A change of government could open up new horizons for the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (MTA), according to newly elected president Mihály Pósfai, who spoke at the Academy’s general assembly on Monday. He said the institution has faced significant challenges in recent years, particularly regarding »»»

In March 2026, nearly 1.2 million guests spent 2.7 million tourism nights at tourist (commercial, private and other) accommodation establishments. Tourist arrivals were up by 0.6% and tourism nights by 0.9% in number compared to a year earlier. In January-March 2026, domestic arrivals at tourist ac»»»

ABU DHABI: EDGE entity KATIM, a leading provider of data protection solutions, has entered a partnership with KERNO Enterprises (Kerno), the first enterprise-grade IT hardware manufacturer in the UAE, to support sovereign manufacturing of KATIM products in the UAE. This complements its existing sov»»»

A Saudi court has sentenced an expatriate to six months in prison and imposed a fine of SR100,000 for practising a health profession without a licence and promoting an unauthorised abortion drug, the Ministry of Health said. The man was convicted of violating the Law of Practising Healthcare Profes»»»

MSC, the world’s largest container shipping company, has launched a new main trade route linking Europe to the Middle East via Saudi Arabia, bypassing the Strait of Hormuz. The new service combines maritime and land transport, with vessels from Europe calling at Jeddah Islamic Port and King Abdulla»»»

A group of 13 Australians related to alleged ISIS militants is returning home from Syria, Australian authorities said Wednesday, warning some will face arrest. The four women and nine children, who had been living in Roj camp in Syria, are expected to land in Sydney and Melbourne airports on Thursd»»»

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi held talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing on May 6, Xinhua reported. Araghchi’s visit comes as Tehran steps up diplomacy amid the US-Israeli aggression. The Iranian foreign minister’s trip to China follows recent visits to Russia, Oman and P»»»

“Project Freedom... will be paused for a short period of time to see whether or not the Agreement can be finalized and signed,” US President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social. Trump said the decision followed requests from Pakistan and other countries, as well as what he claimed was “great progres»»»

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio claimed there is “no oil blockade on Cuba,” despite US President Donald Trump earlier bragging that the island had “no oil,” “no money,” and “no anything” under the US embargo. For months, the US has pressured Cuba’s fuel lifelines — targeting shipments, threatenin»»»

Despite the favorable conditions surrounding Prime Minister-designate Ali al-Zaidi’s efforts to form a new government, including backing from local and regional parties, observers say he still faces serious challenges, foremost among them US pressure to bar representatives of armed factions from jo»»»

Lebanese security forces are intensifying a crackdown on gunfire during funerals held by Hezbollah for its members, in a move that signals an official push to curb lawlessness and halt scenes that are becoming increasingly frequent and alarming. The Lebanese army said in a statement that military u»»»

RAMALLAH: The millionaire businessman son of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is expected to run for a steering role in Fatah, his 90-year-old father’s political party. Yasser Abbas, 64, will seek to win one of the 18 seats on Fatah’s Central Committee that are being contested at a party confere»»»

U.S. Southern Command under Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced late Sunday that it killed three people in its latest strike targeting a suspected drug-trafficking boat in the eastern Pacific. File Photo by Annabelle Gordon/UPI | License Photo May 5 (UPI) -- The U.S. military said late Sund»»»

SYDNEY: Australia said ‌on Wednesday that 13 members of Australian families in Syria linked to the extremist group Daesh plan to travel home, but ​will receive no government assistance. Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said there were “very serious limits” on what authorities could do to prevent Au»»»

Saudi Arabia recorded a budget deficit of 125.7 billion riyals ($33.5 billion) in the first quarter of 2026, as a decline in oil revenues and a sharp rise in government spending weighed on public finances, the Ministry of Finance said. Total revenues reached SR260.97 billion in Q1, with oil income »»»

ISTANBUL: The United Arab Emirates National Pavilion has concluded its first day at in the SAHA International Defence and Aerospace Exhibition (SAHA) 2026, receiving significant attendance from international delegations, industry leaders, and representatives of leading international defence and sec»»»

Dubai: The UAE will experience generally fair weather with a gradual rise in temperatures, while dusty conditions and stronger winds are expected towards the weekend, the National Centre of Meteorology (NCM) said. Conditions on Wednesday are forecast to be fair overall, with clouds developing eastw»»»

