By Staff, Agencies Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh arrived in Beirut on Wednesday at the head of a diplomatic delegation, with meetings planned with senior Lebanese officials, public figures, and academics, IRNA reported. According to the Iranian news agency, the visit aims to str»»»

By Staff, Agencies The British Navy has been left without its only icebreaker after HMS Protector suffered simultaneous engine failures at sea, forcing the vessel to be towed back to Devonport naval base in Plymouth, The Telegraph reported Tuesday. The incident has renewed concerns about the UK's m»»»

Riyadh Season shifts star-studded tennis event from October 21–24 to December 27–30 Dubai: Saudi Arabia has postponed the third edition of the Six Kings Slam tennis tournament from October to December, citing organisational and logistical challenges that could affect the quality of the event and sp»»»

Doha, Qatar: The Ministry of Education and Higher Education held a ceremony to honor private schools and kindergartens that won the third edition of the 'Rayty Baydaa' (My Flag is White) Award for the 2025–2026 academic year. The ceremony took place at the Ministry's theater at its permanent headqu»»»

BEIRUT: Yemen’s foreign minister warned on Wednesday that the Houthis would become “undefeatable” if the world allowed them the time to do so, and her government sought neither a ceasefire nor negotiations with the Iran-backed militia. “If the Houthis are given more time, they will become an undefe»»»

President Iliana Iotova said in Burgas on Wednesday that it would be best to hold a meeting on Black Sea security with representatives of all Black Sea countries, including the warring parties. "There is no way to ensure security in the Black Sea without the participation of both countries," she ad»»»

Bulgaria’s draft 2027 budget aims to curb spending, reduce the government deficit and lower the nominal amount of new public debt compared with 2025 and 2026, while increasing pensions, family and child support, and funding for healthcare, education and defense, Prime Minister Rumen Radev said at t»»»

The International Monetary Fund has cut its forecast for Bulgaria’s economic growth in 2026 to 2.6% from 2.8% projected in the spring, according to its October World Economic Outlook report, while raising its estimate for average annual inflation to 4.9% from 3.8%. The IMF also expects Bulgaria’s c»»»

Bulgaria ranks 21st among the 29 Schengen Area countries in the Passport Reports ranking published on October 13, 2026, while placing 20th in the overall global passport ranking, according to the platform. Romania is one position ahead of Bulgaria in the Schengen list, at 20th, while Croatia ranks »»»

SABAC - Aleksandar Vucic, who heads the Aleksandar Vucic-United Serbia electoral list for the October 25 early parliamentary polls in Serbia, said on Wednesday that, in case they lost the elections, representatives of the list would extend a hand to congratulate the winners and that, if they won th»»»

By Staff, Agencies The Joint List and the United Arab List (Ra’am) have signed a surplus-vote agreement ahead of the next "Israeli" "Knesset" elections, while the Joint List has set conditions for supporting Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot in efforts to remove Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fr»»»

KYIV: Ukraine on Wednesday accused the United States of helping Russia by failing to warn it of incoming missile strikes and hobbling its military response through changes to the Starlink system it uses on the battlefield. President Volodymyr Zelensky framed the lack of notice about a wave of power»»»

BUTEMBO, DR Congo: The fear of Ebola is keeping women and children from seeking health care in eastern Congo, health workers and aid agencies say, contributing to soaring maternal deaths and falling childhood immunization rates that could strain the health care system for years to come. Health work»»»

TIRANA: Demonstrators and riot police clashed in Albania’s capital on Wednesday in a second straight day of violence triggered by student protests calling for better university conditions and Prime Minister Edi Rama’s resignation. Over several hours, police deployed water cannon and tear gas while »»»

Local Development and Environment Minister Manal Awad travelled to Yerevan on behalf of President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi to take part in the “Leaders for Nature” biodiversity summit on October 16-17, ahead of the 17th Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, or COP17. T»»»

Egypt’s Industrial Development Authority (IDA) has announced the offering of 400 ready-to-operate industrial units across 11 industrial complexes in 10 governorates, with applications open from October 15 to 29, 2026, through the Egypt Industrial Digital Platform. The fully constructed units are eq»»»

DUBAI: Yemen’s armed forces have carried out 2,309 precision strikes against Houthi positions across several battlefronts, leaving an estimated 1,250 militia fighters killed and destroying more than 460 military vehicles and equipment, a military spokesperson said on Wednesday. Majed Al-Nuzaili, sp»»»

