A Financial Times report that Iranian forces had assessed striking US military assets in Bulgaria prompted security, political and regional responses on Wednesday. Bulgarian authorities tightened protection at Bezmer Air Base but ruled out a direct threat to national security, three political parti»»»

RIYADH: Dutch midfielder Tijjani Reijnders has arrived in Saudi Arabia after completing a move from Manchester City to Al-Qadsiah on a contract running until 2031, a club official told AFP on Wednesday. An AFP correspondent saw the Netherlands international enter the club’s headquarters in the east»»»

Seven people were killed in a helicopter crash in Kenya. Image courtesy of UPI Aug. 19 (UPI) -- A helicopter pilot and six passengers are dead after a crash at Mount Ololokwe in central Kenya, officials reported. The passengers were tourists, but the Aircraft Accident Investigation Department said »»»

Dubai: Nearly all of the full Moon will disappear into Earth’s shadow on August 27-28, producing a deep partial lunar eclipse that could give it the striking red appearance of a “Blood Moon”. The lunar eclipse will unfold overnight on August 27 and 28, 2026, coinciding with August’s full Sturgeon M»»»

US President Donald Trump said Wednesday he would meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un later this year, in what would be their first encounter of Trump's second term. Trump also said that North Korea had 57 "very powerful" nuclear weapons, in a rare and unusually specific assessment by a US preside»»»

Dubai: The Israeli military has acknowledged for the first time that its troops opened fire on the car carrying five-year-old Hind Rajab in Gaza, reversing its earlier account of the incident and announcing a criminal investigation into her 2024 killing. Hind’s death became one of the most widely k»»»

Hungary’s tax and customs authority has closed the money-laundering investigation connected to the Hungary-Ukrainian gold convoy case, finding no evidence that the large quantities of cash and gold seized from Ukrainian couriers came from criminal activity. The case drew national attention before H»»»

RIYADH: The Japanese foreign minister, Toshimitsu Motegi stressed the importance of peace and maritime security in the Middle East during talks in Riyadh with his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, and the head of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, Rashad Mohammed Al-Alimi. Kitamura»»»

Amazon announced Wednesday that it will expand Prime Air drone delivery to nearly 500 cities and towns by the end of the year. File Photo courtesy of Amazon/UPI | License Photo Aug. 19 (UPI) -- Amazon announced Wednesday that it will expand Prime Air drone delivery to nearly 500 cities and towns by»»»

EDECS Group, a Middle East and Africa (MEA)-region EPC contractor, has secured a contract from DP World to redevelop seven operational yards at Terminal 1 of Tanzania’s Dar es Salaam Port, with construction works already underway. The project covers seven cargo and material-handling yards spanning »»»

For more than four decades, Dr. Atef Abdel Latif has built a distinctive career at the intersection of tourism, media, the arts, and film production. Throughout this remarkable journey, he has remained convinced that these fields should not be viewed as separate or competing spheres, but rather as »»»

Parkin Company PJSC, Dubai’s provider of paid public parking facilities and services, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Modon Misr for Asset & Facility Management, Mwasalat Misr, and Redcon Properties to explore the development of smart parking and mobility solutions in Egypt. The»»»

The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) said the rise in annual urban headline inflation in July 2026 was mainly attributed to an unfavourable base effect, as monthly prices remained stable during the month. Annual urban headline inflation edged up to 14.9% in July from 14.3% in June, while monthly urban h»»»

Washington: US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that North Korea has 57 nuclear weapons, in a rare and unusually precise assessment of Kim Jong Un's atomic arsenal. "He has 57 very powerful nuclear weapons. Should have never allowed it to happen," Trump told reporters at the White House. "But »»»

A head-on collision between a minibus and an empty truck killed at least 23 people and injured five early Wednesday in Paraná, Brazil. File Photo by Filipe Barbosa/EPA Aug. 19 (UPI) -- A head-on collision between a minibus and an empty truck killed at least 23 people and injured five early Wednesda»»»

Abu Dhabi: The 35th Abu Dhabi International Book Fair will be held from Sept. 13 to 18 at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center. Participants are from 95 countries, including Qatar, alongside dozens of writers, thinkers and academics. The Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Center, the organizer, said the»»»

