of heroin and methamphetamine has been intercepted in the Arabian Sea, with five Pakistani nationals detained in what Indian authorities »»»

Bulgaria is moving toward a tourism model focused on quality rather than low prices, Tourism Minister Ilin Dimitrov said, citing positive signals from several important markets. Dimitrov pointed to a sharp increase in interest from Poland, expectations that Germany will add about 150,000 airline se»»»

DUBAI: A FlyDubai plane traveling from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates to Israel was diverted, after a fight broke out betweet the two pilots, briefly sparking concerns about a possible hijacking. The incident happened on the regular scheduled flight on Wednesday Al Arabiya reported. It’s not cle»»»

Botev Plovdiv football club President and co-owner of the largest transport and logistics company in Bulgaria PIMK, Ilian Filipov, died from a gunshot wound, with authorities investigating the case as premeditated murder, the Plovdiv Regional Directorate of the Interior Ministry and Plovdiv Distric»»»

Tokyo: A hospital in Japan has carried out the world's first surgery using sheets of commercially available heart muscle stem cells after the ground-breaking therapy was approved this year, one of the surgeons said. Sheets of muscle cells derived from regenerative products known as induced pluripot»»»

Ukraine “spent a week in September making no steel at all. The first time in 100 years,” reveals Iuliia Mendel, Zelensky’s former press secretary, in a post on X. Mendel lays out the scale of the collapse, driven by Russia’s concentrated strikes, in stark numbers:Ukraine’s biggest plants now stand »»»

TEL AVIV (Sputnik) - The FlyDubai aircraft, which was flying from the UAE to Israel, landed in Saudi Arabia after sending a signal indicating an emergency, the Israeli Channel 12 reported on Wednesday. The emergency situation may have arisen due to a fight between the pilots, which triggered the ac»»»

Medication prices are soaring in Iran and some treatments have become hard to find, leaving patients and their families scrambling as a U.S. blockade and stepped-up sanctions squeeze the country's pharmaceuticals industry. Some medicines have more than tripled in price, further squeezing Iranians' »»»

Trade ministers of the Group of 20 are meeting in Milwaukee for two days of talks on Wednesday, but US President Donald Trump’s tariffs are expected to hang heavy over the talks. "Don't expect any breakthroughs," an analyst watching the event said. G20 trade ministers are set to open talks Wednesda»»»

A commercial plane traveling from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates to Israel was forced to make an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, briefly raising concerns about a possible hijacking and prompting Israel to scramble warplanes. Israeli media, citing security officials, said the inci»»»

Doha, Qatar: Umm Salal continued their winning start to the 2026-27 QSL Cup season after beating Al Khor 2-0 in their Round 2 match at Al Khor Stadium yesterday. Atowoula Odilon Kouassi scored both goals for Umm Salal, striking in the 47th and 56th minutes to secure a second successive victory for »»»

Britain's counter-terrorism police said ​on Tuesday that no improvised explosive devices had been found as part of an ​investigation ‌into a suspected plot targeting ⁠a British airbase used by US forces to ‌strike Iran, deepening uncertainty over the incident a day after five UK-based suspects were»»»

Doha, Qatar: Qatar and the UAE renew their eagerly-awaited football rivalry tonight when they meet in their final Group B match of the Arabian Gulf Cup at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah, with the group leadership at stake. The match kicks off at 8:30pm, with both teams already assured »»»

BREAKING NEWSflydubai Dubai–Tel Aviv flight diverts to Tabuk Dubai: A flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv landed safely in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, after experiencing an incident while en route on Wednesday, the airline said. Flight FZ 1073, operating from Dubai International (DXB) to Ben Gurion Int»»»

Istanbul: The head of Turkiye's football refereeing body and six other people have been arrested as part of a graft investigation, Justice Minister Akin Gurlek said yesterday. “Claims regarding interference in the processes of referee classification, assignments, scoring and appointments, as well a»»»

Israel's opposition chief early Wednesday accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of fear-mongering after he alleged that enemies may attack before October 27 elections. Netanyahu, who polls show is in a close race to hold on to power, has issued warnings in recent weeks to Iran, the militant gro»»»

Doha, Qatar: Qatari weightlifter Ouisal Ikhlef described her historic Asian Games bronze medal as “a gold one” after battling her way onto the podium in the women’s +86kg category at Aichi-Nagoya 2026 yesterday. Ikhlef lifted a total of 273kg to claim bronze, becoming the first female Qatari weight»»»

Doha, Qatar: Qatar enjoyed a productive day at the Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026 yesterday, collecting five medals as the men’s team trap shooters, 4x400m relay team and handball side won silver, while Abubaker Abdalla and Ouisal Ikhlef claimed bronze medals. The haul took Qatar’s medal tally to 12»»»

The departure of US forces from Iraq and Syria, ahead of the 30 September deadline, marks the end of an era of American counter-terrorism operations and forward presence that both complicated and defined the regional security landscape. In Iraq, the departure of US forces closes the book on over tw»»»

Syrian authorities said on Tuesday that they had arrested a Hezbollah-affiliated cell in the country's south near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, accusing it of planning attacks on unspecified targets. The new authorities in Damascus, who ousted longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in 2024, are hosti»»»

Funds were used at construction sites in Kyrgyzstan at a rate of over 1.2 billion soms per day during the first eight months of 2026. The total gross output in the sector reached 300,495.5 billion soms. According to the National Statistical Committee, the figure in comparable prices was 1.6 times h»»»