The first of at least twelve demolition orders for multi-family houses in the Baba Alino area near Varna has already been issued, Varna Mayor Blagomir Kotsev told journalists here on Friday. He said the first orders concern buildings constructed using four “tolerance certificates” that are suspecte»»»

A draft law proposing stricter liability for the illegal employment of foreign labor and unauthorized overseas recruitment of citizens of Kyrgyzstan has been submitted for public discussion in Kyrgyzstan. The move follows data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs. In 2023, 59 such violations were »»»

Italy and France have plenty of investment plans on the table. New energy work, factory upgrades, transport projects, defense sites, warehouses, and construction jobs all need steady equipment. Money matters, but it does not move soil, install machines, or keep production lines running. That is whe»»»

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has an opportunity to turn retirement savings into a new source of long-term capital that could deepen financial markets and support economic diversification, according to a report by BlackRock. The world’s largest asset manager said expanding funded retirement schemes could he»»»

RIYADH: Middle East boards are among the most forward thinking in the world when it comes to artificial intelligence, according to a survey of more than 400 company officials. The research, published in Board Intelligence’s summer 2026 Board Value Index, shows that AI governance engagement is parti»»»

Milan, Italy: A robot with expressive eyebrows that is designed to perform basic tasks to free up healthcare workers is being given a trial run by a hospital in Milan. Named "Alter-Ego", the 1.2-metre tall robot can stand in for a doctor working remotely, bring a patient a bottle of water or guide »»»

Dubai: The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) inaugurated a new bridge in the Dubai Harbour area on June 19, as part of efforts to enhance integrated infrastructure and support the emirate’s rapid urban and economic growth. The bridge strengthens connectivity to one of Dubai’s key waterfront desti»»»

GLAN, Philippines: Arsenio Butil Jr. fell to his knees and began to pray when last week’s deadly 7.8-magnitude earthquake began shaking his home on the coast of the southern Philippines. When he opened his eyes, he saw a once-familiar shoreline changing in real time, with swathes of previously subm»»»

No single topic dominates Friday's media. POLITICS The Trud tabloid daily frontpages an article titled „The era of the Crusades is over“, quoting Prime Minister Rumen Radev, who on Thursday, ahead of a European Council meeting of EU heads of state or government, said that Bulgaria will veto the Eur»»»

MUZAFFARABAD: A territory-wide shutdown ‌in Pakistan-administered Kashmir has brought daily life to a standstill after the region’s deadliest unrest in years left at least 24 people dead in nearly ​two weeks of protests. The confrontation between local authorities and supporters of the recently ban»»»

KINSHASA: Ebola is spreading again in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where conflict, mistrust and the lack of a vaccine have made the outbreak hard to contain. The virus, transmitted through close contact and bodily fluids, can cause a fatal haemorrhagic fever and has killed more than 15»»»

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan on Friday presented his maiden State Budget, unveiling an economic roadmap centred on governance, welfare, investment and long-term growth. Holding the Finance portfolio alongside the Chief Minister’s office, Satheesan tabled the revised 2026»»»

NEW YORK: The death of a young tourist who jumped from a runaway horse carriage in Central Park has intensified calls to ban the old-time attraction from one of New York City’s most recognisable destinations. Romanch Mahajan, 18, died after he got off of the four-wheeled carriage as its horse sprin»»»

NEW YORK CITY: Seven months after the Security Council adopted Resolution 2803 in support of the US peace plan for Gaza, the ceasefire in the territory remains fragile and the humanitarian recovery is dangerously incomplete, the UN’s aid chief warned council members on Thursday. Palestinians are st»»»

For Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), Retail Treasury Bonds (RTBs) are among the safest ways to build long-term peso savings. Another upside, it supports the Philippine government's infrastructure and development programmes. Because they are backed by the National Government, RTBs carry very low de»»»

Manila: "Maharlika", a pre-colonial term, means "royalty" or "nobility", freeman. The Marharlika Highway in Samar is a stark contrast to its name. The Maharlika Highway in the mineral-rich island is a symbol of the Philippines' infrastructure crisis: a road that is supposed to connect communities, »»»

NEW YORK CITY: For the first time since the UN’s mandate on children and armed conflict was established three decades ago, government forces, rather than nonstate armed groups, are responsible for the majority of grave violations against children, the latest report from the UN secretary-general rev»»»

