Harold Wayne Nichols is set to die by lethal injection Thursday morning. File Photo courtesy of the Tennessee Department of Correction Dec. 11 (UPI) -- Tennessee is set to execute Harold Wayne Nichols on Thursday morning for the rape and murder of a 20-year-old college student in 1988. Nichols, 64,»»»

GERB leader Boyko Borissov reacted to the fall of the Zhelyazkov government during a live broadcast on his official Facebook page, following the mass protests across the country. Borissov framed the resignation as a strategic necessity for his party’s political survival: “Look at the irony — the Ts»»»

The World Health Organization's vaccine safety committee said on Thursday that new reviews of scientific evidence found no link between vaccines and autism spectrum disorder, reaffirming conclusions reached more than two decades ago. The WHO Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety assessed two »»»

Somalia's defense minister said Somalis would not accept being demeaned after US President Donald Trump again insulted people from the East African country. Speaking at a rally in Pennsylvania on Tuesday that was meant to focus on his economic record, Trump denounced migration from "Third World" co»»»

Ukraine could have avoided the 2022 escalation with Russia by dropping its NATO aspirations, a former advisor to President Joe Biden has told Russian pranksters. Vovan and Lexus on Thursday released records of calls with two former members of Biden’s National Security Council in which they posed as»»»

As a winter storm batters the Gaza Strip, Huda Abu Jazar, has been preparing her tent for floods while in Qatar, her son Ehab gets ready for one of the biggest football matches Palestine has ever played. The head coach of the national team - who comes from Rafah in the south of Gaza - has told spor»»»

Mexico'congress pproved up to 50% tariffs on China. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo Dec. 11 (UPI) -- Mexico's congress has approved charging up to 50% tariffs on Chinese imports Wednesday. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum proposed the tariffs in September and said they are a way to boos»»»

A woman in Spain earned herself pink slip by going to work early over a period of two years. Surprised and annoyed at the development, she dragged the company to court, challenging her termination. However, the court ruled against her. So here’s what went down. The 22-year-old would apparently get »»»

The government of Bulgarian Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov has resigned after protesters took to the streets in cities across the country and filled the centre of the capital Sofia on Wednesday night. Zhelyazkov's dramatic move came ahead of a vote of no confidence in parliament, and 20 days befor»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Thursday sidestepped a direct question on the alliance's expansion outlook, following the release of the new US National Security Strategy (NSS), which contained reservations about NATO's enlargement policy. On November 8, Russia's Foreign Min»»»

VIENTIANE, Laos (Sputnik) - The trade between Russia and Laos increased by 65% last year, with significant potential for further growth, Russian Security Council Chairman Sergei Shoigu said on Thursday. "We can be pleased that our trade grew by 65% last year, but there is still plenty of room for f»»»

TOKYO (Sputnik) - The Japanese government has developed a package of measures to determine the causes of mass oyster deaths in the Seto Inland Sea and to assist farmers affected by this phenomenon, media channel reported on Thursday. The government's package of measures will allow affected farmers »»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - US journalist Tucker Carlson said in a video address that Russia could be the best candidate for the role of the United States' closest ally, including during a military conflict. "If you were looking purely through the lens of what's good for the United States, an America first »»»

The Senate is unlikely to pass either of the two healthcare bills they're voting on Thursday. File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo Dec. 11 (UPI) -- The Senate is scheduled to vote Thursday on two competing healthcare plans meant to address healthcare costs likely to rise in the new year wi»»»

Vietnam’s defense modernization, including new coast guard vessels from the United States and Japan, requires improved forward infrastructure. Outposts such as South Reef help extend operational reach, reduce supply burdens and improve situational awareness in the contested maritime domain. File Ph»»»

In his famous political tract – The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Napoleon, published in 1852 – Karl Marx proffered the generalization that “history repeats itself – first as tragedy, then as farce.” Marx saw Napoleon’s demise as tragedy. Having been born in the German Rhineland – which Napoleon had»»»

Pope Leo XIV has criticized US President Donald Trump’s description of Europe as a “decaying” group of nations ruled by “weak” leaders. Trump also accused governments in the region of failing to help end the Ukraine conflict. In an interview with Politico published on Wednesday, the Pope argued tha»»»

