ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s interior ministry on Friday rejected reports circulating on social media that Pakistani nationals were being deported from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for political reasons, describing the claims as “vicious propaganda” and “fake news.” The statement came after a number of »»»

Abu Dhabi: Austria’s Chancellor Christian Stocker visited the headquarters of ADNOC in Abu Dhabi during his official trip to the UAE, as both countries strengthened their cooperation in energy, fuels and industrial sectors. Sign up for our daily business newsletter, Cheques & Balances.The visit cam»»»

Abu Dhabi: UAE President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan received a phone call from Alexander Stubb, President of the Republic of Finland, during which they discussed ways to further strengthen bilateral ties in support of mutual interests. The two sides affirmed their shared commit»»»

BELGRADE - The Republic of Serbia and the Serbian Orthodox Church signed on Friday a MoU on cooperation on the establishment of a St Sava Serbian Orthodox University. The MoU was signed by Serbian Patriarch Porfirije and Serbian PM Djuro Macut at the Serbian Orthodox Patriarchate in Belgrade. The s»»»

Dubai: Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, First Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, met Louis Ferla, CEO of luxury jewellery and watchmaker Cartier, to discuss opportunities in the UAE’s luxury retail sector. Sign up for our daily business newslette»»»

Paris, France: Kylian Mbappe trained on Friday after recovering from a hamstring injury ahead of the Clasico against Barcelona, with Aurelien Tchouameni also involved following his bust-up with teammate Federico Valverde. Top goalscorer Mbappe had been sidelined for two weeks but Real said the Fren»»»

The Kuwaiti investments in Egypt amounted to $3.7 billion in the past year, increasing by $500 million until February 2017, the Egyptian attache in Kuwait, Medhat Adel, said according to the local Kuwaiti newspaper Alanba. He noted that the trade exchange between the two nations has reached $500 mi»»»

Securing payments under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP) and implementing real reforms are among the key priorities of Bulgaria’s new government, Prime Minister Rumen Radev said during the cabinet’s first regular meeting. Radev highlighted the government's main focus areas, including»»»

Ambulances and police at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport stand by to transport a British hantavirus patient evacuated from the cruise ship Hondius. On Friday, British authorities said they believed a third Briton had contracted the virus. File Photo by Michel van Bergen/EPA May 8 (UPI) -- A third Brit»»»

Secretary's SpeechLebanon PalestineZionist EntityRegional and International International More Video Language Ar En Fr EsSubscribe for Weekly Updates Subscribe Islamic Resistance fighters targeted at 13:15 on Friday 08-05-2026 a force belonging to the “Israeli” enemy army on Al-Bayyada–Buyout Al-Sa»»»

A 62-year-old man died on Friday after falling from a second-floor balcony in Athens’ Zografou district, police said. Authorities are investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident. Initial findings have not indicated any signs of criminal activity.»»»

Athens, Greece: Greece's military on Friday examined a sea drone found by fishermen off the Ionian island of Lefkada, the coastguard said. "After being alerted by the fisherman, a coast guard patrol vessel recovered this drone before handing it over to the defence ministry," a coastguard source tol»»»

Jobs in transportation and warehousing ticked up by 30,000 in April. As a whole, the sector is down by 105,000 jobs since February 2025. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo May 8 (UPI) -- Nonfarm payrolls in the United States increased more than expected in April, the Bureau of Labor S»»»

BELGRADE - Serbian Parliament Speaker Ana Brnabic met with UAE Ambassador to Belgrade Ahmed Hatem Almenhali on Friday. They discussed an upcoming visit to Serbia by the speaker of the UAE Federal National Council, Saqr Ghobash, and "the next steps concerning the organisation of his stay in Belgrade»»»

PARIS: Peyvand Naimi was at work on January 8 when they came for him. Naimi, a member of Iran’s Bahai religious minority from Kerman in southeastern Iran, was hauled away to prison, accused of offenses he could not have committed and subjected to torture, according to supporters. When allowed a bri»»»

DHAKA, Bangladesh: Captain Najmul Hossain Shanto’s century put Bangladesh in a strong position on the opening day of the first cricket test against Pakistan on Friday. Shanto made 101 off 130 balls, including 12 fours and two sixes, to steer Bangladesh to 301-4 at stumps. Mominul Haque missed out h»»»

