An Indian vessel was struck and sank near Yemen on Tuesday. File photo by Yahya Arhab/EPA Aug. 5 (UPI) -- An Indian cargo ship has sunk after being struck by a projectile off Yemen, officials said, raising concerns that the Middle East war's maritime front is expanding. It was unclear who launched »»»

The Dr Emil Iliev International Jazz Festival aims to help turn Borovets into a year-round destination, Festival Director Tatyana Ilieva said in an interview for BTA on Wednesday. The event officially closed on Tuesday evening. Ilieva said the festival continues to develop in every area with each e»»»

Doha, Qatar: Media City Qatar’s “Nabd Qatar,” the original soundtrack from the Qatar SoundBeat campaign, which was unveiled during the FIFA Arab Cup Qatar 2025 Final on Qatar National Day last year, is now available on Qatar Airways’ in-flight entertainment system. Passengers, flying to more than 1»»»

Doha, Qatar: Now in its third edition, the Herfah Programme continues to breathe new life into the traditional crafts that form an integral part of Qatar’s cultural identity and Islamic artistic heritage. An initiative of Qatar Foundation, Herfah is hosted at Al Khater House.Through annual programm»»»

Doha, Qatar: QNB Group, a leading financial institution in the Middle East and Africa, has partnered with the Autism Parents Platform to support families of children with autism and contribute to community initiatives that promote inclusion, awareness, and family well-being across Qatar. The partne»»»

Dubai: The UAE’s non-oil private sector recorded its strongest improvement in four months during July, with new orders growing at their fastest pace since February and companies resuming hiring after cutting jobs in June. Sign up for our daily business newsletter, Cheques & Balances.The seasonally »»»

Police in At-Bashy district of Naryn region have detained a man suspected of fraud amounting to 4,115 million soms, the Internal Affairs Department of the region reported. According to investigators, the 35-year-old resident of the village of At-Bashi took foals, calves, and sheep from local reside»»»

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) - technology that catches CO2 from a factory or power plant and injects it underground - is central to most official net-zero roadmaps, but remains marginal in practice, mired in cost overruns and under preformance, according to a detailed explainer published by Car»»»

A discussion marking the 160th anniversary of Pencho Slaveykov’s birth will bring together literary scholars, lecturers and librarians at the BTA National Press Club in Varna on Wednesday. The event, titled Pencho Slaveykov Today, is organized by BTA. The discussion will be moderated by poet, liter»»»

Doha, Qatar: Education Above All (EAA) Foundation, a global foundation for education and development, participated as the official beneficiary of the 2026 Markel Magnolia Cup at the Qatar Goodwood Festival, bringing together sport, philanthropy and collective action to expand education and economic»»»

Doha, Qatar: The Qatar Precision Health Institute (QPHI), a national center for research and implementation under Qatar Foundation (QF), has announced a strategic partnership with Qatar National Library (QNL) to make its specialised educational materials for the Genome Heroes collection available t»»»

A mudflow has occurred in the village of Zhany-Tilek in Ak-Talaa district of Naryn region. The incident happened on Wednesday at around 00.30 a.m. Earlier, the Ministry of Emergency Situations warned of possible mudflows caused by heavy rains in mountainous and foothill areas across the country. Th»»»

In 2027, Kazakhstan will carry out a complete reconstruction of its road checkpoints. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev announced this during a teleconference dedicated to the start of construction of several strategic highways. In his speech, he emphasized that Kazakhstan serves as the main bridge c»»»

Russian forces launched a large-scale strike on transport and logistics hubs in Kiev and the Kiev region, the Russian Defense Ministry said. The targets hit:Kiev:*MLP-Chayka – UAV components hub* Novaya Pochta – dual-use goods sorting complex* Trans-Logistik – UAV manufacturing and supplies* Epicen»»»

Doha, Qatar: Qatar’s solar energy market is poised for strong growth as the country accelerates efforts to expand renewable energy capacity and support the decarbonisation of its energy sector, according to a report by Mordor Intelligence. The analysis notes that the sector is projected to expand s»»»

Doha, Qatar: The Ministry of Endowments (Awqaf) and Islamic Affairs has participated in two Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)-level committee meetings held via video conferencing. These were the 43rd meeting of the Standing Committee of Experts in Islamic Affairs and Endowments in GCC countries, and, »»»

