Dubai: Dubai Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities Department has expanded the emirate’s religious infrastructure in the first quarter of 2026, with the opening of 13 new mosques at a total cost of Dh162 million, in an effortto meet growing demand in newly developed communities. The new mosques»»»

Abu Dhabi: UAE President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan witnessed the swearing-in of a number of newly appointed UAE ambassadors. During the ceremony, Sheikh Mohamed wished the ambassadors success in carrying out their duties and in strengthening bilateral relations in line with th»»»

Dubai: Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tariq has issued a royal decree granting Omani citizenship to 226 individuals. The decree, No. 46/2026, was published in the Official Gazette on April 19, listing the names of those approved for citizenship. The decision comes within the framework of Oman’s national»»»

Dubai: The Strait of Hormuz is no longer a shipping lane — it is now a gunboat-enforced negotiating table. What unfolded over the past 36 hours has stripped away any lingering illusion that the waterway is returning to normal. A brief window of optimism — sparked by Iran’s signal that the strait wa»»»

Jumhouria Bank, Libya’s biggest bank, has announced its Palm-scan Payment service. The launch was announced during the bank’s participation at the 52 Tripoli International Fair, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary. Jumhouria bank said the launch comes as part of its wider policy and the Cent»»»

Beijing: A humanoid robot broke the human world record by winning a robot half-marathon race held on Sunday, April 19, 2026, in the Chinese capital, Beijing. The winning robot covered the distance faster than the human world record, completing the 21 km (13 mile) race in 50 minutes and 26 seconds, »»»

•• Malawi Minister of Health: A new phase of cooperation with EIPICO has now begun, because what we saw in the company exceeds any expectation or perception. •• Dr. Olfat Ghorab: Acdima companies are the strong arm of the state in providing medicine to Africa as well. •• Dr. Ahmed Kilani: An import»»»

Twenty-four years after the arrest of Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti, now 67, and after long stretches in solitary confinement, he remains a central figure in Palestinian politics. His influence has outpaced that of other officials in decision-making roles, and he has topped Fatah elections in»»»

Routine maintenance work at Islam’s holiest site has been completed to the highest international standards, Saudi authorities said, as the Kingdom simultaneously began welcoming the first wave of pilgrims for the upcoming Hajj season. The General Authority for the Care of the Grand Mosque and the P»»»

Senior Hezbollah official Mahmoud Qamati said that his group was not concerned by Lebanon's planned direct talks with Israel, labelling them a failure. In a press conference in Beirut's southern suburbs, Qmati said his group was "not concerned with the negotiations being conducted by the state," sa»»»

Lebanon's president and prime minister have discussed preparations for the first direct negotiations with Israel in decades. In a statement, the office of President Joseph Aoun said he and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam conducted "an assessment of the post-ceasefire phase and the ongoing efforts to con»»»

The Supreme National Security Council of Iran affirmed that Iran’s negotiating delegation will make no concessions in talks aimed at ending the war, underscoring its full commitment to safeguarding national rights and defending the interests of the Iranian people. In a statement, the council said T»»»

Doha, Qatar: Al Ahli SC step into their defining match of the season with everything on the line, facing Al Hussein SC in a no-margin-for-error AFC Champions League (ACL) Two quarter-final at Zabeel Stadium in Dubai today. For Al Ahli, this is it. A difficult domestic campaign that will end in the »»»

Hezbollah on Saturday denied it was involved in a deadly attack on United Nations peacekeepers (UNIFIL) in southern Lebanon, after France accused the group of being behind the incident. "Hezbollah denies any connection to the incident that occurred with UNIFIL forces in the Ghandouriyeh-Bint Jbeil »»»

The strategic Strait of Hormuz was again closed on Sunday in the stand-off between Iran and the United States, with Iran's powerful parliament speaker signalling a final peace deal remained "far" off despite some movement in negotiations. As mediation efforts continued following high-level talks in»»»

Having cast his ballot in Sofia, Progressive Bulgaria leader Rumen Radev said: "Today Bulgaria has a historic chance to break once and for all with the Peevski-Borissov oligarchic model, and this is an opportunity we must not miss." He was referring to Movement for Rights and Freedoms leader Delyan»»»

Doha, Qatar: The FEI Regional Group VII Finals for Juniors, Cadets, and Young Riders, featuring qualifiers from the 2025-2026 equestrian season, concluded with thrilling action at the Longines Arena in Al Shaqab after four days of competition. The event brought together more than 100 riders represe»»»

