Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said the two-decade-long campaign to restrict weapons solely to state authorities and bolster national sovereignty has yielded significant milestones. In an interview published Friday in the Saudi daily Okaz, Geagea lauded the Lebanese Cabinet, arguing that its p»»»

The European Union's renewed drive to expand eastwards could face its biggest political obstacle yet if French far-right leader Marine Le Pen wins the 2027 presidential election, potentially derailing accession hopes for Ukraine and the Western Balkans at one of the most critical moments in the blo»»»

Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi Maritime has advised boat owners, jet ski riders and other marine users to familiarise themselves with the fines that apply across the emirate's waterways, encouraging everyone to follow safety requirements and obtain the necessary permits before undertaking maritime activities»»»

Arab Finance: Telecom Egypt's (ETEL) board of directors has decided not to proceed with a proposed transaction to sell a 75% to 80% stake in a subsidiary that would own its Regional Data Center Hub (RDH) to Helios Investments after certain conditions required to complete the deal were not met, as p»»»

MP Ali Fayyad of Hezbollah on Friday charged that the Lebanese leadership "has abandoned its people, indifferent to their suffering and the extent of the crimes committed against them by the Israelis." "This ruling authority seems to have become corrupt and is persisting in its choices despite all »»»

Traffic police in Sofia issued a fine or administrative citation to every electric scooter rider inspected during a one-day enforcement operation, authorities said. Speaking at a press briefing, Martin Tsurinski, Deputy Head of the Traffic Police Department at the Sofia Directorate of the Interior,»»»

President Iliana Iotova said on Friday she was reassured of the readiness of the Bulgarian Navy after observing the national naval exercise "Breeze 2026" aboard the frigate Drazki. "I am extremely pleased with what I have seen so far. I feel reassured about the sovereignty of our maritime border an»»»

Democratic Bulgaria has called on President Iliana Iotova to convene the Consultative Council for National Security (CCNS) to discuss the country's geopolitical risks and strategic geopolitical projects. This emerged during a briefing in the National Assembly by Ivaylo Mirchev, MP and co-chair of t»»»

Border police officers have detained two Georgians at the Kapitan Andreevo border checkpoint who tried to smuggle 20 combat pistols across the border, the Customs Agency said on Friday. On July 15, a Turkish-registered bus carrying passengers from Türkiye to Poland arrived at the checkpoint. Border»»»

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi participated on Friday in a launching ceremony of the country's first hydrogen-powered train, Indian media reported. The train took off from the Jind station in the state of Haryana, the state-run All India Radio News reported. The train is the first in India to »»»

An IndiGo flight bound for Ahmedabad was delayed by more than five hours after a hoax bomb threat was discovered on board the aircraft at Bengaluru airport on Thursday evening. Flight 6E 6423 had been scheduled to depart Bengaluru for Ahmedabad at 8pm but was immediately grounded after a threatenin»»»

Dubai: Oman's Islamic banking sector could be headed for one of its biggest shake-ups in years after Bank Nizwa proposed acquiring Alizz Islamic Bank and merging it into its operations, while bringing Ominvest on board as a strategic shareholder. Sign up for our daily business newsletter, Cheques &»»»

Israeli occupation forces intensified attacks on southern Lebanon on Friday, with drone strikes targeting areas in Tyre and Nabatieh districts, amid demolition operations and continued Israeli aircraft reconnaissance activity over Bekaa. An Israeli drone targeted a motorcycle on the Bayada–Naqoura »»»

TUNIS, July 17, 2026 (TAP) – The exceptional heatwave affecting Tunisia, which has triggered power outages across the country, is having a direct impact on production activity in the textile and clothing industry, the Tunisian Federation of Textile...»»»

In 2024 Bulgaria ranked fourth in the EU in the ratio of professional judges per 100,000 people: 35.4, behind Croatia (43.3), Slovenia (40.2) and Luxembourg (36.0) and ahead of Romania (35.3), according to figures released by Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the EU, on Friday. On the lowest end,»»»

Dubai: Saudi Arabia on Thursday entered the period known as “Jamrat Al Qaydh”, traditionally regarded as the most intense phase of the summer, when temperatures across much of the kingdom approach their annual peaks. The period, which typically begins in mid-July and lasts until early August, is ex»»»

London: Andy Burnham was officially declared leader of Britain's governing Labour Party on Friday, clearing his final hurdle to taking office as prime minister next week. The center-left party announced the result of a leadership contest to replace departing Prime Minister Keir Starmer, in which Bu»»»

TUNIS, July 17, 2026 (TAP) – The National Institute of Meteorology (INM) has placed 21 out of Tunisia’s 24 governorates under an orange weather alert due to the expected extreme heat, while Kasserine, Médenine and Tataouine have been placed under a...»»»