Doha, Qatar: The Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MoEHE), represented by the Department of Educational Planning, Policies, and Innovation, organised a workshop entitled “Writing Practices and Performance Indicators” as part of its early preparations for the Ministry’s participation in th»»»

Doha, Qatar: Al Markhiya Gallery opened yesterday the ‘Networks Part 4’ exhibition at the Katara Cultural Village. Organised in partnership with Hafez Gallery in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the exhibition showcases artworks by 13 visual artists from Qatar and across the Arab world. The lineup includes ho»»»

Dubai: ADNOC Distribution reported a record net profit of $568 million for the first half of 2026, up 59% from a year earlier, supported by higher fuel sales, network expansion, inventory gains and growth across its non-fuel retail business. Sign up for our daily business newsletter, Cheques & Bala»»»

Kazakh traveler Marat Sadykov reported a possible extortion by a police officer in Kyrgyzstan. He made the claim after completing a 36-day road expedition through Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Afghanistan. According to the traveler, the incident occurred in Korday, before he crossed the Kyrgyz-Kazakh»»»

Doha, Qatar: The curtain fell on the Qatar Toy Festival 2026 with a colourful closing ceremony yesterday at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center (DECC), bringing to an end more than a month of celebration of imagination, creativity and family entertainment that attracted thousands of visitors »»»

Doha, Qatar: Qatar continues its intensive efforts and engagements with regional and international partners to prevent escalation and support diplomatic solutions in the region, said Advisor to the Prime Minister and Official Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Majed bin Mohammed »»»

Dubai: Dana Gas and Crescent Petroleum have started supplying natural gas to Iraq’s Ministry of Electricity to support power generation and improve electricity services in Kirkuk. Sign up for our daily business newsletter, Cheques & Balances.The companies will deliver 100 million standard cubic fee»»»

MANILA: A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck off the southern Philippines on Wednesday, the United States Geological Survey said. The quake, which hit 32 kilometers (about 20 miles) southwest of the small island of Sarangani at 12:14 p.m. (0414 GMT), according to the USGS, did not trigger a tsunami wa»»»

KYIV: Russian missile and drone strikes killed at least 15 people and wounded dozens more in Kyiv and the surrounding region overnight, authorities said Wednesday, the latest in a wave of deadly attacks on Ukraine. Kyiv has in recent months urged allies to supply more US-made Patriot interceptors a»»»

ROME: Child malnutrition has reached critical levels in a third of Afghanistan’s provinces and is expected to worsen as funding shortfalls force cuts in food distributions and other support, the UN World Food Program said Tuesday. “We must act now to stem the rise in child deaths, which this crisis»»»

South Korean police raided the Starbucks national headquarters Wednesday, the chain's local operator told AFP, following allegations an advertising campaign defamed activists slain in 1980 pro-democracy protests. Starbucks Korea caused an uproar this year when it launched a "Tank Day" promotion on »»»

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz could come as soon as Wednesday but warned Iran it would get “hit very hard” if negotiations fell through. Transit of the waterway, a key conduit for global oil and gas supplies, has been a sticking point in talks and »»»

US Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor declined on Monday to halt $655.5 million in damages that Palestinian authorities were ordered to pay plaintiffs in a US civil lawsuit concerning attacks that killed and injured Americans in Israel from 2002 to 2004. Sotomayor denied a request by the Palesti»»»

Arab Finance: PRE Group announced that one of its subsidiaries has won a bid to develop an integrated urban project in a prime location in New Zayed City, west of Cairo, according to a press release. Spanning 380 feddans, the development will comprise a diversified portfolio of residential, adminis»»»

Diplomatic efforts to resolve the escalating crisis in the Strait of Hormuz showed signs of momentum Wednesday as officials reported progress on a draft peace agreement between the United States and Iran, even as regional transport and energy markets faced continued challenges. A draft deal is curr»»»

An earthquake with an intensity of magnitude 3 was recorded near Karakol on Wednesday, the Institute of Seismology of the National Academy of Sciences of Kyrgyzstan reported. The seismic activity was registered at 7.05 a.m. The earthquake’s epicenter was located within Kyrgyzstan, 9 kilometers west»»»

LONDON: Antisemitic incidents in the UK soared by 21 percent in the first six months of 2026 amid the US-Israel war on Iran, compared to the same period last year, a Jewish charity said Wednesday. “These attacks are directed against British Jews, but they are also attacks on Britain and our society»»»

