Dubai: A 50-kilometre automated people mover (APM) will be built at Dubai’s Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC), creating what its developer Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) says will be the world’s largest airport APM system. Sign up for our daily business newsletter, Cheques & BalancesThe sys»»»

The Democratic Republic ‌of Congo has been allocated 70,000 doses of Merck’s Ervebo vaccine for Ebola, the World Health Organization said on Thursday, as the country attempts to contain its biggest ever outbreak of the deadly disease. Here are some details: Last week Congo had requested a release o»»»

Israel's defense minister on Thursday accused President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of dragging Turkey into "dangerous adventures in Syria", after Israel tacitly acknowledged a strike on a north Syria air base earlier in the week. "Israel will not allow any entity to threaten its security," Israel Katz wr»»»

International payment platforms Sendwave and Wise Group (Nasdaq: WSE; LSE: WISE) have restricted services for Kenyan users amid heightened scrutiny of the country’s anti-money-laundering regime, Business Daily reported on August 18. Sendwave told a Kenyan customer that it was currently unable to pr»»»

The scenario that keeps Western planners awake is easy to describe and, it turns out, almost entirely unstudied: Russia moves on a Nato member while China moves on Taiwan, The Atlantic reported on August 17. Asked what the West would actually do if Russia and China opened two fronts in Europe and T»»»

Eating and entertainment establishments in Bulgaria that have been awarded two or more stars are required to have POS terminals available to customers, consumer rights expert Gabriela Rumenova said. The requirement is set out in the Tourism Act and has been in force since March 1, 2024. Rumenova, f»»»

Bulgaria’s economy expanded by 2.7% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2026, with strong household consumption and rising investment continuing to support growth, according to express estimates from the National Statistical Institute (NSI). On a seasonally adjusted basis, GDP increased by 0.6% c»»»

RIYADH: Syria produced 14.8 million barrels of crude oil in the first half of 2026, about 79 percent below its 2010 pre-war production levels, as the energy sector works to rebuild infrastructure and restore output. Raw natural gas production reached 1.43 billion cubic meters during the period, whi»»»

An Emirati delegation comprising approximately 70 businessmen will visit Lebanon on August 26 and 27 to sign agreements with the private sector in Lebanon, LBCI television has reported. The delegation will also propose providing and developing services at the airport, ports, and border crossings.»»»

Kazakhstan’s first artificial intelligence university plans to enrol 600 students and trainees in the 2026-2027 academic year, as the government expands AI education from higher education to schools and rural classrooms, The Times of Central Asia reported on August 18. Science and Higher Education »»»

Tajikistan will need roughly $5.8bn more to complete construction of the Rogun hydroelectric power plant, according to a report from S&P Global Ratings, which expects the entire project to be finished by 2035.  The figure is lower than S&P's previous estimates, which stood at arou»»»

Sharjah will launch the 13th Al Maleh and Fishing Festival on August 27, bringing together fishing businesses, traditional producers and government entities in a four-day event aimed at preserving the UAE’s maritime heritage and supporting local industries. Organised by the Sharjah Chamber of Comme»»»

Dubai: Disney Abu Dhabi may still be an expanse of largely empty land, but Disney boss Bob Iger is already imagining what could rise from it. In newly released documentary Disney Worldbuilders, now streaming on Disney+, Iger stands at the future site of Disney’s first theme park resort in Abu Dhabi»»»

Sharjah is expanding the use of artificial intelligence across its public transport network, deploying smart surveillance cameras on intercity buses and taxis to improve passenger safety, monitor driver behaviour and detect accidents and road hazards. The Sharjah Roads and Transport Authority (SRTA»»»

The scenario that keeps Western planners awake is easy to describe and, it turns out, almost entirely unstudied: Russia moves on a Nato member while China moves on Taiwan, The Atlantic reported on August 17. Asked what the West would actually do if Russia and China opened two fronts in Europe and T»»»

Israeli War Minister Israel Katz issued a stark warning to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday, accusing him of “dragging Turkey into dangerous adventures in Syria” and vowing that ‘Israel’ would not “allow any actor to threaten its security”. The rebuke, posted in Turkish on social »»»

There are no indications of plans for further protests among residents of the Bulgarian village of Bezmer over two US military tanker aircraft stationed at the nearby airbase, Mayor Rosen Rusev told BTA. He said the situation in the village is calm, with an increased presence of military police and»»»

