Bulgaria is not participating in a war, and Bulgarian airspace has not been handed over to a foreign power, President Iliana Iotova said in an interview on Bulgarian National Television on Friday. "The Bulgarian government acted honestly. Everyone in the National Assembly had the opportunity to exp»»»

A nurse administers a measles vaccine to a child at a public health center in Nejapa, El Salvador, in April. The United States just reached a record high of measles cases this year. File Photo by Javier Aparicio/EPA July 24 (UPI) -- Measles cases have hit a record high in the United States since th»»»

President Iliana Iotova said on Friday she will run for president in the upcoming election in November. Her candidacy will be put forward by a nomination committee. Iotova broke the news in an interview with Bulgarian National Television. Asked which political party she will seek support from, Ioto»»»

Washington: A US federal court in Virginia has ruled that restrictions imposed by President Donald Trump's administration on the abortion pill mifepristone are "unlawful" and must be reconsidered. The case was brought by the nonprofit Center for Reproductive Rights in May 2023 on behalf of abortion»»»

New Delhi: India said Friday that one of its nationals was killed in an attack last week on a commercial vessel transiting the Black Sea. The foreign ministry condemned the strike, saying that the MV Omorfi -- which had three Indian nationals on board -- was attacked on July 18 "while transiting th»»»

Washington: US President Donald Trump on Friday threatened to hit the European Union with tariffs and a formal trade investigation over Brussels' latest antitrust penalty against Google. In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said the bloc "will pay a very big price for this illegal and high»»»

The construction of a national children's hospital in Sofia remains a government priority despite the current legal deadlock, Health Minister Katya Ivkova told reporters on Friday. She said that the funding for the design of the future hospital, amounting to more than EUR 46 million, is included in»»»

ZAWTAR AL-GHARBIYEH, Lebanon: Residents began entering the southern Lebanese town of Zawtar Al-Gharbiyeh on Friday, some inspecting damaged homes and searching for belongings after Israeli troops withdrew and the Lebanese army deployed under a US-brokered agreement. The return remains tentative. Mo»»»

Unknown individuals chose to travel on the side of a train in Érd, according to footage shared by the local police. Uknown men travelled on the side of a train According to a video uploaded to the official YouTube page of the Hungarian police, unidentified men travelled on the side of a passenger t»»»

A handout photo made available by the State Emergency Service shows Ukrainian rescuers working at the site of a Russian missile strike in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, amid the ongoing Russian invasion. At least 10 people died and dozens were injured in the Russian missile attack. Photo courtesy State Eme»»»

JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet US President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday, the Israeli leader’s office said. Since Trump’s return to office last year, the two have already met six times, most recently on February 11 in Washington. But this visit comes at»»»

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - US President Donald Trump said on Friday that the United States does not sell weapons to Ukraine. "He [Russian President Vladimir Putin] understands that I do not sell Weapons to Ukraine, but to NATO Countries. They pay full price, and how those Weapons are distributed, I hav»»»

GENEVA: IOC member and FIFA leader Gianni Infantino will not have to explain to the Olympic body how US President Donald Trump helped to stop a player’s ban at the World Cup. The IOC said on Friday it has no jurisdiction to investigate Infantino’s alleged lack of political neutrality. A London-base»»»

The President has the final opportunity to return this budget for further consideration, Sofia Municipal Council Chair Tsvetomir Petrov wrote on Facebook in connection with the 2026 State Budget Act, which Parliament adopted conclusively on Friday. "We urge her not to allow Bulgarian citizens to be»»»

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met on the sidelines of an ASEAN foreign ministers' gathering in Manila on July 23, in the highest-level US-Russia contact in months on ending the war in Ukraine — but both sides signalled no breakthrough and little optimi»»»

Washington, United States: LeBron James announced on Friday he will play for the Philadelphia 76ers next season, with the 41-year-old NBA superstar hoping to transform another franchise into a championship team. James, a four-time NBA Most Valuable Player, has won four titles in a 23-year career, m»»»

Kathmandu: Nepal's steady rise in public debt over the past decade continued in fiscal year 2025-26, with total public debt increasing by more than 11 percent during the year, the government office responsible for managing public debt said on Friday. According to the Public Debt Management Office (»»»