Dubai: A Dubai civil court has ordered a tenant to pay Dh20,000 in compensation after he threatened to set a warehouse on fire during a rent dispute, following an earlier criminal conviction in the case. The Dubai Court of First Instance issued the ruling after the defendant had already been fined »»»

A teenage boy shot dead two staff members and injured two other people, including a student, at a school in northeast Brazil on Tuesday, prompting panicked students to try to escape over a wall, authorities and a witness said. A 13-year-old boy was arrested over the attack at Sao Jose Institute in »»»

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates: President Donald Trump said on Tuesday evening that he is pausing the US effort to guide stranded vessels out of the Strait of Hormuz to allow time for a deal to end the Iran war, but that the American forces’ blockade of Iranian ports would remain in place. Trump annou»»»

Apple will allow users to select from third-party artificial ​intelligence models for tasks such as generating and editing text and images, across its iOS 27 features, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday. The change is slated for iOS 27, iPadOS 27 and macOS 27 this fall, the report said, citing peop»»»

COLUMBUS, Ohio: Billionaire biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy clinched the Republican nomination for Ohio governor on Tuesday and will face off this fall against the state’s COVID-era health director, Democrat Amy Acton. A newcomer to state politics, Ramaswamy aggressively positioned himself for»»»

Australia will establish a national fuel stockpile of one billion litres to shield the nation from an energy crisis triggered by war in the Middle East, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Wednesday. Albanese said the government-owned reserve would bolster long-term supplies of diesel and aviation»»»

Manila: A significant infrastructure upgrade was unveiled as two newly completed parallel bridges in Mindanao, with a combined cost of ₱499.8 million, officially opened to the public. These structures are set to enhance mobility and fortify connectivity between Regions 10, 11, and 12, as well as th»»»

ABU DHABI: Enercap, a subsidiary of Apex Investment PSC, is showcasing its latest advanced energy storage solutions and technologies during its participation in the Make it in the Emirates 2026 platform, affirming its role in supporting critical infrastructure in the UAE and reinforcing the country»»»

specially written for the Middle East Observer Under the auspices of Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El Sisi, 14 teams out of 303 Arab projects have qualified for the final stage of the Al Baz competition for Arab Development and Innovation. Doctor Abdallah Al Nagar, the chief of the Arab Technolog»»»

May 5 (UPI) -- One of 23 people injured in a weekend shooting at a lake party in an Oklahoma City suburb has died, authorities said Tuesday as they continue to search for a suspect. The shooting occurred at around 9 p.m. CDT Sunday at Lake Arcadia where a group of young people were having an unauth»»»

DUBAI: The Dubai Municipality has opened Khor Al Mamzar Beach, which marks the first phase of the Al Mamzar Beaches development project. Now open to residents, visitors, and tourists, the destination represents a significant addition to Dubai’s portfolio of leisure and tourism assets. It reflects a»»»

CAIRO: Al-Azhar Al-Sharif, under the leadership of His Eminence Dr. Ahmed Al-Tayeb, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, condemned the unjustified Iranian aggression targeting the United Arab Emirates, affirming its firm rejection of all forms of attacks against civilians and economic and civil facilities, »»»

President Donald Trump was not “pulled in” to the war on Iran by Israel, but chose to attack the Islamic Republic based on his ‘America First’ policy, War Secretary Pete Hegseth claimed in a Pentagon press briefing on Tuesday. During the event, the war secretary was asked whether Washington was ris»»»

Dubai: Dubai has launched a new initiative to move its private sector toward “Agentic AI” — systems that can act, decide, and execute tasks with minimal human input. Here’s how that shift is set to affect businesses across the emirate: 1. Higher productivity across operationsAgentic AI systems are »»»

Russian policemen stand guard in front of the Kremlin in 2023 in Moscow. As Moscow prepares for its 2026 Victory Day festivities, a Ukrainian drone strike killed two people about 600 miles from the border. File photo by Yuri Kochetkov/EPA-EFE May 5 (UPI) -- Two people died Tuesday in a Ukrainian dr»»»

President Donald Trump said Tuesday he was halting the US military operation to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz after just one day, in a bid to reach a deal with Iran to end the Middle East war. Trump's so-called "Project Freedom" to help vessels leave the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow cho»»»