The United Arab Emirates has condemned in the strongest terms the renewed hostile attacks by Iran targeting the Kingdom of Bahrain, the State of Kuwait, the State of Qatar, and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan with missiles and drones. In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) affirmed »»»

A humanitarian aid flight carrying 100 tonnes of relief supplies departed Ras Al Khaimah International Airport on Friday for the Gaza Strip under Operation Chivalrous Knight 3. The aid flight, organised in cooperation between the Emirates Red Crescent (ERC), the Emirati-Palestinian Friendship Club »»»

Brussels, Belgium: The European Union on Friday proposed easing its carbon trading scheme for companies, as it unveiled reforms to one of its flagship climate policies under pressure to shore up industry. The overhaul of the two-decade-old Emissions Trading System (ETS) has been subject to fierce w»»»

Arab Finance: Orascom Development Egypt announced that one of its subsidiaries has signed a 10-year syndicated loan agreement worth EGP 18 billion with the National Bank of Egypt (NBE), Banque Misr, and Commercial International Bank (CIB) to support the development of its O West project in 6th of O»»»

DUBAI: More airlines are restoring flights ‌to parts of the Middle East after the conflict that followed US and Israeli strikes on Iran, but some carriers have kept suspensions in place. Below is an update on the status of airlines’ flights, in alphabetical order: AEGEAN AIRLINES Greece’s largest c»»»

A major wildfire that has been raging for two days in northeast Spain has reduced more than 12,000 hectares of land to ash, regional authorities said Friday, warning of a "very high risk of spreading". "The night has been very complex, very difficult. At this time, we estimate that the burned area »»»

The US and Iran exchanged fresh strikes on Friday, with attacks reported across the Gulf region, including Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and Jordan. UAE residents are advised to follow official updates, check travel notices and avoid sharing unverified information. Get updated faster and for FREE: Downloa»»»

Gijs Klomp, head of business development at WDP Romania, talked to BR regarding the strong demand for logistics in its portfolio, the impact of new infrastructure nodes, and competitive regional rental dynamics through the remainder of 2026. Which sectors do you project will lead demand for WDP Rom»»»

WASHINGTON - Serbian FM Marko Djuric, who on Thursday attended a Washington ministerial conference at the invitation of US State Secretary Marco Rubio, held a series of bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the summit. In an Instagram post, Djuric wrote that he had spoken with Israeli counterpart »»»

Burjeel Medical City (BMC), the flagship facility of Burjeel Holdings, has entered into a clinical and academic collaboration with New York-based Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, a US National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, to establish a specialized thoracic surg»»»

Fulga Dinu, country manager at CPI Romania, talked to BR about the company’s EUR 100 million financing for Sun Plaza, ongoing asset transformation, and investment priorities for 2026. She mentions resilience in prime retail and office markets, evolving consumer behaviour, and the growing importance»»»

Secretary's SpeechLebanon PalestineZionist EntityRegional and International International More Video Language Ar En Fr EsSubscribe for Weekly Updates Subscribe Hezbollah Media Relations: Claims on positions allegedly conveyed by Hezbollah officials to Lebanese president are inaccurate contradict ou»»»

Secretary's SpeechLebanon PalestineZionist EntityRegional and International International More Video Language Ar En Fr EsSubscribe for Weekly Updates Subscribe Israeli Occupation Steps Up West Bank Raids, as MKs and Ministers Incite to Expand Al-Aqsa Incursions 17-07-2026 13:36 PM Israeli occupatio»»»

Secretary's SpeechLebanon PalestineZionist EntityRegional and International International More Video Language Ar En Fr EsSubscribe for Weekly Updates Subscribe Iran’s Araghchi: ‘Israel’ Using US Taxpayers to Silence American Critics 17-07-2026 13:49 PM Iran Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi (image fro»»»

A total of 26 international students are currently enrolled at the Plovdiv Academy of Music, Dance and Fine Arts, the higher education institution told BTA. The foreign students come from 10 countries across Europe and Asia, including Portugal, the United Kingdom, North Macedonia, China and Japan. »»»

