VATICAN CITY: Pope Leo XIV spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone on Friday, calling for a ceasefire in a Russian-occupied city in southern Ukraine, as he recovers in hospital from a lung cancer operation. The Vatican said that Pope Leo “expressed his deep concern about the grave huma»»»

Indian authorities on Friday detained Abhijeet Dipke, the founder of the satirical youth movement "Cockroach Janta Party", ahead of a new protest in New Delhi, live images from the group showed. Police earlier closed a central New Delhi park in an attempt to stifle near-daily demonstrations ca»»»

BELGRADE - Serbian Parliament Speaker and Acting President of the Republic Ana Brnabic said on Friday the Security Information Agency (BIA) was one of the pillars supporting the state, the Republic of Serbia. At a ceremony that marked the BIA Day, Brnabic thanked the BIA personnel for the years of »»»

JOHANNESBURG: South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has lifted the suspension of the country’s national police chief, Fannie Masemola, his office announced on Friday. Masemola is expected to resume his duties on Monday after he was suspended in April when he was charged with breaking finance laws»»»

A historic monastery complex in southern Slovakia, purchased with Hungarian public money under the former Orbán government, remains unusable despite HUF hundreds of millions of being spent on its renovation. The Orbán administration paid approximately EUR 219,000 for the properties in Šahy (Ipolysá»»»

Critically acclaimed Irish novelist Sally Rooney's announcement that her books could no longer be sold in the UK due to her support for proscribed group Palestine Action has left British booksellers rushing to stock up on her works before distributors run out. The British government's ban on the gr»»»

Bulgaria marked Aviation and Air Force Day on Friday with the laying of wreaths and flowers at the Monument to the Aviator in Sofia. In 2026, Bulgarian military aviation marks the 114th anniversary of its first combat flight. President Iliana Iotova inspected the guard of honour and laid a wreath i»»»

Nomad Capitalist awards the UAE 96 out of 100 for taxation, the top score in the rankings Dubai: The UAE has been ranked the third-best place to live in the world in the 2026 Nomad Capitalist Lifestyle Index, placing just behind Monaco and Andorra while taking the top spot globally for its tax envi»»»

MANILA: Philippine authorities are preparing to bring home seven Filipino nationals injured in last weekend’s deadly Houthi strike in Riyadh, the Department of Migrant Workers has said. Filipinos are among more than 300 people injured when a Houthi missile struck King Khalid International Airport l»»»

Reliance says it welcomes competition, after Musk blamed ‘oligarchs’ for Starlink’s delay Dubai: It all started in early October, when Elon Musk decided to vent out his frustration on his social media platform X. But what really was bothering the world’s richest man, that he had to publicly call it»»»

Possible solutions to the constitutional issue of the absolute ban on voting by prisoners and Bulgarian citizens under legal incapacitation, and the experience of other countries, were the main topics raised by Minister of Justice Nikolay Naydenov at a meeting with rapporteurs from the Venice Commi»»»

Police restrictions and park closure follow protests over India’s voter-roll revision Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke was detained from his Delhi residence on Friday, minutes before he was due to leave for a flag-waving protest rally, as authorities tightened restrictions and closed a »»»

The European Commission’s likely anti-asylum proposal to tackle sudden large arrivals may come before the end of the year, after warm endorsements by some 16 EU states during a breakfast on Friday (16 October) ahead of the second-day of the EU summit in Brussels. Beyond the warm words, the discussi»»»

On the night of October 16, 1946, 10 individuals were hanged in the Nuremberg prison. These were the main Nazi criminals who had been captured and brought to trial. Despite the horrifying scale and brutality of the crimes, the Nuremberg Trials remain one of the most controversial proceedings in wor»»»

Bangkok, Oct. 16 (SANA) Syrian Finance Minister Mohammed Yisr Barnieh met with Jihad Azour, director of the International Monetary Fund’s Middle East and Central Asia Department, to discuss Syria’s financial reform agenda and preparations for the IMF’s Article IV consultations. The meeting took pla»»»

By Staff, Agencies The Handala hacking group has claimed responsibility for breaching the communications of Tzipi Livni, a former “Israeli” foreign minister and deputy prime minister, alleging that leaked documents expose undisclosed cooperation between her and the entity's Prime Minister Benjamin »»»

