Dubai: Travellers in the UAE trying to secure Schengen visa appointments for Europe this summer are increasingly facing a new problem: AI bots and unofficial agents snapping up free appointment slots and reselling them at inflated prices. Sign up for our daily business newsletter, Cheques & Balance»»»

A Youth Center and a Women’s Support and Development Center have been opened in Batken. The press service of the Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Kyrgyz Republic in Batken region reported. According to the press service, the opening ceremony was attended by Mamyrzhan Rakhimov,»»»

Deputies of the Zhogorku Kenesh of Kyrgyzstan today, during a plenary session, reviewed and approved the draft law «On the ratification of the agreement between the Kyrgyz Republic and Japan on the elimination of double taxation with respect to income taxes and the prevention of tax evasion and avo»»»

Beijing: President Xi Jinping hailed China and Russia's "unyielding" ties in talks with Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, as the pair met to underscore their alliance days after Donald Trump's own visit to Beijing. The two countries' ties have deepened since Moscow's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, as Russia »»»

Doha, Qatar: The third round of political consultations between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of the State of Qatar and the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia was held on Wednesday in Doha. Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, HE Sultan bin Saad Al Muraikhi chaired the Qatari side, where»»»

DOHA: Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani chaired the regular Cabinet meeting at its headquarters in the Amiri Diwan. Following the meeting, Minister of Justice and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs HEIbrahim bin Ali Al Mohannadi»»»

The declaration underscores Russia and China's drive "to give ideological and diplomatic structure to a geopolitical reality they believe is already taking shape,” UK political analyst Adriel Kasonta tells Sputnik. The document formalizes a decade-long trend: “The gradual erosion of uncontested Wes»»»

Lausanne: Veteran midfielder Granit Xhaka will take part in his seventh successive major international tournament after he was named in Switzerland's World Cup squad on Wednesday. The 33-year-old national team captain is one of five players contracted to English Premier League clubs in coach Murat »»»

A private partner has been selected for the public-private partnership (PPP) project «Construction of a Thermal Power Plant With Digital Infrastructure in Chon-Alai District of Osh region.» The press service of the National Investment Agency reported. The project provides for the construction of a »»»

By a ruling of the Pervomaisky District Court of Bishkek dated May 15, 2026, a motion filed by a senior investigator of the Investigation Department for Particularly Important Cases of the Investigative Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic was granted, the Pervomaisky »»»

The National Assembly on Wednesday approved at first reading three bills amending and supplementing the Criminal Procedure Code. Two of the bills were submitted by the caretaker cabinet of Andrey Gurov, and the third by Yordan Ivanov of Democratic Bulgaria and a group of MPs. The first bill submitt»»»

PARIS: French investigators are probing allegations of embezzlement involving high-profile presidential candidate Edouard Philippe over the allocation of a digital hub contract in the northern port city of Le Havre where he is mayor, prosecutors have said. The 55-year-old centrist, an ex-prime mini»»»

JERUSALEM: Activists who were aboard a Gaza-bound aid flotilla that was intercepted by Israeli naval forces are being detained at an Israeli port before being taken to prison, an Israeli rights group and the flotilla’s organizers said on Wednesday. The flotilla was making a renewed attempt to deliv»»»

ASHDOD: Israeli authorities have begun detaining hundreds of activists seized from a Gaza-bound flotilla at the southern port of Ashdod on Wednesday, a rights group said, after Israeli forces intercepted their vessels at sea. The Global Sumud Flotilla set sail from Turkiye last week in the latest a»»»

BERLIN: European intelligence agencies believe the Chinese military has trained hundreds of Russian soldiers for fighting in Ukraine, according to Germany’s Die Welt newspaper which cited secret documents it had seen. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) reportedly hosted covert training for »»»

Seoul: Samsung Electronics and its workers' union resumed talks Wednesday with South Korea's labour minister mediating, after earlier talks aimed at averting a strike collapsed. Workers at the world's top memory chipmaker had been due to begin a strike on Thursday after talks over bonuses failed, r»»»

In 2018, on the day the 2026 FIFA World Cup was awarded to the US, Canada, and Mexico, I vowed that under no circumstances would I work at it in any capacity, from commentator to host, journalist to presenter. The reason was simple: five years of non-stop lawfare against the sport’s global governin»»»

