“The resignation of Borislav Sarafov should be followed by the election of a new Prosecutor General, but for that to happen, the Supreme Judicial Council must first be replaced. Therefore, I believe this should be the first task of the new National Assembly, which is expected to convene next week,”»»»

Zurich: FIFA has announced the release of a new allocation of tickets for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, 50 days ahead of the tournament's kick off in North America. In a statement published on its official website, FIFA said fans will be able to purchase tickets for all 104 matches through FIFA's online»»»

CHANGSHA - The manufacture of two tunnel-boring machines (TBMs) that will be used to build a Belgrade metro system is complete, Serbian First Deputy PM and Finance Minister Sinisa Mali announced on Wednesday. Technical tests of the machines, made by the Chinese company CRCHI, began in the city of C»»»

DUBAI: The Liverpool Arab Arts Festival will return from July 17 to 26 across various venues in the British city, organizers announced this week. Now in its 24th year, the UK’s longest-running annual festival dedicated to Arab arts and culture will present a wide-ranging program celebrating creativ»»»

DHAHRAN: The Damiani-published coffee table book “Azzedine Alaia and Christian Dior, Two Masters of Haute Couture” gorgeously weaves together a thread of visual dialogue between these iconic 20th-century couturiers. Through photographs capturing these sculptural garments, it is a visually elegant f»»»

Khartoum: For nearly two years, Al-Shubbak watched through ancient grey eyes as Tuti, the crescent-shaped island in the heart of the Sudanese capital she calls home, emptied of its inhabitants under a punishing paramilitary siege. She refused to leave. "I didn't even move for the English when they »»»

Doha, Qatar: The Amir HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani met with HE Ahmed Al Sharaa, President of the Syrian Arab Republic, to discuss regional and international developments during a meeting held at the Amiri Diwan on Wednesday, April 22, 2026. At the beginning of the meeting, HH the Amir welcome»»»

Parliament of Kyrgyzstan approved Ulan Mamatkanov’s candidacy for the post of Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers. The decision was made at a meeting of the Zhogorku Kenesh. Members of Parliament did not ask Mamatkanov questions; his candidacy was approved unanimously. The new acting Deputy»»»

Borislav Sarafov should have stepped down from his post long ago and unblocked this entire process, President Iliana Iotova told journalists ahead of the EU Radio and Television Media Summit in Sofia, noting that this was her personal opinion. When there were not enough arguments for him to remain »»»

MAKKAH: The National Center for the Prevention and Control of Plant Pests and Animal Diseases in Makkah held a coordination meeting and simulation to implement a hypothetical plan for reducing animal health risks ahead of the Hajj season. Hosted at the headquarters of the Saudi Arabia Project for t»»»

A regional train traveling from Edessa to Thessaloniki in northern Greece was forced to stop early Wednesday after colliding with an animal on the tracks, causing damage to the front of the engine, railway operator Hellenic Train said. The incident involved service 1732, which came to a halt at 7.3»»»

Property owners have until June 15 to clear weeds and dry vegetation from their land or face fines, under new fire prevention rules that simplify requirements established three years ago. The obligation covers plots within city plans, open spaces, land within 100 meters of settlement boundaries, an»»»

A specialized training on river connectivity restoration will take place in Bulgaria from July 14 to 17, the organizers from the Science for Nature Foundation and the Science for Nature Association said on Wednesday. The course, part of the River Life project, will be led by international experts a»»»

DUBAI: The Liverpool Arab Arts Festival will return from July 17 to 26 across various venues in the British city, organizers announced this week. Now in its 24th year, the UK’s longest-running annual festival dedicated to Arab arts and culture will present a wide-ranging program celebrating creativ»»»

While Japan is at 206%, the US at 124%, and even major Global South carry far higher debt, Russia remains one of the most fiscally stable countries in the world.»»»

