At least 19 people were killed Sunday in drone and missile strikes in Russia and Ukraine which destroyed a book market in Kyiv while Moscow faced one of the most massive attacks since the start of the war. Ukraine and Russia have been escalating their long-range strikes for months, resulting in a g»»»

Dubai: UAE shoppers with eligible Emirates NBD credit cards can now split purchases of Dh100 or more into four or eight monthly instalments, without paying interest or fees. Sign up for our daily business newsletter, Cheques & Balances.The option is available for eligible purchases made both online»»»

Athens: A vulture who refused to budge had to be removed from the wing of a flight awaiting takeoff on the Greek island of Crete, in order to avoid potential damage to the plane, a local newspaper reported Monday. The Patris daily said the incident occurred late Sunday at the island's Iraklio airpo»»»

Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of Labor, Social Security and Migration clarified order of work in connection with the public holiday and additional day off. Under the Labor Code, August 31, Independence Day of Kyrgyzstan, is a non-working public holiday. Employees may be required to work on this day only wi»»»

Several regional powers including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates issued a statement Sunday condemning Israel’s rejection of the road map, saying, “Israel now bears responsibility for obstructing the efforts to bring peace in Gaza.” Other signers included Jordan, Pakistan, Indonesia and t»»»

U.S. negotiator and President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner held a rare meeting with the Hamas chief on Sunday in a new diplomatic effort to make progress in the stalled Gaza ceasefire. Kushner will meet on Monday with Israel's prime minister, who is under pressure after rejecting the new»»»

U.S. negotiator and President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner held a rare meeting with the Hamas chief on Sunday in a new diplomatic effort to make progress in the stalled Gaza ceasefire. Kushner will meet on Monday with Israel's prime minister, who is under pressure after rejecting the new»»»

Q 2 2026 economic growth data showed a weak development, with a decrease from the same period in 2025 of 0.4% unadjusted and a stagnation compared with the previous quarter, according to Iulian Lolea, chief economist of the Concordia Employers' Confederation."Data on economic growth in Q2 2026 show»»»

Romania's economy is showing early signs of rebalancing in the first part of 2026, with the economic contraction easing, EU-funded investment accelerating, net exports making a stronger contribution, the external deficit narrowing and inflation resuming a downward trend, interim Finance Minister Al»»»

The stagnation of the economy in the second quarter could be followed by a slight economic contraction in the third and fourth quarters of this year, while the economy could enter 2027 on a healthier footing, economic consultant Adrian Negrescu believes.According to flash data released on Friday by»»»

The balance-of-payments current account posted a deficit of EUR 14,202 million, in the period January-June 2026, compared with EUR 13,555 million in the same year-ago period, the National Bank of Romania (BNR) announced on Friday.The breakdown shows that the deficit on trade in goods increased by E»»»

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) remained unchanged in real terms in Q2 of 2026 compared with Q1 of 2026, while compared with Q2 of 2025 it fell by 0.4% on the unadjusted series and by 2% on the seasonally adjusted series, according to the National Institute of Statistics (INS) estimated data released »»»

Alliance for Agriculture and Cooperation (AAC) requires, in an open letter addressed to the President, the premier and the chair persons of the two Chambers of the Parliament, rigorous monitoring and complete traceability of Ukrainian cereals in transit, as well as concrete measures for the protect»»»

The government established on Friday through decision, the list of the sectors comprising activities carried out in line with the changing seasons with a view to implementing the rules governing the employment of foreign nationals as seasonal workers. According to a press release from the Governmen»»»

The percentage of the PNRR implemented has risen by 31% over the past fourteen months and is set to reach 78% following the fifth payment request?compared to an annual average of approximately 10.4% during the first four and a half years?Dragos Pislaru, the interim Minister of Investments and Europ»»»

The government approved on Friday the signing of cooperation agreements with the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia aiming at the combating of crime and terrorism.Accordingly, according to a government press release, the Memorandum entitled ‘Conclusion of negotiations and signing of the Agreemen»»»

Romania could reach 97.22% of its National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) if it adopts the remaining reforms, interim Minister of Investments and European Projects Dragos Pislaru said on Friday at a press conference held after a Government meeting.According to Pislaru, Romania will submit its »»»