Dubai: The UAE’s exit from OPEC is expected to create more jobs and business opportunities for local energy service companies, with demand likely to grow across blue-collar and white-collar roles as the country pushes toward higher production capacity, according to Mohammed Juma Al Bawardi, Group C»»»

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro speaks at the Clinton Global Initiative 2024 at the New York Hilton Midtown in New York City. Shapiro said Tuesday that Pennsylvania is suing Character.AI over a chatbot that posed as a medical professional. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo May 5 (UPI)»»»

Dubai: Plans for a new large-scale desalination plant at the Port of Fujairah on the Gulf of Oman are set to add significant capacity to the UAE’s water supply network in the coming years, following its announcement on Tuesday. The project involves building a major facility that will convert seawat»»»

NEW YORK: The price of a gallon of regular gasoline climbed 31 cents in the past week, spiking to an average of $4.48 per gallon Tuesday, according to AAA, hitting the wallets of drivers after rising 50 percent since the war with Iran began. The main reason drivers are paying more at the pump is be»»»

ISTANBUL: Two senior figures from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) urged Turkish authorities to remove what they described as “obstacles” to progress in peace talks with Ankara, one year after the group announced its dissolution. The pair, Mustafa Karasu and Sozdar Avesta, speaking in Ku»»»

VATICAN CITY: US Secretary of State Marco ​Rubio expects a “frank” meeting with Pope Leo during a visit to the Vatican on Thursday, the US ambassador said, after President Donald Trump took a fresh pot-shot at the pope for criticizing the US-Israeli war in Iran. “Nations have disagreements, and I t»»»

Spain will receive a cruise ship stricken by a deadly hantavirus outbreak in "three to four days", in the Canary Islands, the health ministry said late Tuesday. "The exact port of arrival has not yet been determined," it said, adding: "Once there, the crew and passengers will be duly examined, care»»»

RIYADH: Prince Faisal bin Farhan, the Saudi foreign minister, received a call on Tuesday from his Jordanian counterpart, Ayman Safadi. They discussed the latest developments in the region, as part of ongoing coordination and consultations between their countries.»»»

President Donald Trump has temporarily paused a US military operation to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz, but said the blockade of Iranian ports would “remain in full force and effect” until a final agreement with Tehran is reached. The so-called Project Freedom operation was launched to »»»

U.S. President Donald Trump said early Wednesday that he has paused the so-called "Project Freedom" to see whether a deal can be signed with Iran, after "great progress" was made toward "a complete and final agreement." "Based on the request of Pakistan and other Countries, the tremendous Military »»»

TUNIS: Tunisian authorities have temporarily banned the local branch of prominent international NGO Avocats Sans Frontieres, the branch said on Tuesday, days after another leading group was targeted by a similar measure. The rights group told AFP they received a 30-day suspension but did not provid»»»

LONDON: Arsenal reached the Champions League final for the second time in their history with a battling 1-0 home win over Atletico Madrid sealing a 2-1 ​aggregate victory in the semifinal on Tuesday. Captain Bukayo Saka’s tap-in just before the interval proved decisive for Arsenal to edge a cagey s»»»

WASHINGTON, United States: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke by telephone Tuesday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, according to the State Department, on a day of deadly Russian attacks in cities across Ukraine. The two, who spoke at Lavrov’s request, “discussed the US-Russia relat»»»

PARIS, France: The mother of a French sports journalist jailed in Algeria on terror charges he denies Tuesday said he had dropped his appeal to the country’s top court, hoping for a presidential pardon. Christophe Gleizes, 37, was sentenced to seven years in jail in June last year for “glorifying t»»»

1 of 2 | The demolition of the East Wing of the White House is seen in November 2025 in Washington, D.C. While President Donald Trump has touted the construction of a ballroom on the site as privately funded, a bill proposed by Republicans this week calls for $1 billion in taxpayer money for securi»»»

Apple on Tuesday agreed to pay $250 million to settle a class action lawsuit accusing it of misleading millions of iPhone buyers by falsely touting artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities for its Siri voice assistant in late 2024. Plaintiffs accused the California tech giant of having "promoted A»»»

Secretary's SpeechLebanon PalestineZionist EntityRegional and International International More Video Language Ar En Fr EsSubscribe for Weekly Updates Subscribe Islamic Resistance fighters targeted at 18:00 on Tuesday 05-05-2026 the newly established Blat site in southern Lebanon with a rocket barra»»»