The Bulgarian Land Forces will conduct the international live-fire tactical exercise STRIKE BACK 26 from May 29 to June 11 at the Koren military training area near Haskovo, the Defence Ministry said on Thursday. The exercise is aimed to enhance the capabilities of the headquarters and units of the »»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Russia-US peace initiative on Ukraine is stalling, primarily due to Kiev's complete lack of will for peace and constant desire for escalation, Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu said on Thursday. "Unfortunately, the Russian-American peace initiative is stalling.»»»

Former Yemeni President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi died on Thursday in Riyadh at the age of 81, according to Yemeni and Arab media reports. Hadi fled to Saudi Arabia after the Houthi militia seized the capital Sanaa Hadi had been living in the Saudi capital since the Iran aligned Houthis overran Sanaa »»»

Dan Greaney, the Simpsons writer who foresaw Donald Trump winning the White House decades in advance, has announced his own 2028 bid for presidency. The Simpsons’ longtime writer and producer wrote the ‘Bart to the Future’ episode, broadcast in March of 2000, in which an adult Lisa Simpson appears »»»

Former US President Bill Clinton should not have been impeached for his affair with Monica Lewinsky, but for lying in an earlier sexual harassment case, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has said. Gingrich led the 1998 impeachment of Clinton, in which ‘Slick Willy’ was charged with – and acquitted»»»

Australia could host American nuclear weapons at some point, Russian Security Council Secretary Sergey Shoigu has warned. Washington is also eyeing Japan and South Korea as deployment options, he told a Russia-ASEAN meeting on Wednesday. The US military could deploy Typhon missile systems in southw»»»

Members of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) parliamentary group commented on the case involving Kardzhali Mayor Erol Mumun, who was taken in for questioning at the Regional Directorate of the Interior Ministry on Thursday. Mumum was elected on MRF's ticket in the 2023 local elections. Spe»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Thursday that it struck the US military base from which an attack was launched on a facility near the Iranian city of Bandar Abbas. Following pre-dawn US military airstrikes on a facility near Bandar Abbas airport, the US mi»»»

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - Vladimir Zelensky is hindering a peaceful settlement of the Ukrainian conflict, US Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna said on Thursday. Luna's response came after Zelensky wrote on X that a letter urging increased deliveries of air defense systems and missiles amid a growing amm»»»

The Israeli military said on Thursday it had begun new strikes on Hezbollah infrastructure around the southern Lebanese city of Tyre after issuing an evacuation warning to its residents. Israel the previous day had declared all areas south of Lebanon's Zahrani River - an area roughly 40 kilometers »»»

The Israeli military said on Wednesday that all areas south of Lebanon's Zahrani River, which runs roughly 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of the Israel-Lebanon border, were considered "combat zones" and urged residents to head north. The warning called into further question the fragile ceasefire th»»»

TEHRAN (Sputnik) - The authorities of Tehran continue to rebuild a residential area in the east of the capital, part of which was destroyed as a result of bombing by the United States and Israel in March, a Sputnik correspondent reported. Crews and special equipment are dismantling the rubble of bu»»»

The reason the Israeli army has not carried out an attack in Beirut and its southern suburbs despite the latest escalation is an "American veto," unnamed sources told Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth on Wednesday. Israel's Channel 12 meanwhile reported that "there are behind-the-scenes disagreeme»»»

The Israeli military said on Thursday that a soldier was killed the day before by a Hezbollah drone near the Lebanon border, taking to 24 the number of its troops killed in the war with the Iran-backed group. A military statement named her as 20-year-old Sergeant Rotem Yanai, who "fell during opera»»»

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday appeared to threaten to attack U.S. ally Oman if it sides with Iran over reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Trump said Oman must "behave" or he would "blow them up," when he was asked if he would accept a short-term deal to allow Iran and the Gulf state to cont»»»

U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday he was not yet satisfied with Iran's offers to make a deal, after Iranian state television reported details of what it claimed was a draft agreement. Speaking at a cabinet meeting in the White House, Trump added that he was in no rush to reach an accord to»»»

Iran condemned on Thursday what it called violations by the United States after its strikes on the southern port city of Bandar Abbas, while vowing to defend its sovereignty. The ministry's spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said Iran would "take all necessary measures to defend its national sovereignty" and»»»