ROME: Lebanon and Israel held a fresh round of US-sponsored talks in Rome on Tuesday, with Beirut seeking Israel’s phased withdrawal from the country’s south.Convoys carrying delegations from the two countries arrived in the morning to the US embassy in the Italian capital, where discussions are sc»»»

RANCHO PALOS VERDES, California: A man carrying ammunition and with a gun in his car was arrested Sunday at President Donald Trump’s Los Angeles-area golf course after appearing to monitor security preparations two days ahead of Trump’s fundraiser there, authorities said Tuesday. The Los Angeles Co»»»

The three people killed when a gunman opened fire at an In-N-Out Burger in Idaho included a worker at the restaurant chain and a man from the area known for helping others get sober. Authorities released the names Tuesday of the people who died when the 24-year-old gunman opened fire at the Twin Fa»»»

Bulgarian Patriarch and Sofia Metropolitan Daniil will perform a third annual water blessing at Lake Babreka in the Rila Mountains on Wednesday as part of the Rila Miracle Worker pilgrimage route. Now in its 17th year, the six-day pilgrimage leads participants from St. Sofia, the Wisdom of God Chur»»»

A 22-year-old citizen of Kyrgyzstan sustained severe knife wounds in an attack in Northern Cyprus. The incident occurred on August 3 at a Metropol supermarket in Lefkoşa. According to local police, a 31-year-old man stabbed the woman several times before inflicting a knife wound to his own throat. »»»

Dubai: Veteran Malayalam actor Mohan Sharma, who has appeared in more than 170 films across Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada cinema over a career spanning more than five decades is living in an old age home in Kerala and struggling to meet his medical expenses, according to media reports. The 7»»»

The US military has exhausted nearly 80% of its THAAD interceptors and roughly half of its Patriot interceptors since the start of the war with Iran, with commanders warning that key munitions stockpiles are “dangerously low,” CNN reported, citing multiple sources. The report said concerns over dep»»»

Brazil has asked Argentina's ambassador to leave the country, the foreign ministry in Buenos Aires said Tuesday, amid a diplomatic spat sparked by Argentine President Javier Milei's repeated insults directed at Brazilian leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. The Brazilian government also said it was do»»»

Changes to the 2026–2028 medium-term budget forecast and the 2027 budget procedure are on the Government's agenda, the Cabinet press service said Wednesday. The Cabinet will also review a draft decision to repeal the National Assembly's October 31, 2025 resolution imposing temporary restrictions on»»»

Kyrgyzstan’s Minister of Water Resources, Agriculture and Processing Industry, Erlist Akunbekov, met with Liu Jiangping, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People’s Republic of China to Kyrgyzstan. Following the meeting, the two sides signed an executive agreement for a project to »»»

US President Donald Trump again claimed the Strait of Hormuz would be opened “very soon,” threatening Iran with military action if it does not happen. “The strait’s gonna be open very soon or they’re gonna get hit very hard,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News.He also claimed the US had prepa»»»

Kim Yo-jong, department director of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea and sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, condemned Japan’s accelerating military buildup after Tokyo test-fired Tomahawk long-range cruise missiles from an Aegis destroyer, KCNA reported. She said Japan i»»»

US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that "very good discussions" have been made and insisted that Iran was keen to find a way to bring an end to the conflict. Trump said that talks were "ongoing", as Axios reported that the US, Iran and Oman were nearing an interim deal to reopen the strait, whi»»»

Tolobai uulu Ilgiz has been appointed Vice President of the International Kok-Boru Federation. According to the organization, he will coordinate the development and popularization of the national sport, as well as facilitate the implementation of international projects and strengthen cooperation be»»»

A mine collapse in Sulyukta left two workers trapped underground, Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of Emergency Situations (MES) reported. The ministry said that 24 rescuers were dispatched to the scene. Preliminary information indicates that four support structures collapsed at a depth of 50 meters, causing »»»

Iran and Oman are reportedly nearing a bilateral agreement, also known as "shipping framework", to manage maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz under a temporary or intermediate framework. Iranian statements from the Foreign Ministry emphasise that these are strictly bilateral coastal-state talk»»»

Twenty-five-year-old Saadat Asylbekova will represent Kyrgyzstan at the 75th Miss World 2026 international beauty pageant. According to the organizers of the Miss Kyrgyzstan national beauty contest, Asylbekova was selected based on her international pageant experience, successful modeling career, a»»»