RIYADH: Falcon breeders at an international auction in Riyadh are highlighting the different criteria used to select birds for hunting and breeding, with performance, build, size and bloodlines all playing a role. The International Falcon Breeders Auction, organized by the National Center for Falco»»»

Lawyers for Australian Erin Patterson, who is serving life for poisoning three relatives and the attempted murder of a fourth person, opened an appeal in a Melbourne court on Wednesday by saying her conviction was unsafe because the jury, prosecutors and a key witness had shared the same hotel duri»»»

Heavy evening traffic is building across Dubai and Sharjah on Wednesday, with major delays reported on Sheikh Zayed Road, Al Khail Road and Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road. Get updated faster and for FREE: Download the Gulf News app now - simply click here.Dubai trafficSheikh Zayed Road (E11) is hea»»»

Sikka, Indonesia: A paralysed 84-year-old woman has been found alive three days after a strong earthquake flattened her home on an Indonesian island, an official said Wednesday, as the death toll rose to 73. More than 900 people were injured and nearly 60,000 displaced by the 7.7-magnitude quake th»»»

RIYADH: Net loans at Saudi Arabia’s 10 listed banks rose 7 percent year on year to SR3.25 trillion ($865.2 billion) by the end of the second quarter of 2026, while deposit growth outpaced lending for a second consecutive quarter, according to Al Rajhi Capital. Deposits increased 9 percent to SR3.15»»»

Abu Dhabi: The United Arab Emirates has announced the success of new mediation efforts between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Ukraine, resulting in the release of 103 captives from each side, bringing the total number of captives exchanged between the two countries through UAE-mediated »»»

BEIRUT: Lebanon said Wednesday it had received an invitation from France for a meeting to prepare for an international conference on support for the Lebanese army, an event postponed by the Middle East war. The conference in Paris was supposed to take place in March but was delayed after militant g»»»

LONDON: Weeks into US-backed talks meant to trade an Israeli withdrawal for Hezbollah’s disarmament, renewed strikes and evacuation orders in southern Lebanon are raising a difficult question: Is there anything meaningful left to negotiate? The US said on Aug. 11 that the next round of Israel-Leban»»»

LONDON: In May 2024, a furious Gilad Erdan, then Israel’s ambassador to the UN, stood in front of the General Assembly in New York and proceeded to feed a facsimile of the UN Charter into a tiny electric shredder. The assembly was poised to vote to adopt a resolution urging the Security Council to »»»

LONDON: Mikel Arteta will sign a new contract with Premier League champions Arsenal “very shortly,” the club’s chief executive Richard Garlick said on Wednesday. Arteta ended Arsenal’s 22-year wait to win the Premier League last season, but the Spaniard has entered the final 12 months of his curren»»»

Burgas will host the XXV International Geography Olympiad in 2029, after a decision to that affect was made during a International Geography Union meeting in Istanbul, said Burgas Municipality here on Wednesday. Among the other candidates were cities like Porto Seguro (Brazil) and Nicosia (Cyprus).»»»

At its regular meeting on Wednesday, the Council of Ministers adopted a decision on the organizational and technical preparations for the October 25, 2026 election of President and Vice President of the Republic of Bulgaria. The government assigned the Innovation and Digital Transformation Minister»»»

Continue the Change (CC) Wednesday said that within 100 days in office, the Radev government had managed to drag the country into a war. The statement was published on Facebook following a Financial Times report that Iran is considering military targets in Europe, including Bulgaria, if US Presiden»»»

Doha, Qatar: Undersecretary of the Ministry of Interior HE Abdullah bin Khalaf bin Hattab Al Kaabi received Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan to Qatar HE Bakhyt Batyrshayev. During the meeting, they reviewed cooperative relations in the security sector, discussed ways to support and enhance »»»

Dubai: UAE shoppers visiting Bicester Village in the UK can now have their luxury purchases delivered directly to their doorstep in the UAE, under a new partnership between Emirates Delivers and famed outlet shopping destination. Sign up for our daily business newsletter, Cheques & BalancesThe serv»»»

Vazrazhdane leader Kostadin Kostadinov Wednesday said the policies of the ruling Progressive Bulgaria party are destroying Bulgarian sovereignty. This position comes in response to media reports that Iran is allegedly considering strikes on US military targets in Europe, Vazrazhdane said. "Promotin»»»

