Lebanese lawmakers attend a parliamentary session to discuss the abolition of the death penalty in Beirut, Lebanon, on Tuesday. Photo by Wael Hamzeh/EPA Aug. 12 (UPI) -- Lebanese lawmakers have approved legislation prohibiting the death penalty, making Lebanon the first Middle Eastern country to en»»»

At least 169 people died and more than 600 were injured in the earthquake that struck Colombia, according to a tally released Tuesday by the Association of Mayors. The deaths were concentrated in the western cities of Cali, Pereira, Manizales, and Quibdo. Colombian mayors also reported 165 building»»»

”The consumer price index for July 2026 compared with June 2026 was 100.58%. The year-to-date inflation rate (July 2026 compared with December 2025) was 4.4%. The annual inflation rate in July 2026 compared with July 2025 was 8.2%. The average rate of change in consumer prices over the last 12 mont»»»

Beijing: Oil prices rose Wednesday amid concerns about supply disruptions in the Middle East, despite an increase in US crude oil inventories. Brent crude futures rose $1.10 to $90.01 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained 71 cents, or 0.85%, to $83.91. Both benchmark crudes »»»

Washington, USA: Google's Gemini artificial intelligence (AI) system has surpassed one billion users, according to an announcement by CEO Sundar Pichai. Pichai said in a social media post that Gemini is the company's fastest-growing product and its fourteenth to reach one billion users, explaining »»»

DUBAI: Al-Nassr captain Cristiano Ronaldo, who celebrated getting married in his native Portugal on Tuesday night, is set to miss the club’s first two matches of the new season, Arabic daily newspaper Arriyadiyah has reported. According to the publication’s sources, Al-Nassr will begin the 2026-27 »»»

Germany and Japan are reviving practices reminiscent of the Gestapo and Japan’s Tokko secret police, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova writes on social media. “Two former WWII Axis powers returned in unison in July to surveillance practices from which they were forcibly weaned i»»»

Three reactors at the Gravelines nuclear power plant in northern France were shut down late on Monday due to a massive ​swarm of ‌jellyfish, triggering preventative measures put in place last year after the entire ⁠plant went offline, operator EDF said.  A nuclear plant in northern France shut»»»

Wellington: New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said he had the "full support" of his ruling National Party on Wednesday after surviving a leadership challenge called with less than three months until a general election. Luxon has led New Zealand since 2023 but has been unable to reverse h»»»

A gunpowder charge that may have been ignited by an external factor is currently considered the possible cause of the explosions that destroyed an ammunition warehouse at the EMCO plant near the village of Belitsa in the Tryavna area, according to plant director Slavcho Demiev. Demiev said the asse»»»

The Bishkek Heating and Power Plant (HPP) plans to purchase 200,000 tons of imported coal for the upcoming heating season. A corresponding tender has been posted on the state procurement portal. The planned cost of the fuel purchase is 1,398.4 billion soms. The capital’s HPP intends to purchase coa»»»

All possible causes of the explosions at an EMKO storage facility near the village of Belitsa, Tryavna Municipality, are being investigated, and a leading theory is expected to emerge after the site is inspected, Gabrovo District Prosecutor Tihomir Petkov said on Wednesday. The pre-trial investigat»»»

Dubai: Emirates Global Aluminium reported an 11% increase in adjusted EBITDA to Dh4.506 billion in the first half of 2026, while restoration work at its Al Taweelah operations continued following the March disruption. Sign up for our daily business newsletter, Cheques & Balances.The aluminium produ»»»

KHARTOUM: Drones attacked the Sudanese capital and two northern cities at dawn on Wednesday, an AFP correspondent and witnesses reported, in what appeared to be a coordinated strike after months of calm in Khartoum. Since April 2023, Sudan has been ravaged by war between the Sudanese military, led »»»

In Bishkek, a section of Frunze Street from Suyumbaev Street to Ibraimov Street has been reopened to traffic after rehabilitation. During the repairs, workers removed the old asphalt pavement, reinforced the road base, repaired utility lines where necessary, and laid new asphalt. Road infrastructur»»»

Arab Finance: Misr Hotels Company reported a 4.95% year-on-year (YoY) increase in net profit after tax to EGP 1.374 billion in fiscal year (FY) 2025/2026, according to financial indicators filed with the Egyptian Exchange (EGX). The company’s net profit rose from EGP 1.31 billion in the previous fi»»»

