Tel Aviv: Mohammad Bakri, a Palestinian director and actor who sought to share the complexities of Palestinian identity and culture through a variety of works in both Arabic and Hebrew, has died, his family announced. He was 72. Bakri was best known for “Jenin, Jenin,” a 2003 documentary he directe»»»

Riyadh Air has announced its ‘Employment-First’ Overseas Scholarship Program, which aims to launch several scholarship tracks, starting with two specialized paths for engineers in Australia, followed by a pilot training program in the United States. The initiative falls under ‘Promising Path’, one »»»

Share: The Israeli army announced in a statement that a prominent member of the Quds Force was killed during a raid on the al-Nasariya area in eastern Lebanon.Israel did not reveal his identity The Quds Force ('Jerusalem Force') is one of five branches of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (I»»»

Hezbollah mourned on Thursday the Islamic scholar and resistance figure Sheikh Reda Mahdi, extending condolences to the Islamic nation and to religious seminaries and their scholars. In a statement, the group said Sheikh Mahdi passed away peacefully after a long life devoted to learning and struggl»»»

Yangon: Myanmar's junta will stage the third and final round of its heavily restricted elections on January 25, a statement said Thursday, just days before polls open for the first batch of ballots. Democracy watchdogs say the junta-run vote is a charade to rebrand the rule of the military, which s»»»

NIS - The head of the Serbian government Office for Kosovo-Metohija Petar Petkovic said on Thursday the upcoming December 28 elections for the Kosovo-Metohija provincial assembly in Pristina were crucial for the survival of Serbs in the province. Petkovic called on internally displaced Serbs who ar»»»

Britain's King Charles III called for "compassion and reconciliation" at a time of "division" across the world in his annual Christmas Day message broadcast on Thursday. The 77-year-old monarch said he found it "enormously encouraging" how people of different faiths had a "shared longing for peace"»»»

Damascus: Syria's central bank has announced that a new national currency would be introduced on Jan. 1, 2026, with a process to exchange the existing notes set to begin on the same date. Governor of the Central Bank of Syria, Abdul Qader Husrieh, said a 2025 presidential decree authorizes the laun»»»

Antakya: Saint Peter’s, one of the world’s oldest rock churches, is a sacred rallying point for the isolated Christians still left in quake-hit Antakya in southeastern Turkey, the city known in ancient times as Antioch. “Since the earthquake, our community has scattered,” said worshipper Mari Ibri.»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Russian space forces successfully launched a Soyuz-2.1a rocket carrying a satellite from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in the Arkhangelsk Region, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Thursday. "On Thursday, December 25 ... a combat crew of the space forces successfully launched a S»»»

Muscat, Oman: Qatar's shooters have completed their Arab Shooting Championship campaign in Muscat with a haul of 12 medals. The Qatari men's team claimed bronze in the 25-meter central fire pistol team event, with Mohamed Abdulmohsen, Abdullah Al Obaidli and Mohammed Al Yafei finishing third. Overa»»»

In 2026, Bulgarians will work a total of 1,984 hours spread across 248 working days, with May being the shortest month in terms of workdays at 18, and July the longest at 23. The new year begins with an extended break due to the introduction of the euro, as January 2 is declared a non-working day b»»»

Dubai: This Christmas festive season in Dubai has reached new heights of sweetness with spectacular giant gingerbread houses including ones that visitors can actually step inside. These edible architectural and culinary wonders are turning heads, offering families and Christmas enthusiasts unique p»»»

Dubai: The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has hailed its Dynamic Message Signs (DMS) system as a key driver in making travel across the city smoother and safer. The system, which displays real-time messages to drivers, has helped reduce travel times by up to 20% on major roads. It also improve»»»

The Israeli military said it killed a member of Iran's elite Quds Force in a strike in Lebanon on Thursday, accusing him of planning attacks against Israel, AFP reported. The military said the strike killed Hussein Mahmud Marshad al-Jawhari, "a key terrorist in the operational unit of the Quds Forc»»»

A man suspected of attempting to forcibly place a foreign national into a car has been detained in Issyk-Kul region of Kyrgyzstan, the Internal Affairs Department of the region reported. The incident came to light after a video circulated on Instagram on December 24, 2025, showing an attempt to for»»»

