Dubai: Filipinos planning overseas holidays this summer have more destinations they can visit with fewer visa requirements. The Philippine passport climbed three places to 72nd in the 2026 Henley Passport Index, up from 75th last year and its best showing since before the COVID-19 pandemic. Filipin»»»

RIYADH: Cargo movement between Saudi Arabia and Australia is set to accelerate after Saudia Cargo launched a direct freighter service between Riyadh and Melbourne, enhancing bilateral trade and supply chain connectivity. The scheduled service, which began on July 25, is operated by a Boeing 747-400»»»

JEDDAH: Three young Saudi boxers gave the home crowd plenty to celebrate before the international stars stepped into the ring at Jeddah Dome on Saturday night at “The Comeback.” Sultan Mohammed, Mohammed Alakel and Ziad Al-Maayouf all emerged victorious in the opening bouts, a clean sweep that high»»»

RIYADH: Integrated national efforts to prevent drowning have contributed to a 31 percent decline in drowning deaths across the Kingdom since the National Drowning Prevention Policy was adopted in 2021, according to the Public Health Authority. The decline, through the end of 2025, also helped avert»»»

Damascus, July 26 (SANA) Syrian Finance Minister Mohamed Yisr Barnieh met with an International Monetary Fund (IMF) consultation mission led by Ron van Rooden, Deputy Director of the IMF‘s Middle East and Central Asia Department, at the conclusion of the mission’s visit to Syria to review economic »»»

Dubai: Major Chinese banks ended some precious-metals trading services for individual customers by July 24, fuelling claims that China was banning “paper gold”, forcing investors into physical bullion and preparing to send prices sharply higher. None of that happened on Friday. Here's why.. Get upd»»»

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia raised $49.34 billion through 58 bond and sukuk issuances in the first half of 2026, up 1.6 percent from a year earlier, accounting for nearly half of Gulf debt issuance, a new analysis showed. The Kingdom represented 48 percent of the Gulf Cooperation Council’s primary debt ma»»»

DUBAI: Saudi dark comedy “A Matter of Life and Death” screened in New York on Saturday, after showing in two Scandinavian locations earlier this year. Starring Saudi actor Sarah Taibah and directed by Anas Ba-Tahaf, the film screened at the Jacob Burns Film Center in Pleasantville, New York. It was»»»

Armenian attitudes toward the LGBTQ community have transformed in recent years, in part due to the war in Ukraine. While a queer club in Yerevan was firebombed in 2012, the capital is now home to a thriving underground drag scene. But despite these events attracting hundreds, police raids and famil»»»

The Bulgarian passport ranks 11th worldwide in terms of travel freedom, according to the latest Henley Passport Index, placing it just one position behind the United States passport. The ranking shows that Bulgarian citizens can travel visa-free to 178 countries, only two fewer than holders of US p»»»

Vessel traffic into Ukrainian Black Sea ports has been fully suspended because of the threat of Russian attacks, Agrarian Policy Minister Taras Vysotskyi said on July 23, as occupied Crimea entered its third month of a deepening, Ukrainian-engineered power collapse. Ports close As recently as the p»»»

The 2026 state budget is unconstitutional and GERB will challenge it before the Constitutional Court, GERB Chair Boyko Borissov said at a party event in Varna on Sunday. He argued that the budget adopted by Parliament violates fiscal rules concerning the permissible budget deficit, which is set at »»»

The majority of Germans do not believe their armed forces are capable of protecting the country, a recent YouGov survey has found. According to the International Flagship Survey published on Friday, 70% of respondents in Germany said they are not confident their armed forces are strong enough to fe»»»

What is it with British ‘knights of the realm’ that they seem to be forever mired in corruption, scandal, and disgrace? Former Olympian Sebastian Coe can never avoid all three of those ‘specialities’, yet like his fellow Lords, Ladies, Sirs, and Dames, he appears to think that sitting high upon tha»»»

DUBAI: Award-winning Palestinian poet and writer Mosab Abu Toha has paid tribute to Chris Affleck, the mother of actors Ben and Casey Affleck, following news of her death, remembering her as “like a mother” to his family during their time living in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She was 83 and had been »»»

