BULGARIA VOTES FOR PRESIDENT ON OCTOBER 25 The election campaign ahead of Sunday's presidential elections in Bulgaria concludes at midnight on Friday, October 23. Saturday, October 24, is the official day of reflection, during which election campaigning is prohibited. Voting on Sunday will begin at»»»

Modern technology enhances cleanup and safeguards marine ecosystems from oil spills When oil spills into the sea, responders face a race against wind, waves, and time. Now modern satellite and AI tools can help detect spills faster. Cleanup sequence Cleanup, however, is not simply “removing oil”. I»»»

A total of 31,328 calls were registered to the 112 emergency hotline in Bulgaria from October 16 to 23, which is an increase by 10.7% from the same period of 2025, the Interior Ministry's National System 112 Directorate reported on Friday. Of these calls, 13,567 were referred to emergency medical c»»»

Higher steel costs may impact European infrastructure and global trade, says Goyal Berlin: Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday criticised the European Union’s carbon tax on steel, saying the bloc was “inviting disaster” by imposing additional costs that could raise the cos»»»

TOKYO/BEIJING/AMSTERDAM: Global firms and governments rushed on Thursday to patch critical ​flaws in the PHP programming language that underpins much of the Internet, as a cloud firm reported millions of hacking attempts after vulnerabilities were disclosed. The push came after governments in Europ»»»

Berlin, Oct. 22 (SANA) – Syria’s Chargé d’Affaires in Berlin, Mohammed Baraa Shukri, met Thursday with Martin Blessing, the German Chancellor’s representative for investment, on the sidelines of the second day of the Berlin Global Dialogue. During the meeting, the two sides discussed ways to streng»»»

Hungary’s Prime Minister Péter Magyar invited dozens of foreign leaders to Budapest for the 70th anniversary of the 1956 Revolution, but several prominent European leaders will be absent. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President António Costa and Moldovan Presi»»»

Berlin: Der Divan – The Arabic Cultural House and the German Orient Institute Beirut presented the inaugural Riwaq Prize for Science and Culture on 16 October 2026, as part of the fourth Arab Book Fair in Berlin. The prize recognises outstanding scholarly monographs on Arab cultures and societies, »»»

Berlin: Estrel Berlin became a meeting place for Arabic and German literature, scholarship and culture as Der Divan – The Arabic Cultural House held its fourth Arab Book Fair from 16 to 18 October. Bringing together more than 110 publishers from the Arab world and Germany, the fair offered visitors»»»

Hormuz tensions rise as Iran warns of strikes on US bases in the Middle East From the Houthi attack on King Fahd International Airport to fresh Iranian threats over the Strait of Hormuz, it has been a tense day across the region. Here’s a quick look at the key developments and what they mean for UA»»»

H.E. Hakan Fidan, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Türkiye, will host the R4 (Türkiye, Egypt, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia) and the R4+E3 (France, Germany, the United Kingdom) meetings of Foreign Ministers to be held in İstanbul on 23 October 2026.»»»

BERLIN: German police on Thursday arrested a Ukrainian man accused of spying for a Russian intelligence service with a focus on “militarily relevant information,” federal prosecutors said. The man, partially named as Vadym Y., allegedly collected “details regarding the production of armored vehicle»»»

Students should check visa rules, post-study work options and residency pathways Students planning to study abroad should consider post-study work rights and long-term residency options before choosing a destination, as immigration policies can influence career opportunities after graduation, says »»»

The topics of markups on basic foods and this week's arrests of two mayors of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) dominate Thursday's news media. HOME AFFAIRS On Nova TV's morning show, MP of Progressive Bulgaria Stefan Belchev commented on this week's arrests of two MRF mayors - Radoslav Re»»»

Istanbul: Top European diplomats will hold talks in Istanbul Friday with their counterparts from Turkiye, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Egypt for a meeting initiated by Ankara, a Turkish foreign ministry source said. Foreign ministers from the so-called E3 group — Britain, France and Germany — will me»»»

Top European diplomats will hold talks in Istanbul Friday with their counterparts from Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Egypt, a meeting initiated by Ankara, a Turkish foreign ministry source said. Foreign ministers from the so-called E3 group -- Britain, France and Germany -- will meet counterpa»»»