DOHA: The Public Works Authority (Ashghal) is continuing work on the Qatar Aeronautical Academy development project in the Ras Abu Aboud area. The project aims to create a specialized educational and training environment that meets the latest standards, supporting the development of national talent»»»

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia bolstered its long-term commitment to Yemen during the second quarter of 2026, rolling out a sweeping series of development, infrastructure, and capacity-building projects designed to drive economic recovery. Executed by the Saudi Development and Reconstruction Program for Yeme»»»

El-Alamein (Egypt): A preparatory meeting of senior officials for the Qatari-Egyptian Joint Higher Committee in its seven session was held on Wednesday, in the city of El-Alamein, Egypt, in preparation for the session scheduled to be held on Thursday (August 20, 2026), with the participation of a l»»»

UAE citizens can now receive government scholarships to study academic programmes delivered entirely online, under new regulations issued by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MoHESR). Under Ministerial Resolution No. 179 of 2026, scholarships may be granted for fully distanc»»»

Dubai: Community initiatives by Dubai Police generated an estimated social return of Dh647.9 million between 2017 and 2026, according to a study assessing 80 programmes that reached 3.8 million people. The Social Return on Investment (SROI) study, conducted by the Future Foresight Centre at Dubai P»»»

Attacks on Russia’s infrastructure have not caused, do not cause and cannot cause critical consequences, but they do inflict damage, Russian President Vladimir Putin said. "It is clear that a number of factors affect economic growth, including external pressure and terrorist attacks on industrial a»»»

Kyiv: Ukrainian anti-corruption agencies announced Wednesday that they are investigating senior officials in President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office, a day after the country’s recently fired defence minister called for national elections despite the ongoing fight against Russia’s attack. The revelat»»»

Dubai: Aramco and Maaden have signed a shareholders’ agreement to form a joint venture focused on mineral exploration and hard-rock mining across approximately 182,000 square kilometres of Saudi Arabia, an area equivalent to nearly 10% of the Kingdom’s total land mass. Get updated faster and for FR»»»

A total of 640 contracts worth over EUR 694.4 million have been concluded in the Stara Zagora region under European programs for the period 2021–2027, according to data updated as of August 14 and presented by the Stara Zagora Regional Information Centre during a working meeting with the media, at »»»

Free Patriotic Movement leader Jebran Bassil has called for a public parliamentary session to question the government regarding the war, Hezbollah's weapons, and the U.S.-sponsored framework agreement with Israel. Bassil urged Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri to schedule a public session to question »»»

London: Britain's Queen Camilla has spoken about the difficulty of not revealing King Charles III had cancer when she visited a support charity shortly after her husband had been diagnosed with the disease. Buckingham Palace announced the British monarch's shock diagnosis in February 2024 and that »»»

San Francisco, United States: ChatGPT creator OpenAI said Tuesday that it was tapping the brakes on development of its most advanced AI model and tightening internal controls, a month after revealing that one of its AI tools carried out an autonomous cyberattack. OpenAI is a key player in the rapid»»»

IMPACT Developer & Contractor, one of Romania’s leading real estate developers and a company listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange, announces the appointment of Iulia Iana as CEO of IMPACT Finance & Sales, a company within the IMPACT Group specializing in sales, marketing, brokerage, commercial le»»»

A Turkish delegation had visited an air base in northern Syria the day before it was hit by Israeli airstrikes, Syrian officials said. The Israeli strikes hit the Abu Duhur base early Tuesday, hours after the delegation had left, causing damage but no casualties. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Net»»»

Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf arrived in neighboring Iraq Wednesday for a three-day visit where he will meet with Iraqi officials and leaders of an Iran-backed political coalition. Iran-backed Iraqi militias have launched and claim drone attacks targeting U.S. bases and diplomatic presence both within th»»»

SHANGHAI — Chinese humanoid pioneer Unitree, whose backflipping robots wowed the world earlier this year, made a much-anticipated market debut in Shanghai on Wednesday with a similarly impressive leap in share price of more than 600 per cent.The Hangzhou-based firm's machines have become synonymou»»»

Kolkata, India: A fire ripped through a hotel in the Indian city of Kolkata on Wednesday, killing nine people, including five Bangladeshi nationals who were seeking medical care, officials said. "Nine people were killed, including a child, in the fire that broke out early on Wednesday," Anuj Sharma»»»

