The new Minister of Environment and Water, Rositsa Karamfilova-Blagova, took over the post from Julian Popov, who symbolically handed her the key to the Ministry on Friday. “We will continue to build on the achievements of you and your team,” she told him. Earlier in the day, the government led by »»»

‎The Minister of Health, Mohamed Al-Ghouj, along with the WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, Hanan Al-Balkhi, and the WHO Country Director in Libya, Ahmed Zweiten, chaired a technical meeting that brought together the directors of the Ministry’s technical departments and their cou»»»

Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi Quality and Conformity Council, in collaboration with Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority, has launched the Premium Food Mark for locally produced chilled chicken products during its participation at Make it in the Emirates 2026. Get updated faster and for FREE: Dow»»»

President Joseph Aoun on Friday told European Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management, Hadja Lahbib, that "the support provided by the EU to Lebanon must be channeled into exerting pressure to compel Israel to cease fire and refrain from demolishing and bulldozing homes in the»»»

London: Prime Minister Keir Starmer insisted Friday that he will not resign after bruising elections that saw his governing Labour Party suffer big losses and the hard-right party Reform UK make major gains. The local and regional elections are widely seen as an unofficial referendum on Starmer, wh»»»

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) will resume its flight operations to the Sultanate of Oman from next week, the Pakistani embassy said on Friday. The airline suspended flights to China, Malaysia and Gulf countries, except for Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), in e»»»

Bulgaria's Parliament on Friday set up an Ad Hoc Committee on Legal Affairs that will function until the election of a standing committee of the 52nd National Assembly. The Ad Hoc Committee is chaired by Yanka Tyankova MP of Progressive Bulgaria. It consists of 24 lawmakers: thirteen of Progressive»»»

Armed clashes and exchanges of fire broke out in the city of Zawia overnight, intensifying rapidly as the morning went on. The city clashes included in the early hours of this morning the areas near the Zawia Oil Refinery complex. No injuries or deaths have been officially reported at the time of p»»»

Batam, Indonesia: Indonesian authorities said on Friday they had arrested more than 200 foreign nationals near the island of Sumatra this week for allegedly running an investment scamming ring. Immigration officers raided an apartment building in Batam, in Riau Islands Province, on Wednesday, where»»»

Doha, Qatar: The Amir HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani sent a cable of congratulations to HE Louise Arbour on the occasion of her appointment as Governor General of Canada, wishing her success in performing her duties, and for the bilateral relations between the two countries to develop and prosp»»»

Yangon, Myanmar: Myanmar said Friday it had discovered a massive 11,000-carat ruby, one of the largest ever found in the country renowned for its precious gemstones. Unearthed in the Mogok area, the ruby was "exceptionally large, rare, and difficult to find," the new military-backed government said»»»

Sharjah: Sharjah Police has concluded its “Mobile Licensing Services Centre” initiative in the Al Hamriyah area, offering residents a range of traffic and licensing services closer to their communities. The three-day initiative was organised in cooperation with the Al Hamriyah City Council, alongsi»»»

FRANKFURT: Suspects have taken multiple hostages at a bank in the western German town of Sinzig, police confirmed to AFP on Friday, with numerous police officers at the scene.Police said in a statement that there were believed to be “several hostage-takers and hostages inside the bank,” and that th»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Western countries treat the legacy of their military partnership with the Soviet Union during the Great Patriotic War dismissively -- a legacy that laid the foundations for decades of peaceful development worldwide, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Friday. "Our West»»»

Norwegian pilots closely monitored the movements of Russian aircraft after F-35s were scrambled to identify strategic bombers operating near NATO airspace. One of the Tu-95MS bombers was observed carrying a Kh-101 cruise missile under its wing — the same type of weapon routinely used in strikes aga»»»

“After Orbán here comes another Hungarian nationalist who cannot contain himself. It is clear that the annexation of southern Slovakia to Hungary is still the primary objective of Hungarian politics,” this is how Slovak sports minister Rudolf Huliak commented on Péter Magyar’s fondness for the expr»»»

Doha, Qatar: Instagram carried out a cleanup of bots and inactive accounts that resulted in a noticeable drop in follower counts for several accounts across the platform. Though a routine exercise, the impact was huge and visible across different types of account handles, including those of celebri»»»

Dubai: Oman has signed an agreement to develop a major mountain tourism project in Muscat with investments estimated at around Dh5.3 billion (RO558 million), as the Sultanate continues efforts to expand its tourism sector and attract long-term investment. The Ministry of Heritage and Tourism signed»»»

Tunis, May 8 (TAP) – The National Federation of Tunisian Municipalities and the National Waste Management Agency (ANGED) signed a partnership agreement on Thursday to strengthen cooperation in sustainable waste management and environmental...»»»

