A regular meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) will be held in Cholpon-Ata on July 24. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported. The meeting will be held in the year of the 25th anniversary of the founding of the SCO and wil»»»

GapMinder, venture capital investing in technology startups from Romania and Eastern Europe, is leading a seed funding round in Croatian healthtech startup Lasken AI, alongside Fil Rouge Capital. Lasken AI is building a healthcare data intelligence platform that transforms publicly available health»»»

BusinessChinaUS-China AI rivalry heats up as Chinese models gain groundNik MartinChina's AI platforms are rapidly closing the gap with their US counterparts, prompting fresh threats from the Trump administration. With accusations of intellectual property theft, could tensions boil over? https://p.d»»»

EU ​ambassadors on Thursday ​reached a political agreement on a new round of sanctions against Russia over the Ukraine war, ‌according to EU diplomats. The ​21st ‌sanctions package includes ⁠a 12-month freeze on the Russian oil price cap.   EU ​ambassadors have ​reached a political a»»»

Rewatch as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio addresses the conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine at the end of the ASEAN summit in Manilla.»»»

Hollywood actor John Cusack has once again stepped into India’s student protest debate, this time throwing his support behind the ongoing agitation over alleged irregularities in the NEET examination system. The High Fidelity actor shared an essay by author and activist Arundhati Roy on X, days aft»»»

“I didn’t kidnap Natalia.” These were the first words of Asen Simeonov after he was detained nearly a month after disappearing with 11-year-old Natalia from her home. Simeonov, 40, was captured late Wednesday night in the Shumen village of Ovcharovo after a 24-day search operation. He was escorted »»»

TUNIS, July 23 (TAP) – GRAMMER AG, the German global leader in the manufacture of automotive interior components and seating systems for commercial vehicles, is considering the establishment of a strategic industrial project in Tunisia that could...»»»

JERUSALEM: Israeli far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir led hundreds of Israeli Jews into Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque compound on Thursday, breaching the site’s decades-old status quo as he marked a Jewish day of mourning. The visit coincided with Tisha B’Av, the Jewish fast day comm»»»

Prices for socially important goods in Kyrgyzstan are monitored on a daily basis, Oksana Goryanova, head of the Analysis, Reporting and EEC Cooperation Department of the Antimonopoly Regulation Service, said on Birinchi Radio. According to her, the agency tracks prices for 16 categories of essentia»»»

BELGRADE - Serbian PM Djuro Macut on Thursday welcomed Czech PM Andrej Babis at a ceremony outside the Palace of Serbia in Belgrade. Babis, who is on a two-day visit to Belgrade, was welcomed with the highest state honours that included a red carpet, a guard of honour and the playing of the nationa»»»

MOSCOW, (Sputnik) - The Iranian armed forces announced the destruction of the radar of the THAAD missile defense system and the Patriot air defense system at the US base in Jordan, the IRIB broadcaster reported on Thursday. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) reported the destruction of»»»

Doha, Qatar: Minister of State for International Cooperation HE Dr. Maryam bint Ali bin Nasser Al Misnad met today with Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) HE Dr. Rania Al Mashat, who is »»»

At least five nurses have reportedly been questioned as witnesses in a Budapest hospital murder investigation involving a 32-year-old female doctor who previously worked at the North Buda St John’s Centre Hospital. The doctor was detained in May and is suspected of killing an elderly patient receiv»»»

Rome: Wildfires continued to sweep across swathes of Italy, France and Spain on Thursday, forcing thousands to flee from blazes fanned by scorching temperatures and strong winds. Three firefighters have been killed fighting the flames as southern Europe endures another spell of severe heat, with te»»»

Dubai: The passengers settling into their seats may never think about what it takes to get a train moving safely and on time. They see the doors close, the journey begin, and the landscape glide by. What they do not see are the years of training, countless hours of practical experience, and unwaver»»»

Forest fires have set new records across four continents over the past two years, with the fire season starting earlier, affected areas expanding and economic and human losses increasing, the Branch Chamber of Woodworking and Furniture Industry said. Official data from the European Commission's EFF»»»

Public trust in the Cabinet in the second month of its work already shows a clearly pronounced downward trend, according to a survey by the Market Links polling agency presented on Thursday. The number of those who have trust has decreased by 8%, and the number of those who declare distrust in the »»»

