MIDDLE EAST CRISIS Former Bulgarian deputy defence minister Rumen Kanchev described the situation in the Middle East as a “regional conflict” in an interview with Bulgarian National Radio on Wednesday. “America has concentrated colossal power in the area,” Kanchev said. He quoted statements in Wash»»»

Israeli strikes hit a Beirut hotel and residential complex in Lebanon's east, Lebanese state media said Wednesday, as Israel announced broad strikes in response to Hezbollah missile and drone launches. Lebanese state media said the Israeli attacks targeted a building in Baalbek, in Lebanon's east f»»»

Hezbollah said on Wednesday it had targeted the headquarters of Israel Aerospace Industries, in central Israel, overnight with a drone attack while also saying it launched a missile at a drone control base. In a statement the group said it had "struck the headquarters of the Israeli Aerospace Indus»»»

Abu Dhabi: The Federal National Council (FNC) has strongly condemned and denounced the blatant Iranian attacks targeting the UAE, the Gulf Cooperation Council countries and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The FNC described the attacks as a flagrant violation of the sovereignty of states, a serious»»»

Dubai: For people in the UAE, including locals, residents, expatriates, and tourists, life in the country remains “business as usual” as they feel reassured in the government and military’s effectiveness to lead and protect. Gulf News has gathered the voices of residents as they remain firm that th»»»

The Cabinet of Ministers of Kyrgyzstan has submitted a draft resolution «On Approving the Procedure for the Prevention and Control of Biological Threats» for public discussion. The document was developed to implement the Law «On Biological Safety in the Kyrgyz Republic,» adopted in January 2025. Th»»»

Equans, a subsidiary of the Bouygues Group and a global leader in energy and services, has announced the opening of a new IT Hub in Romania, a strategic step aimed at supporting the company’s operations and strengthening its international digital capabilities. As part of the initiative, the company»»»

Beijing: Chinese shipping giant Cosco, which operates one of the world's biggest oil tanker fleets, announced it was suspending services to and from Gulf countries from Wednesday, including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Kuwait. The state-owned, Shanghai-based firm is amo»»»

More than 100 aid trucks crossed the Egyptian side of Gaza's Rafah border crossing on Tuesday, two sources told AFP. Israel closed all crossings into the Gaza Strip on Saturday, after it launched a joint attack on Iran with the United States. It agreed to reopen the Kerem Shalom crossing, where tru»»»

The Israeli military ordered the evacuation of a swathe of southern Lebanon on Wednesday, telling residents to move north of the Litani River on a third day of full-blown hostilities with Hezbollah. While Israel has already warned residents to leave dozens of villages in southern Lebanon, ⁠Wednesda»»»

Bulgaria has effectively completed the transition period for adopting the euro, though formal legal adoption remains pending. Euro banknotes are now fully integrated into circulation, with the process secured and well-organized. According to Vladimir Ivanov, head of the Euro Mechanism and chairman »»»

Dubai: When the Gulf airspace was disrupted and flights began cancelling one after another, many residents found themselves stuck abroad, far from the city they had built their lives in. For some, that meant days of uncertainty, rerouting through multiple countries, and scrambling for any flight th»»»

Dubai: Iran’s expanding missile and drone campaign across the Gulf is testing the patience of Arab states, with Qatar warning that “all red lines have already been crossed” as Tehran’s retaliation against US-Israeli strikes begins spilling across the region. Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesman Majed»»»

Dubai: Saudi Arabia has warned it reserves the “full right” to respond to blatant Iranian aggression after a series of drone and missile strikes targeted Riyadh and the Kingdom’s Eastern Province. The warning came during a late-night Cabinet meeting on Tuesday chaired by Crown Prince and Prime Mini»»»

Caretaker Defence Minister Atanas Zapryanov said Wednesday that the latest developments in the Middle East call for a re-assessment of the situation by Bulgaria and an emergency meeting of the Security Council with the Council of Ministers. "The events of this morning fundamentally change our asses»»»

Russia ‌said on Wednesday that France's plan to expand its nuclear arsenal was a highly destabilizing move that posed a potential threat to Moscow. French President Emmanuel Macron announced the plan on Monday, saying other European countries would also be able to take part in French nuclear exerci»»»