GENEVA: A collection of soccer fan groups from around the world launched a petition Thursday calling for Gianni Infantino to resign as FIFA president after he tried to sell future World Cup profits to private investors. The petition with the hashtag InfantinOut also calls for “FIFA to be rebuilt so»»»

U.S. President Donald Trump pledged "economic warfare" against Iran and threatened any country that trades with it, prompting Iran to dismiss the plan on Thursday as a continuation of failed policies. The war between the two countries, started by the U.S. and Israel in February, appears stalemated,»»»

Cairo: Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani met on Thursday in Cairo with Prime Minister of the Arab Republic of Egypt HE Dr. Mostafa Madbouly, on the sidelines of the seventh session of the Joint Higher Committee between the two coun»»»

Health Minister of Kyrgyzstan Damir Osmonov held a meeting with a Turkish delegation to discuss promising areas of cooperation, including pharmaceutical supply, development of the pharmaceutical industry, digitalization, medical services, project development and infrastructure. Dr. Hassan Chagil, a»»»

Cairo: President of the Arab Republic of Egypt HE Abdel Fattah El-Sisi received on Thursday in Cairo, Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani. HE the Prime Minister is in Cairo to lead the State of Qatar's delegation in the proceedings o»»»

Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has warned that ending the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) would undermine UN Security Council Resolution 1701 and further endanger southern Lebanon. In remarks to Al-Jomhouriya Lebanese daily, Speaker Berri described the termi»»»

Dubai: “If this goes ahead, the cost could be as much as Dh2,700 a month for someone relying on visitor parking, which is a significant additional expense for many people in the community,” said Andreas Lambri, a homeowner in Uptown Motor City. Homeowners and residents of the gated Dubai community »»»

A former senior official who worked under US Covid czar Anthony Fauci has pleaded guilty to conspiring to hide government records concerning coronavirus research and the origins of the pandemic. David Morens served as a senior adviser at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NI»»»

Egypt is quietly solidifying its footprint as a massive global manufacturing engine, and Beijing is writing a hefty check to prove it. Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Hussein Issa recently met with executives from a top-tier Chinese industrial giant to hammer out a massive two billion do»»»

Dubai: Airport ground operations are moving towards more electric and autonomous equipment, with dnata investing $110 million in 800 new ground support units across 10 countries and testing self-driving baggage vehicles in the UAE. Get updated faster and for FREE: Download the Gulf News app now - s»»»

There is evidence that 37 people voted more than once in the April 29, 2026 parliamentary elections and the cases will be referred to the prosecution service, the Central Election Commission (CEC) said Thursday. A report about the 37 cases was submitted the same day by CEC member Ismail Osman. CEC »»»

Hezbollah proposed earlier this week to hand over the strategic Ali al-Taher area to the Lebanese Army, amid “the decline of its ability to hold onto it and its attempt to withdraw the fighters and equipment that are present there,” an informed Western diplomatic source said. “This information gain»»»

Minister of Regional Development and Public Works Ivan Shishkov has alerted the Sofia City Prosecution Office about unfavorable contracts and financial losses caused by the previous management of Water and Sewerage (W&S) Energy Group from March 2025 to March 2026. At the time, the managing director»»»

Millions more people may be able to get smaller, lightweight Amazon packages delivered by drones by the end of the year under a plan the company announced Wednesday to expand the airborne shipping to suburban areas in nearly 500 U.S. cities. Customers could receive the drone deliveries in as fast a»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russia appreciates the efforts of all countries that sincerely want to contribute to the Ukrainian settlement, but there are still few of them, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday. "We highly appreciate the efforts of all countries that demonstrate a sincere desire t»»»

IRAN EYES STRIKING US ASSETS IN BULGARIA The topic that Iranian forces had assessed striking US military assets in Bulgaria dominates Thursday’s media. Citing “two regime insiders”, the Financial Times said that “Iranian forces had assessed striking US assets in south-eastern European countries suc»»»

Romania’s real estate investment market attracted transactions worth around EUR 300 million in the first half of 2026, down from approximately EUR 400 million a year earlier and equivalent to around 5% of the total volume recorded across the six largest economies in Central and Eastern Europe – Bul»»»