RIYADH: Egypt exported more than 2.3 million tonnes of petroleum products worth about $2.3 billion in the first half of 2026, matching its total export volume for all of last year, official data showed. The Petroleum and Mineral Resources Ministry said exports of products including jet fuel, naphth»»»

Damascus, July 27 (SANA) Syria’s Finance Minister Mohammed Yisr Barnieh met with a delegation from the European Union, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the SIGMA Programme to discuss technical assistance for the country’s public financial management reform agend»»»

Another night has passed without further US air strikes on Iran after nearly two weeks of nightly bombardments. US media reports that Washington's concerns over dwindling stockpiles of Patriot interceptors and other air defence munitions could be behind the pause in fighting.  Iran passed anot»»»

The D-Day landing beaches in Normandy were added to UNESCO's World Heritage List Sunday. The 80-kilometre stretch of coastline in northwest France served as the site for Allied forces' landing in Europe in June 1944, marking a decisive moment in the war against Nazi Germany and its fascist allies i»»»

Bordeaux: Fire crews in France and Spain battling unchecked wildfires that have forced more than 300,000 people to flee were overwhelmed on Sunday as the unpredictable blazes advanced. France's southwestern city of Bordeaux, at the heart of a region of vineyards, was under threat, with a major high»»»

DOHA: Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani received a phone call from Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia HH Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah Al Saud. During the call, the two sides reviewed bilateral coope»»»

Peach growers in Bulgaria’s Sliven region are considering abandoning their orchards as low purchase prices and rising production costs push many farmers to the edge of survival. In the country’s so-called “Valley of Peaches,” processing companies are currently buying peaches for compote production »»»

The commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force, Brigadier General Esmaeil Qaani, has demanded that Saudi Arabia immediately lift its nearly 12-year-long blockade on Yemen, advising Riyadh to draw critical lessons from what he characterized as Washington’s “unwise and c»»»

RIYADH: Bilateral trade between the UAE and Canada is set to receive a boost through lower tariffs and improved market access after the two countries concluded negotiations on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement. The CEPA is set to enhance the already significant bilateral trade, which r»»»

"He who is admired by Saudi Arabia is admired by the whole world, and it seems Saudi Arabia admires me more than some Lebanese people," Speaker Nabih Berri has said. "I've always said it, and I still say it: we in Lebanon need a tripartite guarantee comprised of Saudi Arabia, the United States and »»»

As millions of travellers prepare for the peak summer holiday season, the July 2026 Henley Passport Index highlights how global mobility has transformed over the past two decades. The 20th anniversary edition shows that the average passport now offers visa-free access to 108 destinations worldwide,»»»

The Hungarian forint strengthened on Friday against all three major foreign currencies, recovering from recent losses and ending the week on a firmer footing. While the domestic currency remains weaker than it was at the start of June, it has posted solid gains since the beginning of the year. Fori»»»

Syrian state media said Israeli forces carried out an incursion into the country's south on Sunday, a day after the visiting U.N. chief urged an end to Israeli violations and respect for Syria's sovereignty. State news agency SANA said that "Israeli occupation forces carried out an incursion early »»»

Iran passed another night without U.S. airstrikes on Sunday, as Washington paused a war nearing its fifth month and reports emerged that concerns over dwindling munitions were restraining plans for further escalation. The lull has revived hopes of a return to negotiations after nearly two weeks of »»»

Doha, Qatar: Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani, received a phone call from HH Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah Al-Saud, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. During the call, they reviewed the bilateral »»»

Military pressures, diplomacy and political realities have combined to slow the US campaign against Iran, but none of the underlying drivers of the conflict have disappeared. By the end of last week, the rhythm of the conflict had become familiar. American aircraft struck Iranian targets night afte»»»

India has warned its nationals to carefully assess the risks of taking jobs on commercial vessels operating in the Black Sea after a wave of missile and drone attacks since April. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the security situation in the Black Sea and adjoining maritime areas remain»»»

Dubai: A resignation that ended weeks of protest. Dharmendra Pradhan announced his resignation as India's Union Education Minister on Saturday, submitting his letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi after weeks of pressure from the Cockroach Janta Party-led student movement. The reaction from Bollyw»»»

In a bTV interview on Sunday, National Assembly Deputy Chair Ivan Angelov of Progressive Bulgaria said that the adoption of the 2026 state budget brings an end to the crisis in public finance management and, in one way or another, weakens the opposition by depriving it of the opportunity to blame t»»»

