France is preparing with Italy to deploy international coalition forces in southern Lebanon after the end of UNIFIL's mission, a French Foreign Ministry official told Al-Arabiya television. The official said the move will take place with American support. He explained that the deployment of interna»»»

BERLIN: German prosecutors said Thursday that the Ukrainian state ordered a 2022 bomb attack on the Nord Stream gas pipelines, complicating relations between Kyiv and its key military backer Berlin. The sabotage, never claimed by any actor, destroyed three of the four Baltic seafloor pipelines of t»»»

While France, Italy, the UK and the rest of western Europe reeled under a heatwave last week, central and eastern Europe sweltered too. The Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and the Balkans hit record temperatures. Ukraine imposed power outages as its grid buckled under demand. Romania got slammed »»»

Bulgaria plays a crucial role on NATO's eastern flank and has demonstrated how defense spending can be translated into real military capabilities, Supreme Allied Commander Europe General Alexus Grynkewich said during a joint briefing with Bulgaria's Chief of Defense, Admiral Emil Eftimov, at t»»»

ROME: US President Donald Trump’s attacks on Italy’s premier have had an unintended consequence. After Trump questioned Italy’s reliability as a wartime ally and claimed Giorgia Meloni had groveled for his attention, European leaders rallied to Meloni’s side, thawing what had been a frosty relation»»»

German prosecutors have charged the Ukrainian suspect in the 2022 sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines with a “war crime,” according to local media reports. The indictment was served on the suspect, identified by the media as former Ukrainian special forces member Sergey Kuznetsov, this week. »»»

On July 2, 1964, the U.S. Civil Rights Act of 1964 became law with the signature of President Lyndon B. Johnson. 1 of 4 | President Lyndon B. Johnson (C) signs the 1964 Civil Rights Act as the Rev. Martin Luther, standing behind him, and others watch on July 2, 1964, in the White House. File Photo »»»

Damascus, July 1, (SANA) The Syrian Arab Republic on Wednesday congratulated the Federal Republic of Somalia, its leadership and people, on the occasion of Independence Day. In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates extended best wishes for continued security and stability in »»»

BERLIN: German prosecutors said Wednesday they had brought charges against a suspect in the 2022 sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipeline linking Russia with Europe. Federal prosecutors confirmed to AFP that a man had been charged over the explosion, with German media reporting that he was a Ukrain»»»

Italy is stalling a NATO aid commitment to Ukraine for 2027 after the bloc signed off on a €70 billion ($80 billion) military package to Kiev this year, Germany’s Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) reported on Tuesday. While NATO envoys agreed on the terms of this year’s assistance on Tuesday in »»»

Police raided offices connected to France’s largest opposition party on Tuesday, National Rally (RN) leader and presidential hopeful Jordan Bardella has said, claiming the searches were politically timed as the country moves closer to election season. The Euroskeptic and anti-immigration politician»»»

Romania is looking for solutions to its labour shortage through immigration, digitalization and automation, while leaving underused one of its most important internal reserves of economic growth: women’s participation in the labour market, according to an analysis by the National Confederation for »»»

NATO member states have failed to agree on next year's military aid commitments for Ukraine ahead of the upcoming summit in Turkiye, with Italy blocking the financial package and the United States watering down political language on Ukraine's European security ties. Italian opposition prevented the»»»

WASHINGTON: The US Men’s National Team haven’t won a World Cup knockout match since 2002 nor ‌have they defeated a European side in any competition in more than five years. For the current squad, it’s not about revisiting history but making history when the United States plays Bosnia and Herzegovin»»»

Britain plans to spend almost GBP300 billion ($397 billion) over the next four years to modernise its armed forces to counter rising threats, outgoing Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced Tuesday. More drones, uncrewed vehicles and an upgrade to the UK's nuclear deterrent form part of Starmer's lo»»»

Prime Minister Edi Rama has appointed former Shkodër mayor-elect Valdrin Pjetri as head of the Agency for the Treatment of Property, reviving debate over the ruling Socialist Party's handling of officials linked to past criminal records. Pjetri was elected mayor of Shkodër in 2019 but resigned befo»»»

More than one million undocumented migrants in Spain have applied for legal status under a vast regularisation scheme launched in April that grants those eligible the right to live and work in the country. The window to apply for the programme closes Tuesday.  More than one million undocumente»»»