Doha, Qatar: Barely three weeks after the FIFA World Cup 2026 final, European club football roars back to life this week – and fans across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) will not miss a moment, with beIN Sports (beIN) broadcasting the new season live and exclusive across 24 MENA markets. F»»»

Doha, Qatar: Qatar Central Bank (QCB) yesterday reported that the Qatari economy demonstrated solid resilience throughout 2025, bolstered by strong non-hydrocarbon sector performance. In its Annual Macroeconomic Review, QCB reiterated that the overall real GDP expanded by 2.9 percent last year, lar»»»

Harare, Zimbabwe: At least 15 people were killed and 27 remain missing when an overcrowed ferry on Zimbabwe's Lake Kariba capsized, authorities said on Wednesday, noting 77 passengers were rescued. The boat, which overturned Tuesday after hitting strong waves, was carrying 114 adult passengers, 5 c»»»

North Korea launched a ballistic missile toward the East Sea Wednesday, Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff said. In this photo, people watch a news report on the launch at Seoul Station. Photo by Yonhap SEOUL, Aug. 11 (UPI) -- North Korea fired a ballistic missile toward the East Sea on Wednesday, the m»»»

Dubai: Abu Dhabi National Insurance Company reported a 14.6% year-on-year decline in first-half profit after tax to Dh201 million, with geopolitical risks, flood-related claims and short-term investment market volatility weighing on earnings. Sign up for our daily business newsletter, Cheques & Bal»»»

A former US military veteran who was imprisoned in Russia for more than four years on disputed charges and under abusive conditions was released on Tuesday. A group advocating for him said he was gravely ill and at risk of dying. Russia has released an American military veteran who spent more than »»»

Aug. 11 (UPI) -- The race for the Democratic nomination for Wisconsin's governor between democratic socialist Francesca Hong and Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley was too close to call early Wednesday, as primary ballots were being counted in six states. Wisconsin While primaries were being »»»

Energy costs are emerging as the biggest "financial surprise" for chief executives worldwide in 2026, surpassing all other cost pressures, according to the global PwC CEO Survey Mid-Year Snapshot released on Tuesday.The survey shows that almost one in five executives (19%) reported increases of mor»»»

The uniform public pay bill should be debated and voted on in Parliament based on a prior political agreement, according to national leader of the Hungarian Democratic Union of Romania (UDMR) Kelemen Hunor.He was asked where the money for wage increases would come from after the approval of the new»»»

Russia’s Foreign Ministry has issued a series of hostile statements targeting Romania after Bucharest recently acquired the International Port of Giurgiulesti in the Republic of Moldova. Yuri Pilipson, director of the Second Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, claimed that Romania could use»»»

Dubai: talabat raised its full-year 2026 guidance across all key financial metrics after first-half growth came in ahead of its earlier expectations, even as second-quarter profit fell 18% amid continued investment in groceries, loyalty and its wider everyday app strategy. Sign up for our daily bus»»»

BAIDOA: After nearly two weeks on the road with her five children, Luul Mohamed finally arrived in the southwestern Somali city of Baidoa with no food and little sense of what would happen next. Drought conditions had forced Mohamed and her family to leave Saakoow, a town in the Middle Jubba region»»»

Arab Finance: The Egyptian government is considering imposing a 5% customs duty on fully imported electric vehicles (EVs) for the first time, according to six sources, four of whom are government officials who spoke to Asharq Business on condition of anonymity. Such a move aims at protecting local »»»

Dubai: Emirates Global Aluminium took a Dh725 million hit to its first-half net income following the March attack that forced an emergency shutdown at Al Taweelah, with aluminium production at the site expected to return to pre-incident levels in the first quarter of 2027. Sign up for our daily bus»»»

The General Electricity Company of Libya said on Wednesday that an attack on the South Zawiya substation caused a complete outage and loss of power supply to wide areas south of ‌the city of ‌Zawiya. The Libyan electricity ‌provider ⁠said US company ⁠GE had halted all work at the Zawiya power stati»»»

Dubai: Presight reported a 30.2% year-on-year increase in second-quarter profit after tax to Dh116.8 million, helped by higher revenue and a record Dh2.5 billion in domestic renewals and new agreements. Sign up for our daily business newsletter, Cheques & Balances.Revenue for the three months ended»»»

WASHINGTON: A ‌group of current and former Palestinian students and staff have sued Columbia University, alleging discriminatory treatment by the school ​against its Palestinian community since late 2023, according to a court filing in New York. The lawsuit said the university failed to protect its»»»

