MADRID: Spanish humanitarian rescue charity SMH has postponed its next mission in the central Mediterranean until 2027 due to soaring fuel costs, the group said on Wednesday, highlighting the financial pressures facing humanitarian efforts along one of the world's deadliest migration routes. SMH, w»»»

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday that France's student protesters are being "exploited" by political forces ahead of the country's presidential election in April 2027. Hard-left candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon participated in a Paris demonstration while hard-right frontrunner&nb»»»

Turkish authorities appointed a government trustee to run popular broadcaster Halk TV on Wednesday after police raided its headquarters, halting live broadcasts and arresting 11 people. Halk chairman Cafer Mahirogluin denounced "a dark day for Turkey", adding that seven of his family members w»»»

Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy, Investments, and Industry Alexander Pulev discussed security, defense cooperation, and expanding economic ties in high-tech sectors with US State Department officials during a visit to Washington, where he also signed a joint declaration on c»»»

Bulgaria’s State Agency for National Security (SANS) does not rule out future acts of sabotage on Bulgarian territory, its chairman, Plamen Tonchev, told the National Assembly during a hearing on the suspected arson of antennas near Sofia intended to connect to the US satellite system Starlink. Sev»»»

By Staff, Agencies SpaceX has disrupted Ukrainian drone operations by reportedly imposing new speed restrictions on military access to its Starlink satellite network, according to Ukrainian officials and frontline commanders. The reported disruption comes as US President Donald Trump increases pres»»»

ATHENS, Greece: News about US Ambassador Kimberly Guilfoyle dominated in Greece Wednesday a day after her resignation, as government officials fretted about potentially losing Washington’s attention. The White House publicly asked for the ambassador to Greece to resign after she faced severe critic»»»

By Staff, Agencies Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh arrived in Beirut on Wednesday at the head of a diplomatic delegation, with meetings planned with senior Lebanese officials, public figures, and academics, IRNA reported. According to the Iranian news agency, the visit aims to str»»»

By Staff, Agencies The British Navy has been left without its only icebreaker after HMS Protector suffered simultaneous engine failures at sea, forcing the vessel to be towed back to Devonport naval base in Plymouth, The Telegraph reported Tuesday. The incident has renewed concerns about the UK's m»»»

Moscow: Russia on Wednesday said Ukrainian drones attacked two oil refineries and violated an "energy ceasefire" declared by US President Donald Trump but Kyiv dismissed it as a "fake" claim. "Two oil refineries were attacked today by the Kyiv regime, in the Saratov and Ryazan regions," Russian Dep»»»

Riyadh Season shifts star-studded tennis event from October 21–24 to December 27–30 Dubai: Saudi Arabia has postponed the third edition of the Six Kings Slam tennis tournament from October to December, citing organisational and logistical challenges that could affect the quality of the event and sp»»»

Doha, Qatar: The Ministry of Education and Higher Education held a ceremony to honor private schools and kindergartens that won the third edition of the 'Rayty Baydaa' (My Flag is White) Award for the 2025–2026 academic year. The ceremony took place at the Ministry's theater at its permanent headqu»»»

BEIRUT: Yemen’s foreign minister warned on Wednesday that the Houthis would become “undefeatable” if the world allowed them the time to do so, and her government sought neither a ceasefire nor negotiations with the Iran-backed militia. “If the Houthis are given more time, they will become an undefe»»»

President Iliana Iotova said in Burgas on Wednesday that it would be best to hold a meeting on Black Sea security with representatives of all Black Sea countries, including the warring parties. "There is no way to ensure security in the Black Sea without the participation of both countries," she ad»»»

A Russian media outlet accused of spreading Kremlin-friendly narratives has moved its editorial address to Budapest, but its contact page lists a surprising name as editor-in-chief: Mária Schmidt, the former director of the House of Terror Museum, a close friend of former PM Viktor Orbán. She denie»»»

The International Monetary Fund has cut its forecast for Bulgaria’s economic growth in 2026 to 2.6% from 2.8% projected in the spring, according to its October World Economic Outlook report, while raising its estimate for average annual inflation to 4.9% from 3.8%. The IMF also expects Bulgaria’s c»»»

By Staff, Agencies The Joint List and the United Arab List (Ra’am) have signed a surplus-vote agreement ahead of the next "Israeli" "Knesset" elections, while the Joint List has set conditions for supporting Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot in efforts to remove Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fr»»»