Bulgaria's Defence Minister Dimitar Stoyanov and Youth and Sports Minister Encho Keryazov met on Friday with mayors from the southeastern Yambol Region to discuss the planned deployment of US Boeing KC-135 aerial refuelling aircraft and up to 250 US military personnel at Bezmer Air Base. The meetin»»»

GENEVA: Spain has nominated Labour Minister Yolanda Diaz to head the United Nations labor agency, potentially making her the first woman to lead the organization, as it faces a financial crisis over US non-payments. The Spanish government said Diaz’s candidacy for the top job at the International L»»»

MOSCOW: Russia believes US President Donald Trump is sincere in his efforts to end the Ukraine war and will wait for Washington to put forward new proposals, even though the US is continuing to provide weapons to Kyiv, the Kremlin said on Friday. In the meantime, Russia will keep fighting to achiev»»»

Dubai: The conflict between the United States and Iran continues to escalate, with fresh military action, new travel warnings and growing concerns over shipping and aviation across the Middle East. While the UAE remains safe and airports are operating normally, the latest developments have prompted»»»

MADRID: World Cup-winning Spain ‌coach Luis de la Fuente was appalled by the conduct of Argentina’s players after their 1-0 loss in Sunday’s final, which led to a brawl between the two teams and triggered an investigation by FIFA. At the final whistle, Argentina midfielder Leandro Paredes clashed w»»»

Foreign buyers completed 10 acquisitions of Ukrainian assets in the first half of 2026, double the five recorded a year earlier, with disclosed value rising to $415mn from $26mn, KPMG in Ukraine said in its M&A Radar report. The rebound in inbound dealmaking sits against foreign direct investme»»»

Comments Ukraine's new commander-in-chief, General Mykhailo Drapatyi, made in a 2023 interview about the population of Donbas have resurfaced this week and are being heavily amplified by Russian state media, days after President Volodymyr Zelensky appointed him to replace Oleksandr Syrskyi amid ma»»»

1 of 3 | Take two of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner is set to take place on Friday with fewer attendees and heightened security after April’s gala was cut short by a gunman. File Photo by Yuri Gripas/UPI | License Photo July 24 (UPI) -- Take two of the White House Correspondents' Dinner is »»»

ABUJA: The Ebola outbreak in Congo has killed over 1,000 people, reaching the grim milestone nearly three times faster than the 2014-2016 Ebola epidemic that is considered the worst on record. Data from Congo’s Ministry of Health shows that as of Tuesday, the current outbreak, declared on May 15, h»»»

This is not merely an experiment, experts say, but an urgent necessity driven by the climate crisis. For the first time, Pakistan's Punjab province has deployed drones to monitor all rivers, barrages, and headworks to provide early flood warnings. This decision comes in the wake of tragedy: between»»»

BISSAU: Guinea-Bissau opposition leader Domingos Simoes Pereira, who was being held in prison for alleged involvement in coup attempts, has been released for medical treatment in Portugal, judicial and security sources say. Pereira, leader of the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cap»»»

RIYADH: Archeological coins unearthed in Saudi Arabia’s AlUla governorate are providing fresh insight into the region’s long history as a thriving commercial and cultural crossroads, underscoring its importance along ancient trade routes that connected civilizations across the Middle East. The disc»»»

BELGRADE/ZURICH - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic says he has decided in favour of early elections for several reasons, including a need to have a legitimate government and people with legitimacy. In an interview for the Swiss Weltwoche weekly, Vucic said that, during last year's protests in the»»»

MOSCOW: Russian fashion designer Viktoria Terekhova shipped virtually her entire summer collection of children’s clothes last week to the giant warehouse of online retailer Wildberries at Elektrostal, east of Moscow. Within a couple of days, it was destroyed in a Ukrainian drone strike. Terekhova s»»»

SpaceX's next-generation Starship is pictured stacked on the pad at Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, ahead of its 13th flight test, which is now scheduled for Friday evening. Photo by SpaceX/UPI | License Photo July 24 (UPI) -- SpaceX pushed the 13th test flight of its Starship booster and spaceship »»»

After two days of debate and voting, Parliament adopted the 2026 State Budget Act at second reading on Friday, approving a budget framework with a projected deficit of 5.7%. The bill was passed by a vote of 125 to 84, with no abstentions, following more than five hours of voting and over 12 hours o»»»