Peshawar, Pakistan: The families of children killed in a roof collapse at a school in northwest Pakistan called for "justice" on Friday, the day after more than 30 pupils and a teacher were crushed to death. A woman teacher and 32 students, mostly younger than 14, died in the building collapse in t»»»

LONDON: A federal judge restricted how the Justice Department could access records seized from Rep. Ilhan Omar’s Washington home before approving a search warrant, citing constitutional protections for members of Congress, CNN reported this week. US Magistrate Judge Matthew Sharbaugh required prose»»»

Hungary has joined Italy, Poland and Czechia in demanding a delay to the EU’s planned carbon pricing scheme for heating and transport, triggering a three-hour argument at a Brussels summit. Most member states rejected the proposal, raising questions about the future of one of the bloc’s key climate»»»

A 21-year-old man has been charged with murdering a peer whose body was found with his hands tied behind his back in the Harmanliyska River on October 15, the District Prosecutor's Office in Haskovo announced. The suspect has been detained for up to 72 hours, and the prosecution plans to ask the co»»»

Russia could make a major return to the Olympics in 2028 under its national flag for the first time in years, US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Paolo Zampolli, has said. Russian athletes were barred from numerous international competitions following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict i»»»

Romania faces a difficult path to economic recovery as weak household consumption, elevated energy costs, and fiscal consolidation weigh on growth, according to the World Bank’s October 2026 Macro Poverty Outlook. The institution expects economic activity to recover gradually from 2027, but warns t»»»

Bulgaria's government is moving away from trusting what companies report and towards watching what they do. In the space of two weeks, Prime Minister Rumen Radev has announced plans for a central registry of food prices and published draft rules that would require gambling operators to feed betting»»»

By Staff, Agencies A judge on Brazil’s top electoral court ordered Meta on Thursday to ensure equal treatment of presidential candidates Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Flávio Bolsonaro across its platforms ahead of the October 25 runoff, imposing a daily fine of 500,000 reais ($98,000) for noncompli»»»

By Latifa Husseiny From the moment news erupted that a truck was intercepted on Dahr Al-Baydar truck, Hezbollah opponents at home began exploiting the incident for political purposes. Fabricating hypothetical scenarios about the truck’s intended purpose and focusing on claims that it was to be used»»»

Major parties reject Arab-led coalition partners despite the prospect of election gridlock Baqa Al Gharbiyye: Mansour Abbas has done nearly everything Israel asks of its Palestinian citizens. The leader of a small Arab political party condemned Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack. He rarely speaks about th»»»

Lebanese authorities have released a famous TikTok content creator arrested for drug trafficking and smuggling, dropping the charges against him under a new amnesty law. Georges Dib, better known as "Doctor Food" to his more than eight million followers, was arrested in August after being sentenced»»»

Foldable iPhone Duo promises new features and hefty costs Dubai: Apple's first foldable smartphone, the iPhone Duo, opens for pre-orders in the UAE at 4pm today, Friday, October 16. Prices start at Dh8,499 for 256GB, making it the most expensive iPhone Apple has sold. Closed, the Duo has a 5.4-inch»»»

François Picard is pleased to welcome Layla Abdelké Yakoub, Tax Justice and Inequality Advocacy Officer at Oxfam France. "Today in France a billionaire pays less taxes proportionally than a nurse or a firefighter," explains Yakoub. She challenges the foundations of France's fiscal system, arguing t»»»

Mansour Abbas has done nearly everything Israel asks of its Palestinian citizens. The leader of a small Arab political party condemned Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack. He rarely speaks about the war in Gaza or Israel's occupation of the West Bank, instead focusing on local issues like crime. He broke a»»»

PESHAWAR: The families of children killed in a roof collapse at a school in northwest Pakistan called for “justice” on Friday, the day after more than 30 pupils and a teacher were crushed to death. A woman teacher and 32 students, mostly younger than 14, died in the building collapse in the city of»»»

University climbs one place in QS Arab Region University Rankings 2027 Khalifa University has climbed to second place in the QS Arab Region University Rankings 2027, moving up from third place last year while maintaining its position as the UAE’s highest-ranked university for the ninth consecutive »»»

“We have collected signatures requesting another extraordinary parliamentary sitting to discuss the pardon of Ognyan Atanasov, known as the Escobar from Petrich," Continue the Change floor leader Nikolay Denkov told journalists in Parliament. Responding to comments that the push was election-relate»»»