London: Israel could lose its observer status at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe over a new death penalty law, the assembly president has warned. The law could see Palestinians face execution for offenses including murder and terrorism if convicted in military courts in occupied»»»

Riyadh: The mobile clinics of Saudi aid agency KSrelief in Hairan district of Yemen’s Hajjah governorate provided medical services to 472 beneficiaries in one week. The facilities handled infectious disease cases and provided emergency, internal medicine, and reproductive health services, the Saudi»»»

Washington: The United States blocked a plane carrying nearly $500 million in banknotes from delivering the cash to Iraq, US media reported on Tuesday, piling pressure on Baghdad to fight Iran-backed militant groups. The Wall Street Journal reported that Washington has suspended cash shipments to I»»»

Fitch Ratings has affirmed Kyrgyzstan’s Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at ’B’ with a stable outlook, website of the agency says. The ratings reflect Kyrgyzstan’s modest fiscal deficits, low government debt burden, and strong growth prospects, driven by investments in the ene»»»

Kyiv, Ukraine: Ukraine will resume shipping Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia "within a few hours" Wednesday following the completion of repairs to the Druzhba pipeline damaged by a Russian attack, a Kyiv official told AFP. The pipeline has been at the centre of a standoff between Hungary and Slo»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russian air defense systems shot down a guided aerial bomb, three HIMARS rockets and 368 Ukrainian drones, and Russian Black Sea Fleet forces destroyed a Ukrainian unmanned boat in the Black Sea, as well as attacked Ukrainian energy, transport and port infrastructure facilities, »»»

Doha, Qatar: The Ministry of Municipality has unveiled a new list of electronic services for the Urban Planning Affairs sector, marking a further step in the country's ongoing digital transformation efforts. In a statement shared on platform X, the ministry said the services are now available on it»»»

A working meeting was held at the Ministry of Water Resources, Agriculture, and Processing Industry of Kyrgyzstan with Igor Bugorsky, CEO of the largest importer of berry products, the Berry Union of the Russian Federation. During the meeting, berry production and the industry’s export potential we»»»

Israel’s latest land grab is dashing Lebanon’s hope of tapping offshore gas to solve its persistent energy shortage. Maritime energy prospects were the focus of a 2022 deal on a disputed border between the two nations. On Sunday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) published a map of a “forward defense»»»

Dubai: The Central Bank of the UAE reported significant progress in Emiratisation across the banking, financial, and insurance sectors, with employment targets exceeded and compliance rates nearing full alignment by the end of 2025. Get updated faster and for FREE: Download the Gulf News app now - »»»

At least two cargo ships reported being fired on near the key Strait of Hormuz shipping lane where Tehran is once again jockying with the United States for control in a long-simmering dispute illustrated by this view of Iranian navy speed boats conducting military exercises off southern Iran back i»»»

Dubai: The European Commission has launched a sweeping energy emergency package after the conflict in the Middle East pushed the bloc's fuel import costs up by €24 billion — without delivering a single additional unit of energy. The European Commission on Wednesday unveiled a broad package of emerg»»»

RIYADH: The UAE’s real estate sector remained resilient in the first quarter of 2026 despite conflict in the Middle East, while office markets in Dubai and Abu Dhabi remained tight due to limited new supply, according to CBRE. In its latest report, the real estate consultancy said that average offi»»»

Sofia Mayor Vassil Terziev Wednesday urged the State to act beyond party interests after the April 19 snap parliamentary elections. "My task is to protect the interests of all Sofia residents - regardless of their political choice. And I expect the same from the state - an attitude driven not by pa»»»

Dubai: Airfares have been expected to rise again, with authorities increasing fuel surcharges to near-maximum levels. The Philippine Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) has raised the passenger and cargo fuel surcharge to level 19 for the second half of April. In an advisory released today, the CAB has n»»»

London: Workers streamed into the British capital by foot, bike and bus Wednesday, April 22, 2026, as strike action on the London Underground train network disrupted services. Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) walked out from 12:00pm (1100GMT) on Tuesday for 24 hours over plan»»»

Tehran: Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Wednesday that their naval forces stopped two ships attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz and directed them to the territorial waters of the Islamic Republic. "The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps naval force this morning identified and stopped in the»»»

GUANGZHOU - Serbian Deputy PM and Minister of Economy Adrijana Mesarovic, who is on a visit to Guangzhou, China, met with the city's mayor Sun Zhiyang on Wednesday to discuss opportunities for investments in Serbia by Guangzhou-based companies. "This city is famous for research and development cent»»»

