Dubai: Dubai Police are opening the door for residents to be at the heart of the city’s iconic New Year’s Eve celebrations, inviting community members to volunteer and support event operations across Dubai. So far, more than 1,100 volunteers have registered to assist police teams through seven spec»»»

Dubai: Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defence, and Chairman of the Executive Council of Dubai, shared a glimpse of a striking new art installation on his Instagram stories on Thursday. The piece, now adorning the Nad Al Sh»»»

Dubai: The Dubai Free Zones Council has discussed proposals to improve coordination among authorities, simplify procedures for companies and enhance the competitiveness of the emirate’s free zones. Sign up for our daily business newsletter, Cheques & Balances.The Council, chaired by Sheikh Ahmed bi»»»

Pope Leo has urged Ukraine and Russia to find the "courage" to hold direct talks to end the war during his first Christmas remarks to crowds in St Peter's square. He called for an end to conflicts around the world during his Urbi et Orbi address, which is traditionally delivered by the pontiff on C»»»

BELGRADE - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Thursday Belgrade would get a metro system in two to three years, but that development and progress in other Serbian cities were also important. "Belgrade is getting a metro. We have technical problems in terms of whether the (tunnel) boring mac»»»

Amid public discussions regarding the attraction of foreign labor and the stay of foreign citizens in Kyrgyzstan, the Ministry of Labor, Social Security and Migration of the Kyrgyz Republic stated that the country is pursuing a balanced and controlled state policy in this area. The attraction of fo»»»

Construction of Sary-Talaa — Kyzyl-Tash — Zardaly road has been completed in Batken region. The Ministry of Transport and Communications’ press service reported. The project has been commissioned. A 30-meter iron bridge has been built across the road. Zardaly is located in a high-mountain, remote a»»»

Two people were killed Thursday in an Israeli drone strike on a van in the Hawsh al-Sayyed Ali area in the Bekaa. An Israeli drone strike had overnight targeted a car in the southern town of Jannata, wounding one person, with Israel claiming that it struck a Hezbollah member. Israel has kept up reg»»»

Los Angeles, United States: Flash flood warnings were in effect in Los Angeles and most of southern California on Wednesday as one of the worst Christmas storms in recent memory brought heavy rain and fears of deadly mudslides. Driven by an atmospheric river known as "the Pineapple Express," which »»»

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania: Tanzania's Civil Aviation Authority, TCAA, confirmed that five people were killed on Wednesday after a helicopter crashed at the Barafu Camp on Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest mountain. "With deep regret, the authority confirms that all five people on board lost their l»»»

Doha, Qatar: The Public Works Authority, Ashghal, announced a temporary full closure on part of Environment Street for traffic heading towards Rawdat Umm Lekhba Street. The closure is expected to take effect from Friday, December 26 to Wednesday, December 31 from 12midnight till 5am daily. This is »»»

This year was full of truly remarkable moments, yet, some of them stand out as truly significant milestones. Some pivotal, history-making events that will remain in all of our memories for years to come are: the high-stakes Putin-Trump summit in Alaska, commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Sov»»»

Speaking at the IV People’s Kurultai, President Sadyr Japarov said that, according to the International Monetary Fund, Kyrgyzstan ranked among the world’s top three countries in terms of real GDP growth in 2024. He stressed that this is clear evidence of the effectiveness of the country’s economic »»»

At the Torugart border veterinary control checkpoint in Kyrgyzstan’s Naryn region, 21,800 kilograms of beef transported from Pakistan via China were denied entry into the country, the Ministry of Water Resources, Agriculture and Processing Industry reported. According to the ministry, the shipment »»»

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani said the country does not need normalization, stressing that the term “is not in Iraq’s dictionary.” Speaking during Christmas celebrations at St. Joseph’s Church in Baghdad on Wednesday, Al-Sudani said Iraq’s position on what he described as “issues of »»»

Israeli authorities announced on Thursday the arrest of an Israeli man on suspicion of committing security offenses under the direction of Iranian intelligence agents, days after Tehran executed an Iranian accused of spying for Israel. The arrest is the latest in a series of cases in which Israel h»»»

Dubai: Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has announced special transport arrangements to ease travel for visitors heading to the Hatta Festival 2025. The authority said dedicated parking areas have been set up around the festival venue and near Wadi Hub. Shuttle buses will operate through»»»