RIYADH: Saudi mobile telecom operator Zain KSA has announced the commercial launch of Advanced 5th Generation technology for individual customers, becoming the first company in the Kingdom to offer this service. This comes as an extension of its leadership in developing digital infrastructure, foll»»»

MOSCOW, (Sputnik) - The Russian armed forces have liberated the settlement of Belitskoye in the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), the Russian Defense Ministry said on Thursday. "Units of the Tsentr Battlegroup have liberated the settlement of Belitskoye in the Donetsk People's Republic," the ministr»»»

‌Oman said on Thursday it is coordinating with Saudi Arabia, Yemeni parties and the UN ‌special ‌envoy for Yemen ‌to ⁠resume the political ⁠track aimed at achieving security and stability in ⁠the region, according ‌to ‌a foreign ‌ministry statement. The ministry ‌also stressed the need to avoid ‌es»»»

DUBAI: The Saudi Arabian national football team have jumped three places in the FIFA World Rankings, which were announced this week following the World Cup. Spain, who beat Argentina 1-0 on Sunday to claim their second World Cup triumph, climbed to top spot. The Saudi team are now in 58th place glo»»»

Kyrgyzstan’s foreign trade in fish and seafood showed solid export growth in January—May 2026, while imports remained significantly higher and continued to dominate the domestic market, data from the National Statistical Committee say. Export dynamics Kyrgyz producers increased fish exports across »»»

PANCEVO - Serbian side Zeleznicar Pancevo lost 1-0 at home to Portuguese powerhouse Braga in the first leg of their UEFA Conference League second qualifying round match on Wednesday evening. In the 67th minute, the visitor's captain Ricardo Orta converted a penalty kick awarded after a foul on Vict»»»

Doha, Qatar: The Qatar Meteorology Department has warned of very hot weather through the weekend, with maximum temperatures across the country ranging from 45°C to 47°C. The minimum temperature will be around 33°C on Friday and Saturday, July 24-25, 2026 and around 34°C on Thursday, July 23. Winds »»»

The Romanian residential market is undergoing a profound structural rebalancing in 2026 as a projected 18.5% surge in supply collides with cautious, highly selective demand. Following an 8.5% sales contraction in 2025, developers are slated to deliver over 20,500 new homes across Bucharest and its »»»

The 2026 Public Social Insurance budget and National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) budget feature rising debt, deficits and spending, but no progressive reforms, Democratic Bulgaria (DB) MPs said here on Thursday after Parliament approved the two budgets on second reading on Wednesday and debated th»»»

Prime Minister Rumen Radev will meet representatives of the management of Rheinmetall at the Council of Ministers, the government's press service said on Thursday. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy, Investments and Industry Alexander Pulev will also take part in the meeting. Earlier in »»»

DOHA: Qatar University (QU) has urged students, staff, and the public to verify information sources and avoid interacting with unverified links or advertisements to safeguard the accuracy of information and protect personal data. In an important notice, the university stressed the need to exercise »»»

DUBAI: Saudi Arabia on Wednesday defeated Hong Kong 46-11 to finish top of Group A with a perfect record at the 19th Asian Men’s Junior U-20 Handball Championship. The team secured their fifth consecutive victory in the continental championship being held in Suzhou, China, having already secured th»»»

Oil prices extended their sharp rally on Thursday (July 23, 2026) as escalating security risks to Middle East energy shipments pushed crude benchmarks to multi-week highs, with Abu Dhabi's Murban crude posting the strongest gains after attacks and threats against tankers in the Red Sea intensified.»»»

BELGRADE - The Serbian dinar's official median exchange rate against the euro is 117.4206 dinars for one euro on Thursday, which is a slight change relative to Wednesday, the National Bank of Serbia said. The dinar is steady against the euro m-o-m, down by 0.2 pct y-o-y and down by 0.1 pct relative»»»

WASHINGTON, (Sputnik) - The United States is ready to play a constructive role in the interests of ending the Ukrainian conflict, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday. "The United States ... we are prepared to play a constructive role in bringing about an end to a senseless war, and w»»»

President of the Republic of Maldives H E Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has received the credentials of H E Hamad bin Mohammed Al Dosari as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the State of Qatar (non-resident) to the Republic of Maldives. The Ambassador conveyed the greetings of Amir H H Sheikh Ta»»»