AMMAN — The Jordan Electric Power Company (JEPCO) has made significant progress in modernising its technical and operational grid, with the total number of subscriptions in its concession area reaching nearly 1.643 million.JEPCO has installed around 1.558 million smart metres, representing a comple»»»

AMMAN — Expatriate workers’ remittances to the Kingdom rose by 13.3 per cent in June 2026 to $434.1 million, according to preliminary data from the Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ).Remittances during the first half of 2026 reached $2.4962 billion, marking a 14.3 per cent increase compared with the same»»»

A Palestinian-American has raised the US flag on his home besieged by Israeli settlers, as the United States renewed criticism of the siege that has generated condemnation around the world. A Palestinian American whose home in the occupied West Bank has been besieged for more than a week confronted»»»

The Israeli military will open internal criminal investigations into its troops' 2024 killing of five-year-old Palestinian girl Hind Rajab alongside six of her relatives, as well as the killings of 15 medics and humanitarian workers in 2025, it announced Wednesday. Israeli rights groups have warned»»»

DOHA: World Health Organization (WHO) Representative to the State of Qatar Dr Rayana Bou Haka praised Doha's role in humanitarian response efforts. This came on the occasion of World Humanitarian Day, where Dr Bou Haka told Qatar News Agency (QNA) that the country plays a pioneering role in address»»»

Secretary's SpeechLebanon PalestineZionist EntityRegional and International International More Video Language Ar En Fr EsSubscribe for Weekly Updates Subscribe Lebanese Ministry of Health updates the toll of the Israeli aggression since March 2: 4,348 martyrs and 12,307 injuries 19-08-2026 17:03 PM»»»

The Democratic Republic of Congo is facing the biggest Ebola epidemic in its history. Government data showed on Tuesday that cases now exceed 5,000. Efforts to contain the deadly illness are being hampered by weak health infrastructure, community resistance and instability.  The number of»»»

Paris is to expel two Iranian diplomats serving in France following the banning by Iran of two French diplomats posted to the embassy in Tehran, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said Tuesday. He said Iran's treatment of the French diplomats briefly arrested in Tehran last month over accusat»»»

Dubai: For UAE residents waiting for the first real break from summer, the answer depends on which calendar you follow, and whether you mean the official end of the season or the point when the most intense heat finally begins to ease. Astronomically, summer will continue until September 23, when t»»»

Ukrainian lawmakers approved former top special forces operative Yevhenii Khmara as the country’s new defence minister Wednesday, just hours after his predecessor Mykhailo Fedorov called for fresh presidential elections. Elections have been banned in Ukraine since President Volodymyr Zelensky decla»»»

There is no direct threat to national security, Bulgaria's Defence Minister Dimitar Stoyanov told reporters on Wednesday. He was speaking at a news briefing prompted by reports in the international press about a possible Iranian threat of a strike on US targets in Europe, including Bulgaria. Earlie»»»

Hungary’s long-stagnant wind energy sector could be on the verge of a major transformation. The government has unveiled a package of measures aimed at increasing the country’s wind power capacity more than tenfold by 2030, backed by a planned EUR 1.5 billion investment in electricity grid upgrades,»»»

From August 1 to December 31, 2026, certain categories of entrepreneurs in Kyrgyzstan will be exempt from paying the single tax and filing reports on it, the State Tax Service reported. The exemption will apply to entities engaged in clothing and textile production, as well as sellers selling goods»»»

White House Domestic Policy Council Deputy Director Heidi Overton speaks during an executive order that reevaluates childhood vaccines on Aug. 10. Trump is expected to nominate Overton as FDA commissioner. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo Aug. 19 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump is expected »»»

A cancer vaccine developed by Merck and Moderna treating patients with melanoma showed positive and promising late-stage testing results, the drugmakers announced on Wednesday. File Photo by Javier Aparicio/EPA Aug. 19 (UPI) -- A cancer vaccine developed by Merck and Moderna treating patients with »»»

Slovenian MP from the ruling Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS) Žan Mahnič has called on the government to stop providing intelligence and security reports to President Nataša Pirc Musar, citing suspicions that she could be connected to a Russian spy network. The president's office strongly rejected »»»

Around 60 new trains from Škoda and Alstom are expected to enter service on Bulgaria’s railway network by the beginning of September. The first 20 electric multiple units manufactured by Czech company Škoda are expected to be fully operational by August 20. They will mainly serve shorter routes acr»»»

