At Wednesday's plenary sitting of Bulgaria's National Assembly, Continue the Change moved draft amendments to the Election Code, triggering a broad political debate over the future of machine voting, voting abroad, and election integrity safeguards. Parliamentary parties are divided over whether to»»»

LONDON: The UK government will lead a coalition of around a dozen European countries to step up funding for the next generation of long-range missiles designed to protect Europe, the UK government said on Wednesday. Prime Minister Keir Starmer was set to unveil details of the program at the NATO su»»»

VANCOUVER: Switzerland goalkeeper Gregor Kobel praised his side’s “incredible, incredible achievement” after their 4-3 penalty shoot-out win over Colombia in Vancouver on Tuesday took them into the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time in 72 years. The Borussia Dortmund goalkeeper, playing at»»»

Tunis, July 8 (TAP) - Tunis Afrique Presse (TAP) news agency and the National Handicrafts Office signed a three-year framework partnership agreement on Tuesday evening, defining areas of cooperation between the two institutions within their...»»»

Apple CEO Tim Cook gifts President Donald Trump a plaque to commemorate the announcement an additional $100 billion Apple investment in the United States during an event in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., on August 6. On Wednesday, Apple announced plans to increase its commi»»»

Dubai: Multiple participants have secured cash rewards in the latest UAE Lottery Lucky Day draw conducted on Wednesday. For Lucky Day Draw No. 260708, the winning numbers selected in the Days section were 15, 2, 28, 24, 23, 12, while the winning Months number was 1. Three participants have also won»»»

Tunis, July 8 (TAP) - Total repayments of long-term external debt principal, across all financing instruments, dropped by 11.8% in 2025 to TND 10.428 billion, according to the Central Bank of Tunisia's 2025 annual report, published in June 2026.The...»»»

Tunis, July 8, 2026 (TAP) - The Tunisian-French Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the General Consulate of France in Tunis signed a cooperation agreement aimed at facilitating the procedures for obtaining business visas for Tunisian companies...»»»

The New Horizons probe has awakened after hibernating for nearly a year, billions of miles into deep space, from where it sent this image of Pluto on July 14, 2015. File Photo courtesy of NASA | License Photo July 8 (UPI) -- NASA's New Horizons probe has awakened after hibernating for nearly a year»»»

President Donald Trump filed a court petition to prevent payout to E. Jean Carroll for lawsuits that she won against him. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo July 8 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump and his attorneys filed a motion to pause the payout of nearly $5.8 million to writer E. »»»

LONDON: An Israeli rights group said on Tuesday that a state court filing on 14 detained Gaza doctors failed to answer “serious concerns” about the condition of Palestinian physician Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, who has been held by Israel since late 2024 reportedly without charge. Physicians for Human R»»»

Doha, Qatar: The United Arab Emirates and Qatar ranked as the two most expensive Arab countries in terms of the Cost of Living Plus Rent Index, according to data published by Numbeo. The UAE ranked first among Arab countries and 28th globally with an index score of 48.2, followed by Qatar in second»»»

People line up Tuesday in La Guaira, Venezuela, to receive humanitarian aid after twin earthquakes measuring 7.2 and 7.5 on the Richter scale struck June 24. Photo by Xaume Olleros/EPA July 8 (UPI) -- Two weeks after earthquakes devastated Caracas and La Guaira, Venezuela's emergency entered a new »»»

SINGAPORE: Car buyers in Singapore will now need to fork out almost $100,000 for a certificate to own a small car, as costs in the city-state’s vehicle quota system hit an all-time high for small models on Wednesday. Singapore regularly auctions a fixed number of “certificates of ‌entitlement” allo»»»

Tesco is reportedly considering selling its Central European operations, a move that could see the retail giant withdraw from Hungary after more than 30 years in the market. According to the Financial Times, the UK’s largest supermarket chain is working with investment bankers to evaluate strategic»»»

Dubai: Telecom operator e& on Wednesday evening reported a service interruption in the UAE. The company has alerted customers about service outage affecting multiple accounts including eLife accounts. Get updated faster and for FREE: Download the Gulf News app now - simply click here.In an SMS to a»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) announced on Wednesday its decision to lift all restrictions placed on Russian national teams. "In line with the FIVB Board of Administration's previous decision to follow IOC Executive Board (EB) recommendations, and following the I»»»