Syrian state media said Israeli forces carried out an incursion into the country’s south on Sunday, a day after the visiting UN chief urged an end to Israeli violations and respect for Syria’s sovereignty. State news agency SANA said that “Israeli occupation forces carried out an incursion early Su»»»

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s merchandise trade surplus surged to SR26.03 billion ($6.91 billion) in May, driven by higher oil exports and a sharp decline in imports, preliminary government data showed. The surplus widened 328.8 percent from a year earlier as merchandise exports rose 3.9 percent year on y»»»

BEIRUT: Compensation for victims of the latest war with Israel has stalled, with neither the Lebanese state nor Hezbollah putting forward a mechanism to begin payments. Damage surveys are continuing in several areas, but thousands of residents are still waiting for an official announcement on when »»»

India’s passport now offers visa-free, visa-on-arrival or simplified entry access to 55 destinations, but four countries changed their rules in 2026, making travel more complicated for Indian holidaymakers. With summer travel season underway, many Indians are planning international holidays, family»»»

The strongest pressure on prices in Bulgaria over the past two to two-and-a-half years has come from the services sector, Svilen Kolev, deputy head of the National Statistical Institute (NSI), told Nova TV on Sunday. He said prices for hotels, restaurants and accommodation had risen by between 20% »»»

San Diego: Superhero movie fans will officially return to the world of Wakanda in "Black Panther III," the newest entry in the Marvel film franchise, the studio announced at Comic-Con on Saturday. British actor David Jonsson will play the lead role in the film, due out on December 15, 2028. Known f»»»

Iran and Oman have held several rounds of technical talks on the Strait of Hormuz, focusing on principles and operational mechanisms for ensuring the safe passage of shipping, the Iranian Foreign Ministry’s spokesman said. Speaking to reporters, Esmaeil Baqaei said the discussions made progress and»»»

Baghdad, July 26 (SANA) Iraq’s cabinet has authorized the chief executive of Basra Oil Company to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Iraq’s Ministry of Oil and Syria’s Ministry of Energy to develop an oil pipeline linking Iraqi crude production to global export markets through the Med»»»

Iran’s military actions during the 40-day war were aimed at responding to US and Israeli attacks rather than targeting regional states, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told the Iran newspaper. “I see the will to rebuild trust. We are neighbors and will remain neighbors. We must live togethe»»»

My previous columns looked at the Hungarian property market almost entirely through the buyer’s eyes – how foreign nationals can purchase, where to look, how the process works and what happens on inheritance. This piece is about the other side: the seller’s. The occasion is a natural one – those wh»»»

Secretary's SpeechLebanon PalestineZionist EntityRegional and International International More Video Language Ar En Fr EsSubscribe for Weekly Updates Subscribe IRGC Spokesman: US Death Toll Surpasses 200 in Operation Nasr-2, Calls Pentagon Figures ‘Outright Lie’ 26-07-2026 10:39 AM The Islamic Revo»»»

TEHRAN: Iran’s army warned on Sunday that the Middle East war would widen if the United States chose to press ahead with attacks on the Islamic republic, ahead of the visit of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Washington. “I believe that if the Americans once again fall for the Zionists’»»»

Dubai: Kuwait's Ministry of Interior on Sunday denied reports circulating on social media claiming that a terrorist cell had been arrested inside the country, saying the information was unfounded and did not originate from any official source. In a statement, the ministry said it dealt with all mat»»»

The Indian Embassy in Ukraine said it is closely monitoring the situation after the MV AGN Ragnar was struck at the Port of Odesa on July 25, with four Indian nationals on board. In a statement issued on Sunday, the embassy said two of the Indian crew members have been confirmed safe, while informa»»»

A van ploughed into crowds at Berlin's annual LGBTQ+ Pride celebrations on Saturday, killing one person and injuring at least 16 others before crashing into a tree. Police and prosecutors on Sunday issued a wanted notice for a 21-year-old identified only as Abdul B, and warned members of the public»»»

TEHRAN: Iran said on Sunday it had made progress in talks with Oman on management of the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic waterway crucial for oil and gas trade that both countries border. The latest talks come after the United States resumed attacks on Iran in an effort to end Tehran’s control of t»»»