Iranians began to regain internet access on Wednesday after authorities ended a monthslong shutdown. But users said service was slow and spotty in some areas, with apps like YouTube and Instagram heavily restricted, as they were before the cutoff began during nationwide protests in January. Authori»»»

BusinessGlobal issuesIran war: Oil shortages threaten global energy securitySrinivas MazumdaruStrategic petroleum reserves are declining rapidly as countries release emergency crude supplies to cushion the economic impact of the Middle East conflict. https://p.dw.com/p/5EOlKThe IEA has warned that »»»

AI leaders including Jensen Huang and Sam Altman are moderating earlier warnings about mass job losses from artificial intelligence, suggesting that previous “doomsday” predictions overstated the near-term impact on employment. The shift comes as public concern over workplace disruption from AI con»»»

POLITICS – APPROVAL RATINGS bTV reports that a new government led by Rumen Radev starts with 50% public trust against 24% distrust, citing a survey by Market Links conducted between May 16 and May 27 among 1,008 respondents through face-to-face interviews and online polling. Sociologist Dobromir Zh»»»

Dubai: Dubai’s gold prices saw a significant afternoon slump today, offering a lucrative window for consumers looking to buy. The price of 24K gold dropped nearly Dh10 per gram, trading at Dh526.75 compared to yesterday’s Dh537.00. Similarly, the highly popular 22K gold fell to Dh487.75 per gram, d»»»

Washington, United States: The United States has arrested a former senior CIA official after a search found $40 million worth of gold bars at his home. FBI officers also seized $2 million in cash and around 35 luxury watches this month from the home of David Rush in the US state of Virginia, accord»»»

The Israeli military early Thursday pounded Lebanon's fourth largest city, killing at least eight people in its ongoing military escalation against the Hezbollah group ahead of crucial talks in Washington. Several others were injured in the strikes, according to Lebanon's state-run National News Ag»»»

US President Donald Trump voiced support on Wednesday for Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in the upcoming elections, which polls show as an exceedingly tight race. The June 7 parliamentary vote is seen as a litmus test for Pashinyan's moves to loosen Armenian dependence on Moscow while forg»»»

Germany is close to sealing a major LNG deal with Canada as both countries deepen ties amid uncertainty in Washington under President Trump. The agreement would mark Canada's first big LNG export move. https://p.dw.com/p/5ERU4AdvertisementCanada may soon supply Germany with up to 1 million metric t»»»

The central bank on Thursday raised its economic growth forecast for South Korea to 2.6 percent for 2026 amid solid semiconductor exports. This file photo shows containers stacked at a port in Pyeongtaek on May 8. Photo by Yonhap The central bank on Thursday raised its economic growth forecast for »»»

Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent announced sanctions late Wednesday against the Persian Gulf Strait Authority, Iran's newly created mechanism to oversee Strat of Hormuz trade transit. File Photo by Shawn Thew/UPI | License Photo May 28 (UPI) -- The U.S. Treasury announced late Wednesday that it »»»

The Tour of Romania 2026 was officially presented at the Government House in Chișinău on 25 May, with the participation and under the patronage of the Government of the Republic of Moldova. The event was attended by two ministers, four district presidents and vice presidents, four mayors, and numer»»»

Across multiple conflict zones, dozens of active armed conflicts and insurgencies are unfolding worldwide with innocent civilians caught in the crosshairs and lives and livelihood’s upended due to the strategic ambitions of world powers. While it’s fair to question whether the United Nations – an i»»»

China's foreign minister Wang Yi vowed to support Havana and confront "power politics and bullying" during talks with his Cuban counterpart in New York, state media reported Wednesday, as the Caribbean island faces mounting pressure from the United States. Cuba is suffering under a US energy blocka»»»

London, May 28 (SANA) Oil prices rose more than 3% on Thursday as escalating tensions between the United States and Iran raised concerns over potential supply disruptions in the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz. Brent crude futures for July delivery gained $3.51 to $97.80 a barrel, while the more acti»»»

Double standards rule in the work of the International Criminal Court, with some countries being heavily pressured, while others — like the US or Israel or some European nations — evade any responsibility, Palestinian international law expert Salah Abd El-Aty tells Sputnik. The record of legal misc»»»

A man who admitted to taking part in a plot to kill an Iranian-American journalist who is a prominent critic of Tehran was sentenced Wednesday to 10 years in prison. Jonathan Loadholt, 37, was arrested in November 2024 and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit stalking and money laundering in the »»»