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday at a moment of unusual strain between her government and President Donald Trump's administration, driven largely by the war with Iran. Rubio is in Italy for a two-day trip aimed at easing ties with Pope Leo after »»»

Iran said on Friday it redirected a US-sanctioned oil tanker carrying Iranian oil back to its shores, though it was unclear from its statement why it would have returned it, reported AFP. "The Islamic Republic of Iran's navy, through a specially planned operation in the Sea of Oman, seized the offe»»»

The new Education and Science Minister, Prof. Georgi Valchev, took over the post from Prof. Sergei Ignatov during a ceremony at the Ministry on Friday. “There must be continuity in education policies. There must also be political consensus on the vision for the future of education,” Prof. Valchev s»»»

Agriculture and Food Minister Plamen Abrovski took over the post from his predecessor Ivan Hristanov during a ceremony at the ministry on Friday. He was welcomed by the ministry's staff with applause. A new Bulgarian government, headed by Prime Minister Rumen Radev, was elected and took the oath of»»»

London, UK: Two British nationals have been confirmed to have contracted hantavirus, with a third suspected of infection, on the South Atlantic island of Tristan da Cunha, the UK Health Security Agency said on Friday. None of the British citizens on board the cruise ship MV Hondius is currently rep»»»

Dubai: For a franchise famous for flying limbs, savage fatalities and alpha-energy combatants, Mortal Kombat 2, out in the UAE cinemas this weekend on May 8, is making a noticeable shift this time around: its women are no longer fighting for space. When Gulf News asked the cast and creators how the»»»

Abu Dhabi: Delivery motorcycles will be banned from using selected high-speed roads across Abu Dhabi from May 15, as part of ongoing efforts to strengthen road safety and reduce risks facing riders and motorists. The Integrated Transport Centre, operating under Abu Dhabi Mobility, announced that de»»»

Dubai: Schools in the holy city of Mecca are set to shift partially to distance learning next week as Saudi authorities intensify preparations for the peak Hajj season and move to ease pressure on the city’s roads and transport network. The General Directorate of Education in the Mecca region annou»»»

This summer, Europeans are looking to disconnect and live more intensely, leaving behind digital noise in favour of authentic human experiences. Romanians stand out for their openness to novelty: 46% say they quickly embrace trending experiences, the highest share recorded in Europe, according to a»»»

The Libya Africa Investment Portfolio (LAIP) reported yesterday that representatives of the African Development Bank (AfDB) expressed their strong desire to support LAIP’s Two Transit Corridors Project and to expand the proposed support by mobilizing international funding from donors. LAIP said thi»»»

Bansko is expected to establish itself as one of the leading cycling destinations in the Balkans over the next two to three years, Bansko Mayor Stoycho Banenski told BTA on Friday. Mountain biking has grown rapidly in recent decades, prompting resorts to invest in bike parks, trails, and cycling to»»»

Bestax Chartered Accountants has announced new support for businesses preparing for the UAE’s upcoming electronic invoicing system, as companies across the country move towards mandatory e-invoicing from 2026. The announcement comes after the UAE Ministry of Finance issued Ministerial Decisions No.»»»

