DUBAI: Saudi show jumper Abdulrahman Bader Alrajhi is set to take part in the 2026 FEI World Equestrian Games in Aachen, Germany from Aug. 19-23. The 10th equestrian games will feature six core equestrian disciplines at the historic Soers showgrounds, and will serve as key qualifiers for the Los An»»»

RIYADH: The Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia has announced dates for the 2026-27 Riyadh Racing Season, along with a number of new features highlighted by the introduction of a colts and fillies series. Getting underway on Oct. 16 and concluding on April 17 next year, the season will now feature the Riya»»»

RIYADH: As Saudi Arabia prepares to host Expo 2030, the experience of Osaka 2025 offers lessons on how the Kingdom can turn the six-month event into longer-term economic and business opportunities. Expo 2030 Riyadh is expected to attract more than 42 million visits from 197 countries across a site »»»

CEUTA: Spain has beefed up police and military presence in its North African enclave of Ceuta amid social media messages encouraging migrants ​to attempt another mass border breach on Saturday, two weeks after tens of thousands rushed into the city. Soldiers in combat fatigues stood watch outside s»»»

DUBAI: French actress Pom Klementieff is set to appear at Middle East Film and Comic Con in Abu Dhabi next month, returning to the emirate two years after her first visit to the pop culture festival. Klementieff, best known as Mantis in Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” films, will meet fans on Se»»»

Brad Pitt has started drinking again and this really is cause for celebration among millions of ordinary people around the world, because after all, what brings us closer to the great and famous, but our vices? I have often heard people who enjoy a glass of cognac in the morning point out that Wins»»»

RIYADH: Global financial institutions are rapidly expanding across the Gulf as market reforms and economic transformation programs reshape the region into one of the world’s fastest-growing capital markets. The shift is particularly visible across Saudi Arabia and the UAE, with wave of regional hea»»»

On Aug.15, 1914, a U.S. ship sailed from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, officially opening the Panama Canal. 1 of 3 | The SS Ancon became the first ship to transit the newly built Panama Canal on August 15, 1914. File Photo courtesy of the U.S. National Archives Aug. 15 (UPI) -- On this date in»»»

US President Donald Trump on Friday dismissed concerns about the toll on sailors aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, who have endured a record deployment of almost nine months, saying that the deployment had been “not nearly long enough”. The Lincoln has been supporting the US war»»»

Abu Dhabi/ Dubai: The Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi and the Indian Consulate in Dubai marked India's 80th Independence Day with celebrations that drew unusually large crowds this year, as the milestone anniversary falling on a Saturday holiday brought out families and individuals in record numbers. C»»»

Young female swimmers from Kyrgyzstan took part in Uzbekistan Open Water Swimming Championship for the first time, their coach Tilek Talaibekov told 24.kg news agency. The Uzbekistan Open Water Swimming Championship was held from August 10 to 14 at the Water & Rowing sports facility in Tashmore, wi»»»

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Kazem Gharibabadi hit back after US President Donald Trump claimed he would soon declare the Strait of Hormuz “a territory of the United States.” Gharibabadi said the Strait of Hormuz cannot be seized “by tweet,” “by aircraft carrie»»»

Dubai: Investors have grown used to sudden bouts of selling in AI-linked stocks, but analysts say the recurring swings are less about discovering new risks and more about fresh evidence forcing markets to reconsider how much companies are spending and how long it will take for those investments to »»»

Extreme heat has killed more than 25,000 people across Europe this year, on data compiled by Insurance Journal from government agencies and research institutions in Germany, Spain, France, the UK, Switzerland and the Netherlands. Germany alone accounts for an estimated 11,900 excess heat deaths sin»»»

PARIS: A 23-year-old Belgian woman was charged in France Friday for allegedly being part of an attempted March 28 bomb attack on a Bank of America branch in Paris that officials said might be tied to a pro-Iran group. That attack — thwarted when police stopped and arrested four people about to set »»»

More than 500 people have been evacuated in the southwestern French department of Landes as wildfires continue to spread and threaten nearby communities. Prefect Gilles Clavreul ordered an expansion of the evacuation zone after the blaze grew to cover around 1,100 hectares, or roughly 2,700 acres, »»»

United Nations: Violence continues to take a heavy toll on civilians and displace people across Sudan, UN humanitarians warned on Wednesday. In Blue Nile state, more than 20 civilians were killed and many others injured on Tuesday in clashes in Geisan town in the southeast of the country, the UN Of»»»

