Colombo: Sri Lanka commissioned its first grid-connected battery energy storage system in Anuradhapura on Friday. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake unveiled a commemorative plaque and inspected the facility, which has a capacity of 10 megawatts. Minister of Ports, Civil Aviation and Energy Anura K»»»

Ombudsman files graft complaints against Villar family over PrimeWater deals Manila: Members of the billionaire Villar family have been slapped with two counts of criminal and administrative complaints over allegedly "disadvantageous" joint venture deals involving a major water utility and infrastr»»»

Oman, Saudi Arabia and UAE are driving a bigger Gulf role as Kerala rebuilds arrivals Dubai: Kerala is seeing the Gulf emerge as an increasingly important source of international tourists, with Oman, Saudi Arabia and the UAE now among its biggest overseas markets as the state looks to rebuild forei»»»

Low clouds are expected over the east coast on Saturday, with mist possible overnight Abu Dhabi: The UAE will see fair to partly cloudy weather on Saturday, with low clouds expected over the east coast and a chance of mist forming over some coastal areas overnight, according to the National Center »»»

Share: An Anthropic logo is displayed at Moscone Center during the Dreamforce 2026 technology summit in San Francisco, California, US, September 17, 2026. REUTERS/Carlos Barria Anthropic has quietly set up a laboratory to do physical biology work as it pushes its artificial-intelligence ambitions i»»»

Share: French President Emmanuel Macron, Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun pose ahead of a meeting on support for Lebanon’s armed forces in Paris The leaders of France, Lebanon and Jordan on Thursday met in Paris to drum up international support for the cash-strapped Leba»»»

The United States on Thursday said it had approved a $24.3 billion sale of 48 F-35 stealth warplanes to Saudi Arabia. Israel has previously voiced concerns about Riyadh buying F-35s, despite a push to normalise relations. The United States has approved a $24.3 billion sale of 48 F-35 stea»»»

Nigerian authorities launched an investigation Thursday after 37 suspected illegal miners died in a civil defence detention facility in central Niger state, with conflicting accounts blaming either a disease outbreak or overcrowding and poor ventilation. The governor of a central Nigerian state sai»»»

Share: HERE IS THE LATEST: A U.K. navy agency said a second tanker was hit by a projectile in the Strait of Hormuz early Friday, hours after reporting another vessel coming under attack in the vital waterway. Iran claimed to have struck a ship attempting an “illegal crossing” of the strait. Preside»»»

BusinessIrelandRyanair boss apologizes for calling other airlines 'rapists'Wesley Dockery with AFP, dpaThe airline CEO had used the term to describe other airlines with high fares. His comments were criticized by officials both in Ireland and the UK. https://p.dw.com/p/5MsQFO'Leary has been Ryanair»»»

MOSCOW, (Sputnik) - The Russian armed forces and security agencies must be prepared to respond quickly and effectively to potential external threats, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday. Speaking at a meeting of the Military-Industrial Commission, Putin said that the agenda included dis»»»

Berlin races to ease pump pain amid global supply shocks and oil route attacks Germany is poised to cut taxes on fuel for vehicles under an agreement within the country's coalition government, sources said Friday, as Europe's biggest economy grapples with surging prices because of the Middle East w»»»

Tashkent, Sept. 18 (SANA) Minister of Economy and Industry Nidal al-Shaar and Uzbek Minister of Investment, Industry, and Trade Laziz Kudratov signed a memorandum of understanding in Tashkent on Friday to establish a joint economic and trade committee. The agreement establishes a framework for regu»»»

Jeddah: The Multinational Maritime Defense Coalition (MMDC) discussed operational updates; the progress of nations joining the coalition; and the definition of capability contributions from participating countries, during a meeting convened at the Western Fleet Command in Jeddah, all aimed at suppo»»»

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: Brazilian police arrested a suspected serial killer linked to at least 16 deaths on Friday in Rio de Janeiro, catching the fugitive disguised as a woman and carrying a baby. He claims to have killed more than four times that number. The suspect was arrested Sunday after a 30»»»

He claims to have killed more than 80 people Brazilian police said Friday they had captured a suspected serial killer linked to at least 16 deaths since May, who was arrested while disguised as a woman and carrying a baby. He claims to have killed more than four times that number. Get updated faste»»»