The process of excluding Russia from international sporting competitions constitutes a form of political “insanity,” not principles or logic which can be explained to a reasonable person, legendary Soviet and Russian football coach Gadzhi Gadzhiyev told Sputnik. That was the trainer’s reaction to t»»»

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The escalation in the conflict between the United States and Iran is not for the long term and will end "very quickly," US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday. "I think anything that happens is going to be over very quickly and will only make it safer, including for oil,»»»

GENEVA: Far from the World Cup spotlight, the Champions League has restarted with Shamrock Rovers defender Roberto ‘Pico’ Lopes unable to play because of his memorable tournament run with Cape Verde. In 10 games played Tuesday in the Champions League first qualifying round, the first goal of the se»»»

Tunis, July 8, 2026 (TAP) - Tunisia's national savings recorded a modest recovery of 1.5% in 2025, following a 5.1% contraction the previous year, bringing the national savings rate to 5.3% of Gross National Disposable Income (GNDI), compared with...»»»

Expanding cooperation between Bulgaria and Poland in defence and the defence industry was the focus of talks between Bulgaria's Deputy Defence Minister Katerina Gramatikova-Ivanova and Poland's Deputy Minister of National Defence Magdalena Sobkowiak-Czarnecka, who is visiting Bulgaria with a govern»»»

The ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID), the Lomé-based development finance arm of the West African bloc, has approved more than $417mn in financing for five public and private sector projects covering transport infrastructure, healthcare, housing finance, mining, public asset managem»»»

The IMF downgraded global growth prospects for the second time this year, saying it expects the global economy to grow by just 3 percent in 2026. In January, this projection had still stood at 3.3 percent, Statista reports. While the downgrade is slight, it still conveys the multiple risks to the g»»»

Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa has signed into law constitutional amendments extending presidential and parliamentary terms from five to seven years, a move that will allow him to remain in office until 2030 and delay the country’s next election by two years. The Constitution of Zimbabwe A»»»

1 of 3 | Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear speaks at the Democratic National Convention at the United Center in Chicago on August 19, 2024. On Wednesday, he called for Sen. Mitch McConnell to provide the public with an update regarding his health. File Photo by Tannen Maury/UPI | License Photo July 8 (UPI»»»

Two men detained over the killing of Anastasiia Berezovska — among them a serving military intelligence officer — Ukrainian media report, deepening the mystery around the attack on Vadym Iermolaiev. The woman sought by Interpol over the attempted assassination of the sanctioned Ukrainian businessma»»»

LONDON: Around 112 Israeli settlers stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the walled city of occupied East Jerusalem on Wednesday. The Wadi Hilweh Information Center, a Palestinian rights group in Jerusalem, reported that settlers entered the site through the Israel-controlled Moroccan Gate. Israe»»»

Senior US military commanders ignored warnings that intelligence on targets in Iran was outdated as they rushed to compile strike lists at the start of the war, CNN reports. Citing sources familiar with the decision-making process, the broadcaster said the decision contributed to the deadly strike »»»

The US decision to brand Brazil’s two biggest criminal groups as terrorist organizations could serve as a pretext for military intervention, the Brazilian Foreign Ministry has warned. Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira issued the warning in a letter sent to Brazil’s Chamber of Deputies last week, respon»»»

A Polish member of the European Parliament has publicly torn up a flag of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) – whose fighters massacred up to 100,000 ethnic Poles in one of World War II’s worst atrocities – during a debate on Kiev’s bid to join the EU. On Tuesday, Ewa Zajaczkowska-Hernik, a member »»»

Oil prices have surged as tensions between the US and Iran flared again, raising fresh concerns over supply disruptions in the Middle East after Washington reinstated pressure on Tehran and resumed military strikes. The US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on Tuesday revoked a two-»»»

Tourism Minister Ilin Dimitrov met with Romanian Ambassador to Bulgaria Brandusa Predescu to discuss a project to send a tourism attache to Bucharest, the Tourism Ministry reported on Wednesday. The project is expected to strengthen Bulgaria’s presence on the Romanian market, support the developmen»»»

