French judges have struck down president Emmanuel Macron’s pioneering social-media ban for minors, posing hard questions for a planned EU roll-out of similar measures. The Constitutional Council in Paris failed to pass his age-restriction bill on social media for under-15s in a ruling last Friday (»»»

European gas storage has fallen further behind its usual pre-winter pace, with Germany just 47.6% full against a normal 75% for early August and the Netherlands at 38.5% against a typical 77%, fuelling fears that Europe will face yet another energy crisis of fuel shortages and high prices. The Krem»»»

Poland says it stopped a Russian-directed plot to murder a US citizen in Warsaw - the first time, its prime minister says, that Moscow has tried to kill an American inside another Nato country. Polish security services detained a Russian citizen on August 7 who had been recruited by Russian intelli»»»

Egypt has launched its first offering of industrial land under a new lease-to-own system, comprising 540 plots with a combined area exceeding 5.7 million sqm across 20 industrial zones in 15 governorates nationwide. The offering, introduced by the Industrial Development Authority (IDA), aims to eas»»»

A fresh emergency alert was issued across the UAE on Tuesday after the Ministry of Defence said air defence systems detected two ballistic missiles launched from Iran towards the country. One missile fell outside UAE territorial waters, while the second fell within them. Authorities later confirmed»»»

Dubai: US President Donald Trump has threatened to bomb Oman for the second time in four months — an extraordinary warning against a longtime American partner that has traditionally served as a bridge between Washington and Tehran. This time, however, the immediate trigger is becoming clearer. The »»»

A bulldozer accompanied by Lebanese army soldiers works to clear roads at the entrance of the southern village of Zawtar al‑Gharbiya, Lebanon, following the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the area. Zawtar al-Gharbiya, Lebanon, Wednesday, July 22, 2026. Photo by Lebanese Army Press Service/UPI | »»»

WASHINGTON: OpenAI on Tuesday launched a version of ChatGPT tailored for minors, with parental controls and enhanced security features, as online platforms face scrutiny over the risks of AI chatbots. The new “ChatGPT for Teens” mode will limit conversations about high-risk topics such as self-harm»»»

Disney CEO Josh D'Amaro and his wife, Susan D'Amaro, attend the 98th Oscars in March. D'Amaro and his company have filed suit against the Federal Commications Commission. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo Aug. 18 (UPI) -- The Walt Disney Company and ABC filed suit against the Federal»»»

A meeting of the Children's Council opened in Plovdiv on Tuesday. The event was attended by Labour Minister Nataliya Efremova, Dr. Teodora Ivanova, Chair of the State Agency for Child Protection (SACP), agency staff, and students from all regions of the country. Over the course of a month, represen»»»

The State Tax Service of Kyrgyzstan has identified 11 major foreign IT companies that receive billions of soms in payments from Kyrgyz residents but have not completed mandatory tax registration. The agency has officially warned the companies that access to their electronic services in Kyrgyzstan c»»»

ALKHOBAR: Two-factor authentication and hardware-level encryption are built to withstand state-sponsored hackers. They are not built for grieving daughters. And following the death of her father, Nora Al-Salem discovered that the very security features protecting his phone had turned his legacy int»»»

Aug. 17 (UPI) -- A serial Guinness World Record-breaker recruited 10 co-workers and a Las Vegas mentalist performer to help earn a title for folding T-shirts as a team. David Rush, who holds more than 200 concurrent Guinness World Records titles, attempted the record for the fastest time to fold 12»»»

Dubai: Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered jailed former prime minister Imran Khan to be taken to a private hospital for comprehensive medical checks after his lawyers raised concerns about his health. Khan’s sister, Noreen Niazi, was allowed entry into Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail on Tuesday a»»»

Dubai: It began, as many important newsroom discussions do, with a snake. Actually, not one snake, but two. On August 17, multiple reports in India said that two snakes were spotted on the lawn of Shah Rukh Khan’s sea-facing Mumbai mansion, Mannat. One, an eight-foot-long, non-venomous Indian rat s»»»

Opening arguments were set to get underway Tuesday in a landmark lawsuit brought by 29 states against Facebook and Instagram parent, Meta, alleging the tech giant's products harm children. File Photo by Terry Schmitt/UPI | License Photo Aug. 18 (UPI) -- A landmark $1 trillion lawsuit brought by 29 »»»

