Defense spending is estimated to reach at least 3% of the gross domestic product of the European Union member states by 2040, amid the escalation of security challenges, which require an increased budgetary effort, according to the Deloitte study “The Future of Defence 2040. Four scenarios for Euro»»»

Kathmandu, Nepal: US climber Tyler Andrews set a new speed record using supplementary oxygen on Mount Everest on Thursday, his team told AFP, summiting the world's highest peak an hour quicker than anyone before. Andrews, 36, climbed the 8,849-metre (29,032-foot) peak in just 9 hours and 55 minutes»»»

Brussels, Belgium: The EU imposed a 200-million-euro ($232 million) fine on Chinese-owned online retailer Temu on Thursday for allowing the sale of illegal products, including dangerous baby toys and defective chargers. "The company failed to diligently identify, analyse, and assess the systemic ri»»»

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has strongly condemned the Iranian terrorist attacks targeting Kuwait with missiles and drones. In a statement, the ministry said the attacks constitutes a flagrant violation of Kuwait’s sovereignty and poses a threat to the country’s security and stability. Get upda»»»

UPPSALA: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday he was working with Sweden on a major defense package, including a “strong step” on Gripen fighter jets, as Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson welcomed him to Sweden. Kristersson and Zelensky signed a letter of intent last year u»»»

JERUSALEM: The Israeli attorney general’s office said Thursday that it would indict a senior adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on charges of “transmitting classified information with the intent to harm state security.”The case concerns the leak of a classified document regarding the war »»»

NAIROBI: Ethiopians will vote in parliamentary and regional elections on Monday that Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s party is expected to dominate despite significant unrest across much of Africa’s second most populous country. Abiy, 49, has ​consolidated his grip on Ethiopia’s politics since being app»»»

The ceasefire agreed in Lebanon last month has brought little ‌respite for civilians, who are being driven from a steadily expanding swathe of the country by a relentless Israeli campaign of evacuations and air strikes. The US-brokered truce announced on April 16, after about six weeks of fighting,»»»

The Israeli military early Thursday pounded Lebanon's fourth largest city, killing at least 14 people in its ongoing military escalation against the Hezbollah group ahead of crucial talks in Washington. Several others were injured in the strikes, according to Lebanon's state-run National News Agenc»»»

Doha, Qatar: Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani received a phone call from HE Toshimitsu Motegi, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan. During the call, they reviewed bilateral relations and ways to support and strengthen them, and d»»»

JIUQUAN: China's Shenzhou-21 and Shenzhou-23 astronaut crews held a handover ceremony on Thursday, during which the Shenzhou-21 crew transferred the keys of the country's space station to the latter. The Shenzhou-21 crew has now completed all planned tasks. The three astronauts will take the Shenzh»»»

The Bulgarian Land Forces will conduct the international live-fire tactical exercise STRIKE BACK 26 from May 29 to June 11 at the Koren military training area near Haskovo, the Defence Ministry said on Thursday. The exercise is aimed to enhance the capabilities of the headquarters and units of the »»»

According to the state agency Kyzmat, 8,000 deaths were registered with the civil registry offices of Kyrgyzstan from January to March 2026. A report by the National Statistical Committee says. According to the data, the mortality rate reached 4.4 per 1,000 people. For comparison, for the same peri»»»

Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers and Head of the Presidential Administration of the Kyrgyz Republic, Adylbek Kasymaliev, visited Balykchy transshipment base of Kumtor Gold Company, where he inspected the progress of modernization work. The Cabinet Chairman was provided with detailed information»»»

Doha, Qatar: Residents in Qatar are expected to experience extremely hot weather conditions over the weekend, with temperatures forecast to reach up to 45°C alongside strong winds and rough sea conditions in offshore areas. In a weather post, the Qatar Meteorology Department stated that today Thurs»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Russia-US peace initiative on Ukraine is stalling, primarily due to Kiev's complete lack of will for peace and constant desire for escalation, Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu said on Thursday. "Unfortunately, the Russian-American peace initiative is stalling.»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - There has been no response from the UN, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), or other international organizations to Russia's appeals regarding the Ukrainian strike on Starobelsk, Russian Human Rights Commissioner Yana Lantratova told Sputnik. Lantratov»»»