RIYADH: The Saudi Standards Team won three international awards at the 21st International Standards Olympiad in Korea this week. The event, which began on Wednesday and concluded on Friday, is an annual global competition that challenges middle and high school students to solve real-world problems »»»

LISBON: British cyclist Finlay Tarling, 19, died Friday in a crash during the eighth stage of the Tour of Portugal, race organizers and police said. Tarling, a rider with the NSN Development Team, died following a “serious accident” during the stage between Melgaço and Fafe, organizers said. The po»»»

Extreme heat has killed more than 25,000 people across Europe this year, on data compiled by Insurance Journal from government agencies and research institutions in Germany, Spain, France, the UK, Switzerland and the Netherlands. Germany alone accounts for an estimated 11,900 excess heat deaths sin»»»

DUBAI: Community events and activities are at the heart of the fan experience during the Esports World Cup, and represent one of the core values of the competition currently taking place in France. Beyond the thrilling action on the tournament stages at Paris Expo Porte de Versailles, this year mar»»»

Strikes on Ukraine’s energy system could force it to halt its resistance, Igor Yushkov, a leading expert at the Financial University and the National Energy Security Fund, tells Sputnik. "All communications depend on electricity," Yushkov says. "Starlink systems, for example, require power, as do d»»»

LONDON: Eurovision organizers are floating major rule changes that aim to prevent influence campaigns affecting voting, the BBC reported on Friday. Voters can vote up to 10 times for their favorite act, according to existing rules. The European Broadcasting Union, in a letter to broadcasters, repor»»»

Kazakh billionaire Timur Turlov did not set out to run world chess. In late June the founder of Freedom Holding Corp, the Nasdaq-listed financial services group, agreed to stand as deputy to Arkady Dvorkovich, the International Chess Federation (FIDE) president seeking a third term. Then on July 23»»»

Kazakh billionaire Timur Turlov did not set out to run world chess. In late June the founder of Freedom Holding Corp, the Nasdaq-listed financial services group, agreed to stand as deputy to Arkady Dvorkovich, the International Chess Federation (FIDE) president seeking a third term. Then on July 23»»»

MELBOURNE: New Zealand became the latest nation to withdraw its support for FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s reelection bid on Friday over the aborted commercial rights stake sale plan, while Oceania’s confederation cautiously backed the governing body’s leadership. Infantino has faced open revolt»»»

BERLIN: A Berlin theater that has set up an outdoor swimming pool scrapped plans Friday to reserve it for black children and young people for one afternoon, citing a backlash and security fears sparked by “racist agitation.” The Volksbuehne theater and the anti-racism organization Each One Teach On»»»

Bulgaria participated in the international exercise Black Sea 2026 in Romania, the Border Police General Directorate reported on Friday. The exercise took place on Thursday and Friday in the Romanian city of Constanta and ​​Romanian territorial waters as part of a joint operation, coordinated by th»»»

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The national debt of the United States has increased by more than $500 billion since July 1 and has come close to a record high of $40 trillion, RIA Novosti calculated based on data from the US Treasury Department. In early July, that number was $39.389 trillion, by mid-Augus»»»

KYIV: Russian jet-powered drones struck a home in northern Ukraine on Friday, killing a 29-year-old woman and her 9-year-old son, officials said. The strike came a day after the United Nations said July was the deadliest month for Ukrainian civilians since the weeks following Moscow’s all-out invas»»»

Authorities evacuated 525 people from the village of Luglon Friday as a new wildfire tore through southwestern France, burning 1,100 hectares and advancing to within a few kilometres of the village centre amid an unprecedented wildfire season.  French ​authorities evacuated 525 villagers after»»»

The Bulgarian National Audit Office (BNAO) published more than 16,000 asset and interest declarations by public officeholders on Friday. The declarations comprised annual filings submitted by May 15, 2026, and initial and final declarations filed between January and August 2026. They included decla»»»

Sofia Mayor Vasil Terziev has congratulated Burgas and Mayor Dimitar Nikolov after the seaside city was selected over Sofia to host Eurovision 2027, stressing that the contest should be treated as a national opportunity rather than a source of division. “I am used to criticism. I want to congratula»»»

