Unmarked police vehicles have begun operating across Plovdiv, the Trakia highway, and key regional roads in Bulgaria, as authorities step up efforts to curb aggressive driving and serious traffic violations. The vehicles, which carry no external police markings, allow officers to observe road behav»»»

A 50-year-old man has died in the town of Iskar after being attacked over an unpaid restaurant bill of €33.50, according to bTV. Two individuals have been detained in connection with the incident, which occurred during the town’s holiday celebrations, but questions remain over the official account »»»

Gravediggers in a southern Lebanon village prepare tombs for the dead in Israeli strikes during the latest Israel-Hezbollah war, near those killed in the previous conflicts between the foes. In front of recent graves bearing three huge portraits in Deir Qanoun al-Nahr, Shourouk Hariri, 32, wept for»»»

Global Witness has alleged that more than 2,000 tonnes of conflict coltan smuggled from eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has entered global supply chains via Rwanda, potentially reaching major electronics manufacturers and consumer brands despite international traceability and due dil»»»

Local authorities in Karakol have announced that a decision on increasing public transport fares is expected soon after a morning strike by minibus drivers disrupted services in the city. As previously reported, on June 17, minibus drivers refused to service their routes, demanding a revision of th»»»

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan secured a decisive parliamentary election victory that strengthens his pro-European agenda, but an analysis published by Carnegie Politika says a resilient pro-Russian opposition could still slow his efforts to advance peace with Azerbaijan and deepen ties wi»»»

ISTANBUL: Turkish state broadcaster TRT has removed a commentator from its World Cup roster after he mixed up Iran and New Zealand teams. TRT said in a statement late on Tuesday that the commentator, identified by Turkish media as Murat Ekrem Çimen, had been withdrawn from the World Cup broadcast t»»»

MANILA: As two-year-old conjoined twins Olivia and Gianna Manuel prepare for separation surgery on Thursday, their parents are filled with hope that it will give them a childhood and life like other children. Born in Nueva Ecija in the central Philippines in April 2024, the girls are joined from th»»»

TIRANA: A coastal development project in Albania linked to Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner is facing growing opposition from environmental advocates which has led to daily protests in the capital, Tirana. The government says the development on the Adriatic coast would be transformational fo»»»

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has announced that under-16s will be banned from social media, and adults will have to verify their identity to use major platforms. Critics say it’s an opportunity for Starmer to fulfil his long-term goal of introducing digital ID by the back door. Starmer annou»»»

Jeffrey Epstein attempted suicide at least three times before his death in a Manhattan jail cell in 2019, according to the New York Times. Investigators reportedly found multiple nooses in his cell after his death, a report detailing the convicted sex offender’s final days in federal custody has re»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held phone talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and discussed the preparations for the signing of the Iran-US memorandum, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday. "The head of the Iranian Foreign Ministry informed about »»»

Dubai: The UAE and wider Gulf economies are expected to bounce back strongly in 2027 after absorbing the impact of regional conflict, with GCC GDP forecast to expand by 8.1 per cent. This would happen as energy trade routes normalise, tourism demand returns and business confidence improves, accordi»»»

Dubai: Oil prices could take 4 to 8 weeks to stabilise even if the Strait of Hormuz reopens on Friday, as tanker backlogs, elevated insurance costs, low inventories and doubts over the ceasefire continue to keep a risk premium in energy markets. Sign up for our daily business newsletter, Cheques & »»»

Elon Musk’s Grok AI has become an integral part of America’s war machine, and its data centers must be treated like munitions production plants in future conflicts, according to a sworn declaration by the Pentagon’s artificial intelligence chief. The statement about Grok was submitted as part of an»»»

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres visited Haiti on Tuesday as gang violence deepens a humanitarian crisis, with more than one in 10 Haitians displaced. The United Nations said 2,300 people have been killed and 100 kidnapped this year, while 1.5 million have been forced from their homes, includi»»»

The third and final day of the G7 summit focuses on AI and social media, with CEOs from OpenAI, Anthropic and European rival Mistral meeting leaders for lunch on Wednesday. French President Emmanuel Macron has invited his US counterpart Donald Trump to a private dinner at the lavish Palace of Versa»»»