BusinessGermanyCan Germany overhaul its economy before AfD grows stronger?Nik MartinConflicts, rising costs and Chinese competition are testing Germany's economic model like never before. Which new sectors could revive growth and contain the far-right AfD, whose support has grown larger than ever? »»»

Profitability remains close to historical toppish levels, despite some moderation In Return on Equity (RoE) terms, the CE/SEE banking sector retains its pronounced lead, keeping the metric at 15-16% in 2025 and H1/2026 compared to around 9% recorded by the euro area banking system or around 8-10% o»»»

By Staff, Agencies Battery-electric vehicle registrations in the European Union jumped 72.9% year-on-year in September 2026, reaching 290,117 units, as demand for conventional petrol and diesel cars continued to weaken, according to data released Thursday by the European Automobile Manufacturers’ A»»»

“Many people are somewhat surprised by our economic work with the US, and I have no doubt that as soon as we conclude more deals with America, European companies will come to us,” Russian special presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev told the 2026 Verona Eurasian Economic Forum in Istanbul on Thursday»»»

Romania recorded the highest annual growth in construction output in the European Union in August 2026, with activity rising by 39% compared with the same month last year, according to Eurostat data published on Tuesday. The increase was well above the EU average of 2.6% and the euro area average o»»»

dpa Geneva International mediators and the United Nations launched a fresh push for peace in Sudan on Wednesday, three and a half years after fighting erupted in the country. Representatives from 27 delegations gathered in Geneva for a coordination meeting aimed at advancing efforts to end the conf»»»

EU prosecutors on Wednesday searched offices belonging to the far-right Patriots parliamentary group as part of a graft probe into the bloc’s dissolved predecessor, Identity and Democracy, which brought together several European far-right parties including French presidential candidate Marine Le Pe»»»

By Staff, Agencies New South Wales, Australia, has moved closer to legalizing human composting as an alternative to burial and cremation after the state parliament approved legislation allowing human remains to be transformed into compost. The bill, introduced by independent Sydney MP Alex Greenwic»»»

Berlin: European companies from automakers to drug firms to banks need to embrace artificial intelligence, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said Wednesday, as the continent looks to capitalise on the technology even as the United States and China drive its development. Speaking at a Nvidia-hosted conference»»»

Germany’s most popular party, Alternative for Germany (AfD), has suffered a massive cyberattack, with unknown hackers reportedly stealing and publishing hundreds of thousands of internal emails, while the country’s political establishment seeks grounds to outlaw the opposition party. The breach, wh»»»

PARIS: The images of France’s riots posted and broadcast around the world have cast a pall on the country’s important tourism sector, with many fearing worse consequences if violence returns. “The surge of violence in the centers of Nice, Paris, Lyon — it’s catastrophic,” said Christelle Cassagne, »»»

The images of France's riots posted and broadcast around the world have cast a pall on the country's important tourism sector, with many fearing worse consequences if violence returns. "The surge of violence in the centers of Nice, Paris, Lyon -- it's catastrophic," said Christelle Cassagne, head o»»»

Doha: Chairman of Qatar Chamber HE Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim bin Mohammed Al-Thani described the Federal Republic of Germany as an important economic partner for Qatar, noting the remarkable development in relations between the two countries, particularly in recent years, and their shared commitmen»»»

Construction output in Bulgaria rose by 4.2% year-on-year in August 2026 and by 0.7% from July, according to preliminary Eurostat estimates. The annual increase marked a slowdown from the 4.7% growth recorded in July and 5.6% in June. Construction output had expanded by 4.0% year-on-year in May, 6.»»»

UKRAINE PEACE TALKS AND BLACK SEA SECURITY Dnevnik reports that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is ready for direct negotiations with Russia and the United States to end the war, following talks in Oslo with US special envoy Steve Witkoff, Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prim»»»

Paris is burning again. Violent riots are tearing through French cities as protests over rising living costs descend into chaos. Looting. Arson. More than 2,400 arrests. Dozens of officers injured. Historic town halls torched. Streets devastated in Paris, Limoges, and beyond. While leftist proteste»»»

Minister of State for Interior Affairs H E Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Faisal bin Mohammed Al Thani met with State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of the Interior of the Federal Republic of Germany H E Bernd Krösser during his visit to Qatar to participate in Milipol Qatar 2026. During the meeting, the »»»