BELGRADE - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Thursday a new Belgrade bridge on the Sava River would be opened to traffic by end-March 2027, greatly facilitating traffic in the capital. "The new bridge must be opened to traffic by the end of March 2027," Vucic said during a visit to the con»»»

The technical analysis of the recovered black boxes from a jet crash that killed eight people, including western Libya’s military chief, began as the investigation proceeded in cooperation with Libyan authorities, the Turkish Ministry of Defense said Thursday. The private jet with Gen. Muhammad Ali»»»

«Kyrgyzstan possesses enormous natural resources in terms of water resources, so we have a special responsibility to preserve them,» President Sadyr Japarov said at the People’s Kurultai. However, he noted that global climate change is increasing pressure on water resources worldwide. «Global warmi»»»

The Speaker of the Zhogorku Kenesh (Parliament) of Kyrgyzstan at the 4th People’s Kurultai expressed concern: young people are increasingly using artificial intelligence in their schoolwork, which could negatively impact their knowledge. In this regard, Nurlanbek Turgunbek uulu stated the need to d»»»

Tokyo: Japan's Ibaraki Prefecture said Thursday that it has confirmed an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza at a poultry farm, marking the tenth such case in the country this season. The eastern prefecture said that the outbreak in the farm in Shirosato will lead to the culling of about »»»

Tu Meri MainTera Main Teri Tu MeriDirector: Sameer VidwansCast: Ananya Panday, Kartik Aaryan, Neena Gupta, Jackie Shroff★★Dubai: I went into Tu Meri, Main Tera, Main Tera, Tu Meri with the cautious optimism one reserves for Bollywood rom-coms. Maybe it would be frothy. Maybe it would be charming. M»»»

Head of the Secretariat of the People’s Kurultai, Myktybek Abdyldaev, spoke about the number of appeals submitted by delegates and how they are being implemented. «Over 2023–2024, we processed 5,900 appeals received from delegates of the People’s Kurultai. Of these, 3,026 appeals were worked throug»»»

San Francisco, United States: Nvidia has hired the leadership of a promising AI chip startup, a statement said Wednesday, as the artificial intelligence giant expands its tech empire. Chip maker Groq said the departure of its top executives was part of a non-exclusive licensing agreement with Nvidi»»»

Doha, Qatar: The Ministry of Labour (MoL), represented by the Occupational Safety and Health Department, participated Thursday in the Milaha Group's Workplace Wellbeing Forum, held under the theme "Together Towards Balance", with the aim of strengthening workplace culture and placing people's healt»»»

Damascus, Dec. 25 (SANA) Officials from the General Secretariat of the Presidency conducted an inspection tour at the General Organization for Social Insurance on Thursday to review its administrative, financial, and investment operations. The officials stressed that the institution’s investments s»»»

Ras Al Khaimah Police have announced their comprehensive security and traffic plan for the 2026 New Year’s Eve celebrations, in coordination with key government partners and strategic authorities across the emirate. The plan includes the deployment of more than 70 traffic patrols to ensure smooth t»»»

BELGRADE - The Serbian dinar's official median exchange rate against the euro is 117.3894 dinars for one euro on Thursday, which is a slight change relative to Wednesday, the National Bank of Serbia said. The dinar is down by 0.1 pct against the euro m-o-m and by 0.3 pct y-o-y and relative to the b»»»

BELGRADE - Serbian PM Djuro Macut said on Wednesday Serbian diplomats must be the country's first line of defence in pursuance of the strategic goals of preservation of territorial integrity and sovereignty and EU membership. In collaboration with all state authorities, they must create something t»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Over 90% of Ukrainians rate the level of corruption in the country as high, and almost 40% believe Volodymyr Zelensky was part of a corrupt scheme within his inner circle, a poll conducted by center for social and marketing research SOCIS showed. According to the poll, 54.8% of r»»»

CAIRO, Dec 24 (MENA) – Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said Egypt had begun a downward path in its debt indicators, noting that public debt had fallen to about 84 percent of GDP from 96 percent two years ago, and that the government was working to reduce it to levels not seen in five decades. Madbo»»»