The world's largest museum is having a hard time securing investments to upgrade its decaying infrastructure, the Louvre's new director Christophe Leribault told a Senate committee Wednesday. The museum has been hit by a series of public scandals including a water leak, a large-scale ticket fr»»»

French President Emmanuel Macron plays host to President Donald Trump at a lavish dinner Wednesday night at the Palace of Versailles to celebrate the 250th anniversary of American independence. This is the fourth time the French leader has chosen Louis XIV’s sumptuous palace as a venue to»»»

It was a partnership beset by controversy, and now it's over. Department store BHV is breaking up with Chinese-founded retailer Shein, after new management came in to take over the beleaguered Parisian icon, announcing the end of the contract between the two and admitting that a strategic error had»»»

France is bracing for another heatwave this week after enduring its hottest spring on record. In Paris, a city not made to withstand heatwaves, the urgent demand for a place to cool off has pushed city officials to open the iconic Canal Saint-Martin, lifting a long-standing ban on swimming.»»»

Fourteen people will stand trial in France over the deaths of 31 migrants in the deadliest recorded small-boat disaster in the English Channel, prosecutors said on Tuesday. The defendants are accused of links to people-smuggling networks involved in the November 2021 sinking, which left four others»»»

The decision by a Russian warship to fire warning shots near a British yacht in the English Channel on Tuesday was "reckless", UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Wednesday. The British defence ministry described it as an "isolated incident" with no suspected link to the boarding by British command»»»

Bulgarian lawmakers voted to freeze their own pay, ending the system of quarterly automatic adjustments tied to public sector wages. The decision was adopted in parliament with a large majority and no plenary debate, effectively locking MPs’ salaries at current levels. A total of 193 MPs supported »»»

Iran will immediately take steps to reopen the Strait of Hormuz once a tentative deal with the U.S. to end the war is signed and will be allowed to sell its oil without restrictions, according to leaked copies of an interim agreement that officials say broadly matches the document. The accord, due »»»

BOSTON: Generations of Boston families played and picnicked on the grassy, sloping lawns of the Bunker Hill Monument. Musket balls and other artifacts from one of the American Revolution’s most consequential battles were buried just below their feet the whole time. Inspired by a centuries-old map, »»»

ISTANBUL: Turkiye’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) was set for a tug-of-war after backers of its ousted leader petitioned on Wednesday to hold fresh elections to replace his court-appointed replacement. An Ankara court in May annulled the CHP’s 2023 leadership election, citing alle»»»

After a spring marked by repeated Ukrainian drone strikes on military facilities and warships in St Petersburg, the Russian Ministry of Defence appears to be abandoning plans for any major public events to mark this year's Navy Day. “You understand, there’s no time for that,” a naval commander told»»»

Dubai: Alaan, the UAE's leading spend management platform, today launched a business bank account with built-in intelligence, powered by ruya. With this launch, Alaan becomes the first fintech in the region to combine corporate cards, domestic and cross-border supplier payments, invoice automation,»»»

The term ‘Axis of Defiance’ was once associated with a number of Arab states opposed to any peace agreement with Israel, particularly after the defeat of 1967. However, as political alignments evolved, the concept gradually transformed. Over time, its meaning progressively narrowed to the ‘Axis of »»»

Only a small number of bloggers in Kyrgyzstan earn income from advertising and pay taxes, the head of the State Tax Service, Alambet Shykmamatov, said at a meeting in Bishkek where tax reform, specifically tax exemptions for the creative sector, were discussed. He noted that after criticism of the »»»

GERB-UDF MP Georg Georgiev, in a declaration read out from the parliamentary rostrum on Wednesday, on behalf of the GERB–UDF parliamentary group, said that the attack on Bulgaria’s diplomatic mission in the Republic of North Macedonia is not merely an attack against a single state, but an attack ag»»»

Paris, France: The Louvre museum is struggling to find funding to upgrade its ageing facilities, its new director said Wednesday, following a litany of problems that included a brazen $100-million jewellery heist. "Despite its imposing majesty, despite the daily commitment of its staff, the Louvre »»»

Ajman: Ajman is seeking to attract more visitors from Germany and strengthen cultural ties with Europe after senior officials from the emirate met senior officials ff the German government and business community to explore new avenues of cooperation. Mahmood Khaleel Alhashmi, Director General of th»»»