Israeli occupation army announced on Sunday a reservist was killed and nine others were wounded, including one seriously, after being hit by an explosive device in southern Lebanon a day earlier. The slain soldier was named as a sergeant first class reservist of the 769th “Hiram” Regional Brigade’s»»»

U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday warned Iran not to "blackmail" Washington with its flip-flopping on the fate of the Strait of Hormuz, after Tehran declared the strategic waterway once again closed. "We're talking to them. They wanted to close up the strait again -- you know, as they've been»»»

On contaminated land that is too dangerous for human life, the world’s wildest horses roam free. Across the Chernobyl exclusion zone, Przewalski’s horses — stocky, sand-colored and almost toy-like in appearance — graze in a radioactive landscape larger than Luxembourg. On April 26, 1986, an explosi»»»

Britain's government is set to announce legislation next month to move the country closer to the European Union, as the Iran war sours the UK's so-called special relationship with the United States. President Donald Trump's unpredictability and stream of insults towards America's historic ally is a»»»

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei has quipped at Kaja Kallas, who urged Iran to adhere to international law and open the Strait of Hormuz. “Oh, that 'international law'?! The one that the EU dusts off to lecture others while quietly green-lighting a US-Israeli war of aggression—a»»»

Belarusian President ‌Alexander Lukashenko said he would be ready to meet US President Donald Trump once a "big deal" between the two countries has been prepared. "We are ready for a deal, but it needs to be prepared in a way that reflects the interests of both the United States and Belarus," Lukas»»»

Lebanon's military said Sunday it had reopened a road and bridge damaged by Israeli strikes in the country's south, as a 10-day truce holds between Hezbollah and Israel. In a statement, the military said it "fully reopened" a road linking the city of Nabatieh with the Khardali area, and had "partia»»»

Secretary's SpeechLebanon PalestineZionist EntityRegional and International International More Video Language Ar En Fr EsSubscribe for Weekly Updates Subscribe Pezeshkian: We do not intend to attack any country and are exercising our legitimate and lawful right to self-defense 19-04-2026 10:33 AM L»»»

Vienna: Austrian police have found rat poison in a baby food jar, they said late Saturday, in a probe that has seen the supplier recall the line over suspected tampering. The Germany-based HiPP brand announced the recall at SPAR supermarkets in Austria late Friday over the possibility that "a hazar»»»

Beirut, Lebanon: Lebanon's military announced on Sunday, April 19, 2026, it had reopened a road and bridge damaged by Israeli strikes in the country's south, as a 10-day truce holds between Hezbollah and Israel. In a statement, the military said it "fully reopened" a road linking the city of Nabati»»»

Secretary's SpeechLebanon PalestineZionist EntityRegional and International International More Video Language Ar En Fr EsSubscribe for Weekly Updates Subscribe Pezeshkian: The enemy has failed to achieve its objectives and has violated international law, targeting infrastructure, schools, and hospi»»»

Secretary's SpeechLebanon PalestineZionist EntityRegional and International International More Video Language Ar En Fr EsSubscribe for Weekly Updates Subscribe Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian: We do not seek to expand the war, having initiated no conflicts and attacked no country; our core stan»»»

Tehran: Iran is preparing to reopen its national airspace in a phased, four-stage plan following significant disruptions caused by recent regional conflicts, as reported by the Tasnim News Agency. Citing the deputy director of Iran's Civil Aviation Organisation, the report indicates that flight ope»»»

Beirut: Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem asserted on Saturday that the current 10-day truce with Israel cannot be a unilateral arrangement. According to a report by Al Jazeera, Qassem vowed that his fighters are prepared to retaliate against any Israeli strikes targeting Lebanese territory. In his init»»»

On the banks of Iraq's Tigris River, Haidar Kazem mourned 300 tons of the fish he had carefully raised in ponds wiped out by a flood of polluted water. Water supplies in Iraq, the eastern half of what is known as the region's fertile crescent and which the United Nations ranks among the countries m»»»

Dubai: Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has officially opened the completed Hessa Street Development Project, a major infrastructure upgrade aimed at easing congestion and improving traffic flow across one of the city’s key arterial corridors. The project covers a 4.5-kilometre stretch b»»»