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child insisted Wednesday that children must be protected during the war in the Middle East, highlighting an alleged air strike on an Iranian school. Iran has blamed Israel and the United States for the strike on the school in the Iranian city of Minab on the fi»»»

Qognifly, a Romanian deep-tech company specializing in autonomous counter-drone systems (C-UAS), has announced the public launch and entry into a new consolidation phase for Drone Wall, an integrated detection, tracking, and interception architecture developed by Romanian engineers and validated in»»»

Manila: The Philippines does not lack leaders. It lacks alignment. In a nation of 7,641 islands — fragmented by geography, up to 187 languages, history and politics — no single party, alliance, or strongman can carry the weight of national transformation alone. Also In This Package Philippine passp»»»

Lebanese state media reported on Wednesday that the Israeli army entered the southern Lebanese town of Khiam, about six kilometers from the Lebanon-Israel border. "The town of Khiam is witnessing continuous artillery shelling, while the Israeli enemy army penetrated into the town," state media said»»»

A regional student mobility program is currently under development, the Ministry of Science, Higher Education, and Innovation informed 24.kg news agency. According to ministry representatives, the program aims to expand access to higher education and stimulate student mobility between regions of th»»»

The Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB) coalition has filed documents with the Central Election Commission to take part in the early parliamentary elections on April 19. Applicants are required to submit a list containing the names, personal identification numbers and handwritten sign»»»

The Morality, Unity and Honour party (MECh) submitted documents to the Central Election Commission (CEC) to register for participation in the snap parliamentary elections scheduled for April 19, MECh Floor Leader Kiril Veselinski told journalists on Wednesday. Veselinski said the party was register»»»

Oil prices rose about 1% on Wednesday as US-Israeli strikes on Iran disrupted Middle East supplies, but the pace of gains slowed from past sessions after President Donald Trump suggested the US Navy could escort vessels through the Strait of Hormuz. Brent rose 91 cents, or 1.1%, to $82.31 a barrel »»»

Romania’s Government Private Cloud, the largest critical digital infrastructure developed in the country, is entering the operational stage at national level and will serve as the technical foundation for the state’s digital public services. The implementation involved building an Internal Cloud in»»»

Dubai: Visa services are slowly resuming at the Dubai centre of VFS Global, but only for some countries. VFS Global said it has restarted partial operations amid ongoing regional disruptions. Some applicants can submit fresh visa applications. However, all countries are returning passports to appli»»»

Dubai: In moments of crisis, the true character of a nation reveals itself not only in the strength of its defences, but in the steadiness of its people. As the United Arab Emirates confronts what officials have described as blatant Iranian aggression, the country’s response has not been defined by»»»

Doha, Qatar: The Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani, received a telephone call today from HE Toshimitsu Motegi, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan. During the call, the developments of the military escalation in the region and its»»»

The first 360 citizens of Kyrgyzstan currently staying in the United Arab Emirates will be evacuated by two repatriation flights via Oman on the night of March 5 and the morning of the same day. Deputy Foreign Minister Almaz Imangaziev made the announcement at a session of the Zhogorku Kenesh. Acco»»»

There is no increased migration pressure on Bulgaria in connection with the conflict in the Middle East, Deputy Interior Minister Ivan Anchev said here on Wednesday. “There is no reason for us as a state to worry about any increased immigration pressure in connection with the conflict in the Middle»»»

Indonesia's foreign minister ‌said talks on US President Donald Trump's Gaza "Board of Peace," of which the Southeast Asian nation is a key troop-contributing member, were on hold due to the Middle East war. The US and Israeli air war against Iran has killed scores of civilians, thrown global air t»»»

Dubai: As the current chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Philippines has noted that it is closely monitoring developments in the Middle East, particularly its impact on millions of Southeast Asians living and working across the Gulf. Officials have mentioned that assis»»»

Exports of companies operating within the High Technology Park of the Kyrgyz Republic have reached nearly $200 million (about 17.1 billion soms), the Park’s Director Azis Abakirov reported. According to Abakirov, in terms of scale the sector is already comparable to one of the country’s traditional»»»