A protest against the government's response to security developments in the Black Sea took place in central Sofia, with demonstrators demanding a stronger defense policy and closer coordination with Bulgaria's EU and NATO allies. The demonstration, held under the slogan "Your 'Peace' Is Capitulatio»»»

WASHINGTON: Losing more ground in the fight against climate change, humanity is heading for a hotter world than experts projected last year — and the United States is a big reason for that, a new United Nations report says. If all the countries do what they promise to reduce heat-trapping emissions»»»

France's economic challenges deepen amid protests and rising public debt. Roiled by protests, France has drawn long looks from abroad at the state of its republic — both its divisive internal politics and economic decision-making. Mostly peaceful, if obstructive, school blockades by students this m»»»

Shop owners in France are counting the cost of the weekend's riots as the government works on new measures to help them recover from widespread looting. Also in this edition: Germany welcomes new investments from Nvidia into its tech scene, and energy prices continue to climb after new Houthi attac»»»

Oslo, Oct. 20 (SANA) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in the Norwegian capital Oslo on Tuesday for talks with U.S. special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, alongside European officials, as part of diplomatic efforts to advance a political settlement to the Russia-Ukraine war. »»»

New York: The State of Qatar stressed that fulfilling commitments under treaties governing chemical, biological and nuclear weapons is essential to international efforts to eliminate weapons of mass destruction and protect humanity. Qatar made the statement during the 81st session of the UN General»»»

PARIS: French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu on Tuesday vowed a “massive” police presence at fresh protests called for the coming weekend, as he faced criticism over the handling of recent street violence. The eurozone’s second-largest economy was rocked on Saturday by some of its worst rioting i»»»

BERLIN — Major companies at an economic summit hosted by the German government have committed to investing around 230 billion euros ($258 billion), Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Tuesday in Berlin."Investments are a key factor for the future of our country, for its growth and its competitiveness. T»»»

BRUSSELS, Belgium: Rwanda is expected to host the first so-called “return hub” where some EU nations plan to expel migrants with no right to stay in the bloc, multiple sources confirmed to AFP Tuesday. An agreement between the African nation and the five European Union members pushing to set up suc»»»

By Staff, Agencies Petroleum product prices in Germany surged in September, with motor fuels nearly 49% more expensive year-on-year and heating oil prices almost doubling, according to official figures released by Germany’s Federal Statistical Office (Destatis). The increase comes as Europe’s large»»»

Petroleum product prices have soared in Germany, with gasoline and diesel nearly 49% more expensive and heating oil nearly doubling over the past year, according to official figures. The surge comes as Europe’s largest economy continues to grapple with the fallout from its break with Russian energy»»»

GENEVA: UN rights chief Volker Turk on Tuesday condemned all acts of violence in the protests gripping France and other European countries, urging those involved to ratchet down the tensions. “The mass protests across Albania, Belgium, France, Italy and Portugal are raising human rights concerns,” »»»

Rising fuel costs are piling pressure on households, businesses and governments across Europe, fuelling cost-of-living protests and bolstering the far right ahead of elections next year in countries including France, Italy and Poland. Some far-right parties are calling for a return to Russian energ»»»

PRESS REVIEW – Tuesday, October 20: We look at reactions from the French press after President Emmanuel Macron's government announces a curfew in parts of the country. Is it too much or not enough? We also look at what the foreign press from Britain, Germany and the US are saying about the wee»»»

Japan launched a spacecraft on Tuesday on a five-year mission to explore Mars' mysterious moons, Phobos and Deimos, and bring back samples for the first time. The $578 million project aims to deliver dust, soil and rocks to Earth in 2031, potentially shedding light on how the moons formed and the o»»»

Doha: Doha has been fully primed to host an incredible edition of the FIP World Cup Qatar 2026, scheduled for Nov. 2-7 at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex, the Qatar Padel Federation has revealed. The contest will feature 32 national teams, bringing together some of the world's p»»»

Bulgaria is a hub for polar research in the region and will host the first Balkan scientific conference on polar studies in November, Bulgarian Antarctic Expedition head Prof. Christo Pimpirev said on Tuesday. He spoke after President Iliana Iotova presented the national flag to the 35th Bulgarian »»»