All 20 new Skoda trains are expected to be in operation by August 20, after which Alstom trains will be delivered, bringing the number of new trains in service to about 60 by the beginning of September, Transport and Communications Minister Georgi Peev said on Friday while travelling on the first S»»»

MANILA: On a Manila court made of crushed seashells, an earnest four-year-old sends a forehand sailing wide — one of dozens of kids aiming to follow in the footsteps of the Philippines’ first homegrown tennis sensation, Alexandra Eala. The 21-year-old’s rise has sparked a rush of interest in a spor»»»

Kerala is set to revamp all 484 police stations under the ‘My Police Station’ initiative, with a focus on making them more welcoming, accessible and responsive to the public. Launching the initiative at Peroorkada police station in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday, Chief Minister VD Satheesan said the »»»

RIYADH: Riyadh will host the fourth UNESCO Global Forum on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence next month, bringing together global experts to discuss key issues surrounding AI ethics and the governance of emerging technologies. Co-hosted by UNESCO and the Kingdom, represented by the Saudi Data a»»»

DUBAI: An oil spill spreading along Oman’s coast is threatening fragile marine ecosystems that support endangered Arabian Sea humpback whales, critically endangered hawksbill turtles and vulnerable seabirds, raising concerns over the long-term impact on some of the region’s most threatened wildlife»»»

German camera maker Leica has excluded a Russian photographer from its prestigious Oskar Barnack Award (LOBA) following Ukrainian criticism over his links to the Russian RIA Novosti news agency. Valery Melnikov, a three-time World Press Photo winner, said in a social media post this week that his l»»»

The US intelligence community doubted reports of an Iranian plot to kill President Donald Trump by shooting down Air Force One as it departed a NATO summit in Türkiye, the Washington Post has reported. Their assessment was reportedly conveyed to the administration, yet the Secret Service still opte»»»

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has branded Israeli settlers besieging three Palestinian families in their West Bank homes “terrorists.” The days-long siege has targeted several properties, including one owned by a dual US citizen.According to the UN, the blockade in the village of Qusra bega»»»

Dubai: If you missed the Perseids Meteor Shower earlier this month, this is your second chance. Dubai Astronomy Group has added one more night by popular demand, opening the door to anyone who could not get a place at the first event. The bonus night takes place on Saturday, 15 August 2026, running»»»

Defending the State's interest in the case concerning International Fair Plovdiv will show whether the government intends to fight oligarchy, as stated in its programme, representatives of Continue the Change told a news conference at BTA's National Press Club in Plovdiv. The case seeks to establis»»»

Ambulance sirens and floral tributes on Friday, Salvation Day, commemorated doctors, nurses, police officers, rescuers and volunteers who died in their line of duty saving other people's lives. A ceremony was held in the garden outside the Military Medical Academy in Sofia. Academy chief Major Gene»»»

AL-MUKALLA: The chairman of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, Rashad Al-Alimi, has urged the Iran-backed Houthis to lay down their arms and become a political party, saying the internationally recognized government seeks permanent peace rather than another temporary truce as the militia cont»»»

Speaking to journalists after the opening of three new stations on Line 3 of Sofia's Metro underground railway on Friday, Sofia Mayor Vassil Terziev said that Prime Minister Rumen Radev's governance programme contains measures that are relevant and important for Sofia Municipality. On August 12, th»»»

Beyond market dynamics and the completion of a transaction, a significant portion of its value is created during the post-transaction integration phase. Employee transfers represent one of the areas where the buyer may inherit exposures that are not always visible at the time of acquisition. Along »»»

Narita, Japan: At least five people died in eastern Japan after "unprecedented" heavy rain that left thousands stranded at Narita airport overnight and snarled up roads and rail services, authorities said Friday. The torrential downpours late Thursday triggered landslide warnings and power outages,»»»

Secretary's SpeechLebanon PalestineZionist EntityRegional and International International More Video Language Ar En Fr EsSubscribe for Weekly Updates Subscribe Yediot Aharonot Reveals Israeli Army’s Manpower Overhaul as 12,000-Soldier Shortage Threatens Combat Readiness 14-08-2026 13:25 PM The Isra»»»

Hungary’s newly elected President András Baka has already achieved a level of public support that his predecessor, Tamás Sulyok, never managed to reach, according to a new poll commissioned by Telex. The survey, commissioned by Telex and conducted by the 21 Research Centre on 11 and 12 August – the»»»