Leeds, United Kingdom: England's bid to strengthen their grip on the first Test against Pakistan was halted by bad weather as rain delayed the scheduled 10:00 GMT start of the second day's play at Headingley on Thursday. The hosts were well-placed at 112-2, 59 runs behind, after skittling out Pakis»»»

It is often said that no one is a prophet in their own country. For years, investors, business organisations, and economists have warned that Romania has been gradually losing its attractiveness: rules changed overnight, less efficient institutions, rising costs, and infrastructure that continues t»»»

Around 1 billion soms has already been paid to oil traders in Kyrgyzstan in subsidies to keep retail prices for gasoline, diesel fuel and autogas down, the Antimonopoly Regulation Service reported. According to the agency, the actual cost of fuel is currently significantly higher than the prices mo»»»

Colombia's President Abelardo de la Espriella has asked his ally U.S. President Donald Trump to suspend tariffs to help the South American nation recover from a powerful earthquake that killed at least 289 people. De la Espriella took office earlier this month just days before the 7.4 magnitude qua»»»

Doha, Qatar: Qatar Central Bank (QCB) has released its Annual Report for the year 2025, providing a comprehensive overview of the State of Qatar's monetary, financial, and institutional developments. The report also highlights the key achievements and QCB-led initiatives that strengthened the resil»»»

Damascus, Aug. 20 (SANA) Gold prices remained stable in the Syrian market Thursday, while global bullion retreated after reaching its highest level in more than two months. According to a bulletin issued by the General Authority for the Management of Precious Metals, 21-carat gold stood at SYP 16,5»»»

The next chapter of Europe’s energy transition will be defined by how effectively energy can be stored, managed and delivered to the grid. As battery energy storage moves from a supporting technology to critical energy infrastructure, WALDEVAR Energy and GEN-I Sonce are expanding their partnership »»»

Dubai: For Amanat Holdings CEO John Ireland, the case for healthcare and education is becoming less about surviving economic cycles and more about capturing structural growth. Sign up for our daily business newsletter, Cheques & BalancesThe Dubai-listed investment company, which has built its portf»»»

"There has been deafening silence from Bulgaria's Commander-in-Chief Iliana Iotova 24 hours after the news about Bezmer," Continue the Change (CC) leader Assen Vassilev wrote in a Facebook post. "There has been no meeting of the Consultative Council for National Security. There has been no statemen»»»

In mid-February 2025, I met Abhishek Bachchan, one of Hindi/Indian cinema’s leading stars and the son of legendary actor, Amitabh Bachchan. He was networking in London as the England and Wales Cricket Board was auctioning off equity stakes in The Hundred. Alongside him were Priyanka Kaul, Dhiraj Ma»»»

Cris-Tim Family Holding S.A. (BVB: CFH), the market leader in cold cuts and ready-meals in Romania, reports revenues of RON 567.4 million for H1 2026, a 6% year-on-year (YoY) increase. The performance was supported by continued growth across the Company’s core Cold Cuts segment, which advanced by 7»»»

Hungary marked its national day on Thursday with a traditional flag-raising and military commissioning ceremony in front of Parliament, as Prime Minister Péter Magyar called on newly sworn officers to remain loyal to Hungary rather than any government or political party. This year’s 20 August marks»»»

The UAE’s Sheikh Zayed Falcon Release Programme has returned more than 2,400 falcons to the wild since its launch in 1995, supporting efforts to protect birds of prey while preserving the country’s falconry heritage. The programme, established under the environmental vision of the late Sheikh Zayed»»»

Health and family are the top priorities Romanians want to protect, but most would not have the money they believe they would need in an emergency. Some 45% estimate they would need at least RON 20,000 to cope with an accident, illness, or other unexpected event, while 51% say they would have immed»»»

STRABAG Property and Facility Services (STRABAG PFS), a subsidiary of the European construction Group STRABAG, signed an agreement to acquire 100% of the shares in Brenneka Install SRL and Samivo Instal SRL, companies within the Brenneka Group, headquartered in Bacău and with an operational office »»»

Doha, Qatar: Hot weather conditions will persist this weekend, with scattered clouds forecast on Friday and Saturday. In its weather forecast for the weekend, the Qatar Meteorology Department said Friday will be slightly dusty and hot during the day, with scattered clouds. It will become humid and »»»