Secretary's SpeechLebanon PalestineZionist EntityRegional and International International More Video Language Ar En Fr EsSubscribe for Weekly Updates Subscribe Islamic Resistance fighters targeted at 15:10 on Friday 08-05-2026 a gathering of vehicles and soldiers belonging to the “Israeli” enemy ar»»»

The newly appointed Minister of Regional Development and Public Works, Ivan Shishkov, officially took over the post from his predecessor Nikolay Naydenov during a symbolic ceremony at the ministry on Friday. Shishkov said that among his first tasks will be addressing the poor condition of regional »»»

Madrid, Spain: Spanish Secretary of State for Health Javier Padilla said on Friday that the health authorities had taken relevant measures after detecting a suspected case of hantavirus in Alicante. The person traveled several weeks ago on the same flight as one of the infected individuals, Padilla»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The situation at the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) in Iran is generally calm, Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom CEO Alexey Likhachev said on Friday. "The situation at the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant site is generally calm," Likhachev said, as quoted by Rosatom, adding»»»

BOURNEMOUTH, England: Bournemouth have dropped Álex Jiménez from their squad for the Premier League game against Fulham on Saturday while the club investigate social-media posts involving the Spanish right back. Bournemouth said in a statement on Friday they were “aware of posts circulating on soci»»»

RIYADH: A 42-strong team of Saudi students set off for the US on Friday to compete against more than 1,700 participants from 70 countries at the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair 2026, which takes place in Phoenix, Arizona, from May 9-15. Representing the Kingdom through the Mini»»»

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Friday met with veteran diplomat Simon Karam, the head of the delegation headed to Washington for planned talks with Israel next week. Lebanon and Israel's US ambassadors had previously met twice in Washington over the past weeks, in an attempt to end the war that »»»

London: UK leader Keir Starmer said Friday he took responsibility for "very tough" local election results that saw the hard-right make big gains, but vowed to carry on as prime minister. "I'm not going to walk away and plunge the country into chaos," Starmer said, after his ruling Labour party lost»»»

The missiles represent a qualitative leap forward in the Fateh family — moving from rocket artillery to true cruise missile technology, an expert says. Pakistan has shown off its latest homegrown weapon: the Fateh-3, a supersonic cruise missile.Here’s what makes it stand out, according to media rep»»»

BEIRUT: Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Friday met with veteran diplomat Simon Karam, the head of the delegation headed to Washington for planned talks with Israel next week. Lebanon and Israel’s US ambassadors had previously met twice in Washington over the past weeks, in an attempt to end the w»»»

GABORONE: Botswana’s former president Festus Mogae, who led the southern African country for a decade from 1998, winning praise for the fight against HIV/AIDS, has died at the age of 86, the presidency said on Friday. An economist who studied in Britain, he oversaw strong economic growth during his»»»

"I wish you success and the will to endure," caretaker Energy Minister Traicho Traikov said on Friday, handing over the post to his successor in the newly elected regular government, Iva Petrova, the Energy Ministry reported. During a ceremony at the Ministry, Traikov outlined the main aspects of h»»»

Combating inflation in essential food products, measures against rising fuel prices, and a review of the activities of public enterprises, structures and agencies are among the main priorities of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy, Investment and Industry Alexander Pulev in the governmen»»»

BELGRADE - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic met with Belarusian Ambassador to Belgrade Sergey Malinovsky on Friday to discuss further advancement of bilateral cooperation, as well as important regional and global affairs. In an Instagram post, Vucic wrote that they had discussed cooperation in ed»»»

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Friday, commenting on a possible troop pullout from Europe, that resources of the United States are limited and should be reassigned in line with national interests. "Our resources are not unlimited. We have to always assign resources»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev will attend Victory Day celebrations in Moscow, Press Secretary of the Kazakh president Aibek Smadiyarov said on Friday. "President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev will attend the celebrations in Moscow commemorating the 81st anniversary of the Great »»»

MADRID: Spanish authorities on Friday were preparing to receive more than 140 passengers and crew members on board a hantavirus-stricken cruise ship headed for the Canary Islands, where health officials have said they will perform careful evacuations. The vessel is expected to reach the Spanish isl»»»