The CSTO countries held exercises to neutralize extremist groups. The organization’s press service reported. The exercises, conducted under the guidance of the joint staff, involved duty shifts from the Crisis Response Center, as well as the Ministries of Defense and Emergency Situations of Tajikis»»»

STARA PAZOVA - Nottingham Forest defender Nikola Milenkovic and Spartak Moscow midfielder Tijana Filipovic claimed on Thursday the 2025 Football Association of Serbia (FSS) Golden Ball awards as Players of the Year. Head coach of the Serbia women's national football team Lidija Stojkanovic was name»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Slow but steady progress is being observed in Russia's negotiations with the United States on a Ukrainian settlement, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said on Thursday. "Slow but steady progress is being observed in the negotiation process with the United Sta»»»

On December 25, deputies of the Jogorku Kenesh considered an agreement between Kyrgyzstan and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) on the project «Expansion of Wastewater Treatment Facilities in Osh city.» It was noted that the EBRD has already implemented two phases of the «»»»

Doha, Qatar: The Ministry of Education and Higher Education, MOEHE, has announced that the results of the first semester of the secondary school certificate for the academic year 2025-2026, will be released on Saturday, December 27, 2025. The Ministry while stating this on its official platforms, n»»»

DOHA: The State of Qatar voiced its condemnation and denunciation of the attack that targeted a police patrol in the Karak district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in northwestern Pakistan, claiming several lives. In a statement on Thursday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reiterated the State of Qa»»»

Bulgarian Patriarch and Metropolitan of Sofia Daniil arrived on his first peaceful visit to the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul on Thursday. On the church delegation are metropolitans Anthony of Western and Central Europe, John of Varna and Veliko Preslav, Naum of Ruse, Cyprian of Stara Zagora,»»»

Mohammad Bakri, a Palestinian director and actor who sought to share the complexities of Palestinian identity and culture through a variety of works in both Arabic and Hebrew, has died, his family announced. He was 72. Bakri was best known for “Jenin, Jenin,” a 2003 documentary he directed about an»»»

US President Donald Trump has singled out the “radical left scum” in his Christmas wishes this year, snapping at his perceived political enemies. Trump has followed a pattern of extending holiday wishes to those he has variously described as “my many enemies” and “haters and losers” since at least »»»

With the adoption of the euro on 1 January 2026, all payments in Bulgaria will move from levs to the single European currency. This applies to wages, pensions and all types of social and cash benefits, which will be recalculated under legally defined rules designed to prevent any loss of income. Wa»»»

DOHA: The Public Cleanliness Department at the Ministry of Municipality organised the first National Forum on Public Cleanliness Thursday, under the slogan 'Towards a Clean, Smart and Sustainable City,' with broad participation from government agencies, private sector partners, universities, academ»»»

Doha, Qatar: The Ministry of Education and Higher Education, MOEHE, represented by the Planning, Policies, and Innovation Department, organized a crisis management simulation exercise with the participation of approximately 140 officials and staffers at the ministry. This exercise aimed to enhance »»»

Member of Hezbollah’s Loyalty to Resistance parliamentary bloc MP Hasan Fadlallah warned anti-resistance powers in Lebanon against mounting pressure against Hezbollah’s popular base. In an interview with Al-Manar on Thursday, he stressed that “prolonged pressure on people ignites wrath that spares »»»

Doha, Qatar: The Ministry of Municipality, represented by the Public Hygiene Department, announced today the launch of the "National Smart Hygiene Award," the first of its kind this year, as part of its efforts to promote innovation and develop the public hygiene sector using modern technologies an»»»

Doha, Qatar: Minister of State for International Cooperation, HE Maryam bint Ali bin Nasser Al Misnad met Thursday with Assistant Minister and Director-General of the Middle Eastern and African Affairs Bureau at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, HE Keiichi Iwamoto, who is visiting Qatar. Di»»»

Three smoothbore hunting rifles, 20 gas pistols, and 5,750 blank cartridges were seized by officers from the General Directorate for Combating Organized Crime (GDCOC) and the Customs Agency at the Kapitan Andreevo customs checkpoint. The weapons were discovered during a joint inspection by Bulgaria»»»

Britain's Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie attended the royal family's traditional Christmas Day church service on Thursday, while their father Andrew, recently stripped ​of his titles over ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, was absent. King Charles and Queen Camilla led senior royals t»»»

