The outgoing Minister of Energy Zhecho Stankov said in Parliament on Wednesday that the construction of units 7 and 8 of the Kozloduy NPP is not only Bulgaria's largest project of this decade but will also be the largest project of the next decade. Earlier Wednesday, Continue the Change - Democrati»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russia's Vostok battlegroup liberated the settlement of Gerasimovka in the Dnepropetrovsk region, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Wednesday. "Units of the Vostok battlegroup continued to advance deep into the enemy's defenses and liberated the settlement of Gerasimovka in th»»»

Dubai: A former Indian expat and radio presenter in the UAE, Sunny Bernard, passed away on Monday night in the south Indian state of Kerala. He was 73. Sunny, a well-known broadcast professional who began his career with now-defunct Radio Asia in 1997, was a cherished figure among the Indian expat »»»

Authorities in India's capital Delhi rolled out strict measures on Wednesday in an attempt to curb pollution, including a ban on vehicles not compliant with latest emission control norms and regulating attendance in private and government offices. The air quality index (AQI) in the Delhi region, ho»»»

Doha, Qatar: The latest weather indicates a chance of moderate to heavy rain from tomorrow afternoon until early Friday, December 19, 2025. Cloudy weather conditions can be observed during this period as well as occasional thunderstorms, sudden strong winds, and hail at times. In an earlier report,»»»

Dubai: The UAE solidified its status as one of the world's fastest-growing economies in 2025, propelled by booming non-oil sectors, record foreign direct investment and agile pro-business policies. Non-oil foreign trade jumped 24.5% in the first half of the year to Dh1.7 trillion, outpacing global »»»

While there were ups and downs throughout 2025, most of the world’s richest ended the year wealthier than they began. This year, tech billionaires rode the AI and innovation boom, with Tesla/Space X CEO Elon Musk solidifying his lead. This top-10 rich list reflects the hyper-dynamic billionaire lan»»»

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said Tuesday that there is neither national security or legal justification for the Trump administration's strikes targeting ships in the eastern Pacific and Caribbean Sea. File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo Dec. 17 (UPI) -- There are no legal or national secu»»»

During consultations with BSP - United Left ahead of the procedure to hand out mandates for forming a new government, President Rumen Radev raised key questions about whether the party would seek stability through a new governing coalition or move toward early elections. He also asked whether the E»»»

Nurlanbek Turgunbek uulu has once again become Speaker of the Zhogorku Kenesh of Kyrgyzstan. Eighty-six members of Parliament voted for him, with one against. He was elected at the first session of the 8th convocation. As a reminder, Nurlanbek Turgunbek uulu served as Speaker of the previous convoc»»»

Al Nayrab: Bondi Beach hero Ahmed Al Ahmed, who put his life on the line by wresting a gun from an attacker in Australia’s deadly mass shooting, has become a source of pride for his hometown in Syria. “His act is a source of pride for us and for Syria,” Ahmed’s uncle Mohammed, a farmer, told AFP in»»»

There were kicks and fist blows in Parliament's plenary hall on Wednesday as two MPs clashed. It was not immediately clear what triggered the clash. Parliament Chair Raya Nazaryan announced a break. The cameras showed Gyunay Daloolu of MRF - New Beginning and Radostin Vassilev of MECh exchange angr»»»

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - Bitcoin is struggling to hold to mid-$80,000 levels, while gold nears record highs, though the real outlier of the three is silver with its multiple double-digit gains over the past four months, relative performance of the assets show. Historically, Bitcoin has often been fra»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - US President Donald Trump said that his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, previously knew nothing about Russia, but had the best qualities to be a negotiator to resolve the Ukraine conflict. "Steve's a great dealmaker. But I noticed one thing about him. He had the greatest personalit»»»

Over 50 percent of countries in the World Health Organization’s (WHO) European Region are currently facing an unusually early and intense influenza season, according to recent reports. Health authorities have linked the surge in cases to the emergence of a new strain of the virus, which appears to »»»

Jewish Australians said they felt unsafe, angry and frustrated at the perceived government's failure to confront rising antisemitism after a deadly shooting at a Hanukkah festival in Sydney’s Bondi Beach last week.  Near the iconic, sun-soaked Sydney beach where father-and-son gunmen»»»