Borislav Bankov has been appointed Deputy Minister of Innovation and Growth, the Ministry said in a press release on Wednesday. Bankov is an established expert in innovation and international security. Since 2022, he has headed a NATO test centre for dual-use technologies at the GATE Institute at S»»»

US President Donald Trump has said the country's navy will protect ships in the Middle East "if necessary" in a bid to stop the energy supply crunch sparked by the US-Israel war with Iran. A fifth of the world's oil and gas flows through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway wedged between Iran a»»»

Ecuadorean and US forces have launched operations against what it said were designated terrorist organisations in the South American country, the US military's Southern Command said on Tuesday. The Southern Command said the action was aimed at tackling illicit drug trafficking, but did not provide »»»

The negotiations on strategic stability should include the participation of Europe's nuclear powers, the Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. "Indeed, nuclear deterrence remains the cornerstone of global security. This is very important," Peskov told reporters, commenting on the issue of nuclear d»»»

Dubai: Commercial Bank of Dubai (CBD), one of the UAE’s leading financial institutions, said on Wednesday that it is financially strong and fully operational despite ongoing regional developments, reaffirming its commitment to supporting customers and businesses across the country. Sign up for our »»»

Parliament Speaker Raya Nazaryan announced that Acting Defense Minister Atanas Zapryanov has informed the National Assembly of his decision to authorize the transit through Bulgarian airspace and the temporary presence of allied and foreign military forces on the country’s territory. The notificati»»»

Sydney: Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Wednesday that US-Israeli strikes on Iran had been “inconsistent with international law”, calling for a rapid de-escalation of the conflict. Speaking at a gathering of the Lowy Institute think tank in Sydney, Carney said Canada welcomed steps to chan»»»

A project to create artificial glaciers aimed at addressing water shortages in agriculture is being implemented in Batken region of Kyrgyzstan. The office of Presidential Plenipotentiary Representative in the region reported. Local authorities, led by Azizbek Adylbekov, head of the sector for inter»»»

DOHA: Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani hasreceived a phone call from Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi. During the call, they reviewed the developments of the military escalation in the region and its serious repercussio»»»

Mojtaba Khamenei, son of Iran's late Supreme Leader, has survived the US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran in which his father Ali Khamenei was killed, two Iranian sources told Reuters on Wednesday. Mojtaba is seen by the ‌establishment as ‌a possible successor to his ‌father, ⁠the sources said. A ⁠mi»»»

Dubai: Indian rapper Yo Yo Honey Singh has reassured fans globally that he is safe and continuing to work and 'chill' in Dubai amid the ongoing tensions in the Middle East. He posted a series of images on his stories to underline how resilient and normal his current life in Dubai remains amid escal»»»

The Defence Angels European Network (DAEN), the first pan-European Business Angels network dedicated to investments in defence and security technologies, has launched its operations in Brussels, bringing together investors from 16 countries. Romania is part of the initiative’s governing structure, »»»

Over 60% of Burgas residents are overweight, 30% of which are obese, the Burgas Hospital said on Wednesday citing data from observations of the hospital's Department of Endocrinology. Similar trends are evident at the national level, which are above the European average, said Dr. Stefka Stefanova, »»»

Customs officers at the Lesovo border crossing checkpoint seized a total of 14,000 boxes of smuggled cigarettes, the Customs Agency said on Wednesday. The 280,000 pieces of cigarettes were found in two trucks transporting refrigerators from Turkiye to Romania, both driven by Romanian citizens. The »»»

The US will suspend all trade with Spain over Madrid’s decision to deny the US permission to use its joint military bases to attack Iran, President Donald Trump has announced. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has condemned Trump’s “unjustified and dangerous” intervention against Iran. Speaking »»»

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said Wednesday they had "complete control" of the crucial Strait of Hormuz and Israel launched fresh strikes on Iranian and Lebanese targets as the Middle East war continued into its fifth day. Here are the latest developments: - More Israeli strikes in Tehran - The Isra»»»

The march to the US midterm elections, which will determine which party controls both chambers of Congress for the second half of Donald Trump's presidency, is officially under way. Voters in a handful of states headed to the polls on Tuesday to pick the Democratic and Republican candidates for the»»»