Suze Lopez holds her baby boy on her lap and marvels at the remarkable way he came into the world. Before little Ryu was born, he developed outside his mom’s womb, hidden by a basketball-sized ovarian cyst — a dangerous situation so rare that his doctors plan to write about the case for a medical j»»»

Damascus, Dec. 25 (SANA) Syria is set to introduce a new national currency starting January 1, 2026, the Governor of the Central Bank of Syria, Abdulkader Husarieh, announced on Thursday. Husarieh described the move, outlined in Decree No. 293 of 2025, as a “pivotal national milestone” and the begi»»»

Fujairah: Fujairah Police have completed their security and traffic preparations for New Year’s Eve, announcing a comprehensive plan aimed at ensuring the safety and smooth movement of residents and visitors across the emirate. Police said the comprehensive security readiness plan combines heighten»»»

Dubai: The newly established Dubai Film Development Committee, formed under the Dubai Media Council to drive growth in the emirate’s film sector, held its first meeting at the Council’s headquarters. The session focused on reviewing the committee’s mandate, discussing its operational framework, and»»»

BELGRADE - Serbian Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic said on Thursday Russian shareholders in the Serbian oil company NIS were in talks with Hungary's MOL about exiting ownership of NIS and that they had contacted the US Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) to ensure the »»»

​Syria will start swapping ‌old bank ‌notes ‌for ⁠new ​ones ‌under a plan to replace ⁠Assad-era ‌notes starting ‍from ‍January ‍1st 2026, Syria's ​Central Bank Governor Abdelkader Husrieh ⁠said on Thursday, Reuters reported.»»»

Greek coastguard were searching Thursday for a missing child off the island of Farmakonisi after rescuing 52 migrants in two separate incidents in the Aegean Sea, local media reported. They found 13 migrants who had arrived on the small, uninhabited island, but one boy was reported missing from the»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday, commenting on Polish authorities' attempt to seize the building of the defunct Russian consulate in Gdansk, that anyone considering seizing Russian property should first think of the consequences. "We recommen»»»

In a shocking incident, a tenant allegedly slit the throat of his landlord’s son and threw him from the second floor of a building, killing him on the spot in the Pithampur industrial town of Madhya Pradesh’s Dhar district. The incident occurred late on Wednesday night under the jurisdiction of the»»»

Dubai: Brainy n Bright, a leading name in technology and innovation education in the Middle East, has unveiled a comprehensive portfolio of initiatives for 2026, aligning its vision closely with the UAE’s declaration of the Year of The Family. Having upskilled learners across age groups since 2019,»»»

BELGRADE - Srbijagas CEO Dusan Bajatovic said on Thursday that, unlike Europe, Serbia would not be left without gas supplies as its government had secured sufficient stocks, and noted that supplies of 10 mln cubic m of gas a day via the Balkan Stream pipeline had been agreed with Russia's Gazprom u»»»

Skopje, 22 December 2025 (MIA) - The Economic-Social Council (ESC) did not reach a decision over an increase of the minimum wage at a session on Monday. The Government said it is not against an increase but asked for economic justification of the move, noting that economic parameters "show there is»»»

Russia’s “conservative” policy has driven the ruble up 45% since the start of 2025, noted veteran financial analyst Paul Goncharoff, who is also the general director of Goncharoff LLC. This policy course by Russia explains why, despite sweeping Western sanctions, the ruble has outperformed every ma»»»

BELGRADE - Srbijagas CEO Dusan Bajatovic said on Thursday that, unlike Europe, Serbia would not be left without gas supplies as its government had secured sufficient stocks, and noted that supplies of 10 mln cubic m of gas a day via the Balkan Stream pipeline had been agreed with Russia's Gazprom u»»»

The EU is beginning to disintegrate as decisions made in Brussels are increasingly ignored by member states, now divided between advocates of war and of peace, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said. In an interview with Magyar Nemzet newspaper published on Wednesday, Orban said the process»»»

Doha, Qatar: The Amir, HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani sent Thursday a cable of condolences to the Amir of the State of Kuwait, HH Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, on the death of Sheikha Maali Mohammad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah»»»

Rabat: Organisers at the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco are allowing supporters in for free after kick-off in matches where stadiums are not full, a Confederation of African Football source told AFP. The Group F game between Cameroon and Gabon on Wednesday in Agadir kicked off in front of almost »»»