FIFA’s controversial decision to revoke US striker Folarin Balogun’s one-match World Cup suspension could undermine the independence and credibility of international sport, Turkish sports commentator Gokhan Dinc told Sputnik. “FIFA’s current management style is a complete farce,” Dinc said. “Such a»»»

Katmandu: A Nepali court has convicted two former government ministers for taking money from citizens with the false promise of international resettlement as refugees, officials said Wednesday. Former deputy prime minister Top Bahadur Rayamajhi was convicted of offenses against the state, fraud and»»»

Argentine President Javier Milei said his proposed shutdown mechanism would prevent the government from spending after money in the approved budget has been used up. File Photo by Chema Moya/EPA BUENOS AIRES, July 8 (UPI) -- Argentine President Javier Milei said his administration will introduce le»»»

Dubai: Telecom operator e& on Wednesday evening reported a mass service interruption in the UAE. The company has alerted customers about service outage affecting multiple accounts including eLife accounts. More to follow…»»»

WASHINGTON: Eight teams are left in the World Cup, and the quarterfinals feature the top four countries in FIFA’s pretournament men’s world rankings plus two others in the top 10. France look like a juggernaut and are the betting favorite at just under 2-1, followed by Spain and defending champion »»»

KAMPALA: At least 14 people have died and 28 others were injured after a bus collided with a truck in a remote area of northern Uganda, police said on Wednesday. The incident happened late on Tuesday at a trading center along the highway to the northern city of Gulu, according to a police statement»»»

NEW YORK: Saudi Arabia is participating in the United Nations High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development running from July 7-15 in New York, where the Kingdom will present its Voluntary National Review report detailing national progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals under the »»»

A Nicaragua-flagged oil tanker -- possibly part of the "shadow fleet" -- that ran aground off India is bringing attention to the government of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega. File Photo by Miguel Gutierrez/EPA July 8 (UPI) -- A Nicaragua-flagged oil tanker under investigation for allegedly tran»»»

Dubai: Nearly two decades after the first tunnels of the Dubai Metro were carved beneath the city, tunnelling speeds have more than doubled as the emirate deploys a new generation of smart engineering technology for the Blue Line project, according to the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA). The au»»»

BELGRADE - Serbian PM Djuro Macut on Wednesday hosted lunch for ambassadors of countries that do not recognise the so-called "Kosovo". Macut thanked each ambassador for the joint struggle to preserve Serbia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty and for respecting international law. "Our joint str»»»

ANKARA: US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said ​he thought he would remove Syria from the United States’ list of designated state sponsors of terrorism. “I think I will,” Trump told reporters in response to a question during a meeting with Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa in Turkiye. The US ha»»»

Tunis, July 8 (TAP) - The FATIMA project, an initiative dedicated to agricultural innovation, combating climate change, defending the rights of farmers, particularly women and young people, in Tunisia, and empowering rural women, was officially...»»»

Tunis, July 8, 2026 (TAP) - Tunisia and the Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) signed an extended loan agreement worth 76.7 million Arab Accounting Dinars (AAD) (around $312 million, or nearly TND 921.4 million) to support the country's economic and financial...»»»

Parliamentary Tourism Committee Chair Rositsa Kirova met with Japan’s Ambassador to Bulgaria Chikahisa Sumi, the Committee said in a press release on Wednesday. The sides discussed prospects for deepening bilateral cooperation in a number of areas of mutual interest, including tourism. Kirova noted»»»

A 75-year-old German man was arrested on Wednesday near the village of Iskra, in Bulgaria's southeastern Karnobat Municipality, during a joint operation by Bulgaria's General Directorate Combating Organized Crime (GDCOC) and the German authorities targeting an organized criminal group involved in c»»»

Doha, Qatar: The Metrash app allows users to pay medical examination fees for expatriates at Qatar Visa Centers (QVCs) abroad after completing recruitment procedures. It also provides a service to transfer medical examination fees from one visa to another. To pay overseas medical examination fees: »»»

The most meaningful projects often begin with a conversation. Around a single idea, teams come together, partnerships take shape, and communities emerge to create lasting impact. Communication builds trust, brings people together, and gives direction to initiatives that aim to make a difference. Wh»»»