With the United States distracted by Iran and Russian President Vladimir Putin appearing on the back foot, Europe is seriously weighing the possibility of talking to Moscow about ending the war in Ukraine. But before they consider sitting down with the Kremlin, Kyiv's European backers are first loo»»»

BENGALURU: Gold prices fell to a two-month low on Thursday as fresh ‌US attacks on Iran boosted the dollar and pushed oil prices higher, stoking concerns about rising inflation and clouding the interest rate outlook. Spot gold was down 1.8 percent at $4,375.78 per ounce, as of 09:11 a.m. Saudi time»»»

The energy shock caused by the Middle East conflict will likely have a persistent impact on inflation even if there is a quick solution to the war, the European Central Bank's chief economist, Philip Lane, said on Thursday. While oil prices historically tended to revert to original levels after a b»»»

The dollar firmed to a one-week high on Thursday after Middle East tensions ratcheted up following fresh US strikes on Iran, while the yen softened toward a level that triggered central bank intervention last month. Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they targeted a US airbase after what they describ»»»

The United States Treasury announced sanctions Wednesday against Iran's Gulf Strait Authority, Tehran's new agency that collects fees for traveling through the strategic Strait of Hormuz. "The Iranian military's latest attempt to extort global maritime trade is proof that Economic Fury has left the»»»

Washington, May 28 (SANA) The United States has reinstated sanctions on Francesca Albanese, the United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, according to a notice published by the U.S. Treasury Department. The move follows a decision by a three-judge pa»»»

MALABO: At first glance, the hotel looks like any other on this tropical island off the Central African coast, with its palm tree-lined driveway, marble-floored foyer and portrait of the oil-rich country’s president hanging behind a mahogany reception desk. Yet the eerily empty Bamy Hotel is not a »»»

VALLETTA: Malta votes Saturday in elections expected to result in an unprecedented fourth consecutive term for the Labour government, which has pledged to keep the Mediterranean island nation stable in a turbulent world. Prime Minister Robert Abela called a snap general election last month, saying »»»

BEIJING: China’s foreign minister Wang Yi vowed to support Havana and confront “power politics and bullying” during talks with his Cuban counterpart in New York, state media reported Wednesday, as the Caribbean island faces mounting pressure from the United States. Cuba is suffering under a US ener»»»

LIMASSOL: EU top diplomat Kaja Kallas warned Thursday that Europeans risk walking into a Russian “trap” by getting bogged down over who should represent them in any Ukraine peace talks with Moscow. “It’s a trap that Russia wants us to walk into, that we discuss who talks to them, and they are alrea»»»

Gold prices fell to a two-month low on Thursday as fresh US attacks on Iran boosted the dollar and pushed oil prices higher, stoking concerns about rising inflation and clouding the interest rate outlook. Spot gold was down 1.7% at $4,380.62 per ounce, as of 0409 GMT, earlier falling to its lowest »»»

A conflict between the US and China over Taiwan would risk a nuclear escalation with both militaries likely to stage sweeping operations targeting rival command and communications hubs, a leading defense research center said on Thursday. In a strategic assessment ahead of Asia's biggest annual defe»»»

Oil prices jumped more than 3% on Thursday after Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they targeted a US airbase in response to a US attack near Bandar Abbas airport. Brent crude futures rose $3.51, or 3.72%, to $97.8 a barrel by 0344 GMT, while the more active August contract gained $3.35 or 3.63%, to»»»

BEIJING: Oil prices jumped more than 3 percent on Thursday after Iran’s ​Revolutionary Guards said they targeted a US airbase in response ‌to a US attack near Bandar Abbas airport. Brent crude futures rose $3.51, or 3.72 percent, to $97.8 a barrel by 06:44 a.m. Saudi time, while the more active Aug»»»

On May 28, 1991, Ethiopian rebels seized the presidential palace and tightened their control of the capital of Addis Ababa, effectively ending a 16-year civil war. 1 of 8 | A local resident walks past a battle tank stranded outside the Ethiopian Presidential Palace in Addis Ababa on June 9, 1991, f»»»

The United States on Wednesday reimposed sanctions on Francesca Albanese, a UN expert on the Palestinian territories who has harshly criticized Israel, after an appeals court overruled an earlier order prohibiting the action. A notice on the Treasury Department's website showed that it had reimpose»»»