Community-wide challenge advances Dubai’s 2033 sports and quality of life goals Under the patronage of Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence of the UAE, and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai, the second editio»»»

Tinubu orders urgent inquiry into deaths of suspected illegal miners in custody Survivors of a Nigerian disaster that saw 37 suspected illegal gold miners die while in the custody of a paramilitary civil defence group recounted their panic on Friday as they struggled to breathe inside the cell. Pol»»»

A position issued by the Economy, Investments and Industry Ministry on Friday in response to statements by opposition leaders notes that the more than EUR 300 million in government assistance provided in response to rising fuel prices to support public transport, bus operators, agricultural produce»»»

Social sector workers demonstrated outside the Prime Minister’s Office in Budapest on Friday, demanding an immediate 25 per cent pay rise and improved working conditions. Péter Magyar then went out and met them to hear their demands. Demonstrators call for higher wages and better working conditions»»»

Two audio units were reported stolen after officers traced the mosque caretaker Cairo: Egyptian police have arrested a man after a widely circulated video appeared to show him stealing equipment from a mosque in Matrouh governorate. The footage, which has gone viral onsocial media, prompted securit»»»

Polls opened in Russia's Far East on Friday as the country began three days of voting for its parliamentary election, the first since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The Kremlin's main party, United Russia, is poised to keep its grip on power alongside other parties aligned with»»»

Spanish police in Ceuta on Friday morning started moving hundreds of migrants from the beaches of the Spanish enclave to a new tented area. Several thousand migrants remain in Ceuta after tens of thousands of people crossed the border with Morocco in late July.  Police on Friday began moving h»»»

In this episode, we debrief one of the key annual events in the EU calendar: the State of the Union speech. It was Ursula von der Leyen’s sixth such address as President of the European Commission, and the second State of the Union speech of her second mandate. We home in on the key innovations sin»»»

Ireland is managing a jam-packed agenda as the current holder of the rotating presidency of the EU. We caught up with the country’s Minister of State for European Affairs, Thomas Byrne, who was in Strasbourg for the 2026 State of the Union speech and debate with EU Commission President Ursula von d»»»

Former Environment and Water Minister Borislav Sandov has been charged with official misconduct in the “Petrohan” case, the Sofia City Prosecutor’s Office announced. The charges concern actions taken on February 8, 2022, when Sandov was serving as environment minister. According to prosecutors, he »»»

Financial experts say Bulgaria has limited ability to contain rising prices as higher oil and energy costs continue to put pressure on consumers. “There is no way for the state to counter rising oil and energy prices. We have to learn to live with these prices,” financial analyst Max Baklayan said »»»

Ankara: Turkish Justice Minister Akin Gurlek announced a major operation against an Israeli-linked international fraud network that swindled foreign nationals through fake foreign exchnge (forex) and cryptocurrency investment schemes, with 175 suspects detained in coordinated raids across Istanbul »»»

Kyiv: The Ukrainian government announced today that it had received a new tranche of EUR 3.3 billion from the European Union (EU), part of the "Ukraine Support" loan, to meet defense needs. Ukrainian Prime Minister, Serhiy Koretskyi stated in a post on Telegram that the country would allocate these»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Spanish police had to use force against a group of migrants trying to break out of encirclement and reach a new reception center in the Ceuta's port, European news agency reported on Friday. The migrants who attempted the mass breakthrough were among those held in groups at a pol»»»

AI governance, safety and sustainability top UAE agenda at Beijing aviation meet Saif Mohammed Al Suwaidi, Director-General of the General Civil Aviation Authority, affirmed that artificial intelligence holds significant potential to drive comprehensive transformation across the civil aviation ecos»»»

Every allegation should be examined on the basis of specific facts, documents and evidence, rather than through public insinuations, the Green Movement political party said in its position on the charges brought by the Sofia City Prosecution Office against Borislav Sandov. The party’s statement sai»»»

At NATO’s first high-level summit since Ankara, the bloc’s new, Europe-centric incarnation is taking shape. But it’s ordinary Europeans who stand to lose their future, and potentially their lives. READ MORE: Europe’s military future is starting to take shape NATO’s Military Committee is meeting in »»»