The Saudi Ministry of Defense is participating in the Jeddah International Book Fair, featuring a pavilion that documents a key aspect of its cultural and media history, reported the Saudi Press Agency on Wednesday. The pavilion traces the evolution of military publishing, from early traditional pr»»»

French oil major TotalEnergies has agreed to sell 50% of a 424-megawatt portfolio of wind and solar assets in Greece to Spanish investment firm Asterion Industrial Partners for 254 million euros ($297.36 million), it said on Wednesday. The deal values the portfolio at 508 million euros, or approxim»»»

NEPI Rockcastle NV, Europe’s third largest listed retail real estate company by portfolio value, has appointed Marius Barbu as Chief Operating Officer (COO) with effect from 1st April 2026, to succeed Marek Noetzel, current COO and CEO-designate. He has also been nominated as a Board Director and w»»»

Jeong Yeon-doo (R), vice minister for diplomatic strategy and intelligence at the foreign ministry, poses with acting U.S. Ambassador to Seoul Kevin Kim ahead of their talks on North Korea policy in Seoul on Tuesday. Pool Photo by Yonhap South Korea and the United States share the understanding tha»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico are weighing the fallout from Europe's reckless moves to seize Russian frozen assets, unlike other Western leaders, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday. "At a time when »»»

Concluding his address at the first session of Zhogorku Kenesh of the 8th convocation, President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov called on lawmakers to pay special attention to the thorough and high-quality drafting of bills and their impeccable implementation. The head of state stressed that draft law»»»

On 16 December, Metinvest completed the acquisition of ArcelorMittal Tubular Products, located in the Romanian city of Iași. The plant produces welded structural pipes for the construction, engineering, infrastructure and agricultural sectors. Its maximum production capacity is 240,000 tonnes a yea»»»

Atanas Zafirov, leader of the Bulgarian Socialist Party - United Left (BSP-UL), made clear that his party will not participate in attempts to form a government under the current parliament. Speaking during consultations with President Rumen Radev, Zafirov stressed that a year ago the BSP had commit»»»

Damascus, Dec. 17 (SANA) Syria’s General Organization for Geology on Wednesday signed an agreement with TRIAC Company, a subsidiary of Serbia’s ELIXIR Group, to invest in and export 1.5 million tones of phosphate in 2026, of The agreement was signed at the Ministry of Energy in Damascus in the pres»»»

Doha, Qatar: The first edition of the Doha International Music and Marching Festival (Doha Tattoo) was officially inaugurated under the patronage of the Minister of Interior and Commander of the Internal Security Force (Lekhwiya), HE Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, on Tuesday evening»»»

Like many Australians strolling at Bondi Beach on long, warm summer evenings, Ahmed al Ahmed just wanted a cup of coffee with a friend. Around him, a bloody massacre erupted as two gunmen targeted Jews during Hanukkah festivities at a park close to the shore. Soon al Ahmed was creeping, bent over, »»»

Israel on Tuesday blocked a private Canadian delegation that included six members of Parliament from entering the occupied West Bank. The Israeli Embassy in Canada said the group was denied entry because of its links to Islamic Relief Worldwide, a nongovernmental organization that Israel lists as a»»»

WASHINGTON: Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani met in Washington DC with several members of the US Senate and the House of Representatives. The Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs met with Senator Steve Daines, Senator Ro»»»

Dubai: Donald Trump Jr., the eldest son of US President Donald Trump, is engaged to Palm Beach socialite Bettina Anderson, a spokesperson for Trump Jr. confirmed. The engagement, according to a CNN report, was announced by President Trump on Monday night during a White House holiday party, drawing »»»

Doha, Qatar: The Amir HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani issued a royal order pardoning a number of prisoners, on the occasion of the Qatar National Day.»»»