Bengaluru: A 26-year-old Bengaluru woman has been arrested over the deaths of her husband and four-year-old son, with police investigating whether the child was killed because he witnessed his father’s murder, the Times of India reported. Police allege that Harini conspired with her suspected lover»»»

Romania’s gambling industry has spent years getting bigger, more digital, and much harder to monitor. The July audit of the National Gambling Office, or ONJN, showed just how wide that gap became. This was not a small paperwork problem. Auditors found missing tax checks, weak online monitoring, gap»»»

Despite the rise in the inflation over the past year, Bulgarians remain optimistic about their personal finances with over 69% of participants in the third edition of ITF Group’s annual SmileCredit Focus survey expecting their financial situation to improve, show the results of the survey, received»»»

HEADLINES Bulgarian media on Tuesday focus on economic and social issues, including pensions, the minimum wage and consumer prices, alongside assessments of the Government's first 100 days in office. Other prominent topics include public safety, infrastructure, the activities of the Blood & Honour »»»

Poland says it stopped a Russian-directed plot to murder a US citizen in Warsaw - the first time, its prime minister says, that Moscow has tried to kill an American inside another Nato country. Polish security services detained a Russian citizen on August 7 who had been recruited by Russian intelli»»»

Romanian consumers spent RON 68 billion on fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) and Electro-IT products in the first six months of 2026, up 3.2% compared with the same period last year, amid high inflation, weak consumer confidence, and purchasing power around 6% lower than in 2025, according to Niels»»»

Dubai: Donald Trump once argued that the quickest way for an American president to lose credibility was to draw a red line and then fail to enforce it. Nearly six months into the Iran war, the US president risks confronting that test himself. Trump has repeatedly threatened Iran with military actio»»»

Washington: An Indian-origin woman who has lived in the United States for 27 years has been detained by immigration authorities, months after a judge terminated earlier removal proceedings against her, NDTV reported. Venkata Narsamamba Vasamsetty, a grandmother of two and a lawful permanent residen»»»

A missile strike by Russian forces on a rural community in Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv province early Tuesday killed at least 10 people and injured eight others, authorities said. File photo by Sergey Kozlov/EPA/ Aug. 18 (UPI) -- A strike by Russian forces on a rural community in Ukraine's north»»»

Meta is heading to court on Tuesday to face accusations that it broke child safety laws and harmed underage users’ mental health. A loss could bankrupt Mark Zuckerberg’s company and force permanent changes to Facebook and Instagram. Read more EU targets Meta over ‘addictive’ Facebook and Instagram »»»

Dubai: Dubai-based small and medium-sized businesses looking to sell online can now get a 40 per cent discount on Trendyol’s introductory commission rate for their first three months, under a new partnership between Dubai Chambers and the e-commerce platform. Sign up for our daily business newslett»»»

More than 670,000 French taxpayers are being notified after their personal and tax information was stolen and allegedly offered online. Authorities warn the data could be used for scams and identity fraud, while Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu is holding a meeting on the digital security of govern»»»

Abu Dhabi mobility announced the closure of E22, Abu Dhabi- Al Ain Road, towards the UAE capital on the nights of Aug 19, 20 and 21. The roads will be closed to drivers between midnight and 6am. The authority also posted a map of the closure via its X (formerly Twitter) handle. Have a look below: A»»»

Registrations for the 2026 edition of the 2026 edition of the social programme of national interest in support of couples and single women to boost birth rates through in vitro fertilisation (IVF), started on Monday August 17 and run throughout November 15, the Ministry of Labour, Family, Youth and»»»

If you live in or will be travelling to Sharjah over the next few days, take note. Sharjah Roads and Transport Authority has announced the closure of the road from Sheikh Mohammed bin Sultan Bu Alian Square to Saeed bin Obaid Al-Jarwan Square, from the side of Al-Jazat region. This closure will las»»»

A high school student carrying two pistols shot to death a fellow student before killing himself on Tuesday in an attack in a southern Philippine high school campus that he livestreamed using a body-worn camera, police and other officials said. It was the second fatal school shooting in the country»»»

Aug. 18 (UPI) -- Two students, including the suspected shooter, are dead following a shooting Tuesday at a junior high school in the southern Philippines, officials said, marking the second school shooting in the Southeast Asian country in as many months. The shooting occurred at the private Ateneo»»»