KYIV: Ukraine on Wednesday accused the United States of helping Russia by failing to warn it of incoming missile strikes and hobbling its military response through changes to the Starlink system it uses on the battlefield. President Volodymyr Zelensky framed the lack of notice about a wave of power»»»

TIRANA: Demonstrators and riot police clashed in Albania’s capital on Wednesday in a second straight day of violence triggered by student protests calling for better university conditions and Prime Minister Edi Rama’s resignation. Over several hours, police deployed water cannon and tear gas while »»»

How is AI being used to navigate the changing times RISE Summit 2026 was held at Dubai World Trade Centre on October 14, under the theme ‘Recharging Momentum in Global Economies’. The summit brought together investors, policymakers, developers and industry decision-makers to explore how investment »»»

ZAGREB - Specialised EXPO 2027 and Serbia's tourism potential were showcased in Zagreb on Wednesday as part of a Visit Serbia business meeting that brought together representatives of the Serbian and Croatian tourism and business sectors. The event was an opportunity to familiarise the Croatian pub»»»

VATICAN CITY: When US Cardinal Robert Prevost emerged on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica in May 2025 as Pope Leo XIV, the new leader of the Catholic Church, he struck a stark contrast from his predecessor Francis. Leo, young for a pope at 69, appeared energetic, spoke in a strong voice and had »»»

BRUSSELS: The UN’s refugee agency has warned the European Union against “short-sighted” cuts to international aid, as Germany spearheads a push to slash the size of the bloc’s next joint budget. “It’s an easy target. It’s much more easy to explain to the taxpayers that we are going to spend less mo»»»

In the past 24 hours, Russian air defense forces shot down 23 drones over the territory of the Ryazan region and 68 drones over the Saratov region, the Russian Ministry of Defense said. Earlier, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said that despite US President Donald Trump's attempts to »»»

BRUSSELS: The European Union regrets the decision by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to postpone legislative and presidential elections by almost a year, the EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said in a statement on Wednesday. The Palestinian legislative elections were originally scheduled o»»»

AL-MUKALLA: Yemeni government forces in Taiz have vowed to repel intensified Houthi assaults and break the siege imposed on the city by the Iran-backed militia, while thanking Saudi Arabia for providing air support and military logistical assistance. Col. Abdul Basit Al-Baher, a Yemeni army officer»»»

British troops have practiced retaking the disputed Falkland Islands in the event of another Argentine attempt to take over the territory, The Times has reported. The exercise comes as tensions rise between Britain and Argentina over a British-Israeli oil project near the islands, known in Argentin»»»

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s political and economic leaders, and figures from the country’s wider business community, condemned recent Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, and expressed solidarity with the Kingdom following the strikes against civilian infrastructure. The president, Joseph Aoun, spoke by telephone»»»

TRIPOLI: The NGO Human Rights Watch said Wednesday that military authorities in eastern Libya executed at least 31 people earlier this year, the first reported death sentences to be carried out in the country since 2010, according to the group. Forces under the control of military leader Khalifa Ha»»»

NAIROBI: A traitor to his peers but a hero to many, a Ugandan army officer has leaked unprecedented footage of a secret jail where he says political opponents of the government were brutally tortured. The east African country has been ruled for 40 years by President Yoweri Museveni, whose son Muhoo»»»

The case of Tirana Mayor Erion Veliaj is addressed in the fourth monitoring report on the implementation of the European Charter of Local Self-Government in Albania, prepared by the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe. Citing assessments by the Venice Commission, the»»»

PRISTINA - Italian Maj Gen Roberto Vergori took over as KFOR commander on Wednesday, succeeding Turkish Maj Gen Ozkan Ulutas. The change-of-command ceremony, which took place at the KFOR headquarters at Camp Film City in Pristina, was presided over by the Commander of the NATO Joint Allied Forces C»»»

Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar is due to hold his first official one-to-one meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday, following a major breakthrough on Hungarian-language education in Ukraine. Magyar announced the planned meeting in a Facebook post on Wednesday as he tr»»»

BANGKOK: A failure by the United States and Iran to agree within weeks on a UN-backed plan for moving fertilizer through the Strait of Hormuz could cause a food security crisis in parts of Asia and Africa, an official overseeing the proposed scheme said on Wednesday. The United Nations set up a tas»»»