By Staff, Agencies European Union leaders have called for urgent measures to contain rising energy prices, ease regulatory pressures and strengthen the bloc’s economic competitiveness, according to conclusions from a European Council summit released early Friday. The council stressed that the curre»»»

By Staff, Agencies A young man faces imminent execution in Saudi Arabia for attending protests and funerals when he was aged 15 to 17, say human rights groups, in the latest example of the kingdom’s surging use of the death penalty for non-violent crimes. Youssef al-Manasif was arrested in 2017 and»»»

“We have collected signatures requesting another extraordinary parliamentary sitting to discuss the pardon of Ognyan Atanasov, known as the Escobar from Petrich," Continue the Change floor leader Nikolay Denkov told journalists in Parliament. Responding to comments that the push was election-relate»»»

DOHA: Al Sadd have strengthened their attack with the signing of Qatar international striker Mohammed Muntari from Al Gharafa on a two-year deal. The reigning Qatar Stars League champions announced the arrival of the 32-year-old on their official X account. Muntari joined Al Jaish in 2012 before mo»»»

DOHA: Al Arabi will look to prove their victory over Al Sadd was no one-off when they face Al Shahania in the Qatar Stars League today, while Al Ahli and Al Wakrah aim to build on their own wins as Week 6 gets underway. Al Arabi ended Al Sadd’s perfect start to the season with a 3-2 victory last we»»»

By Mohamad Hammoud The war in southern Lebanon ended. The destruction did not. A New York Times investigation found that 48 of roughly 60 villages in "Israeli"-occupied southern Lebanon were mostly flattened, much of the demolition occurring after the April cease-fire. Not in battle. After a cease-»»»

Two Budapest men have been arrested at Kelenföld railway station after allegedly bringing nearly eight kilograms of drugs from the Netherlands to Hungary by train. Police discovered cocaine, ketamine and amphetamine oil hidden in their luggage, alongside more than EUR 6,000 in cash. The National Bu»»»

DOHA: The Civil Service and Government Development Bureau (CGB) yesterday announced the launch of a comprehensive nationwide survey to evaluate the impact of specialised courts on Qatar’s business environment in collaboration with the Supreme Judiciary Council and the Ministry of Commerce and Indus»»»

By Staff, Agencies Thousands of students, graduates, professors and university employees marched to Argentina’s Congress in Buenos Aires on Thursday, demanding that President Javier Milei’s government enforce a law guaranteeing funding for public universities. “We demand that the government comply »»»

Lula Wins Court Ruling Against Meta Over Election Content Restrictions SAO PAULO (AP): A judge of Brazil's top electoral court ruled on Thursday that Meta must adopt measures to immediately secure equal treatment of the two presidential candidates ahead of an Oct. 25 runoff. The ruling comes shortl»»»

RIYADH: Fijian conjoined twins Jasepeli and Desicia were successfully separated after a 12-hour-and-45-minute operation in Riyadh, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Thursday. The surgery was performed at King Abdullah Specialized Children’s Hospital, part of King Abdulaziz Medical City under the M»»»

The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg has found that the Orbán government unlawfully restricted the right to strike of Hungarian teachers, the Minister of Education and Children's Affairs announced on Thursday morning on her Facebook page. Judit Lannert wrote that Wednesday’s ruling was »»»

Ukraine defies Trump as Zelensky pushes for stronger European backing Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky is seeking to rally European allies at a Brussels summit on Friday after saying Kyiv would no longer abide by US President Donald Trump's demands not to strike Russian oil refineries. Relati»»»

WASHINGTON: A strong majority of voters believe that President Donald Trump is falling short at home and abroad, and they want major change in the upcoming midterm elections, according to a new AP-NORC poll that raises serious warning signs for the Republican Party at a critical moment. The survey »»»

Social media personality returns to his hometown following release from custody Dubai: Lebanese social media personality Dr Food returned to his hometown in Lebanon after being released from custody under the country's general amnesty law, marking a new chapter following his legal troubles. The con»»»

At least five people were killed and 16 wounded Thursday in a Houthi missile and drone attack on the palace located in Yemen's interim capital – the southern port city of Aden, used by the country's internationally recognised government, an official said. At least six explosions struck Thursda»»»

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky sought European backing Thursday after vowing to resume strikes on Russian oil refineries despite US President Donald Trump’s demands, as tensions with Washington escalated over sanctions, energy infrastructure attacks and restrictions on satellite communicati»»»