BRUSSELS: The Norwegian police arrested five people as part of an investigation over possible bribery involving a company supplying services to NATO ⁠military vessels, the European ⁠Union’s criminal justice body Eurojust said on Wednesday. 🚨 Company suspected of bribery & EUR 1 million+ fraud i»»»

How is AI being used to navigate the changing times RISE Summit 2026 was held at Dubai World Trade Centre on October 14, under the theme ‘Recharging Momentum in Global Economies’. The summit brought together investors, policymakers, developers and industry decision-makers to explore how investment »»»

TUNIS, Oct. 14 (TAP) - The project to create a call centre for the Independent High Authority for Elections (ISIE) took centre stage at a working session on Wednesday, chaired by its President Farouk Bouasker, in the presence of representatives from...»»»

ZAGREB - Specialised EXPO 2027 and Serbia's tourism potential were showcased in Zagreb on Wednesday as part of a Visit Serbia business meeting that brought together representatives of the Serbian and Croatian tourism and business sectors. The event was an opportunity to familiarise the Croatian pub»»»

VATICAN CITY: When US Cardinal Robert Prevost emerged on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica in May 2025 as Pope Leo XIV, the new leader of the Catholic Church, he struck a stark contrast from his predecessor Francis. Leo, young for a pope at 69, appeared energetic, spoke in a strong voice and had »»»

BRUSSELS: The UN’s refugee agency has warned the European Union against “short-sighted” cuts to international aid, as Germany spearheads a push to slash the size of the bloc’s next joint budget. “It’s an easy target. It’s much more easy to explain to the taxpayers that we are going to spend less mo»»»

DOHA: Al Shamal officially signed Algeria captain Riyad Mahrez yesterday, with the experienced winger joining the Qatar Stars League club for the ongoing season. Mahrez signed his contract in the presence of Al Shamal football department head Meshaal Al Ali after arriving in Doha last week to compl»»»

AL-MUKALLA: Yemeni government forces in Taiz have vowed to repel intensified Houthi assaults and break the siege imposed on the city by the Iran-backed militia, while thanking Saudi Arabia for providing air support and military logistical assistance. Col. Abdul Basit Al-Baher, a Yemeni army officer»»»

Doha, Qatar: The Qatar Meteorology Department warned of rising humidity levels, with chances of mist and fog forming in some areas during the night and early morning hours. In a weather update issued on Wednesday, October 14, the department said relative humidity levels are expected to increase, po»»»

Prime Minister Rumen Radev will attend the regular European Council meeting in Brussels on October 15 and 16, 2026, the government press service said here on Wednesday. European leaders will discuss challenges to European competitiveness, including energy prices. The agenda will also focus on the 2»»»

The search and rescue operation for the sailors aboard the sunken vessel HS Dignity in the Black Sea was officially abandoned at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, the press centre of the Ministry of Transport and Communications said. The vessel sank after a drone attack off the Bulgarian coast on Tuesday. Six c»»»

Dubai attraction opened with a world parade, confetti and a spectacular 600-drone show 1/7Confetti shower dazzles visitors at Global Village opening2/7Artists taking out a parade as Global Village in Dubai opens for season 313/7Huge crowd as Global Village in Dubai opens for season 31.4/75/76/77/7»»»

Doha, Qatar: The Amir HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani arrived on Wednesday in Baku, the capital of the Republic of Azerbaijan, to participate in the Seventh Summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA). Upon His Highness's arrival at Heydar Aliyev Inter»»»

LONDON: Rescue teams in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, on Wednesday recovered the bodies of six people, including three children, from the rubble of a collapsed building after a 24-hour search. Seven others, including a child, were taken to Al-Zaitoun Hospital with injuries, the Egyptian newspaper Ah»»»

LONDON: The health of two Palestinian women prisoners held at Damon Prison is worsening due to inadequate healthcare provided by Israeli authorities, the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs said on Wednesday. The group said that Basmala Saad, 20, and Israa Huje, 31, are suffering from »»»

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s political and economic leaders, and figures from the country’s wider business community, condemned recent Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, and expressed solidarity with the Kingdom following the strikes against civilian infrastructure. The president, Joseph Aoun, spoke by telephone»»»

TRIPOLI: The NGO Human Rights Watch said Wednesday that military authorities in eastern Libya executed at least 31 people earlier this year, the first reported death sentences to be carried out in the country since 2010, according to the group. Forces under the control of military leader Khalifa Ha»»»