Romania has received 11.02 billion euros from the European Commission under cohesion policy, representing 35.6% of the total 30.986 billion euros in non-repayable funds, interim Minister of Investments and European Projects Dragos Pislaru said on Friday, presenting a report to the Government."Under»»»

Modernising the Naval Forces, whether through fleet renewal, mine-countermeasure capabilities or capabilities to monitor and protect maritime infrastructure, remains a priority for Romania, President Nicusor Dan said on Saturday.In his message on Romanian Navy Day, read at the events in Constanta b»»»

Romania officially submitted on Friday evening its fifth payment request under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), worth a total of 2.84 billion euros, interim Minister of Investments and European Projects Dragos Pislaru announced."Last night, at 8:00 pm, Romania officially submitted »»»

Romanian Navy Day was celebrated on Saturday in six cities, with the main events taking place in Constanta, where more than 3,500 Romanian and foreign military personnel took part in the military ceremony and the FNR 26.10 joint and interinstitutional naval exercise.Events was held in Constanta, Ma»»»

The intensity of the attacks on the Ukrainian front, close to Romania’s border was unprecedented in recent times and the MApN radars discovered, in the proximity of the Romanian air space over 100 drones over the last 96 hours, says the minister of National Defense, Radu Miruta.‘Yesterday and today»»»

Investigations in the area of Galati County where the drone that entered Romanian national territory overnight between Saturday and Sunday was shot down Sunday afternoon, the Ministry of National Defence (MApN) informed on Sunday.'The aerial and ground reconnaissance mission carried out by joint te»»»

Minister of Foreign Affairs Oana Toiu had a telephone conversation on Sunday with her Spanish counterpart Jose Manuel Albares to thank Spain after a drone that entered Romanian territory in the early hours of Sunday was intercepted and shot down by a Spanish air patrol in Galati County."Earlier thi»»»

Preparations for the opening ceremony of the World Nomad Games are in full swing in Bishkek. A participant in the dance group involved in the show shared a video from one of the rehearsals. Rehearsals are being held at Zhashtyk Arena. According to the participant, the organizers invited a U.S. chor»»»

Former Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány has issued an unexpected warning about the dangers of turning public anger and the desire for revenge into government policy, arguing that even legitimate grievances must be handled through the rule of law. In a Facebook post published on Sunday, Gyu»»»

Dubai: Flying from the UAE today, August 17? Most UAE flights continue to operate, but travellers should expect possible delays, cancellations and last-minute schedule changes as airlines continue to adjust services amid the ongoing regional security situation. Emirates has partially resumed flight»»»

Dubai: Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) has directed all airlines operating at the Kingdom’s airports to ensure passengers have the documents required to enter or leave Saudi Arabia and to reach their final destinations or transit points. In a circular, GACA instructed comm»»»

FRANKFURT, Germany: ‌The EU intends to significantly expand sanctions against Russia ​in the coming months, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told a German newspaper. “EU sanctions have already cost Russia dearly, depriving Russia’s war ‌machine of ‌over €1 ​trillion ($1.16 ‌trillion) ⁠and for ​a»»»

Dubai: Employees who uncover financial or administrative violations at organisations overseen by Dubai’s Financial Audit Authority can apply for employment protection when they report wrongdoing, with safeguards that can include confidentiality, protection from workplace discrimination and interven»»»

MILAN: Thieves stole four works attributed to Renaissance painter Antonello da Messina worth millions of euros from the regional museum in the city of Messina in Sicily while crowds gathered across town for the traditional Assumption holiday celebrations, cultural officials and Italian media said S»»»

A photo supplied by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense purports to show a Wildberries warehouse on fire after a drone attack in the Moscow region on Sunday. The Kremlin said it shot down nearly 1,500 Ukrainian drones during an overnight attack. Photo courtesy Ukrainian Ministry of Defense Aug. 16 (U»»»

Strikes killed 19 people in Russia and Ukraine, authorities said Sunday, as waves of drones and missiles pummelled civilian infrastructure on both sides. With fighting at the front at a near standstill and talks frozen, the warring countries have significantly stepped up long-range attacks deep beh»»»

Petrol rationing is back across Russia after the peak of the Ukraine-caused fuel crisis seemed to have passed, and this time a governor has admitted his region's refinery will be out of action for six months. Ukrainian drones struck the Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat refining complex in Bashkortostan on»»»