MADRID: Portugal midfielder Bernardo Silva has signed a two-year deal with Real Madrid, the La Liga giants announced Wednesday. Silva had left Manchester City after nine trophy-laden years when the 31-year-old's contract expired at the end of last season. His contract with Real Madrid runs until Ju»»»

MANILA: A leadership standoff in the Philippine Senate ended Wednesday with the removal of an ally of former President Rodrigo Duterte as leader of the chamber, which will soon start the impeachment trial of his daughter, incumbent Vice President Sara Duterte. With 13 of 24 senators backing him, Sh»»»

SAN FRANCISCO: Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence tool Grok was used in strikes against Iran, the United States government revealed in a legal briefing seen Tuesday by AFP. The June 15 brief defends the gas turbines used by a giant data center belonging to the trillionaire’s company xAI, which are»»»

Secretary's SpeechLebanon PalestineZionist EntityRegional and International International More Video Language Ar En Fr EsSubscribe for Weekly Updates Subscribe Iranian Tankers Punch Through US Naval Blockade with 4.8M Barrels 17-06-2026 12:34 PM Iranian supertankers have successfully broken the nea»»»

TAIPEI: Taiwan’s main opposition leader said her tour of the United States aimed at mustering support for her stance on China “exceeded expectations,” without detailing any tangible outcomes. Kuomintang (KMT) chairwoman Cheng Li-wun returned to Taipei this week to sharp questions over the island’s »»»

SAN FRANCISCO: Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence tool Grok was used in strikes against Iran, the United States government revealed in a legal briefing seen Tuesday by AFP.The June 15 brief defends the gas turbines used by a giant data center belonging to the trillionaire’s company xAI, which are »»»

Dubai: An Indian technology professional who had built a promising career in the United States was among 12 people killed when a skydiving aircraft crashed and burst into flames shortly after take-off in Missouri, authorities said. Sai Karthik Varma Datla, 24, from Andhra Pradesh, died along with t»»»

Countries seeking to join the EU could face major limits on their ability to dissent against Brussels’ decisions after accession, Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos has warned. The EU is looking to speed up the admission of new states amid concerns that growing economic problems and global politica»»»

Kinshasa: In 1976, young Congolese doctor Jean-Jacques Muyembe was sent to a remote village to look into a mysterious illness and found himself confronting Ebola, a deadly virus the world did not yet know. Just back in the Democratic Republic of Congo after studying in Belgium, he had been called t»»»

ROME: The ‌United Nations World Food Programme said on Wednesday it welcomed an $800 million contribution from the United States, following previous funding cuts from President Donald Trump’s administration. The funds will help scale up assistance and respond rapidly to emerging crises at a time wh»»»

This photo, taken Wednesday, shows the trading room of Hana Bank in Seoul as South Korean stocks extended their winning streak for a fifth straight day on a semiconductor rally. Photo by Yonhap South Korean stocks extended their winning streak for the fifth consecutive session Wednesday on semicond»»»

Leaders at the Group of Seven summit on Wednesday threw their support behind U.S. President Donald Trump's tentative agreement with Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz and further extend a shaky ceasefire — even though he's offered scant specificity about how that would be implemented. In a declarati»»»

The Prosecutors Chamber of the Supreme Judicial Council has elected Marian Marinov acting director of the National Investigative Service after Borislav Sarafov resigned from the post. Last week, the Chamber asked investigators from the National Investigative Service whether any of them were willing»»»

On June 15, at Asman Shaary construction site in Issyk-Kul region, a foreign citizen attacked a 27-year-old translator. According to the victim, the man spat at her and then beat her. The woman claimed on social media that the attack was preceded by persistent attempts at communication and advances»»»

Dubai: Jeremy Clarkson has revealed that he has prostate cancer. The former Top Gear presenter shared the news on his Prime Video series Clarkson's Farm. He disclosed the diagnosis in the final episodes of the show's fifth season, telling co-stars Kaleb Cooper and land agent Charlie Ireland, "I've »»»

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon speaks to reporters at the Seoul Central District Court on Wednesday at a hearing for suspicions of making proxy payments for opinion polls. Photo by Yonhap A special counsel team on Wednesday sought an 18-month prison term for Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon on charges of accepting i»»»