Iraq: Iraqi environmental police have documented an underground river inhabited by rare blind fish deep beneath the desert of Anbar province, in an unusual environmental and geological discovery. The site lies at Al Khasfa, a deep geological depression and cave formation near Haditha in western Ira»»»

DUBAI: Arab nations have condemned the latest Iranian attacks against UAE commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, in what was described as a threat to maritime safety and security. Two tankers linked to UAE-based ADNOC were targeted on Thursday, the second such incident involving ADNOC »»»

Părău 2 will combine a 342 MWp solar photovoltaic power plant with 150 MW of co-located battery energy storage system. The battery system will allow electricity generated on site to be stored and dispatched when the grid needs it, supporting the integration of renewable energy and improving the fle»»»

The Russian Foreign Ministry has hosted a briefing for foreign diplomats in Moscow on the Roscongress Foundation’s main international events scheduled for autumn and winter 2026. Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Pankin opened the meeting, highlighting the role of Russian forums in promoting intern»»»

India’s Akasa Air is adding up to seven Boeing 737-8200 aircraft to its fleet through a new sale and leaseback agreement with aviation finance company and plane lessor Avolon. Sign up for our daily business newsletter, Cheques & Balances.The deal expands the partnership between Avolon and Akasa Air»»»

Dubai: Saudi authorities have urged Umrah pilgrims to plan their visits to the Grand Mosque around periods of lower crowd density, saying careful timing can help worshippers move more smoothly through the Mataf and Masaa and perform their rituals with greater ease. The General Authority for the Car»»»

Shipping activity in the strategic Strait of Hormuz has dipped sharply below monthly averages this week, reflecting mounting jitters over escalating hostilities between the United States and Iran, according to vessel-tracking data cited by Reuters. Analytics from maritime intelligence firm Kpler in»»»

Continue the Change Friday criticized the recently revealed government programme for lacking objective goals. "The governance programme of Progressive Bulgaria is heavy on ideas but light on clear goals," MP and former Economy and Industry Minister Bogdan Bogdanov told reporters in the BTA Press Cl»»»

President Donald Trump on Thursday imposed tariffs of up to 100% on imported drones and their components, including from key US allies, citing national security concerns and a need to reduce US reliance on foreign suppliers. The measures are set to take effect in 21 days. President Donald Trump sai»»»

Reports of declining mental health and supply issues have been flagged by US sailors aboard the aircraft carrier USS Lincoln deployed to the Middle East, with some attempting to throw themselves into the sea. The ship has so far spent a record 260 uninterrupted days at sea as it supports the war in»»»

DUBAI: “Sustainably sourced.” “Ethically produced.” “Farmer friendly.” These are among the claims increasingly appearing on coffee bags around the world, reassuring consumers that the drink in their cup is helping protect the environment while supporting the people who grow it. But behind those lab»»»

Dubai: After two years of trying his luck, After two years of trying his luck, Arifuzzaman Shuvo has become one of Big Ticket's newest winners, taking home Dh100,000 in the Series 289 consolation prize draw. The 38-year-old manager from Bangladesh has called Ajman home for the past 17 years, living»»»

Privilege may have opened a door, but Thudakkam, now out in UAE cinemas, is where Vismaya and Ashish have to prove what they can do once they walk through it. And, pleasantly, they do. The survival thriller revolves around Meenu, a woman whose seemingly idyllic existence is upended by a creepy, pre»»»

Nigel Farage has returned to Parliament with an emphatic by-election victory, but the result has not resolved the controversy that prompted him to resign his seat in the first place. Instead, it restarts the parliamentary investigation into his finances and could expose him to a fresh challenge to »»»

Paris, France: EU officials have agreed to study an experimental vaccine against Lyme disease, the world's most common tick-borne illness, its developers said Friday. Pfizer and the French-Swiss firm Valneva say trials have shown a 70 percent efficacy rate in people aged five and above for a diseas»»»

Secretary's SpeechLebanon PalestineZionist EntityRegional and International International More Video Language Ar En Fr EsSubscribe for Weekly Updates Subscribe Qeshm Oil Pollution Direct Result of US-Israeli Aggression: Deputy FM 14-08-2026 12:28 PM Ships anchored in the Strait of Hormuz on August »»»