Croatian President Zoran Milanovic has refused to approve Israel’s new ambassador to Zagreb, citing disagreements with the Israeli government’s actions. The presidential office announced the decision on Monday. “The proposed Ambassador of the State of Israel has not received, nor will he receive, t»»»

Brussels should strip fighting-age Ukrainian men of “temporary protection” status, Ylva Johansson, the bloc’s special envoy for Ukrainians in the EU, has said. A total of 4.33 million Ukrainians were living under temporary protection status in the EU as of March 31, 2026, according to the bloc’s st»»»

Beijing stands as Moscow’s “most powerful strategic partner,” with Russia’s massive natural reserves and cheap energy making it a perfect fit for cooperation in artificial intelligence development, Kremlin investment envoy Kirill Dmitriev has said. Speaking to journalists at Tsinghua University in »»»

Almost two out of three violent attacks against politicians in Germany in 2025 targeted members of Alternative for Germany (AfD), government data shows. An MP from the right-wing party blamed the development on what he called a years-long defamation campaign. AfD politicians were targets in a total»»»

BELGRADE - The head of the Serbian government Office for Kosovo-Metohija Petar Petkovic said on Tuesday detentions of directors of Serbian health care and educational institutions in central Kosovo-Metohija on orders from Albin Kurti represented an attempt by Pristina to exert impermissible pressur»»»

Israel’s Knesset (parliament) approved a bill for its dissolution in a preliminary reading on Wednesday with support from both coalition and opposition lawmakers. Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana said 110 lawmakers voted in favor of the proposal, while no members opposed it, according to the Knesset’s of»»»

Brussels, May 20 (SANA) The European Parliament and European Union member states reached an agreement on Wednesday paving the way for implementation of a trade deal concluded with the United States last year, in a move aimed at easing escalating trade tensions between the two sides. According to Ag»»»

More die of suspected Ebola as WHO warns that numbers will rise further Just nowShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleHafsa Khalil AFP via Getty ImagesAuthorities say 51 cases of Ebola have been confirmed in DR Congo The World Health Organization (WHO) says there have now been 600 suspected cases of E»»»

Secretary's SpeechLebanon PalestineZionist EntityRegional and International International More Video Language Ar En Fr EsSubscribe for Weekly Updates Subscribe Islamic Resistance Launches More Bloody Attacks: Israeli Officers, including Commander of Brigade 401, Listed among Casualties 20-05-2026 1»»»

DUBAI: Dubai Basketball have announced that all ticket proceeds from their relocated home games in Bosnia and Herzegovina will be donated to humanitarian initiatives supporting local communities across the country. The UAE-based club were forced to relocate their home fixtures at the beginning of M»»»

The World Health Organization on Wednesday said the risk of the Democratic Republic of Congo's deadly Ebola outbreak was currently high at the national and regional levels but low worldwide. WHO experts said that while investigations into its origins were ongoing, given the scale of the situation i»»»

Dubai: Class 12 students of India's Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) have been dealt another blow, this time by technical glitches on the re-evaluation portal, just as hundreds of students, including Indian expats in the UAE, were attempting to dispute their results and seek a fresh revi»»»

President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan has ordered the release of 956 inmates from correctional and punitive institutions across the country ahead of Eid Al Adha. The inmates had been convicted in various cases. The President pledged to settle the pardoned inmates' financial obli»»»

Secretary's SpeechLebanon PalestineZionist EntityRegional and International International More Video Language Ar En Fr EsSubscribe for Weekly Updates Subscribe Al-Manar correspondent in south Lebanon reports Israeli air strikes on the towns of Kafra, Yatar and Siddiqin in Tyre district 20-05-2026 1»»»

Secretary's SpeechLebanon PalestineZionist EntityRegional and International International More Video Language Ar En Fr EsSubscribe for Weekly Updates Subscribe Israeli Broadcast Corporation: Hezbollah dealt severe blow to the “national immunity” of Israelis in the north 20-05-2026 13:32 PM Latest N»»»

Doha, Qatar: Art Basel is pleased to announce the appointment of Iraqi curator Wassan Al-Khudhairi as Artistic Director of the 2027 edition of Art Basel Qatar, presented in partnership with Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) and QC+. Al-Khudhairi succeeds Wael Shawky, artist and Director of Qatar Museu»»»