OMDURMAN: Two years after Sudan ‘s war forced him from his land, Omer Al-Hassan returned to rebuild his farm. But now a new conflict in the Middle East threatens to push him deeper into financial loss and food insecurity as fuel and fertilizer prices rise. Al-Hassan and other farmers in Sudan are b»»»

An Israeli strike on Friday killed four people including two women in the southern Lebanon town of Toura, the health ministry said, as state media and AFP correspondents reported Israel was conducting widespread strikes. The Health Ministry in Lebanon said that an Israeli airstrike on the southern »»»

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio blamed Hezbollah Friday for the situation in Lebanon, accusing the group of being fully dependent on Iranian support. "The reason why Lebanon faces bombings, the reason why Lebanon faces violence, is because of Hezbollah. It is Hezbollah that’s imposing this on t»»»

Tunis, May 8 (TAP) – The National Council of Regions and Districts will hold a plenary session on May 13 to examine and approve five draft laws related to concession agreements for electricity generation from photovoltaic power plants in the...»»»

Asharq Al-Awsat has learned that an Iraqi committee comprising three senior figures is close to finalizing an “executive plan” to disarm armed factions, ahead of presenting it to US officials in the coming days. As the process coincides with expected changes in the leadership of key security agenci»»»

By Wade SheridanFans in costume gather to celebrate "Star Wars Day" in Yokohama, Japan, on Monday. The May the 4th event drew crowds of all ages paying tribute to the iconic sci-fi saga with cosplay and galactic flair. A "Star Wars" fan takes a selfie with another fan dressed as Chewbacca during a »»»

President Donald Trump warned of higher tariffs against the European Union if it does not agree on the terms of the Turnberry Accord by July 4. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo May 8 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump threatened to raise tariffs to "much higher levels" on the European Union if»»»

One month after Israeli so-called “Eternal Darkness” operation unleashed the largest coordinated wave of strikes across Lebanon, justice remains out of reach for the victims, said Sahar Mandour of Amnesty International on Friday. “On April 8, Israeli forces struck around 100 sites across Lebanon wi»»»

US Central Command (CENTCOM) said more than 70 vessels are currently being prevented from entering or leaving Iranian ports as part of an ongoing US-led maritime blockade. In a post on X, CENTCOM said: “There are currently more than 70 tankers that US forces are preventing from entering or leaving »»»

ISLAMABAD: Sixteen Pakistani companies participated in the 2026 SelectUSA Investment Summit in the US state of Maryland this week, exploring investment and expansion opportunities in sectors ranging from technology and textiles to food processing and manufacturing, according to a statement issued o»»»

Abu Dhabi: Central Bank of the UAE announced on Friday the latest results of its comprehensive proactive support package aimed at strengthening the resilience of financial institutions and supporting customers affected by economic disruptions. The central bank said the total value of facilities ben»»»

The Central Election Commission announced on Friday the names of the members of parliament who will take the places of the nine deputies from Progressive Bulgaria who were elected as ministers in the cabinet of Rumen Radev. Under the Constitution, members of parliament may not hold another public o»»»

Care for defence personnel, modernization of the Bulgarian Armed Forces and the improvement of infrastructure will be the main priorities in the work of the new Minister of Defence, Dimitar Stoyanov, his ministry reported on Friday. Taking over from Atanas Zapryanov, who held the post in the outgoi»»»

Milan, Spain: - Advisor to the Prime Minister and Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dr Majed Mohammed Al Ansari has called for greater international cooperation and renewed diplomatic engagement to address growing regional and global instability. Speaking at a session in Milan titled»»»

JOHANNESBURG: South Africa’s highest court has set aside lawmakers’ vote to reject a report that found credible evidence of wrongdoing by President Cyril Ramaphosa related to a long-running cash scandal, paving the way for impeachment proceedings against him. Ramaphosa survived a motion to face imp»»»

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday slammed Iranian efforts to control the Strait of Hormuz, following a report that Tehran has created an authority to approve transit through the vital waterway. "Iran now claims that they own, that they have a right to control, an international waterway.»»»

Astronomers have identified a new space corridor that could cut hundreds of days from the journey to Mars by taking advantage of a natural route followed by some asteroids as they travel between planets. The distance between Earth and Mars constantly changes depending on their positions and orbital»»»