As the August 20 fireworks approach, forecast uncertainty invariably rises, for late summer brings a confluence of atmospheric influences to the Carpathian Basin. This volatility, coupled with the sudden onset of violent showers and thunderstorms, could place the national day celebrations in jeopar»»»

Ukraine's banks made almost a third less profit in the first half of 2026 than a year earlier, as the wartime windfall that fattened their margins begins to fade. The banking system's net profit fell 32% year on year to UAH54.07bn ($1.3bn) in 1H26, according to National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) data c»»»

A ruble-backed stablecoin built by a sanctioned Russian defence bank has handled nearly $140bn of turnover since it was created 18 months ago. Pyotr Fradkov, chairman and chief executive of PSB Bank and son of a former prime minister, said A7A5 had reached that figure since February 2025. “This is »»»

In Plovdiv, citizens held a second protest on Monday in defence of the Plovdiv International Fair in front of the town hall, despite the fact that earlier in the day Finance Minister Galab Donev had confirmed before the Supreme Court of Cassation that steps were being taken to protect the state's 2»»»

Las Vegas: Rapper Tupac Shakur was shot dead in an act of gang revenge ordered by a mobster who later boasted of it, jurors heard Monday, as one of America's most anticipated trials got under way, 30 years after the murder. Duane "Keffe D" Davis, a one-time leader of the South Side Compton Crips, o»»»

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - US President Donald Trump on Monday called the idea of the Strait of Hormuz becoming part of the US is great. "I do think it's a great idea," Trump told reported. The president also claimed once again that the US has "total control" over the strait.Last week, Trump said he wo»»»

Doha, Qatar: Hamad International Airport (HIA) reminded passengers that its complimentary shuttle service runs every 15 minutes, with no booking or registration needed. HIA, in a post on social media, said that the service is “perfect for tight connections, heavy hand luggage, or longer distances b»»»

Tunis, August 17 (TAP) - President Kais Saied visited on Monday the headquarters of the Higher Council of Education and Teaching in Tunis to attend its inaugural session, emphasising the Council's vital role in improving and reforming the education...»»»

Dubai: Around 1,700 aspiring overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) have been rescued from an alleged large-scale illegal recruitment scheme involving fake job offers in Central Europe, the Philippines’ Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said. Authorities arrested Mazhoor Ubongin Khusin, also known as “»»»

Egyptian Minister of Industry Khaled Hashem participated in laying the foundation stone for the Sungrow Power Suez plant, which will specialize in advanced battery energy storage systems (BESS) and is set to become the first dedicated energy storage systems manufacturing facility in the Middle East»»»

Egypt plans to establish a new investment entity to coordinate its investments in Africa and is urging the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA) to expand its backing for continental infrastructure and trade initiatives, Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said on Sunday. Abdelatty, who »»»

LONDON: An Israeli-Palestinian nonprofit organization on Monday urged the EU and the governments of the UK, Canada and Australia to impose sanctions on Avi Bluth, head of the Israeli military’s Central Command, for failure to prevent mounting attacks by settlers on Palestinian communities in the oc»»»

New York, Aug. 17 (SANA) US stocks traded close to record levels Monday as investors awaited earnings from major retailers for further evidence of how high inflation and a slowing labour market are affecting consumer spending. The S&P 500 slipped 0.1% but remained near Thursday’s record high. The D»»»

Negotiations on the minimum wage are continuing, and the National Statistical Institute is expected to present data on changes in the median wage on Thursday, allowing the specific calculation formula to be finalized, Dobri Mitrev, Chairman of the Management Board of the Bulgarian Industrial Associ»»»

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Green House Development has launched pre-sales for the first 154 apartments at Wave Ustka Thermal & Spa, a major new seaside development planned on Poland’s Baltic coast. Green House Development has launched pre-sales at Wave Ustka Thermal & Spa, its third development under the Wave brand and the f»»»

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Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa plans to apply to the Industrial Development Agency, ARP, for a loan of up to PLN 1.066 billion as the troubled mining group works to stabilize its finances. JSW’s management approved the application on Monday. The proposed financing would replace an earlier plan involvin»»»