An Israeli strike on several houses in the southern town of Dweir killed five people Wednesday and wounded two others. Two other people were killed in a strike on Tebnine, and several were wounded across south Lebanon, despite the truce. The Israeli army struck overnight into Wednesday several sout»»»

Berlin, Germany: A US doctor who contracted Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo during the current deadly outbreak has been admitted to an isolation ward in a German hospital, health officials told AFP Wednesday. The patient -- named as medical missionary Dr Peter Stafford -- arrived in Germa»»»

The US University of New Haven is set to open its Riyadh campus in September, marking the launch of the first American university branch campus in Saudi Arabia as the kingdom pushes to expand international higher education under Vision 2030. The university said the new campus, located in the Mohamm»»»

Dubai: Chinese President Xi Jinping welcomed Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing, shaking hands with the Russian leader outside the Great Hall of the People ahead of bilateral talks. Xi and Putin highlighted their countries’ strategic partnership and expanding energy cooperation during talk»»»

Dubai: Warner Bros. World Yas Island in Abu Dhabi has been named the best theme park in the world, becoming the first attraction in the Middle East to win the prestigious 2026 Liseberg Applause Award. Sign up for our daily business newsletter, Cheques & Balances.The Applause Award is an internation»»»

Damascus, May 20 (SANA) Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani met Chinese Ambassador to Syria Shi Hongwei on Wednesday to discuss bilateral relations and regional developments, the Foreign Ministry said. In a statement posted on its Telegram channel, the ministry said»»»

Egypt has signed agreements valued at approximately $3 billion with energy giants Shell and TotalEnergies. These deals will secure 60 shipments of liquefied natural gas (LNG) for the year 2025, multiple market insiders disclosed to S&P Global Commodity Insights. While Shell has chosen not to commen»»»

Secretary's SpeechLebanon PalestineZionist EntityRegional and International International More Video Language Ar En Fr EsSubscribe for Weekly Updates Subscribe Israeli Broadcast Corporation: A mounting sense of frustration is taking hold, accompanied by eroding confidence in both the government and»»»

New market research has found that 4 out of 10 Romanians say they currently have savings or active investments, and saving behavior is driven primarily by the need for financial security rather than the desire to grow wealth. The study “Saving and Investment Attitudes in Romania,” commissioned by T»»»

MAKKAH: The Roads General Authority has implemented road-cooling projects at three Al-Mashaaer Al-Mugaddassah Metro sites in Makkah. Spanning 14,000 sq. meters, the initiative aims to improve the transportation environment and enhance pilgrim comfort during the Hajj season. The specialized road-coo»»»

Geneva: The World Health Organization on Wednesday said the risk of the Democratic Republic of Congo's Ebola outbreak was currently high at the national and regional levels but low worldwide. The WHO assesses "the risk of the epidemic as high at the national and regional levels and low at the globa»»»

Youssef Shtayyeh came home from school on an April afternoon, dropped his bag in the hallway and headed straight back out to join his friends. Minutes later, he was dead -- shot by an Israeli soldier, just 100 meters (yards) from his home. He was 15. His is not an isolated case. Since Israel launch»»»

Israel moved closer on Wednesday to a snap election after lawmakers gave an initial nod to dissolve parliament, with opinion polls showing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would lose the first national vote since the 2023 Hamas attacks. Lawmakers voted almost unanimously for an early ballot in a p»»»

German police on Wednesday arrested a married couple on charges of spying for China, accusing them of seeking information on advanced technology with military uses. The couple, German nationals partially named as Xuejun C. and Hua S., were arrested in the southern city of Munich, said the federal p»»»

Dubai: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday asked the Centre and the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to examine allegations that the blockbuster spy thriller Dhurandhar: The Revenge disclosed sensitive operational details linked to India’s armed forces and intelligence agencies. The court w»»»

Dubai: The global investment landscape is undergoing a fundamental recalibration. The defining question for investors is no longer how quickly capital can grow, but how reliably it can endure. Get updated faster and for FREE: Download the Gulf News app now - simply click here.This is not a cyclical»»»

A major international investment is set to support the modernization and expansion of Sofia’s Vasil Levski Airport, with €70 million allocated to the project by global investment firm M&G. According to the company announcement cited by BTA, the funding is directed toward SOF Connect, the operat»»»