London: Serena Williams will return to singles tennis for the first time in four years when the American legend steps onto Centre Court at Wimbledon on Tuesday, while Iga Swiatek starts her title defence. French Open champion Alexander Zverev also gets his campaign under way, bidding to put his pre»»»

JEDDAH: Every Saturday, a group of creatives and people meet in cafes to sketch together. There is no fee or instructor, simply the desire to fill the page and enjoy a moment of peace and community. Known as the Jeddah Sketching Club, they are led by Omamah Ashmeel, an independent illustrator and v»»»

MADRID: More than one million undocumented migrants in Spain have sought legal status under a scheme that has defied a wider European crackdown on irregular immigration, the government said on Tuesday, the final day for submissions. The vast scheme was predicted to benefit around 500,000 people, mo»»»

Italian energy behemoth Eni has announced the commencement of operations for three new drilling rigs. These rigs, slated to become operational next week, will enhance production capabilities for the Egyptian Agiba Petroleum Company. The announcement was made by Eni’s CEO, Claudio Descalzi, during a»»»

PARIS: Europe’s most severe heatwave on record is losing ground, although more than 95 million people on the continent are set to face temperatures of at least 35C on Tuesday, according to AFP calculations.The continent is not used to experiencing such temperatures, especially so early in the summe»»»

Eli Lilly and Company has announced the appointment of Sebastian Iovan as General Manager for its Romania Cluster. Starting July 1st, 2026, Iovan will coordinate the company’s commercial, medical, and operational activity on the markets of Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, and Bosnia an»»»

MONACO: Police were searching for a suspected bomber on Tuesday after three people were wounded ​by an explosion in the wealthy principality of Monaco which French and Ukrainian media said was an attack on a Ukrainian-born oligarch. A manhunt was under way in Monaco and neighboring France after the»»»

Echo of Nomads international ethnosong competition will be held in Bishkek as part of the cultural program of the 6th World Nomad Games. Twenty-one performers from 20 countries will participate. According to the organizers, all participants have passed the preliminary selection process and meet the»»»

Two weeks of extreme heat have brought Europe to a scorched halt, with public services closed and vital infrastructure literally melting in record-breaking temperatures. Meanwhile, European leaders are telling their citizens to shut off the AC. Europe’s most severe heatwave in decades has broken te»»»

Doha: Knockout football has a way of changing everything. The excitement gives way to a simple equation: win and continue, lose and go home. That is the challenge facing Norway and Ivory Coast when they meet in Dallas in the Round of 32, with both nations sensing a rare opportunity to move a step c»»»

Products bought online by individuals in Romania from outside the European Union (EU), through e-commerce platforms on which they place orders with a cumulative value of less than EUR 150, are becoming increasingly expensive. After the introduction of the logistics fee of 25 lei per parcel at the b»»»

Around 5.2 million Romanians, representing 27.4% of the usually resident population, were at risk of poverty or social exclusion in 2025, according to data published by the National Institute of Statistics. The indicator was down by 0.5 percentage points compared with 2024, corresponding to a decre»»»

In May 2026, Bulgarians made a total of 922,500 trips abroad, marking a 5.5% increase compared with the same month in 2025, according to preliminary data from the National Statistical Institute. Officials reported growth across all categories of travel purpose. Turkey remained the leading destinati»»»

Beneath the Central and Southeast Europe region lies one of Europe’s most underexploited energy resources. Geothermal energy, long associated with Iceland’s volcanic landscapes, is attracting fresh attention as countries seek cleaner, more secure and less import-dependent sources of energy. The app»»»

Ukraine left the two-day Ukraine Recovery Conference in Gdańsk, Poland, with some 200 agreements worth over €10bn, Ukrainian Economy, Environment and Agriculture Minister Oleksiy Sobolev said after the June 25-26 meeting. The package included the launch of the first €3.2bn tranche of a wider €»»»

Bulgaria remains among the lowest-priced countries in the European Union, but the gap with the EU average continues to narrow, according to comparative price level data covering 2021-2025, the Institute for Market Economics reports. The indicators, which benchmark countries against the EU-27 averag»»»

Thousands of Vespa enthusiasts rode through Rome on Saturday as Italy celebrated the 80th anniversary of its iconic scooter. Created in the aftermath of World War II, the Vespa has evolved from an affordable means of transport into a global symbol of Italian design, lifestyle and cinematic glamour.»»»