Bill Gates turned the vast financial resources of his foundation into political leverage, using its wealth to pressure governments to spend more on vaccination, former German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said. In the Meckel & Matthes podcast released by Handelsblatt earlier this month, Merkel warne»»»

Disciplinary proceedings have been launched against two notaries in connection with transactions involving illegal residential development in the Baba Alino area, near Varna, Justice Minister Nikolay Naydenov said during parliamentary Question Time on Friday. The Baba Alino case first came to publi»»»

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has announced a new regional cooperation format bringing Ukraine together with seven European countries, including Hungary, as well as the European Union. First C8 summit held in Ukraine Zelensky announced the launch of the Carpathian Eight, or C8, on 18 Septe»»»

Investors urged to verify firms before signing agreements or transferring funds Abu Dhabi: The Capital Market Authority has warned investors against dealing with Qanat Al Amal Services and Call Centres, saying the company is not licensed to conduct financial activities or provide services regulated»»»

As a historian who also happens to be German, that was my spontaneous reaction to Ursula von der Leyen’s annual grand – and always grandiloquent – “state of the union” address to the European Parliament in Strasbourg. It’s not really a “union,” of course, and not really a “parliament,” either: tech»»»

The Agriculture and Food Ministry called for an objective account of the allocation of State fuel aid, without political distortion ahead of the elections. The ministry sent an official position to BTA in response to comments by political leaders on the government's fuel aid package, aimed at suppo»»»

Lebanon, through its negotiating delegation, is currently considering incorporating the Ali al-Taher hills and surrounding towns into an expansion of the first pilot zone, a Western diplomatic source told Asharq al-Awsat newspaper. The proposal entails establishing an international observation post»»»

292 villas from Dh8.5m go on sale September 26, with 45 on the waterway Aldar has launched Yas Riva Reserve, a gated villa community on the northeast waterfront of Yas Island, adding to a growing string of low-rise developments the company has rolled out across the destination in recent years. The »»»

Part of Bucharest Design Festival’s Professional Format, the exhibition FRANCO RAGGI. Nomadic Digressions on Design, presented by Francesca Molteni together with Muse Factory of Projects and Franco Raggi, in collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institute in Bucharest, aimed to highlight design c»»»

The disposal marks the Group’s exit from the Baltic region and releases capital for redeployment into high-growth markets in CEE where NEPI Rockcastle holds leading position as well as the expansion into the newly entered Spanish market. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions an»»»

The transition to digital communication has fundamentally transformed the way in which companies conduct their business. Commercial discussions, negotiations and information exchange are increasingly taking place via electronic means of remote communication. Authors: Cătălin Suliman (partner), Bian»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russia is not seeking to replace the Arctic Council with other platforms regardless of widespread phobias in the West, Vladislav Maslennikov, the chief of the Department of European Issues at the Russian Foreign Ministry, said on Friday. "I would like to note here that, despite t»»»

Under the new partnership, Karpaten Turism customers can access financing for periods ranging from 4 to 60 months, depending on the purchase value and applicable terms. For amounts of up to RON 4,000, the cost can be split into 4 equal instalments, offering greater flexibility in budget planning an»»»

London, UK: Qatar Airways has capped a successful Skytrax World Airline Awards 2026, winning four titles and retaining its 5-Star Airline rating. The four World Airline Awards presented to Qatar Airways were: World's Best Business Class (the thirteenth time to receive this award) Best Airline in th»»»

Hungary’s government says it will terminate the country’s 35-year motorway concession, launch criminal complaints and seek to return the operation of much of the motorway network to the state. The government argues that the contract is legally questionable and places excessive financial risks on ta»»»

Cadets will train in Europe and the US before progressing towards flydubai flight decks Dubai: flydubai is expanding the training pipeline for its future pilots through new partnerships with Egnatia Aviation and Skyborne Airline Academy, giving cadets a route from initial training towards becoming »»»

The Education Ministry is proposing a package of measures to improve school discipline through earlier intervention, stronger individual support and a system of incentives and sanctions, Deputy Education Minister Tanya Pancheva told a news conference at the Ministry on Friday. The proposed model se»»»