Former Yemeni President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi died on Thursday in Riyadh at the age of 81, according to Yemeni and Arab media reports. Hadi fled to Saudi Arabia after the Houthi militia seized the capital Sanaa Hadi had been living in the Saudi capital since the Iran aligned Houthis overran Sanaa »»»

GENEVA: A man stabbed and wounded three people at the train station in the Swiss city of Winterthur on Thursday before being arrested, police said. The attack happened shortly after 8:30 a.m., Zurich regional police said in a statement. They said that the motive of the suspect, a 31-year-old Swiss »»»

In recent days in England, the temperature has reached a daytime high exceeding 30 C. Unfortunately, there has been little professional cricket for me to watch nearby. This is a result of the current organization of the cricket calendar. Although the domestic T20 competition, The Blast, is underway»»»

The value of taxes paid by Romanians earning income from independent activities reached EUR 42.7 million, or RON 213.7 million, for 2025, compared with EUR 30.6 million, or RON 153.1 million, in the previous year, according to an analysis by SOLO, a 100% digital platform for managing PFAs, the Roma»»»

Five people were killed and 21 others wounded overnight when an Israeli drone struck an apartment building in the southern city of Sidon where some displaced families lived, the first such attack on Sidon during the latest escalation. The attack likely came in response to a drone attack that killed»»»

Dan Greaney, the Simpsons writer who foresaw Donald Trump winning the White House decades in advance, has announced his own 2028 bid for presidency. The Simpsons’ longtime writer and producer wrote the ‘Bart to the Future’ episode, broadcast in March of 2000, in which an adult Lisa Simpson appears »»»

Former US President Bill Clinton should not have been impeached for his affair with Monica Lewinsky, but for lying in an earlier sexual harassment case, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has said. Gingrich led the 1998 impeachment of Clinton, in which ‘Slick Willy’ was charged with – and acquitted»»»

Australia could host American nuclear weapons at some point, Russian Security Council Secretary Sergey Shoigu has warned. Washington is also eyeing Japan and South Korea as deployment options, he told a Russia-ASEAN meeting on Wednesday. The US military could deploy Typhon missile systems in southw»»»

Members of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) parliamentary group commented on the case involving Kardzhali Mayor Erol Mumun, who was taken in for questioning at the Regional Directorate of the Interior Ministry on Thursday. Mumum was elected on MRF's ticket in the 2023 local elections. Spe»»»

Zurich: A man wounded three people with a bladed weapon at the Winterthur train station near Zurich on Thursday morning, before being arrested, Swiss police said. "Shortly after 8:30 am (0630 GMT), a man injured three people with a bladed weapon at Winterthur train station. The suspected perpetrato»»»

Unification Minister Chung Dong-young, seen here on May 12 at the Catholic Conference of Korea, will face an investigation over allegations that he leaked classified information related to North Korea's nuclear facilities, prosecutors said Thursday. File Photo by Yonhap Unification Minister Chung D»»»

Nairobi, Kenya: A fire in a girls' dormitory in Kenya on Thursday killed 16 children and hospitalised 79 in the latest deadly blaze to hit a school in the east African country. The fire broke out shortly before 1am local time at Utumishi Girls Academy in Nakuru County, around 120 kilometres north o»»»

SHANGHAI - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic met on Thursday in Shanghai with representatives of several Chinese companies, including TBEA, which specialises in manufacturing power transmission and transformation equipment. The meeting with TBEA representatives was also attended by Ministers Sinis»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Thursday that it struck the US military base from which an attack was launched on a facility near the Iranian city of Bandar Abbas. Following pre-dawn US military airstrikes on a facility near Bandar Abbas airport, the US mi»»»

PARIS - Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic is through to the Roland Garros third round after a 6-3, 6-2, 6-7 (7-9), 6-2 victory over Frenchman Valentin Royer in the second round on Wednesday. Djokovic, who has three career Roland Garros titles, won after three hours and 47 minutes of play. The Se»»»

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - Vladimir Zelensky is hindering a peaceful settlement of the Ukrainian conflict, US Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna said on Thursday. Luna's response came after Zelensky wrote on X that a letter urging increased deliveries of air defense systems and missiles amid a growing amm»»»

The Israeli military said on Thursday it had begun new strikes on Hezbollah infrastructure around the southern Lebanese city of Tyre after issuing an evacuation warning to its residents. Israel the previous day had declared all areas south of Lebanon's Zahrani River - an area roughly 40 kilometers »»»