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar on Wednesday described Hezbollah as the sole remaining obstacle to “peace” and normalization with Lebanon, calling on the Lebanese Government to cooperate in disarming the Lebanese resistance group. In remarks cited by Israeli media, Gideon Sa’ar said the Zioni»»»

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has become an anchor investor in a newly launched exchange-traded fund by State Street Investment Management, one of the world’s largest asset managers. The newly launched ETF, State Street Saudi Arabia Enhanced Active Equity UCITS ETF, or SAQL, activel»»»

OSLO: Norway will take over planning ​for the Fen rare earth deposit — Europe’s largest — to speed up development after a resource upgrade nearly doubled its estimated size, the government said on Wednesday. Fen was estimated last month to hold 15.9 million metric tons of rare earth oxide in indica»»»

JAKARTA: Indonesia started its Hajj flights on Wednesday with expanded access to the Makkah Route, as Saudi authorities added a new major Indonesian airport to the flagship initiative that streamlines immigration procedures for pilgrims. Indonesia, the world’s biggest Muslim-majority country, will »»»

Israeli Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said Wednesday that the military remained on high alert and was ready to return to fighting on all fronts, amid the fragile truces in Iran and Lebanon. “Since the inferno of October 7, we have been working to reestablish our military strength through conti»»»

The reshuffle of the acting Prosecutor General is a process of implementing constitutional and legal norms within the independent judiciary, and in particular within the Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Bulgaria, the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) said in a statement sent to the media»»»

Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard attacked a third ship Wednesday in the Strait of Hormuz, semiofficial Iranian news agencies reported. Nour News, Fars and Mehr all reported the attack by the Guard on a vessel called the Euphoria. They said the vessel had become “stranded” on the Iranian coas»»»

OneClickDrive, the mobility marketplace that has established a strong presence across the UAE and wider Middle East, has extended its platform to Morocco, offering travelers, residents, and tourists a structured way to compare and book vehicles across the country's major cities. The platform is now»»»

In 2024, 156,703 square kilometers of the European Union’s territory were affected by drought, according to data from Eurostat, published on Wednesday. Over the period 2014–2024, there were significant increases in areas affected by drought, particularly in 2018 (520,817 sq km) and 2022 (558,313 sq»»»

Berlin, April 22 (SANA) Lufthansa announced it will cancel around 20,000 flights from its schedule amid a sharp rise in fuel costs and growing concerns over jet fuel (kerosene) supplies, highlighting mounting pressure on Europe’s aviation sector. According to Germany’s Bild magazine, the airline sa»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russian President Vladimir Putin stated in his greeting to participants and guests of the second Russian-African international conference on combating infectious diseases that Russian agencies are providing full assistance to their African counterparts in biological security. "Ru»»»

BELGRADE - The Serbian dinar's official median exchange rate against the euro is 117.4045 dinars for one euro on Wednesday, which is a slight change relative to Tuesday, the National Bank of Serbia said. The dinar is steady against the euro m-o-m, down by 0.1 pct y-o-y and down by 0.1 pct relative »»»

In an era marked by ecological challenges, development dilemmas and geopolitical dynamics are increasingly intertwined. Through a series of innovative practices, Chinese modernization offers a "green solution" to some of humanity's pressing questions of survival and development. Rooted in the wisdo»»»

BARCELONA - Red Star Belgrade have failed to qualify for the final of the basketball EuroLeague play-in by losing 80-72 (29-21, 18-12, 16-18, 17-21) to Barcelona on the road on Tuesday evening. The defeat ended Red Star's campaign in European basketball's top-tier competition this season. Codi Mill»»»

TEHRAN (Sputnik) - Iran's military has detained two unauthorized vessels that tried to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, the naval forces of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Wednesday. "The IRGC naval forces detained and escorted to the coast of Iran two violating vesse»»»

Dubai: Parents planning to send children to travel have been advised to avoid relying on unverified social media services, as Philippine authorities have officially named Facebook pages offering fake travel clearance assistance. The Philippine Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), th»»»

The bonds listed today are part of a broader Medium‑Term Notes (MTN) Programme, under which the Bank may issue bonds in several tranches. The maximum nominal value of all tranches under the programme amounts to EUR 100 million. Key features of the bond issue VISTA36E: “We welcome Vista Bank to the »»»