Arab Finance: Palm Hills Development Company logged consolidated net profits after tax and non-controlling interest of EGP 2.264 billion in the first half (H1) of 2026, 7% year-on-year (YoY) lower than EGP 2.443 billion, according to the financial results. Revenues jumped by 25.4% to EGP 19.528 bil»»»

The United Arab Emirates suspended all trade with Iran on Wednesday after it said it had come under renewed fire from the country — a move that will further isolate the Islamic Republic, which is suffering under U.S. sanctions and a blockade. Incoming ballistic missile fire triggered nationwide war»»»

Israel's military said Wednesday it would launch criminal investigations into two high-profile attacks on Palestinians during the war in Gaza, including the killings of 5-year-old Hind Rajab and her family and of 15 Palestinian paramedics. The military said it would not launch criminal investigatio»»»

Doha, Qatar: A delegation from the Ministry of Transport, headed by the Assistant Undersecretary for Maritime Transport Affairs Eng. Abdulaziz Abdullah Al-Sulaiti, has participated in the 39th meeting of the Committee of Gulf Cooperation Council Port Authorities and Maritime Administrations’ Offici»»»

Around 100 schools in Kyrgyzstan are still in a state of disrepair, Minister of Construction, Architecture and Housing and Communal Services of Kyrgyzstan Nurdan Oruntaev said. «Today, around 100 unsafe schools remain across the country. The population is growing, and we should provide people with »»»

A draft law ratifying an agreement between Kyrgyzstan and Belarus has been submitted to the Zhogorku Kenesh for consideration. The agreement will allow citizens of the two countries to stay in each other’s territory for up to 30 calendar days without registering their place of stay. The agreement w»»»

Pakistan’s former Prime Minister and cricket captain Imran Khan met his sister and wife at Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail for the first time in nine months after the apex court allowed weekly family meetings for the incarcerated leader amid concerns over his health. Khan, the founder of the Pakistan Tehr»»»

Ukraine's ⁠anti-graft agencies ​said on Wednesday ​they had uncovered a group including a presidential official ​that ‌had laundered ⁠150 million hryvnias ($3.35 ‌million) used to pay for bail ⁠in an energy corruption scheme. Ukrainian anti-corruption agencies launched a ​special operation against »»»

Only hours before the annual US-South Korean military exercise Ulchi Freedom Shield was due to begin, Donald Trump issued a statement that went far beyond another dispute over how much America’s allies should pay for their own security. On August 16, 2026, the US president announced that he had ins»»»

Denmark has deployed a batch of fresh military conscripts to Greenland for the first time in modern history, as Copenhagen seeks to assert its control over the Arctic territory in response to threats of annexation from US President Donald Trump. Around 100 conscripts from the Schleswig Infantry Reg»»»

There has been no deterioration in air quality in Sofia in terms of particulate matter (PM10) levels related to the fire in Serbia, according to data as of 11:00 a.m. Wednesday, the Sofia Regional Inspectorate of Environment and Water (RIEW) said. Eight municipalities in Western Bulgaria reported o»»»

Ghana has climbed to sixth place among the world's largest gold producers, overtaking the United States after a jump in domestic output and a slump in American production, the Ghana Chamber of Mines said. The West African nation produced 185 tonnes of gold in 2025, moving up from its traditional se»»»

Nairobi: A helicopter carrying several tourists crashed Wednesday in Kenya's Samburu county, north of the capital, Nairobi, killing all those on board, an aviation source told AFP. "I can confirm an accident has happened, there are no survivors," the source told AFP, without being able to say how m»»»

Kyrgyzstan is considering introducing criminal liability for knowingly issuing a false audit report. The draft law was initiated by Zhogorku Kenesh deputy Bolot Ibragimov. The bill proposes adding two new articles to the Criminal Code. The convicted person could also be prohibited from engaging in »»»

The Central Commission for Elections and Referendums of Kyrgyzstan (CEC) has approved the procedure for organizing and conducting remote voting in the presidential election. The decision was made at a CEC meeting today, August 19. The new regulation sets out how remote voting will be organized, how»»»

Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry summoned Russian ambassador Mikhail Yevdokimov on August 18 to protest what it called provocative, insulting and threatening statements against Azerbaijan, its people and leadership circulating in Russian media, a day after the Prosecutor General's Office placed three »»»

Spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry Esmaeil Baqaei categorically rejected the United Arab Emirates’ allegation that Iran launched a missile toward the Arab country, expressing regret over the accusation against the Islamic Republic. In a statement released on Tuesday night, Baqaei said th»»»