The Israeli military said on Wednesday that all areas south of Lebanon's Zahrani River, which runs roughly 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of the Israel-Lebanon border, were considered "combat zones" and urged residents to head north. The warning called into further question the fragile ceasefire th»»»

Rome: Italy's health ministry on Thursday declared a red heatwave alert for the cities of Bologna, Florence, Rome and Turin as an unseasonal heatwave sweeps Europe. The alert, the first of the year in Italy, is issued to warn of "possible negative effects on the health of healthy, active people" an»»»

Doha, Qatar: The Ministry of Municipality has called on residents and visitors to maintain cleanliness and safety in public parks during the Eid holiday celebrations. In a social media post, the ministry encouraged the public to enjoy the beauty of Qatar’s parks while adhering to guidelines aimed a»»»

ASTANA (Sputnik) - Moscow's statements about attacks on decision-making centers in Kiev are not taken seriously by everyone, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday. "Not everyone takes Moscow's statements seriously, no," Peskov told reporters when asked if everyone takes Moscow's statemen»»»

TEHRAN (Sputnik) - The authorities of Tehran continue to rebuild a residential area in the east of the capital, part of which was destroyed as a result of bombing by the United States and Israel in March, a Sputnik correspondent reported. Crews and special equipment are dismantling the rubble of bu»»»

The reason the Israeli army has not carried out an attack in Beirut and its southern suburbs despite the latest escalation is an "American veto," unnamed sources told Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth on Wednesday. Israel's Channel 12 meanwhile reported that "there are behind-the-scenes disagreeme»»»

The Israeli military said on Thursday that a soldier was killed the day before by a Hezbollah drone near the Lebanon border, taking to 24 the number of its troops killed in the war with the Iran-backed group. A military statement named her as 20-year-old Sergeant Rotem Yanai, who "fell during opera»»»

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday appeared to threaten to attack U.S. ally Oman if it sides with Iran over reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Trump said Oman must "behave" or he would "blow them up," when he was asked if he would accept a short-term deal to allow Iran and the Gulf state to cont»»»

U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday he was not yet satisfied with Iran's offers to make a deal, after Iranian state television reported details of what it claimed was a draft agreement. Speaking at a cabinet meeting in the White House, Trump added that he was in no rush to reach an accord to»»»

The questioning of Kardzhali Mayor and Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) Deputy Chair Erol Emin Mumun is linked to an investigation into alleged misconduct in office related to a public procurement procedure, Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev said in Veliko Tarnovo on Thursday. Demerdzhiev po»»»

Trust in the cabinet of Rumen Radev is 50% and mistrust 22%, according to a Market Links/bTV poll made public Thursday. Trust in Parliament tripled to 19% in May from 6% in April, and mistrust dropped to 53% from 77% in April. In May, trust in the caretaker government of Andrey Gurov was 28% and mi»»»

Air conditioning systems broke down in dozens of Hungarian ambulances during the first major heatwave of the year, placing additional strain on emergency crews and patients alike. OMSZ says repairs are underway as temperatures soar above 30°C The National Ambulance Service (Országos Mentőszolgálat,»»»

BELGRADE - The Serbian dinar's official median exchange rate against the euro is 117.4205 dinars for one euro on Thursday, which is a slight change relative to Wednesday, the National Bank of Serbia said. The dinar is steady against the euro m-o-m, down by 0.1 pct y-o-y and down by 0.1 pct relative»»»

Iran condemned on Thursday what it called violations by the United States after its strikes on the southern port city of Bandar Abbas, while vowing to defend its sovereignty. The ministry's spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said Iran would "take all necessary measures to defend its national sovereignty" and»»»

DUBAI: Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London and one of Britain’s most prominent Muslim politicians, shared Eid Al-Adha greetings from Makkah after completing this year’s Hajj pilgrimage. Speaking about the significance of the pilgrimage, Khan described the experience as a moment of “pride and blessing.”»»»

Obesity continues to be a serious challenge, Dimitar Ganev of Trend Research Centre said during a forum dedicated to combating obesity on Thursday. During the event, a memorandum of cooperation was signed between the Coalition against Obesity and more than 10 scientific societies. The nationally re»»»