Sharjah: His Highness Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Deputy Ruler of Sharjah and Chairman of the Judicial Council, has approved the establishment of two new Courts of Appeal in the cities of Kalba and Al Dhaid. The announcement came during a Judicial Council meeting on Thursday at Ba»»»

Doha: The Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) index closed the current week up 1.780 percent, adding 190.35 points to its tally, to stand at 10,903 points compared to last week's closing. QSE's figures showed that the banking and financial services sector achieved the largest profits with a growth rate of 2»»»

Mexico's Congress approved Wednesday most of the tariff increases proposed by the government on more than 1,400 products imported from China and other countries that do not have free trade agreements with Mexico. The Senate passed the measure Wednesday evening, following the lower chamber, which ha»»»

Oil companies offered $300 million for drilling rights in the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday in the first of 30 sales planned for the region under Republican efforts to ramp up U.S. fossil fuel production. The sale came after President Donald Trump's administration recently announced plans to allow ne»»»

President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that his long-promised " gold card " was officially going on sale, offering legal status and an eventual pathway to U.S. citizenship for individuals paying $1 million and corporations ponying up twice that per foreign-born employee. A website accepting app»»»

The Federal Reserve reduced its key interest rate by a quarter-point for the third time in a row but signaled that it may leave rates unchanged in the coming months. The cut decreased the Fed's rate to about 3.6%, the lowest it has been in nearly three years. Lower rates from the Fed can bring down»»»

Companies and local authorities will have over EUR 1.5 billion in grants available for investment in energy and energy efficiency at the beginning of next year, given that, in Romania, more than 70,000 MW of new photovoltaic projects are in various stages of development, with grid connection contra»»»

Dubai: There are winter festivals, and then there is Liwa. Every year, as temperatures drop and the Empty Quarter turns comfortably crisp, the quiet Liwa desert transforms into a buzzing playground of roaring engines, cultural flair, and Emirati pride. From 12 December 2025 to 3 January 2026, the L»»»

Rains drenched Gaza’s tent camps and dropping temperatures chilled Palestinians huddling inside them Thursday as storm Byron descended on the war-battered territory, showing how two months of a ceasefire have failed to sufficiently address the spiraling humanitarian crisis there. Children’s sandale»»»

Israel is heading toward an escalation in Lebanon, according to an Israeli media report that quoted an Israeli security official as saying that "Hezbollah will not give up its weapons through the (ceasefire) agreement" and that an escalation is inevitable, but its timing is yet to be decided. "We w»»»

Yusuffali M.A., Chairman of Abu Dhabi-based LuLu Group International, went the extra mile – flying more than 3,000 km from Bangkok to his hometown of Nattika in Kerala’s Thrissur district – to exercise his democratic right. The 70-year-old billionaire Keralite, who has called the UAE home since 197»»»

The operation to tow the tanker Kairos into Burgas Bay will begin on Friday, Executive Director of the Maritime Administration Executive Agency Ventsislav Ivanov told journalists on Thursday. Ivanov said that repairs to the tanker cannot be carried out in Bulgaria because it is subject to sanctions»»»

Time Magazine's Person of the Year for 2025 is not a single person. Instead, the magazine has given its annual award recognising the year's most influential figure to "the architects" of artificial intelligence (AI). Nvidia boss Jensen Huang, Meta head Mark Zuckerberg, X owner Elon Musk and AI "god»»»

Ras Al Khaimah is set to captivate the world once again with its most spectacular New Year’s Eve celebration to date, promising the biggest firework ever launched in an attempt set a new Guinness World Records title. This year’s celebrations will feature a creative concept inspired by symbols of st»»»

LONDON More than 600 items from a collection documenting the links between Britain and countries in the former British Empire were stolen from a UK museum in September, police said Thursday. Avon and Somerset police have launched an appeal for information about four men captured on CCTV images on S»»»

An increase in acute respiratory viral infections (ARVI) and seasonal flu cases is registered in Kyrgyzstan. In response, 200 additional beds have been deployed at the Republican Clinical Infectious Diseases Hospital and the National Center for Maternal and Child Welfare, the Ministry of Health rep»»»