Progressive Bulgaria should apologize to Bulgarian citizens for the 2026 State Budget Act, GERB-UDF MP and former finance minister Temenuzhka Petkova told reporters in Parliament on Friday. “A scandalous budget law with hugely inflated spending, a record deficit and EUR 10.1 billion in debt the gov»»»

TEL AVIV, (Sputnik) - The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Friday that it is preparing for a large-scale counterterrorist operation in the West Bank, citing an increase in attacks on civilians in the area. "Following the terror attack earlier today (Friday) in the area of Tell, IDF soldiers are »»»

TEHRAN, (Sputnik) - Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Friday that it had destroyed three ammunition and equipment hangars at US military base Camp Buehring (formerly Camp Udairi) in Kuwait in the 27th round of strikes. "During the 27th wave of Operation 'Victory 2,' fighters s»»»

London: Enzo Maresca said Friday it is a "privilege" to follow Pep Guardiola as manager of Manchester City. Former Chelsea and Leicester boss Maresca was named as Guardiola's successor after the Catalan stepped down at the end of last season, having won 20 trophies during a superbly successful 10-y»»»

Germany is paying five times as much for imported gas as it did before abandoning its long-term Russian supply contracts as part of the EU sanctions, Berliner Zeitung has reported. Berlin now has to rely on the volatile international energy market, which is reeling from the de facto closure of the »»»

The 2026 State Budget takes Bulgaria back to the GERB era, Vazrazhdane MP Tsoncho Ganev told reporters on Friday after Parliament gave the budget final approval. Ganev said the budget froze all social benefits and shifted the main burden of what he called financial stability onto pensioners, mother»»»

FARNBOROUGH, UK: As Europe ramps up its rearmament drive, US aerospace giant Boeing is seeking a foothold in the emerging market for autonomous fighter aircraft, showcasing its capabilities at the Farnborough airshow this week. Boeing’s MQ-28 Ghost Bat is an uncrewed aircraft, developed with the Ro»»»

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are scheduled to meet in Washington on Tuesday, a White House official said on Friday. A Ukrainian source said Zelensky was interested in traveling to ‌the United ‌States but his ​team ‌was ⁠waiting ​for official confi»»»

DUBAI: Oscar-winning US actress Zoe Saldana has signed on as an executive producer of “It’s Complicated,” a short film centered on Palestinian womanhood that will have its world premiere at Los Angeles’ HollyShorts Film Festival in August. The film was written by and stars US Palestinian filmmaker »»»

Abu Dhabi: The UAE's airlines are significantly expanding their global footprint in 2026, adding new international destinations, increasing flight frequencies on high-demand routes and deepening commercial partnerships that allow passengers to reach hundreds of cities beyond their own networks. The»»»

Bulgaria's National Assembly gave final approval to the 2026 state budget on Friday, ending a monthlong legislative process that opened with a record 5.7% deficit and closed with the ruling Progressive Bulgaria party abolishing the automatic wage and minimum-wage formulas that have driven public sp»»»

It has now been made official that the Groupama Arena will host a prestigious international pre-season fixture this summer, as Ferencváros welcome Real Madrid to Budapest on Saturday, 8 August. The encounter will form part of the Spanish giants’ Austrian training programme and is set to rank among »»»

Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Friday called for dialogue and de-escalation to end the renewed conflict between the United States and Iran, telling his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi that Washington and Tehran should build on the Islamabad Memorandum of Under»»»

Bulgaria is not a target and will not become one, Defence Minister Dimitar Stoyanov said on Friday at a news briefing after meeting mayors from the southeastern region of Yambol to discuss the upcoming deployment of US aerial refuelling aircraft at Bezmer Air Base. Asked where the aircraft would be»»»

Parliament on Friday voted 144-8, with one abstention, to terminate Plamen Tonchev's mandate as chair of the Committee for Disclosing the Documents and Announcing Affiliation of Bulgarian Citizens to State Security and to the Intelligence Services of the Bulgarian National Army (informally known as»»»

The National Assembly on Friday approved the development of a new mechanism for determining the country's minimum wage. Until the new system is adopted, the minimum wage will remain at its 2026 level of EUR 620.20 per month. The decision came as MPs approved provisions in the 2026 State Budget Bill»»»

The National Health Map should be updated and digitalized so that it provides up-to-date information on healthcare needs across the country, Health Minister Katya Ivkova said on Friday during a visit to Silistra. She noted that the current National Health Map was adopted in 2018 and needs to be upd»»»