A child fell from a height at a shopping mall in Bishkek. Eyewitnesses reported the incident on social media. According to them, the accident occurred at around 10 p.m. on Tuesday. «The father ran over and tried to turn him over. Blood began coming from the boy’s ears,» eyewitnesses wrote. The City»»»

The Council of Ministers will discuss on Wednesday the 2026-2030 Governance Programme of Bulgaria at a meeting starting at 10 am, the Government information service said. The ministers will also consider assigning the National Revenue Agency to sell property forfeited to the state. The Cabinet is e»»»

Dubai: Travellers flying from the UAE today, August 12, should check their flight status before leaving for the airport, with most services operating as scheduled but disruptions continuing on selected Bahrain and Kuwait routes. Sign up for our daily business newsletter, Cheques & Balances.The usua»»»

WASHINGTON: A US helicopter on Tuesday fired missiles into the engine room of a Panama-flagged cargo ship that attempted to break the American blockade of Iran’s ports, the United States military said. The US Navy MH-60 helicopter fired on and disabled the M/V Vela Nova “after the ship’s civilian c»»»

As the standoff between the US and Iran continues, UAE residents face ongoing impacts affecting regional security, air travel, and market stability. With the Strait of Hormuz remaining a high-risk area — Iran claims it is "closed", the US claims it is "open" — amid ongoing high-stakes negotiations »»»

In tonight's program, Nigerian returnees are trying to forget the trauma they experienced during months of xenophobic protests in South Africa that have frayed diplomatic ties between the two African powerhouses. Also, Chad says teaming up with General Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army has made»»»

Since they seized power in Afghanistan five years ago, the Taliban have succeeded in expanding their diplomatic and economic ties with countries around the world. But Afghanistan remains largely isolated due to a widespread refusal to formally recognise the Taliban government over human rights abus»»»

Dubai: Workers in Manila have begun clearing a river clogged with garbage and debris after days of torrential rain triggered flooding and landslides across parts of the Philippines. Footage shows workers wading through the polluted waterway as they collect waste swept into the river by floodwaters.»»»

Péter Szentgyörgyvölgyi, the mayor of the 5th district, wrote an open letter to Dávid Vitézy, Minister of Transport and Investment, and to Gergely Karácsony, Lord Mayor of Budapest, after a proposal emerged that would return several important district public spaces to the management of the capital.»»»

The Prime Minister's Office has filed a criminal complaint in connection with the publication of Viktor Orbán's social media content. Fidesz says the complaint is a politically motivated attack on Fanny Kaminski, the former prime minister's press adviser. The person concerned has also rejected the »»»

The 2025 US strikes on Yemen left more than 150 civilians killed, The Washington Post reported, citing a review conducted by the Pentagon. According to The Washington Post, the US strikes left 153 civilians killed and about 250 injured. This is reportedly the Pentagon's first public confirmation th»»»

Motorists travelling from Sharjah to Dubai this morning should allow extra time for their commute, particularly during the peak morning period. The Sharjah-Dubai corridor is among the UAE’s busiest commuter routes, with traffic regularly building on major roads connecting the two emirates. E311, or»»»

Members of the Hungarian Parliament have elected 73-year-old András Baka as the country’s president, Meduza reports. He was nominated for the post by the ruling Tisza party. The position became vacant after the country’s new Prime Minister, Péter Magyar, forced the resignation of Tamás Sulyok, a pr»»»

President Donald Trump has confirmed that US security officials secretly moved him to a different aircraft after the NATO summit in Turkey last month because of a potential threat linked to Iran. Trump said the decision was made by the Secret Service and the military. The disclosure follows reporti»»»

MONTGOMERY, Alabama: Tennessee, Alabama and Oklahoma plan to execute inmates Thursday in what would be the first time in nearly 16 years that three people are put to death on the same day in the United States. The executions come as a small number of states, including the three with scheduled letha»»»

SAN ISIDRO, Argentina: Diego Maradona showed “warning signs” that went unheeded during the home hospitalization leading up to his death in 2020, a witness on Tuesday told the trial examining the Argentine football legend’s demise. Seven health care professionals have been on trial since mid-April i»»»

SEOUL, South Korea: North Korea launched a ballistic missile toward the sea on Wednesday, its neighbors said, the second such weapons testing activity in less than a week. The series of launch events were likely a protest of the upcoming Korea-US military drills that North Korea views as an invasio»»»