After the sharp surge in rural and suburban real estate prices in 2025, Bulgaria’s market is now entering a cooling phase, with data indicating a gradual slowdown and even slight declines in some segments, according to industry reports cited by BGNES. The earlier price surge, fueled in part by expe»»»

Russia’s income inequality reached its highest level since 2007 in 2025, with the official Gini coefficient rising to 0.422 from 0.410 in 2024, according to Kommersant daily citing Rosstat. As followed by IntelliNews, demographics and equality were main national goals in the economic platform prese»»»

The Philippines is a unique nation. It has more than 116.8 million people inhabiting a huge land area (300,000 km2), 10 times bigger than Belgium, spread across 7,641 islands. The country has nearly four times the population of Canada, living across vastly different geographic and developmental cha»»»

The Labour and Social Policy Ministry’s priority remains to preserve the system’s capacity and support the staff who work directly with the most vulnerable citizens every day, Minister Nataliya Efremova said on Thursday, as quoted by the Ministry. She was speaking to employees of the Social Assista»»»

Dozens of Doctors Without Borders staff have been accused of sexually abusing Sudanese refugees in Chad, adding that it dismissed 18 workers after investigations found "serious misconduct". A report accused staff members of targeting underaged girls and trading food or jobs for sex.»»»

The consequences of the attacks on the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) could affect Ukraine, Russia, and a significant part of Europe, Alexey Likhachev, head of Russia's state nuclear corporation Rosatom, has warned. Here are his key statements:A drone attack on Energodar killed one of the ZN»»»

NEW YORK: An 18-year-old Indian tourist died after leaping from a runaway horse-drawn carriage to help his mother when she was thrown from the vehicle during a family visit to New York City's Central Park. Romanch Mahajan was on his first trip to New York with his parents and younger brother when t»»»

At least 250,000 British girls suffered sickening sexual abuse by Pakistani gangs, who were enabled by police, social workers, and even Prime Minister Keir Starmer, to commit “child rape on an industrial scale,” British MP Rupert Lowe’s ‘Rape Gang Report’ has detailed. Published on Tuesday, the 218»»»

Abu Dhabi: Hamad Al Kaabi, Director-General of the Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation (FANR), visited the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant to review the authority's oversight activities and assess the operational status of the facility. During the visit, Al Kaabi received updates on the operation »»»

BusinessGermanyProtests target private equity industry at Berlin summitVanessa Guinan-BankActivists gathered to protest the SuperReturn private equity summit in Berlin, accusing the industry of driving inequality, job cuts and rising costs as investors representing trillions gather to seek high ret»»»

No single topic dominates Thursday's news media. ECONOMY Speaking on Nova TV's morning show, former economy minister Nikolay Vassilev criticized the government, arguing that it had failed to present any meaningful ideas for the budget. He said annual spending needed to be reduced by some EUR 6 bill»»»

Dubai: For many workers, managing monthly expenses, supporting family members, and planning for the future can be a constant balancing act. Yet access to structured financial education remains limited for many blue-collar employees. To help bridge that gap, the UAE Lottery has partnered with SmartL»»»

Dubai: India's highly competitive medical entrance examination, the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), has once again come under scrutiny after four young aspirants allegedly died by suicide in separate incidents across the country within days, reigniting concerns over academic pressure»»»

SYDNEY: Australia’s immigration levels fell last year, official data showed on Thursday, as its center-left government seeks to combat an ascendent far-right riding a wave of public discontent over soaring housing prices and cost of living. Net overseas migration added 301,000 people to Australia’s»»»

Saudi Arabia has reduced the maximum number of instant work visas available to newly established businesses to five, as part of measures aimed at regulating recruitment and encouraging compliance with labour market requirements, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development's Qiwa platform»»»

Sharjah: Sharjah: Sharjah Charity International has launched an appeal to donors and philanthropists to help complete the funding for a Dh2.1 million integrated charitable village in the Southern Region of Zamboanga in the Republic of the Philippines , a project designed to provide housing, educati»»»

Healthcare workers and officials are continuing to sound the alarm over the surging Ebola crisis. On June 16, the head of Africa's Centre for Disease Control and Prevention said that tens of thousands of people who have been in contact with ill patients in the Democratic Republic of Congo are curre»»»