Burgas will build a small Eurotown for international teams and guests attending Eurovision 2027, as preparations for the contest continue in the seaside city. Deputy Mayor for Construction Chanka Koralska told Bulgarian National Radio that a separate temporary structure will be erected near Arena B»»»

Burgas has begun preparations for Eurovision 2027, with the seaside city expecting thousands of fans, tourists, delegations and media representatives to arrive for the contest next May. The event is already generating excitement among local businesses, while also raising questions about accommodati»»»

Russia is rebuilding its drone war around the jet-powered Geran-4, a faster machine built to slip past the cheap interceptors now knocking down its slower first generation Geran-2 drone, based on the Iranian-designed Shahed-136 loitering munition that Moscow bought from Tehran at the start of the U»»»

Americans unexpectedly cut their spending in July as a boost from government tax refunds faded. Retail sales slipped 0.6% last month, the biggest drop since May 2025, from a revised gain of 0.2% in June, according to Commerce Department data released Friday. There was a notable bump in spending in »»»

Paris: Firefighters across Europe struggled against multiple fires Friday as a new wave of record-breaking heat baked a swath of the continent, their task further complicated by exceptionally parched landscapes. The historic temperatures are linked to human-caused climate change, and are hitting co»»»

DUBAI: Since Sunday, Israeli settlers have laid siege to the West Bank village of Qusra to drive out its Palestinian inhabitants and claim their homes as their own. The harrowing event, which has seen three Palestinian families cut off from water, electricity and the outside world by a settler enca»»»

The U.S. Court of International Trade threw out a legal challenge to President Trump's executive order scrapping the so-called de minimum exemption loophole under which goods worth less than $800 could enter the United States duty free. File Photo by Terry Schmitt/UPI | License Photo Aug. 14 (UPI) »»»

The Minister of Internal Affairs of Kyrgyzstan Ulan Niyazbekov met with the Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Kobakhidze. The parties discussed the development of bilateral cooperation and security issues, the Ministry of Internal Affairs reported. Special attention was paid to the documents signed »»»

RIYADH: MBC Studios hosted an exclusive premiere on Thursday of the first episode of the Saudi Arabia series “Ahmar Wala Abyad,” with the cast and creative team behind the show. The event offered an early look at the eight-episode drama, which explores family tensions, ambition and betrayal through»»»

Following reports of power outages in Bishkek, electricity supply disruptions were also recorded in Almaty. Residents of several districts reported power outages. According to Tengrinews.kz, an emergency outage occurred at 2:38 p.m. on August 14 on KEGOC’s 500-kilovolt overhead power transmission l»»»

RIYADH: Riyadh will host the fourth UNESCO Global Forum on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence next month, bringing together global experts to discuss key issues surrounding AI ethics and the governance of emerging technologies. Co-hosted by UNESCO and the Kingdom, represented by the Saudi Data a»»»

Dubai: If you missed the Perseids Meteor Shower earlier this month, this is your second chance. Dubai Astronomy Group has added one more night by popular demand, opening the door to anyone who could not get a place at the first event. The bonus night takes place on Saturday, 15 August 2026, running»»»

Speaking to journalists after the opening of three new stations on Line 3 of Sofia's Metro underground railway on Friday, Sofia Mayor Vassil Terziev said that Prime Minister Rumen Radev's governance programme contains measures that are relevant and important for Sofia Municipality. On August 12, th»»»

Count BinFace (C) is joined on stage by other candidates in Clacton in the early hours of Friday as he celebrates his second place finish in Thursday's byelection. Reform U.K. leader Nigel Farage, who won, did not attend after his party claimed there had been a "credible" threat made against him. P»»»

Iraq: Iraqi environmental police have documented an underground river inhabited by rare blind fish deep beneath the desert of Anbar province, in an unusual environmental and geological discovery. The site lies at Al Khasfa, a deep geological depression and cave formation near Haditha in western Ira»»»

The Russian Foreign Ministry has hosted a briefing for foreign diplomats in Moscow on the Roscongress Foundation’s main international events scheduled for autumn and winter 2026. Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Pankin opened the meeting, highlighting the role of Russian forums in promoting intern»»»

POLITICS The first 100 days of the government led by Prime Minister Rumen Radev remain a major focus of the Bulgarian media. Dnevnik published an extensive assessment of the government's first three months in office, arguing that the new administration has so far failed to demonstrate how it intend»»»