NAIROBI: A traitor to his peers but a hero to many, a Ugandan army officer has leaked unprecedented footage of a secret jail where he says political opponents of the government were brutally tortured. The east African country has been ruled for 40 years by President Yoweri Museveni, whose son Muhoo»»»

BREAKING NEWSEmaar founder shares first glimpse of development as Dubai Mall expansion progresses Dubai: Emaar founder Mohamed Alabbar has shared a preview of a development called Dubai Mall Plaza and Hotel, signalling that another project is on the way in the Downtown Dubai shopping district. In a»»»

PRISTINA - Italian Maj Gen Roberto Vergori took over as KFOR commander on Wednesday, succeeding Turkish Maj Gen Ozkan Ulutas. The change-of-command ceremony, which took place at the KFOR headquarters at Camp Film City in Pristina, was presided over by the Commander of the NATO Joint Allied Forces C»»»

Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar is due to hold his first official one-to-one meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday, following a major breakthrough on Hungarian-language education in Ukraine. Magyar announced the planned meeting in a Facebook post on Wednesday as he tr»»»

BANGKOK: A failure by the United States and Iran to agree within weeks on a UN-backed plan for moving fertilizer through the Strait of Hormuz could cause a food security crisis in parts of Asia and Africa, an official overseeing the proposed scheme said on Wednesday. The United Nations set up a tas»»»

The Cabinet decided on Wednesday to task Bulgarian Posts EAD with paying pensions through post offices across the country until June 30, 2031. The procedure and terms will remain unchanged. Pensioners will continue to be able to collect their pensions and any supplements at a post office other than»»»

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan stands firmly with Saudi Arabia in safeguarding its sovereignty, defense and regional security under the Makkah defense agreement, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Wednesday, as he met Makkah Alliance for Defense Secretary-General Lt. Gen. (retired) Nauman Mahmood. The stat»»»

RIYADH: Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi on Wednesday condemned the recent Houthi attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, vowing that Iraq would not allow its territory to be used as a launchpad for attacks threatening the security of Saudi Arabia or other countries in the region. A»»»

Brent GoffGerman Chancellor Friedrich Merz insists that Europe will not follow America's lead on buying diesel from Russia. Does Trump's deal mark an irreconcilable parting of ways between the US and Europe over Russian energy? https://p.dw.com/p/5OBuYAdvertisementGerman Chancellor Friedrich Merz h»»»

US claims ‌that Iran’s economy is collapsing are an illusion, the governor of Iran’s central bank said on Wednesday, as Tehran faces a US naval blockade aimed at driving its oil exports to zero and draining state coffers. Washington reinstated its blockade of Iranian ports in July and launched “Ope»»»

PARIS: The US has not yet decided whether to abandon the electromagnetic launch system for aircraft carriers, France’s navy chief said on Wednesday, two months after President Donald Trump ordered the US Navy to drop the technology that France has chosen for its next carrier. Trump ordered the Navy»»»

SINGAPORE: Air pollution in part of Singapore hit the country’s “very high” band on Wednesday while East Timor shut schools, as haze from forest fires raging in Indonesia causes a regional crisis. In Indonesia, authorities said more than 280,000 respiratory problems have been recorded in haze-affec»»»

BELGRADE - Aleksandar Vucic, who heads the Aleksandar Vucic-United Serbia electoral list for the October 25 early parliamentary polls in Serbia, said on Wednesday representatives of ethnic Albanian parties had ceded their seats in electoral committees across the country to his political opponents, »»»

Over 50 percent of Ukraine's energy infrastructure has already been damaged by Russia's persistent precision strikes, and fully restoring the damaged facilities could take at least a decade, retired Russian Army Colonel and military expert Andrei Koshkin told Sputnik. “The thermal power plants 5 an»»»

India’s Riyadh embassy issues fresh travel advisory, airline update The Indian Embassy in Saudi Arabia has urged Indian nationals to follow local authorities’ instructions, stay indoors in the event of an aerial attack and avoid circulating videos or news related to ongoing events. In an update pos»»»

Riyadh: One person has been injured and minor property damage reported in Riyadh after debris from an intercepted ballistic missile fell on a residential house and a vehicle, Saudi Arabia's Civil Defense said on Wednesday. An official Civil Defense spokesperson said the missile, launched by Yemen's»»»