Dozens of Doctors Without Borders staff have been accused of sexually abusing Sudanese refugees in Chad, the organisation said Monday, adding that it dismissed 18 workers after investigations found "serious misconduct". The medical charity, which goes by its French acronym MSF, said it had launched»»»

President Donald Trump said on June 14 that a deal to solve the US conflict with Iran had been finalised, while announcing the immediate termination of the US naval blockade of the Islamic Republic as well as what he described as the “toll-free” reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. In a post publishe»»»

Scientists say in a new study in the journal Nature that they've found DNA from the bacterium that causes plague in prehistoric graves in Siberia, changing long-standing thoughts on the disease. File photo by Tamas Soki/EPA June 17 (UPI) -- Scientists have found the oldest known signs of a plague o»»»

LONDON: The International Committee of the Red Cross transferred three Palestinians who were detained in Israeli prisons into the Gaza Strip on Wednesday. The detainees were transferred to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir Al-Balah, central Gaza, where they were reunited with their families, acc»»»

TYRE, Lebanon: In the dimly lit hospital room where he has lived for months, Youssef Fares broke down in tears as he spoke of his home in the historic southern Lebanese city of Tyre — now a pile of rubble and rebar after Israeli strikes during a three-month war. An interim agreement between Iran an»»»

After a 20-month qualifying campaign that included four draws with the continental heavyweight Iran, Uzbekistan will compete in the 2026 FIFA World Cup as the first Central Asian country to participate in the world’s most watched sports tournament.  Uzbekistan’s World Cup debut crowns three-an»»»

After a 20-month qualifying campaign that included four draws with the continental heavyweight Iran, Uzbekistan will compete in the 2026 FIFA World Cup as the first Central Asian country to participate in the world’s most watched sports tournament.  Uzbekistan’s World Cup debut crowns three-an»»»

Rex Heuermann, of Massapequa Park, Long Island, N.Y., will be sentenced Wednesday for the murders of seven women. Photo courtesy of the Suffolk County Sheriff's Office June 17 (UPI) -- Rex Heuermann, who pleaded guilty in April to the murders of seven women in Long Island, N.Y., and admitted to one»»»

KABUL: Government workers in different parts of Afghanistan have started switching off their smartphones, following an order imposed Wednesday that they told AFP came from Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada. A letter announcing the ban on smartphones for all government employees started circulati»»»

LONDON: Police in France are exploiting broad powers to issue spot fines against Arab youth as a new form of racial profiling, a new report has warned. Published on Wednesday by Human Rights Watch, (RE)CLAIM and Maison Communautaire pour un Developpement Solidaire, the 60-page report documents a co»»»

Media outlets in Kyrgyzstan can also take advantage of the benefits provided by the presidential decree exempting the creative sector from taxes. According to Almambet Shykmamatov, Chairman of the State Tax Service, the decree applies to «services for the production, placement, and distribution of »»»

Abu Dhabi: The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratization (MoHRE) announced that the UAE’s private sector workforce expanded by 2.5% during the first quarter of 2026, while the number of skilled workers increased by 1.5% over the same period. According to data released by the Labour Market Obser»»»

Kinshasa: In 1976, young Congolese doctor Jean-Jacques Muyembe was sent to a remote village to look into a mysterious illness and found himself confronting Ebola, a deadly virus the world did not yet know. Just back in the Democratic Republic of Congo after studying in Belgium, he had been called t»»»

The new European initiatives on labour mobility and job quality could rapidly change the way companies use or move their workforce, control costs, and coordinate internal functions. For businesses, the stake is not only compliance. In practice, it is speed of execution and the ability to reduce fri»»»

Doha, Qatar: Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in cooperation with the French Embassy in Doha, hosted a special screening of the documentary Inside Gaza at the Museum of Islamic Art on Tuesday, drawing attention to the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and the challenges faced by journali»»»

BUNDIBUGYO: Whenever Ebola comes, some of the afflicted choose the road to the nearest hospital. Others take the path to the shrine of a traditional healer, often with devastating consequences. Many view the onset of hemorrhagic fever as a spiritual affliction and seek out herbs and prayers instead»»»