BERLIN/MILAN: Germany and Italy endured sweltering conditions on Saturday as a heatwave linked to dozens of deaths in Western Europe spread eastwards after temperatures broke records above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit). Britain, France, Switzerland and Germany have all experienced rec»»»

Rome: More than 10,000 Vespas putt-putt-putted around the Colosseum and past the Roman Forum on Saturday, marking the 80th anniversary of the iconic scooter. Enthusiasts came from all over. Vespa-borne visitors converged on the Eternal City's cobblestone streets to celebrate a brand they likewise v»»»

Pontelagoscuro, Italy: Seawater is seeping into Italy's longest river as the waterway starts to run dry in the heatwave, hitting a farming heartland that produces the milk for Parmesan cheese. The Po River has never fallen this low so early in the year, raising fears of a devastating drought in Jul»»»

An international contest for akyns-improvisers is planned to be held in Italy. The initiative was discussed during a meeting between Kyrgyz Ambassador to Italy Ermek Omuraliev and Director of the Kyrgyz National Manas Theater, Nurbek Talantbekov. According to the Ministry of Culture, the meeting fo»»»

The unprecedented heatwave that has been hitting Europe since the beginning of the week is spreading east and south across the continent, leading to the cancellation of events as temperatures exceed 35C and hospitals are becoming overwhelmed with demand. Health authorities across Europe were on hig»»»

France and Italy have pushed back against an EU proposal to ban Russian servicemen and veterans from entering the bloc, warning that the measure is legally unclear and difficult to enforce, Bloomberg has reported, citing diplomatic sources. Moscow has denounced the proposal as “paranoid,” while cri»»»

GENEVA: International search and rescue teams from at least 17 countries are being scrambled to Venezuela to help look for survivors of the devastating twin earthquakes, the United Nations said Friday. Getting those search and rescue teams to the scene is the “top priority,” the UN humanitarian age»»»

Bulgaria has recorded the sharpest increase in the cost of building new homes among all European Union member states over the past decade, according to data cited from Eurostat and included in the 2026 edition of the report Key European Business Indicators. The figures show that between 2015 and 20»»»

Caracas: The latest death toll from the twin earthquakes that rattled Venezuela on Wednesday stands at 235, and foreign nationals have been confirmed among the dead. Here is what we know about the identities of the overseas victims: Nine Portuguese Nine Portuguese nationals have been killed in the »»»

A scorching heatwave has killed hundreds of people across Europe this week, with Spain reporting the highest death toll as temperatures surged past 40C (104F) and records were shattered across the continent. Spanish authorities have linked more than 200 deaths to the extreme heat, according to the »»»

LONDON - Serbia's top-ranked tennis player Novak Djokovic was on Friday drawn to face Yibing Wu in the first round of this season's Wimbledon Grand Slam tournament, with Miomir Kecmanovic to play defending champion and top favourite Jannik Sinner of Italy. The encounter with Wu will be Djokovic's f»»»

President Joseph Aoun welcomed on Friday France and Italy's efforts to set up a multinational coalition to succeed the U.N. peacekeeping force in Lebanon, whose mandate expires at the end of the year. In a statement, Aoun called the initiative "a sincere expression of the international commitment t»»»

Los Angeles, United States: Tunisia's miserable World Cup campaign ended with zero points and a minus-10 goal difference after three Group F games following a 3-1 defeat by the Netherlands on Thursday. Here, AFP Sport takes a look at the previous teams to rack up a minus goal difference of double d»»»

Paris: When the mercury rises so do the costs for an economy as productivity melts and growth becomes lethargic, providing an additional challenge to Europe as it struggles with high energy prices. "Extreme heat is emerging as a structural economic risk, with Europe highly exposed," wrote the trade»»»

Rome: Advisor to the Prime Minister and Official Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Majed Mohammed Al Ansari participated in the Mediterranean and Gulf Summit organized by the Italian Institute for International Affairs in Rome, Italy. Dr. Al Ansari spoke during two main sessions,»»»

Desperate Venezuelans raced Thursday to find and rescue loved ones trapped beneath the rubble of collapsed buildings after two major earthquakes that killed at least 235 people. Buildings cracked, crumbled and tilted precariously after the quakes, which the United States Geological Survey measured »»»