The Sharjah Literature Festival will return for its second edition in 2026 with a rich line-up of workshops, author talks, performances, events, and panel discussions. It will run between Jan 5 and 11 at the University City Hall Square in Sharjah, under the theme ‘A Community Woven by Tales’. A num»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russian rocket Soyuz-2.1b will put 52 satellites into orbit from the Vostochny Cosmodrome located in Russia's eastern Amur Region during the final launch of 2025, Russian state space corporation Roscosmos said on Thursday. "Fifty-two satellites will start off on the Soyuz-2.1b la»»»

Israeli authorities announced on Thursday the arrest of an Israeli man on suspicion of committing security offences under the direction of Iranian intelligence agents, days after Tehran executed an Iranian accused of spying for Israel. The arrest is the latest in a series of cases in which Israel h»»»

Dubai: NBCC (India) Ltd has entered the Dubai property market with a Dh15 million land purchase, marking a rare overseas real estate investment by an Indian state-owned firm and signalling a shift toward global diversification. Sign up for our daily business newsletter, Cheques & Balances.The deal »»»

Vatican City: Pope Leo XIV on Thursday condemned the "rubble and open wounds" left behind by wars, singling out the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza as he conducted his first Christmas homily. "Fragile is the flesh of defenseless populations, tried by so many wars, ongoing or concluded, leaving »»»

Brasília, Brazil: Brazil's former president Jair Bolsonaro, imprisoned for attempting a coup, has been admitted to hospital in Brasilia where he will undergo a planned surgery, his doctors said Wednesday. A convoy of black cars and motorcycles entered the parking garage of the DF Star hospital earl»»»

Dubai: Pakistan Association Dubai (PAD) has been awarded Gold at the prestigious Ethraa Empowerment Program for Non-Profit Organisations, recognising its outstanding contributions to governance, service quality, and community impact. The award was presented by Hessa Essa Buhumaid, Director General »»»

Turkish authorities say they have disrupted planned attacks on Christmas and New Year's events after arresting more than 100 suspected members of the so-called Islamic State group. Mass raids were carried out at 124 addresses across Istanbul, the capital's chief prosecutor said, with firearms, ammu»»»

President Rumen Radev, outgoing Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov and political leaders extended their Christmas greetings to the Bulgarian people on December 25. In his Facebook message, President Radev wished that the great Christian holiday bring health, warmth and hope for a better future to ever»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russia has a plan to respond to the possible seizure of assets frozen in the West, and it will be implemented if necessary, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Thursday. "An appropriate plan has been drawn up, and it will be implemented if such cases arise," Nov»»»

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun reiterated on Thursday that the country’s parliamentary elections are a constitutional obligation that must be carried out on time. Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency quoted Aoun as saying that he, alongside Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and Parliament Speaker Nabi»»»

Pope Leo decried conditions for Palestinians in Gaza in his Christmas sermon on Thursday, in an unusually direct appeal during what is normally a solemn, spiritual service on the day Christians across the globe celebrate the birth of Jesus. Leo, the first US pope, said the story of Jesus being born»»»

Two Lebanese citizens were martyred on Thursday in an Israeli strike on Hermel in eastern Lebanon as the Israeli enemy proceeded attacks in the country’s south in violation of the 2024 ceasefire. Al-Manar correspondent in Bekaa reported Israeli drone strike that targeted a passenger van at Al-Nasir»»»

Greece’s Coast Guard said it was searching for a missing person believed to be a minor after rescuing 52 migrants in two separate incidents in the Aegean on Thursday. Authorities found and rescued 13 foreign nationals who had reached the small island of Farmakonisi in the eastern Aegean but said on»»»

At the 4th People’s Kurultai, the President officially opened a number of industrial and social facilities across Kyrgyzstan in an online format. Delegates were shown a live video broadcast of the newly launched facilities. According to 24.kg news agency data, the list included 25 industrial facili»»»

Dubai: Dubai Airport Freezone welcomed AWOT Global Logistics Corporation's new regional headquarters Thursday, cementing the emirate's pull as a logistics powerhouse for one of the world's top 10 air freight companies. Sign up for our daily business newsletter, Cheques & Balances.AWOT, ranked ninth»»»

If someone decides to exchange Bulgarian leva for euros at a currency exchange office right now, the loss is noticeable. For every 100 leva, the difference compared to the official fixed rate amounts to around 1.70 leva, or about 0.88 euros, Radio Free Europe reports. After January 1, however, exch»»»