The most important thing in the field of public health is to shift the focus from hospital treatment to health promotion and disease prevention, said Katya Ivkova, Minister of Health in Bulgaria's new government, speaking to journalists on Friday on her way into the Health Ministry building togethe»»»

Former Botswana President Festus Mogae dies aged 86 10 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleWycliffe Muia Getty ImagesFestus Mogae served as the third president of Botswana from 1998 to 2008 Botswana's former head of state Festus Mogae has died at the age of 86, President Duma Boko has ann»»»

Beijing, China: China will increase its retail prices of gasoline and diesel from Saturday to reflect recent changes in international oil prices, the country's top economic planner said on Friday. Gasoline and diesel prices will rise by 320 yuan (about 46.7 U.S. dollars) and 310 yuan per tonne, res»»»

Geneva: The World Health Organization said Friday the risk to the public of a deadly hantavirus strain in a cruise ship outbreak was minimal, as it spreads only through "very close contact". An outbreak on the MV Hondius cruise ship, which is heading to the Spanish island of Tenerife, has sparked i»»»

Karim Seghir, PhD., Chancellor, Ajman University"The resilience of the UAE’s higher education sector is the result of visionary leadership, long-term investment, and a national commitment to innovation and human development. Today, the UAE has established itself as a destination where students and »»»

Dubai: A routine morning email check has turned into a life-changing moment for a South African expatriate in Dubai after he discovered that he had won Dh5 million in the UAE Lottery’s Lucky Day draw. 39-year-old Branden Tekram has noted that he initially thought the email was informing him of a sm»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to negotiate with everyone, and Russia was not the initiator of the curtailment of relations with the European Union, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday. "Putin is ready to negotiate with everyone. He has repeatedly said this,»»»

Washington: A federal court ruled Thursday against the new global tariffs that President Donald Trump imposed after a stinging loss at the Supreme Court. A split three-judge panel of the Court of International Trade in New York found the 10% global tariffs were illegal after small businesses sued. »»»

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has sought the assistance of Singapore for the repatriation of over 30 Pakistani and Iranian nationals who were aboard vessels seized by the United States (US), the Pakistani foreign minister said on Friday. US authorities have seized multiple vessels in recent weeks since the U»»»

US and Iranian forces clashed in the Gulf, but President Donald Trump said a ceasefire was still holding despite the flare-up, which dented hopes for a swift diplomatic resolution to the crisis. The escalation came as Washington awaited Tehran's response to a US proposal to end the war, which began»»»

Tunis, May 8 (TAP)- An increased media presence in Japan and a spotlight on historical relations were the focal point in a meeting which Tunisia's Ambassador to Japan Ahmed Chafra had Thursday with Shoichi Oikawa, the chairman of the board and...»»»

Frankfurt, Germany: Suspects have taken multiple hostages at a bank in the western German town of Sinzig, police confirmed to AFP on Friday, with numerous police officers at the scene. Police said in a statement that there were believed to be "several hostage-takers and hostages inside the bank," a»»»

World shares retreated and oil prices fell back Friday as the fragile ceasefire with Iran was strained by missile and drone attacks that prompted U.S. retaliatory strikes on Iranian military facilities. U.S. futures rose despite the latest flare up in the conflict. The future for the S&P 500 gained»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russian forces have liberated the village of Krivaya Luka in the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), the Russian Defense Ministry said on Friday. "As a result of active offensive actions, units of the Yug battlegroup liberated the settlement of Krivaya Luka in the Donetsk People's R»»»

An emergency was declared in Libya's Zawiya refinery, west of the capital Tripoli, amid clashes near the facility, ⁠two engineers told ⁠Reuters on Friday. Zawiya, 40 km (25 miles) west ⁠of Tripoli, is home to Libya's biggest functioning refinery, with a capacity of 120,000 barrels per day. The refi»»»

Tunis, May 8 (TAP)- An increased media presence in Japan and a spotlight on historical relations were the focal point in a meeting which Tunisia's Ambassador to Japan Ahmed Chafra had Thursday with Shoichi Oikawa, the chairman of the board and...»»»

Speaking at a changing of the guard ceremony at the Council of Ministers on Friday, newly elected Prime Minister Rumen Radev said that he believed that “our government is the first step toward establishing stable, strategically oriented governance in Bulgaria, with a single goal, namely the modern »»»

Bratislava, 7 May 2026 (MIA) – Slovakia and Macedonia have strong potential to strengthen economic cooperation, while Slovakia remains a strong supporter of the country’s European integration process, implementation of key reforms and sharing its own experience. This was reaffirmed during the tête-»»»

Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi Police have warned against the improper use of electric scooters, saying unsafe riding practices and the use of scooters in unauthorised areas continue to pose serious risks to road users. The warning was issued by the General Command of Abu Dhabi Police as part of Gulf Traffic»»»