Poland’s state budget deficit reached PLN 141.06 billion after the first seven months of 2026, according to figures released Monday by the Finance Ministry. Despite the substantial headline figure, the deficit did not increase in July, helped by improving tax revenues as stronger economic activity »»»

The Government, trade unions and employers agreed on a mechanism for setting the national minimum wage, the Finance Ministry said Monday. Changes in four equally weighted indicators will determine how much the minimum wage may increase. The Price Index of a Small Basket will be used to determine th»»»

Prime Minister Péter Magyar called on MBH Bank and Lőrinc Mészáros, who has ties to business interests with stakes in the lender, to reinstate a charity programme benefitting children from low-income households with good grades in a post on Facebook on Monday. New HQ of Lőrinc Mészáros’s bank too e»»»

This year’s graduating class achieved an impressive 37% of A* and A grades, well above the UK average of 28.5%, demonstrating the high academic standards and dedication that represent the Britannica community. Equally impressive is 62% of grades were B or higher, a remarkable accomplishment compare»»»

Architect Stoyan Petkov has taken over GERB local organizations in the Varna region. The new chairman of both the city and regional party chapters was officially introduced by the leader Boyko Borissov. He explained that party members, including MPs, MEPs, district and municipal mayors had rallied »»»

RIYADH: Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan and his Sudanese counterpart Mohieldin Salem Ahmed Ibrahim signed an agreement to establish the Saudi-Sudanese Coordination Council in Riyadh on Monday. The establishment of the council reflects the keenness of both nations to elevate the leve»»»

Egypt’s new Criminal Procedure Law will take effect on October 1, 2026, as the Justice Ministry prepares to implement the legislation alongside a broader programme to digitise the judicial system, accelerate court proceedings and improve judicial efficiency. President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi reviewed »»»

Egypt-China trade reached approximately $20.8bn in 2025, with Chinese exports to Egypt accounting for nearly $19.9bn, compared with just $819m in Egyptian exports to China, Head of the Egyptian Commercial Service Abdel Aziz Elsherif said. The figures highlight both the scale of the economic partner»»»

Egypt’s Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation is expanding a digital spatial monitoring system designed to detect encroachments and violations affecting waterways, water infrastructure and ministry-administered land at an early stage, as part of efforts to strengthen digital oversight and gove»»»

LONDON: Jordan’s King Abdullah II said China and Arab countries have maintained durable ties through decades of regional upheaval by focusing on practical cooperation and shared interests, as he called for deeper coordination on easing tensions in the Middle East. In an interview with China’s Xinhu»»»

The UAE is moving ahead with plans to transform 50% of government sectors, services and operations into models powered by Agentic AI within the next two years, as officials work to build the technology and data infrastructure needed for the shift. The Higher Committee for Agentic AI organised the “»»»

Dubai: A Canadian-bred falcon has sold for 1.3 million Saudi riyals ($346,000) at an auction north of Riyadh, making it the most expensive bird sold at this year’s event and the second-highest sale in the auction’s history. The juvenile three-quarter gyr Super White falcon, bred by Jim Wilson Falco»»»

Helsinki: A new study conducted by researchers at the University of Oulu in Finland reveals that regular coffee consumption is associated with reduced body fat and lower visceral fat levels. According to a report by the New York Post, the study surveyed over 2,200 participants regarding their dieta»»»

Doha, Qatar: A diet should not be judged solely by how quickly it changes the number on the scale, but by whether it can be maintained over the long term while providing adequate nutrition, according to therapeutic and community nutrition specialist Alaa Mahmoud Abu Nahia. Speaking during an interv»»»

BEIRUT (Sputnik) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking to maintain the Israeli military presence in the Gaza Strip and is bearing responsibility for a possible failure of mediation efforts to resolve the conflict, League of Arab States (LAS) Secretary-General Nabil Fahmy said on Mo»»»

LONDON: In a sign of the growing pressure on Syria’s embattled captagon networks, smugglers are increasingly taking to the air — not in aircraft, but using balloons in an attempt to bypass tighter border controls and carry the illicit drug into Jordan and beyond. Increasingly, however, their balloo»»»