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan stands firmly with Saudi Arabia in safeguarding its sovereignty, defense and regional security under the Makkah defense agreement, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Wednesday, as he met Makkah Alliance for Defense Secretary-General Lt. Gen. (retired) Nauman Mahmood. The stat»»»

Brent GoffGerman Chancellor Friedrich Merz insists that Europe will not follow America's lead on buying diesel from Russia. Does Trump's deal mark an irreconcilable parting of ways between the US and Europe over Russian energy? https://p.dw.com/p/5OBuYAdvertisementGerman Chancellor Friedrich Merz h»»»

US claims ‌that Iran’s economy is collapsing are an illusion, the governor of Iran’s central bank said on Wednesday, as Tehran faces a US naval blockade aimed at driving its oil exports to zero and draining state coffers. Washington reinstated its blockade of Iranian ports in July and launched “Ope»»»

PARIS: The US has not yet decided whether to abandon the electromagnetic launch system for aircraft carriers, France’s navy chief said on Wednesday, two months after President Donald Trump ordered the US Navy to drop the technology that France has chosen for its next carrier. Trump ordered the Navy»»»

India’s Riyadh embassy issues fresh travel advisory, airline update The Indian Embassy in Saudi Arabia has urged Indian nationals to follow local authorities’ instructions, stay indoors in the event of an aerial attack and avoid circulating videos or news related to ongoing events. In an update pos»»»

Ukraine attacked two oil refineries in Russia’s Saratov and Ryazan regions on Wednesday, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told reporters. “According to the Energy Ministry and the companies involved, two oil refineries in the Saratov and Ryazan regions were attacked by Ukraine today,” »»»

LONDON: Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh arrived in Beirut on Wednesday with a diplomatic delegation amid heightened regional tensions, Lebanese media reported. An Amal Movement delegation led by Khalil Hamdan, a member of the group’s leadership, received Khatibzadeh at Beirut Inte»»»

Indian carriers have suspended flights to and from Saudi Arabia until October 17, 2026 The Indian Embassy in Saudi Arabia has urged Indian nationals to follow local authorities’ instructions, stay indoors in the event of an aerial attack and avoid circulating videos or news related to ongoing event»»»

Iran escalates threats to shipping through Hormuz The Middle East conflict intensified on Wednesday as Yemen's Houthis threatened further attacks on Saudi airports and oil facilities, while Iran signalled a tougher campaign against vessels crossing the Strait of Hormuz. With Riyadh airport still cl»»»

Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi, stressed the importance of mobilizing international efforts to support the Palestinian people on all fronts and ensuring freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz without restrictions or fees, as was previous»»»

Vladimir Zelensky has a pattern in dealing with Western partners who disappoint him: raise the disagreement in public, question the partner’s judgment and explain why the decision benefits Russia and Vladimir Putin. Former German Chancellor Olaf Scholz heard variations of that argument for years, a»»»

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia on Wednesday led Arab states in condemning Colombia’s opening of an embassy in occupied Jerusalem, calling it a flagrant violation of international law and UN resolutions, and a decision that undermines the city’s legal and historical status. The Saudi Foreign Ministry said the»»»

ANKARA: Opposition lawmakers attended a parliamentary meeting with their eyes blindfolded and mouths taped in protest at the government’s seizure early Wednesday of Halk TV, Turkiye’s most-watched news channel. At a meeting of the parliamentary budget and planning committee, lawmakers from the main»»»

Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said Lebanon would continue its efforts to safeguard its sovereign rights, protect its borders, and liberate every last inch of its territory from Israeli occupation, reaffirming the country’s unified official position in support of the continued presence of »»»

MOSCOW: The US-Russia diesel deal can pave the way for further economic cooperation between the two countries, Kremlin ⁠envoy Kirill Dmitriev ⁠said on Wednesday, adding that Moscow would ⁠overcome any sanctions-related difficulties to ensure the diesel supplies. The example of diesel cooperation wi»»»

B+N Magyarország, a major contractor responsible for cleaning and maintaining most Hungarian hospitals, is facing serious financial and operational difficulties, according to a Hungarian report. The company’s owners have reportedly offered to sell it to the state, while the national hospital author»»»