“At the state level, we are satisfied with our participation in governance, but we are not at the narrow party level,” outgoing Bulgarian Socialist Party Chair and outgoing Deputy Prime Minister Atanas Zafirov said during the consultations with the head of State here on Wednesday, which the latter »»»

“We have just witnessed perhaps the most brazen vote in this parliament, for the fourth time, the ruling parties are trying to push through their thieving budget,” Continue the Change–Democratic Bulgaria co-leader Assen Vasilev told journalists in Parliament on Wednesday. He said that the agenda ha»»»

The pro-Russia hacker group - KillNet -has obtained data detailing Ukrainian troop dispositions across the entire front line and added it to their interactive Matrix map, an anonymous KillNet hacker told Sputnik. "Following a data breach, all Ukrainian military data known to us so far has been adde»»»

Police detained a man suspected of inflicting grievous bodily harm on an officer of the Border Service in Chui region. The press service of the Internal Affairs Department of the region reported. According to the statement, on December 14 the deputy head of Kaiyndy checkpoint of the Border Service »»»

Dubai: His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has announced Professor Majed Chergui as the winner of the 2025 Great Arab Minds Award in Natural Sciences. Sheikh Mohammed shared the news through his X account: “Civilisatio»»»

Falls in food, alcohol, and clothing prices last month helped drive inflation to its lowest level in eight months in November. The inflation rate fell to 3.2% from 3.6%, a larger fall than analysts expected. Lower food prices were the main driver of the fall, "with decreases seen particularly for c»»»

DOHA: His Highness the Amir of the State of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani sent a cable of congratulations to HM King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck of the Kingdom of Bhutan on the occasion of his country's National Day.»»»

WASHINGTON: Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani met in Washington DC with Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives of the United States of America Brian Mast, and Member of the Committee Gregory Meeks»»»

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: FIFA has penalised Malaysia with three 3-0 defeats for fielding ineligible players, the country's football authorities said Wednesday, the latest punishment in a simmering scandal. Friendly wins over Palestine and Singapore, and a draw against Cape Verde, all at home this ye»»»

The State Department under Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday designated another drug cartel as a terrorist organization . Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo Dec. 17 (UPI) -- The United States has designated Colombia's Clan de Golfo as a terrorist organization, the latest drug-traffick»»»

A controversial draft state budget for 2026 prepared by the Rosen Zhelyazkov cabinet but ultimately abandoned under pressure of country-wide protests, was surprisingly included in Parliament's agenda Wednesday. MPs were supposed to consider Wednesday the so-called extension budget, which would carr»»»

President Sadyr Japarov announced plans to open Akylman Presidential Lyceums in all regions of Kyrgyzstan. The head of state announced that the first lyceum is operating in Issyk-Kul region. Others are being built in Talas and Jalal-Abad regions. According to the president, Akylman Lyceum graduates»»»

President Donald Trump said Tuesday he is ordering a blockade of all "sanctioned oil tankers" into Venezuela, ramping up pressure on the country's authoritarian leader Nicolás Maduro in a move that seemed designed to put a tighter chokehold on the South American country's economy. Trump's escalatio»»»

Tunis, Dec. 17 (TAP) -President kais Saied headed on Wednesday at dawn to Habib Bourguiba Avenue, downtown Tunis, where he was greeted outside the Municipal Theatre by seveat citizens waving banners of support.This comes hours before a march which...»»»

President Rumen Radev met here on Wednesday morning with representatives of BSP - United Left for consultations before he starts handing the exploratory cabinet-forming mandates. The head of State asked the Socialists if they will seek stability within a new governing coalition, or if things are fi»»»

It is premature to introduce online voting in Kyrgyzstan’s elections, President Sadyr Japarov stated today at the first session of the new Zhogorku Kenesh. The head of state noted that after the snap parliamentary elections, he met with representatives of international missions to discuss the possi»»»

President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov announced the possibility of allocating official apartments to members of the Zhogorku Kenesh (Parliament) through the State Mortgage Company. He made this announcement at a parliamentary session today. Посмотреть эту публикацию в Instagram Публикация от НОВОСТ»»»

Kyrgyzstan is capable of repaying its entire external debt in a single day if necessary, but doing so would be economically impractical, President Sadyr Japarov said while speaking at the Zhogorku Kenesh. The head of state noted that the country’s economy is growing steadily and that the level of e»»»

Sharjah: Sharjah Police have urged motorists to exercise extreme caution after unstable weather conditions and blowing dust led to a sharp drop in horizontal visibility across several parts of the emirate on Wednesday. In a traffic alert issued via social media, police warned drivers to remain vigi»»»