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s National Center for Wildlife, in collaboration with Neom, has documented the birth of the first striped hyena cub since two breeding pairs were reintroduced to the Neom Nature Reserve. The birth is a positive sign that the hyenas have adapted successfully to the reserve and o»»»

U.S. rescue teams conduct search operations for survivors following two powerful earthquakes, measuring 7.2 and 7.5 on the Richter scale, that struck La Guaira, Venezuela, on June 30. File Photo by U.S. Department of State/UPI | License Photo Aug. 17 (UPI) -- Major earthquakes that struck Venezuela»»»

Dubai: At least 15 people were killed in two separate disasters involving Hindu pilgrims in eastern India on Monday, with eight dying in a hotel fire in West Bengal and seven in a crowd crush at a temple in neighbouring Bihar, officials said. The incidents occurred during Shravan, a sacred month in»»»

Tunis, August 17, 2026 (TAP) — Civil Protection units carried out 568 interventions over the past 24 hours, including 99 firefighting operations, according to figures published Monday on the official website of the Ministry of Interior.From 6 a.m....»»»

A prominent Malian broadcaster and an influencer were on Monday jailed for seven years after criticising the ruling junta. Mohamed Youssouf Bathily was convicted by the Bamaka court of criminal conspiracy and discrediting the state alongside Rokia Doumbia, a noted campaigner. A Malian court sentenc»»»

Dubai: Iran will resume sending pilgrims to Saudi Arabia for Umrah after a six-month suspension, with 18,000 people scheduled to travel in the first phase of the programme, official Fars News Agency reported. Akbar Rezaei, deputy head of Iran’s Hajj and Pilgrimage Organisation for Hajj and Umrah af»»»

AL-MUKALLA: At least seven missiles launched by the Iran-backed Houthis struck two government-controlled areas on Yemen’s Red Sea coast on Monday, as the militia continued to mourn dozens of fighters killed during its latest military escalation, local officials said. Two missiles struck Mokha seapo»»»

Dubai: After spending nearly six months largely out of sight, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei is beginning to show what his Iran will look like. And it looks increasingly like a country preparing for a long fight. Khamenei has installed a string of veteran military and security har»»»

Russia's meat and feed exporters face a choice between two very different markets: Iran, slow and bureaucratic but predictable, and the Philippines, fast-growing but brutal on price. This is what Russia's pivot to Asia looks like at the level of an actual container. Shut out of European agricultura»»»

The EU bought €809mn of Russian liquefied natural gas in June, 57% more than a year earlier, with Belgium the single biggest buyer. That gave Russia 24.1% of the EU's LNG market by value, second only to the US on 54.3% and €1.83bn. Belgium took €268mn worth, its highest since July 2025, ahead of Fr»»»

Russia's meat and feed exporters face a choice between two very different markets: Iran, slow and bureaucratic but predictable, and the Philippines, fast-growing but brutal on price. This is what Russia's pivot to Asia looks like at the level of an actual container. Shut out of European agricultura»»»

Five years after the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan, Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi has called on Washington to reopen its embassy in Kabul and deepen diplomatic and economic engagement with the country. The appeal includes potential US investment in Afghanistan’s mineral resources an»»»

Russia's banks are earning more than ever, yet beneath the record profits lie mounting bad debts, a flight to cash and a corporate-loan pile that few in Moscow can measure. The country's largest lender, state-controlled Sberbank, posted a record IFRS net profit of RUB1.01tn ($12.6bn) in 1H26, up 19»»»

Russia's meat and feed exporters face a choice between two very different markets: Iran, slow and bureaucratic but predictable, and the Philippines, fast-growing but brutal on price. This is what Russia's pivot to Asia looks like at the level of an actual container. Shut out of European agricultura»»»

Anxiety in Russia has climbed back to the level it reached when Vladimir Putin ordered mobilisation four years ago. Some 57% of Russians describe the situation in their country as tense and a further 13% call it critical or explosive - 70% between them, the highest since September 2022. Only 19% sa»»»

London: The head of Cambridge university Monday condemned a "racist feeding frenzy" prompted by plagiarism claims against black academic Jason Arday, as his supporters prepared for a London vigil after his death last week. Arday, who became Cambridge's youngest ever black professor in 2023, was fou»»»