House Speaker, Nabih Berri, on Wednesday received a delegation from the American Task Force for Lebanon (ATFL), headed by Ambassador Edward Gabriel, at the second presidency headquarters in Ain El-Tineh. Discussions focused on the general situation and the latest political and field developments in»»»

Mongolia is making rapid progress on a new 127-kilometre (79-mile) railway that will allow cargo and hazardous products to bypass Ulaanbaatar, a long-awaited project that could significantly impact the way freight flows around the fast-growing capital city.  The Bagakhangai–Khushig Valley–Emee»»»

Slovenian MP from the ruling Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS) Žan Mahnič has called on the government to stop providing intelligence and security reports to President Nataša Pirc Musar, citing suspicions that she could be connected to a Russian spy network. The president's office strongly rejected »»»

Ukrainians trade more cryptocurrency per head than anyone else on earth. What they mostly do not do is trade it under Ukrainian law. Ukraine ranks eighth in the world for the spread of crypto-assets and first once the ranking is adjusted for population, Oleksiy Semenyuk, head of the National Securi»»»

Ukraine's ousted defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov has called for elections while the war is still being fought, arguing Russia should not decide when Ukrainians choose a government. The intervention came in a video address on August 18, hours after President Volodymyr Zelenskiy formally nominated »»»

LONDON: Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has visited a construction site where he said gallows will be built to execute Palestinian prisoners sentenced to death under a controversial law approved earlier this year. In a video posted on Instagram on Wednesday, Ben-Gvir s»»»

London: Stock markets mostly eked out gains while oil prices climbed further Wednesday as higher global bond yields, fuelled by inflation and debt concerns, rattled confidence and took a heavy toll on technology stocks. Global bond yields have surged to multiyear highs in recent days, reigniting wa»»»

Doha, Qatar: Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani received on Wednesday the Chairman of the Political Bureau of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) Dr Khalil Al-Hayya, and a number of the movement's leaders. During the meeting, th»»»

Dubai: Dubai’s General Directorate of Identity and Foreigners Affairs said it approved 1,295 humanitarian cases in the first half of 2026, under a system designed to balance immigration procedures with consideration for exceptional personal circumstances. GDRFA Dubai added that its Humanitarian Cas»»»

Ramallah, Palestinian Territories: More than 100 US organizations have called on Secretary of State Marco Rubio to act “urgently” to secure the release of Palestinian-American student Sama Safi, who has been detained in Israel for over two months. Israeli forces arrested Safi, a 20-year-old psychol»»»

The GERB party said on Wednesday that information reported by the Financial Times that Iran had assessed striking US military facilities in Bulgaria was a serious warning that required an immediate and clear response from the government. The party stressed that the report did not indicate that an a»»»

DOHA: Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani received Head of the Political Bureau of the Islamic Resistance Movement in Palestine 'Hamas' Dr Khalil Al Hayya, along with a number of the movement's leaders. During the meeting, they revie»»»

Dubai: Dubai Police is seeking the public's assistance in identifying the individual shown in the published photograph. The deceased was found within the jurisdiction of the Ports Police Station with no identification documents, and his body has been transferred to the Forensic Medicine Department »»»

Tunis, August 19, 2026 (TAP) – Minister of Equipment and Housing and Acting Minister of Industry, Mines and Energy Salah Zouari met with Indian Ambassador to Tunisia Devyani Khobragade, accompanied by a delegation of business leaders from the...»»»

RIYADH: Japan is a key economic partner for Saudi Arabia and the Kingdom aspires to capitalize on economic opportunities available in both nations, foreign minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said on Wednesday. “We see promising opportunities to expand cooperation in investment, energy, resources, su»»»

RAMALLAH: Forty-seven Palestinian families in Jordan Valley, northern West Bank, are at risk of being forced from their homes after Israeli forces and settlers cut their remaining water supplies, Israeli human rights group B’Tselem has warned. More than 300 Palestinians, about half of them children»»»

LONDON: A father who died along with his partner and teenage daughter in a coastal tragedy in the UK was a Palestinian refugee. The three family members died after encountering difficulties off the Sussex coast on Tuesday afternoon. Hossam Al-Khawas’ other daughter is fighting for her life in hospi»»»