POLITICS The first 100 days of the government led by Prime Minister Rumen Radev remain a major focus of the Bulgarian media. Dnevnik published an extensive assessment of the government's first three months in office, arguing that the new administration has so far failed to demonstrate how it intend»»»

Dubai: Al Ansari Financial Services reported a 28.7 per cent drop in first-half net profit to Dh151 million, as geopolitical pressures, weaker activity across some remittance corridors and tougher competition squeezed profitability. Sign up for our daily business newsletter, Cheques & Balances.The »»»

KABUL: As Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers mark five years since sweeping back to power, some Kabul residents said they feel safer after decades of conflict and upheaval but stressed the leaders should now focus on creating jobs and expanding access to schools in the country where girls above the age o»»»

The anti-immigrant Reform UK party leader Nigel Farage beat comic opponent Count Binface on Friday as was expected, regaining the seat in Parliament he quit a month ago to trigger the widely mocked by-election in the seaside town of Clacton.  Reform UK leader Nigel Farage regained his parliame»»»

The drought roasting much of Europe this summer is taking a heavy toll on crops across the continent, from potatoes in the Netherlands to corn in Bosnia. Triodos, a Dutch bank with a focus on sustainability, has warned that this could reduce gross domestic product across the EU by 1 percent for 202»»»

Fighter jets ​on a NATO air defence mission shot down ​a drone that entered Latvia's airspace early Friday, the country's defence ministry confirmed. Latvia's defence ministry on Friday confirmed that NATO jets shot down a drone over eastern Latvian airspace, following an announcement from its»»»

US military installations across the Pacific are in an alarming state of decay, a new Pentagon inspector general’s report has found, calling for “immediate attention” to fix crumbling infrastructure. The heavily redacted report, released this week, is part of an ongoing audit of US military facilit»»»

It’s a small world, which was made smaller by something that happened in a little town in England two centuries ago. I’ve been back in the UK seeing family and friends and with it came a reminder of the interconnected world we live in. 200 years ago a place in County Durham launched the first steam»»»

Standfirst: The game has gone from friendly matches on dusty fields and car parks to competitive fixtures and the National Cricket Championship By Rashid Hassan RIYADH: In the 1980s, sporadic friendly cricket matches began popping up on the streets of major Saudi Arabia cities as a weekend pastime »»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - North Korea considers the upcoming joint military exercise of the United States and South Korea a rehearsal for an aggressive war and is ready to respond, the North Korean Foreign Ministry said on Friday. The 10-day Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise will begin on August 17, with tens»»»

After the ouster of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime in December 2024, Turkey has emerged as the most influential external power in Syria. File Photo by Youssef Badawi/EPA BEIRUT, Lebanon, Aug. 14 (UPI) -- Relations between Lebanon and Turkey recently underwent a significant shift, driven by »»»

The Danube has dropped to a record low of 31 cm in Budapest, idling nuclear reactors in Romania and Hungary as a fierce drought parches central Europe. The river hit the mark on July 28, Xinhua reported, edging below the 33 cm low set in October 2018. Weeks of heat and thin rainfall have drained th»»»

A gold ring set with 321 diamonds, handed to Donald Trump by Antwerp's diamond traders, has drawn accusations of a “cartoonish bribe” weeks after their gems slipped free of his tariffs. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Richard Blumenthal have written to the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC), whose p»»»

DUBAI: Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan met with his Turkish and Egyptian counterparts in the Egyptian city of El Alamein on Thursday. Prince Faisal, Turkiye’s Hakan Fidan and Egypt’s Badr Abdelatty discussed the latest developments in the region, the Egyptian foreign ministry said i»»»

Narita: At least four people died in eastern Japan after “unprecedented” heavy rain that left thousands stranded at Narita airport overnight and snarled up roads and rail services, authorities said Friday. The torrential downpours late Thursday triggered landslide warnings and power outages, with f»»»

Three new metro stations on Sofia’s Line 3 were officially opened on Friday at a ceremony attended by Sofia Mayor Vassil Terziev, Deputy Prime Minister Atanas Pekanov, Sofia Deputy Mayor for Transport Viktor Chaushev, Metropolitan CEO Nikolay Naydenov, and Metropolitan Board member Stoyan Bratoev. »»»

Iran’s central bank has put forward a potentially consequential proposal at the BRICS financial meetings in India: the creation of a dedicated financial corridor linking and integrating the payment networks of BRICS members, alongside an independent infrastructure for cross-border financial settlem»»»