The opposition leader Sali Berisha arrived at Parliament on Thursday alongside Democratic Party lawmakers Klevis Balliu and Belind Këlliçi, entering through a side entrance after police sealed off the main entrance due to an ongoing protest outside the legislature. The demonstration, now in its 54t»»»

Romania’s retail real estate sector is undergoing a profound structural rebalancing as robust domestic capital and institutional funding step in to drive consolidation amid macroeconomic headwinds. Facing a revised 2026 GDP growth forecast adjusted downwards to 0.1% and the European Union’s highest»»»

Bulgarian President Iliana Iotova has appointed Pavel Todorov Gaydarov as a member of the Anti-Corruption Commission, the President's Press Secretariat said on Thursday. Born on April 1, 1979, Gaydarov graduated in Law from Sofia's University of National and World Economy in 2003. In 2005, he obtai»»»

DOHA: Minister of State for International Cooperation HE Dr Maryam bint Ali bin Nasser Al Misnad met with Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) HE Dr Rania Al Mashat, who is currently visi»»»

President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov met with Kubanychbek Omuraliev, Secretary General of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS), in Cholpon-Ata. During the meeting, the parties discussed the further development of cooperation within the OTS, the implementation of previously reached agreements, a»»»

Andreea Cotiga, head of the leasing office at CPI Romania, talked to BR about the shifting demands in the Bucharest office market. The group is leveraging its 280,000 sqm portfolio, maintaining an occupancy rate exceeding 92% across central hubs while allocating over 10% of space to specialised med»»»

HEADLINES Thursday’s media coverage is dominated by Parliament’s authorization of the temporary deployment of up to eight US aerial refuelling aircraft and 250 military personnel at Bezmer Air Base. Trud reports on the vote, while Nova TV, bTV and Bulgarian National Television (BNT) examined the po»»»

Jordan said on Thursday that it had intercepted Iranian missiles and drones, as Tehran responded to U.S. airstrikes by hitting Washington's allies in the region. The Jordanian army said in a statement it had intercepted three missiles on Thursday morning, while a fourth landed in an uninhabited are»»»

Doha: The Qatar Cultural Center for the Blind organised a cultural seminar titled “Artificial Intelligence: Between Assistance and Reliance,” aimed at raising awareness about the optimal use of AI tools and their conscious and responsible application. Mohammed Shafi’ Al Fahida, a member of the cent»»»

MALE: Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Maldives HE Iruthisham Adam met with Ambassador of the State of Qatar to the Republic of the Maldives HE Hamad bin Mohammed Al Dosari. During the meeting, cooperation relations between the two countries were reviewed.»»»

TOKYO: More than 450 people received hospital treatment for heat-related issues in a single day in Tokyo — the highest number since records began 16 years ago, emergency services said Thursday. The figure was released as Japan sweltered in a heatwave that has killed at least 14 people over the past»»»

RIYADH: Ahead of the start of the 2026 Taif Racing Season on Friday, the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia has announced the upgrade of the Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Cup for Purebred Arabians to Group 3 status. This year’s race, which will take place on Sept. 25, received the new classification from the »»»

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kyrgyzstan (MFA), together with the country’s Embassy in Germany, has begun clarifying the circumstances of the situation involving citizens of Kyrgyzstan who traveled to Germany through programs organized by Samara Academy. According to the Foreign Ministry, the »»»

A 20-year-old woman has died after giving birth to a baby in Ton district of Issyk-Kul region. According to the Internal Affairs Department of Ton district, a report of the death of a woman born in 2006 was received from the district hospital on July 22 at 1:25 p.m. Preliminary information indicate»»»

RIYADH: The International Islamic Trade Finance Corp., a member of the Islamic Development Bank Group, has signed a $100 million financing agreement with Hamkorbank of Uzbekistan, marking the largest standalone Islamic trade finance deal granted to a bank based in the country. The ITFC explained th»»»

Doha, Qatar: Powering everything from electric vehicles and artificial intelligence to advanced defence systems, critical minerals are fast becoming the world’s new strategic resource. As geopolitical tensions intensify and supply chains become increasingly concentrated, access to these minerals is»»»