Petrol rationing is back across Russia after the peak of the Ukraine-caused fuel crisis seemed to have passed, and this time a governor has admitted his region's refinery will be out of action for six months. Ukrainian drones struck the Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat refining complex in Bashkortostan on»»»

“Superhuman work” is underway to raise the water levels of the River Danube near the Paks nuclear plant to keep two of its turbines operational, Prime Minister Péter Magyar said on Facebook on Sunday. Tuesday and Wednesday will be critical, as an additional 14-15cm drop is expected in the water lev»»»

Al Salem Holding plans to expand its investment portfolio in Egypt from more than EGP 15bn currently to EGP 50bn over the next five years, representing a 234% increase, Chairperson Bahaa Salem said. The announcement was made during a media site visit to the group’s Blue Side Hub at Marina 5 on the »»»

A 28-year-old Pakistani TikTok content creator with more than one million followers was shot dead in Taxila, near Islamabad. According to her family’s police complaint, two unidentified men allegedly opened fire on the car she was travelling in with her siblings. Local media reports identified the »»»

Budapest’s newly relaunched MOL Bubi bike-sharing system is facing a growing problem: bicycles are increasingly being left outside designated docking points, potentially exposing unsuspecting users to surcharges of tens of thousands of forints. The confusion is partly linked to missing or temporari»»»

LONDON: Israeli settler children were filmed on Saturday night harassing a Palestinian family outside their home in the West Bank village of Turmus Ayya, according to a Palestinian human rights advocate. Ihab Hassan posted two videos on X that he said showed a group of settler children repeatedly t»»»

Hungary’s long spell of hot, settled weather is set to end on Monday as a cold front moves into the Carpathian Basin, bringing showers, thunderstorms, strong winds and cooler temperatures. According to HungaroMet, atmospheric activity has already increased to the north and west of Hungary. The asso»»»

Three commercial vessels were attacked in the Strait of Hormuz over a 72-hour period, with maritime authorities maintaining a severe threat level amid continuing regional tensions. The latest assessment from the Joint Maritime Information Center (JMIC) said the attacks involved two tankers and a bu»»»

LONDON: Britain’s minister of state for the Middle East on Saturday condemned what he called “settler terrorism” in the occupied West Bank, after reports that Israeli settlers had surrounded at least two Palestinian homes in the village of Qusra, south of Nablus. Stephen Doughty said the violence m»»»

RIYADH: A Canadian-bred Super White mottled gyrfalcon chick fetched SR1.3 million ($346,600) on Saturday at the sixth International Falcon Breeders Auction in Malham, becoming the event’s highest-priced bird of 2026 and the second-biggest sale in the auction’s history. Two falcons from the Canadian»»»

The US-Iran standoff continues to affect travel, shipping and security across the Gulf, with the Strait of Hormuz remaining a major flashpoint. For UAE residents, the most immediate impact is likely to be felt through flight disruptions, changes to shipping routes and the wider effects on regional »»»

Damascus, Aug. 16 (SANA) Gold prices rose in the Syrian market on Sunday, with 21-karat gold gaining 100 Syrian pounds per gram from the previous day, according to the General Authority for Precious Metals Management. The authority’s daily bulletin put the selling price of 21-karat gold at 16,100 S»»»

Firefighters have brought under control a forest fire in the Kőszeg Mountains after a major operation that continued until late Saturday night, with difficult terrain making the blaze particularly challenging to tackle. The fire broke out in the early evening of 15 August in the area around the Stá»»»

Dubai: Amanat Holdings shareholders are set to receive an interim cash dividend of Dh75 million after the healthcare and education group reported a 46% increase in first-half profit to Dh153.3 million. Sign up for our daily business newsletter, Cheques & Balances.The dividend represents 3% of the c»»»

The conflict in the Middle East continues to affect travel, shipping and security across the Gulf, with the Strait of Hormuz remaining a key flashpoint. For people living in the UAE, however, the immediate impact is more likely to be felt through flight disruptions, changes to shipping routes and t»»»

Dubai: Khorfakkan Port is positioning for a major expansion that could eventually double its annual container handling capacity to 10 million, strengthening a UAE east coast trade gateway with direct access to international shipping routes. Sign up for our daily business newsletter, Cheques & Balan»»»