Tokyo: The more Yoriko Kitagawa learns of a massive data centre to be built near her home in Hino on the outskirts of Tokyo, the more she worries. "This is a terrible plan," the 94-year-old told AFP. The explosion in resource-hungry data centres -- housing the hardware "brains" of artificial intell»»»

Russian Armed Forces carried out 19 group strikes against military-related targets in Ukraine in past week, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported on Friday. "The losses of the Ukrainian armed formations in the area of responsibility of the Vostok group of forces amounted to more than 3,275 milit»»»

DUBAI: On Jan. 13, 2012, the huge Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia struck a rock just off Giglio Island, which tore a 53-meter gash in the ship’s hull. The engine room was soon flooded, cutting off power from much of the ship. There were 3,229 passengers and 1,023 crew aboard. Evacuation took si»»»

The River Drava has fallen to one of its lowest levels on record, exposing large sections of the riverbed and creating the extraordinary sight of people being able to walk across the river beneath the bridge at Barcs, on the Hungarian-Croatian border. One of the country’s biggest rivers can be walk»»»

The annual Summer School of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the Belite Brezi resort near Ardino once again brings together young astronomy enthusiasts from across Bulgaria, said the school's technical director, Agop Uzunbogosyan. "The school builds on what students learn in the classroom while giving»»»

Jind, India: India launched its first hydrogen-powered train Friday, joining a small group of nations testing the technology as part of efforts to decarbonise rail transport and cut dependence on fossil fuels. The project is part of a broader push to modernise one of the world's largest rail networ»»»

BELGRADE - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic received a farewell visit from Kazakh Ambassador to Belgrade Madi Atamkulov on Friday and thanked him for his significant contribution to advancement of Serbia-Kazakhstan relations, as well as for his consistent and principled position of support for th»»»

USNS Washington Chambers conducts a replenishment-at-sea with Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Essex on Monday during RIMPAC 2026. North Korea on Friday denounced the exercise as a "war rehearsal." Photo by Nate Wheeler/U.S. Navy North Korea denounced Friday an ongoing U.S.-led multinational »»»

K-pop exports reached a record high in the first half of 2026, South Korean government data showed Friday, In this March 21 photo, a billboard advertising the Netflix livestream of a BTS concert is seen in Seoul. File Photo by Thomas Maresca/UPI | License Photo South Korea's exports of K-pop albums»»»

A man accused of spying for Iran was due to appear before magistrates in London on Friday after being arrested in the West Midlands by counter-terrorism police. File Photo by Mike Theiler/UPI | License Photo July 17 (UPI) -- A 39-year-old man was due in court in London on Friday accused of breachin»»»

A project titled "Enhancing national capabilities for coordination and response to cybersecurity incidents" is being implemented within the agreed timeframe and has reached an advanced physical and financial progress, Bulgarian Innovation and Digital Transformation Minister Ivan Vasilev said here o»»»

There are no contradictions in Bulgaria's position on Ukraine, President Iliana Iotova told reporters on Friday, commenting on allegations of inconsistencies in the Bulgarian government's actions on the issue. Iotova stressed that documents such as the Kyiv Declaration are not subject to discussion»»»

Synthetic drugs have emerged as one of the fastest-growing threats to public health and security worldwide, with the United Nations warning that criminal networks are increasingly turning to laboratory-made substances that are easier to produce, harder to detect and often more dangerous than tradit»»»

Manila: Manila lodged a diplomatic protest with Beijing on Friday over a "racist" video posted by Chinese state media portraying the Philippines as a cartoon monkey. The China Daily post was the latest offshoot of a long-running dispute over the Asian neighbours' overlapping South China Sea claims.»»»

BusinessGlobal issuesHow AI and satellites help fight wildfiresInsa WredeWildfires are currently raging in Europe, Canada, and elsewhere. To successfully fight these fires, speed is essential. Early detection from space and AI-powered data analysis can help. https://p.dw.com/p/5H8eLMunich-based sta»»»

MANILA: The Philippines condemned as racist a video posted by the state-run China Daily depicting Filipinos as monkeys, saying on Friday it had lodged a diplomatic protest with Beijing over the “offensive, distressing and unacceptable” imagery. Manila has demanded the removal of the video, which it»»»

LONDON: Trump Media & ​Technology Group has unveiled a paid-for, licensed data feed that will give banks and trading firms “the fastest” access to posts from influential Truth Social accounts, such as President Donald Trump’s, whose posts often move global markets. The product, called “Truth API,” »»»