The Americans are very interested in Lebanon on all levels, especially as to the situation on the southern border, and they want to end the conflict and avoid a repetition of the latest war between Israel and Hezbollah, informed diplomatic sources said. The U.S. wants diplomacy to prevail in order »»»

Austria has passed a law banning headscarves in schools for girls under the age of 14. The conservative-led coalition of three centrist parties, the ÖVP, the SPÖ and the Neos, says the law is a "clear commitment to gender equality", but critics say it will fuel anti-Muslim feeling in the country an»»»

BELGRADE - Serbian First Deputy PM and Finance Minister Sinisa Mali met on Thursday in Belgrade with Japan's renowned international expo expert Toshio Nakamura, who has served as EXPO 2005 Aichi secretary general, and said it was valuable to hear the experiences of people who had been involved in h»»»

President Trump’s demands that Ukraine “be realistic” in talks and criticism over Zelensky’s cancellation of elections are designed “to publicly dismantle the previous administration’s legacy,” contrasting realism with “Biden’s blank-check idealism,” geopolitical analyst Marco Marsili told Sputnik.»»»

Dubai: The Reserve Bank of India has rolled out updated rules that change how banks manage current accounts, overdrafts and cash credit (CC) facilities. These tweaks follow months of feedback from the banking industry, and they aim to remove friction, speed up money movement and give both banks and»»»

The Bulgarian people have shown those in power that they can no longer mock them, said Vazrazhdane Floor Leader Kostadin Kostadinov in a statement in the parliamentary lobby on Thursday. He stressed that he was pleased his prediction that the government would not resign had not come true, and congr»»»

Commander-in-Chief of Myanmar's armed forces, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing. The military government has been engaged in an increasingly bloody civil war with ragtag resistance forces, mainly in the center and north of the country, since seizing power in February 2021, three months after a general»»»

A senior Hamas leader says the group is willing to consider a temporary “freeze” on its weapons but will not accept full disarmament, a central demand of the US-backed Gaza peace plan. Speaking to Al Jazeera, Khaled Meshaal signaled limited flexibility in ongoing negotiations with mediators, even a»»»

Israel on Thursday vowed that Hamas will be disarmed under the US-backed Gaza peace plan, rejecting a proposal by senior Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal, who said the group might accept a weapons "freeze" but not full disarmament. Israel said on Thursday Hamas "will be disarmed" as part of the US-spons»»»

Dubai: A day after arguments over Ranveer Singh’s Kantara spoof began to die down, a new controversy has surfaced in Karnataka’s film industry — this time centred on Kantara creator and actor Rishab Shetty. His decision to publicly wish success to Darshan Thoogudeepa’s new release The Devil has spa»»»

Most Romanians cover their expenses from their salary or current income (56%). Over a third (35.7%) say they will “break the piggy bank” where they have collected their savings during the year. Only a small proportion of Romanians resort to loans or credit cards – a sign that people are more cautio»»»

Residents in the Pacific Northwest of the US and Canada are bracing for what could be record setting floods as an atmospheric river dumps heavy rain on already swollen rivers. The US National Weather Service warns that catastrophic flooding is possible in the states of Oregon and Washington along t»»»

Ultra-slim 7.98 cm profile and retractable LDS for hard-to-reach areas As the second-thinnest robot vacuum available in Romania, after the flagship Roborock Saros 10R, the Roborock Qrevo EdgeT uses a liftable LiDAR navigation system that adapts to its surroundings, a feature that is only available »»»

Political Reactions Pour In After the Zhelyazkov Government Resigns Leaders across the spectrum respond with sharply different messages following the abrupt resignation of Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov's cabinet. The sudden resignation of the Zhelyazkov government — announced just minutes before »»»

“Declining consumption and cost pressures have created a difficult economic climate for all players in the industry this year. Despite these challenges, we have managed to maintain our growth trend. We have focused on streamlining our operations and, at the same time, diversifying our product portf»»»

Ukrainian Ambassador to Israel Evgeny Korniychuk has been summoned and reprimanded by the Israeli Foreign Ministry after he criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s comments praising ties with Russia, local media reported on Wednesday. Speaking at the Knesset on Monday, Netanyahu praised his »»»