New Bishkek Arena in the capital is undergoing capacity testing. A large number of visitors have been allowed into the venue to test the facility’s access systems using test tickets. According to participants, entry is organized through Face ID and electronic tickets. The testing is designed to ass»»»

Dubai: Flying from the UAE today, August 18? Most flights continue to operate, but travellers should be prepared for cancellations, delays and last-minute schedule changes as airlines continue to review operations amid the ongoing Middle East war. Emirates has resumed one daily Bahrain service, whi»»»

According to BUSINESS Online, Kazan has secured the right to host the World Nomad Games in 2028. The publication notes that a joint bid with another Russian region had been considered, but Tatarstan ultimately retained its position. The same outlet previously reported that the Chairman of the Cabin»»»

It’s a good thing that the internet exists. And sometimes, it’s a bad thing it does. Especially, when you’re a woman, cramping and in pain, or if you’ve missed a cycle: Your mind tends to take you several pages of Google search and other dark alleys, till you might just be convinced that you’ve ent»»»

Dubai-Sharjah traffic is heavy this morning, with Google Maps showing the strongest pressure on E11 and E311 as commuters move between the two emirates. The traffic picture is difficult around key interchanges, industrial areas and approaches to the Dubai-Sharjah border. On E11, the map shows slow »»»

It’s a good thing that the internet exists. And sometimes, it’s a bad thing it does. Especially, when you’re a woman, cramping and in pain, or if you’ve missed a cycle: Your mind tends to take you several pages of Google search and other dark alleys, till you might just be convinced that you’ve ent»»»

In a recent speech, Manouchehr Mottaki, Iran’s former foreign minister and current member of parliament representing Tehran, asserted that capturing a single American military base would determine the outcome of the conflict with the United States. “If we capture just one of the American bases, we »»»

Dubai: UAE job seekers looking for their next role are seeing demand build across technology, financial services, healthcare, logistics, real estate, construction and professional services, while recruiters say getting hired increasingly depends on AI fluency and demonstrable experience. Sign up fo»»»

Popular messaging platform Discord said Monday it had complied with a Brazilian government order to suspend livestreaming and video calls in the country after a teen girl was allegedly goaded into taking her own life during a broadcast. Brazil's National Data Protection Agency (ANPD) had ordered th»»»

Liaqat Nawaz Malik Doha Halqa-e-Ahbab Qatar celebrated Pakistan’s Independence Day with great enthusiasm and patriotic spirit in Doha, bringing together members of the Pakistani community to commemorate the historic occasion. A delegation from the Embassy of Pakistan in Qatar attended the ceremony,»»»

A New York State Lottery PowerBall lottery sign displays a jackpot of $1.6 billion in December 2025 in New York City. A new Gallup poll released Monday shows that the percentage of those who say they've taken part in a gambling activity over the past year has dropped significantly over the past dec»»»

Poland says it stopped a Russian-directed plot to murder a US citizen in Warsaw - the first time, its prime minister says, that Moscow has tried to kill an American inside another Nato country. Polish security services detained a Russian citizen on August 7 who had been recruited by Russian intelli»»»

Dubai: Around 1,700 aspiring overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) have been rescued from an alleged large-scale illegal recruitment scheme involving fake job offers in Central Europe, the Philippines’ Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said. Authorities arrested Mazhoor Ubongin Khusin, also known as “»»»

An image made with a drone shows an Amazon Web Services data center in Ashburn, Va., on Sept. 23, 2025. File Photo by Jim Scalzo/EPA Aug. 17 (UPI) -- Nvidia announced on Monday that it will finance an OpenAI data center in Ohio for up to $105 billion. The credit from Nvidia will fund the data cente»»»

A prominent Malian broadcaster and an influencer were on Monday jailed for seven years after criticising the ruling junta. Mohamed Youssouf Bathily was convicted by the Bamaka court of criminal conspiracy and discrediting the state alongside Rokia Doumbia, a noted campaigner. A Malian court sentenc»»»

Tunis, August 17 (TAP) — A training program destined to 100 Tunisian women entrepreneurs in e-commerce and artificial intelligence (AI) applications was launched during a recent online meeting, as part of a partnership between the Ministry of...»»»

Dubai: After spending nearly six months largely out of sight, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei is beginning to show what his Iran will look like. And it looks increasingly like a country preparing for a long fight. Khamenei has installed a string of veteran military and security har»»»