Tehran: The strategic Strait of Hormuz was again closed on Sunday in the stand-off between Iran and the United States, with Iran's powerful parliament speaker signalling a final peace deal remained "far" off despite some movement in negotiations. As mediation efforts continued following high-level »»»

Washington: The US Central Command has said that the dock landing ship USS Rushmore is conducting blockade operations in the Arabian Sea. Earlier Saturday (local time), it was said on social media that a guided-missile destroyer USS Pinckney is patrolling regional waters in support of the blockade »»»

Aesthetic medicine in the United Arab Emirates is one of the most competitive and strictly regulated markets in the world. Becoming a leader in Dubai requires not only impeccable skills but also extensive international experience. This is precisely the path taken by Gulzhan Saipova, a cosmetologist»»»

On April 19, 2021, NASA's Ingenuity helicopter flew for 39 seconds on the surface Mars, the first powered aircraft to take flight on another planet. 1 of 6 | On April 19, 2021, NASA's Ingenuity helicopter flew for 39 seconds on the surface Mars, the first powered aircraft to take flight on another »»»

Tehran: Iran had been "victorious in the field" during weeks of war and had only agreed to a temporary truce with the United States because its demands had been met, the Iranian parliamentary speaker said on Saturday. The two-week ceasefire is set to end Wednesday unless it is renewed, with a perma»»»

The strategic Strait of Hormuz was again closed on Sunday in the stand-off between Iran and the United States, with Iran's powerful parliament speaker signalling a final peace deal remained "far" off despite some movement in negotiations. As mediation efforts continued following high-level talks in»»»

Iranian warships sunk by US and Israeli attacks litter naval harbors along the Gulf coast, but what is sometimes called a “mosquito fleet” lurks in the shadows. It is a flotilla of small, fast, agile boats designed to harass shipping, and it forms the heart of the naval forces deployed by the Irani»»»

Tehran: The strategic Strait of Hormuz was again closed on Sunday in the stand-off between Iran and the United States, with Iran's powerful parliament speaker signalling a final peace deal remained "far" off despite some movement in negotiations. As mediation efforts continued following high-level »»»

Doha: Ambassador of Korea H E Yun Hyunsoo and Ambassador of Japan H E Naoto Hisajima visited the ice rink at the Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiyah Arena, located at Al Sadd Sports Club, to review the facilities dedicated to ice sports. The visit came in response to an invitation from the Qatar Winter Sports»»»

Israel’s killings of Ali Larijani and Kamal Kharazi were meant to do more than remove two senior figures from the Islamic Republic’s political landscape. Within Tehran’s political and analytical circles, they were interpreted as an attempt to erase something less visible but more consequential: the»»»

In a 2020 survey of Americans, just over one in five could locate Iran on a map. With such a poor result for a Middle Eastern country that is roughly the size of the state of Alaska and twice the size of Texas, it is a safe wager that an even lower percentage of Americans would have ever heard of t»»»

During a speech at the 1st Progressive Mobilization Meeting in Barcelona, Spain, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva criticized the global order under US hegemony and its impact on the Global South, which he said is “treated as the backyard of the great powers.” He said that while "warlor»»»

New York: The United Nations strongly condemned the attack that resulted in the death of a French soldier from the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and the injury of three others during an incident that occurred yesterday, Saturday, in southern Lebanon. UN spokesperson Stephane Duja»»»

MEXICO CITY (Sputnik) - Brazil, Spain and Mexico have expressed concern over the humanitarian situation in Cuba and called for measures to improve it, as well as to avoid actions that worsen the living conditions of the Cubans, a joint statement published on the Spanish Foreign Ministry's website o»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Iran's armed forces are on full combat readiness despite ongoing negotiations between Washington and Tehran to resolve the conflict in the Middle East, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said. “If they don’t lift the blockade, traffic through the strait will defi»»»

Washington renewed on Friday a waiver allowing countries to buy sanctioned Russian oil at sea for about a month, even as lawmakers accused the government ‌of going easy on Moscow as its war on Ukraine grinds on. The Treasury Department's waiver lets countries purchase Russian oil and petroleum prod»»»

The crucial Strait of Hormuz will not reopen until the United States lifts its naval blockade on Iranian ports, Tehran said Saturday, as a top official warned that a final peace deal remained "far" off. Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, speaker of the Iranian parliament, said in a televised address that th»»»