In a political earthquake that has stunned South Asia, 35-year-old former Kathmandu mayor Balendra Shah — popularly known as “Balen” — has led the insurgent Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) to an overwhelming parliamentary victory in Nepal. The election followed months of political turmoil and youth-»»»

Iranian strikes on military bases used by the US in the Middle East caused about $800m (£600m) in damage in the first two weeks of the war, a new analysis shows. Much of the damage was caused in initial retaliatory strikes by Iran in the week after the US and Israel launched the war, according to a»»»

Doha: Minister of State for Energy Affairs HE Saad bin Sherida Al Kaabi revealed that the State of Qatar had warned the United States of the consequences that could affect other countries if Iranian oil and gas facilities were targeted, emphasizing that Washington was urged to exercise restraint in»»»

Israel’s recent strike on Iran’s South Pars gas field and Tehran’s retaliation on key energy infrastructure in several Gulf countries is more than just another escalation of the war roiling the Middle East. What began as a campaign of decapitation strikes and base‑to‑base missile exchanges has esca»»»

Doha: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defense Affairs HE Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman bin Hassan Al-Thani held a telephone conversation on Friday with HE German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius. During the call, they discussed the latest security developments in the region and areas»»»

Dubai: Flight disruptions linked to Middle East airspace closures have left thousands of UAE travellers stranded or scrambling for alternatives. For many, the key question is simple: what can you actually claim when your flight falls apart? Sign up for our daily business newsletter, Cheques & Balan»»»

A bitter dispute pitting Hungary and Slovakia against Ukraine is holding up a crucial €90bn (£77.95bn) EU loan to Ukraine. No oil has flowed through the Druzhba (Friendship) pipeline, from Russia to Hungary and Slovakia across Ukraine, since the major oil hub at Brody, in western Ukraine, was damag»»»

The President Donald Trump administration has filed suit against Harvard University, claiming it didn't protect Jewish Students during protests against Israel starving Palestinians. File Photo CJ Gunther/EPA March 20 (UPI) -- The U.S. Justice Department sued Harvard University on Friday, accusing t»»»

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is gradually scaling back his sweeping ambition to end the war with Iran by toppling its regime, bringing his rhetoric closer to that of US President Donald Trump. Netanyahu now speaks of “achieving tremendous gains” through three objectives: curbing Iran’s»»»

Israeli troops advanced from four directions on Friday into Lebanese territory, as attacks resumed along the Khiam and Taybeh axes, operations restarted on the Maroun al-Ras front, and a new axis was opened in the western sector toward the town of Naqoura. The push appears aimed at dispersing defen»»»

Since the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks, the confrontation in the Middle East has not been limited to missiles and drones, but has expanded to a parallel front no less dangerous: the architects of narratives and psychological warfare. Military spokesmen and media figures emerged, some masked, some officers,»»»

Analysts say these investments in planned Chilean copper mines respond to sustained growth in global demand, driven by electrification, power grids and the energy transition File Phot by Pedro Tapia/EPA SANTIAGO, Chile, March 20 (UPI) -- Mining companies BHP and U.S.-based Freeport-McMoRan submitte»»»

CBS News has said it is shutting down its radio service after nearly 100 years in May, in a fresh round of layoffs. The service is expected to end on 22 May, affecting more than 700 affiliate stations, the editor-in-chief, Bari Weiss, and president Tom Cibrowski announced on Friday. Employees will »»»

Bulgarian Socialist Party leader Krum Zarkov addressed supporters in the western city of Pernik during what was the first campaign event of his party. "We need competent governance with a clear left-wing philosophy," he said. According to Zarkov, Bulgaria must break out of a vicious cycle of freque»»»

The UK has approved allowing the United States to use British bases to launch strikes on Iranian sites targeting the Strait of Hormuz. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer previously only allowed US forces to use the bases for defensive operations to prevent Iran firing missiles that put British interes»»»

After visiting Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi in Bkirki, U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa affirmed that "the United States is concerned with peace prevailing in Lebanon and for it to be independent and free from war." "I personally am doing everything I can to achieve this goal. I share a»»»

Magnus Haakon, the crown prince of Norway, and Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway attend the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize presentation ceremony at Oslo City Hall. Mette-Marit gave her first interview about her friendship with Jeffrey Epstein. File Photo by Paul Treadway/UPI | License Photo March 20 (UP»»»

Doha: According to Al Jazeera, Qatar's Energy Minister and QatarEnergy CEO HE Eng. Saad bin Sherida al-Kaabi told Reuters that the company’s planned North Field expansion project could be delayed by over a year due to Iran’s attack on its Ras Laffan plant. Irans's attack did not result in deaths or»»»

The U.S. Treasury Department said this week that Cuba is prohibited from receiving Russian crude oil File Photo by Anatoly Maltsev/EPA March 20 (UPI) -- Two tankers carrying Russian oil and fuel are expected to arrive in Cuba in the coming days, testing new U.S. restrictions and raising uncertainty»»»

Share: French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on a visit to Israel that Iran must make major concessions as part of any long-term political solution following the Middle East war. “Whatever the outcome of the ongoing military operations, it must be complemented by a political solution that p»»»

Manama: HM King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of the Kingdom of Bahrain and Indian Prime Minister HE Narendra Modi discussed by phone on Friday the bilateral relations between the two countries and ways to enhance and develop them across various fields, in addition to the latest regional developments. D»»»

Italy is talking to several countries, including the United States, Azerbaijan and Algeria, to secure gas supplies now that Iranian strikes on Qatar appear to have halted its exports for an extended period, Energy Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin said. Iranian attacks have knocked out 17% of Qatar»»»

Meeting with representatives of employer organizations, caretaker Prime Minister Andrey Gurov said government measures in response to rising fuel prices are highly targeted and do not affect the principles of the market economy. "Our priority is to provide help where it is needed, carefully, and in»»»

Abu Dhabi: UAE President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan today received Hakan Fidan, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Türkiye. Sheikh Mohamed and the Turkish Foreign Minister exchanged Eid Al Fitr greetings, conveying their best wishes for continued wellbeing and prosp»»»

The exact amount of money given for vote buying is difficult to establish, as it varies in different parts of the country, commented caretaker Interior Minister Emil Dechev on Friday, before a meeting with the management of the Regional Directorate of the Interior Ministry in Burgas. He was accompa»»»

Cairo: Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan, warned in a phone call today of the catastrophic and dangerous repercussions of the continued cycle of violence and escalating conflict in the region, which threatens regional and international peace and secur»»»

Abu Dhabi: The President of the UAE, HH Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and the Foreign Minister of Turkiye, HE Hakan Fidan met in Abu Dhabi on Friday to discuss the developments in the region. During the meeting, HE the Turkish foreign minister reiterated his country's condemnation of the Irani»»»

GERB leader Boyko Borisov visited the new building of the state hospital under construction in the southeastern town of Yambol on Friday, the first day of the election campaign. "What we committed to back in 2018 is now 98 percent complete. In a few months, everything will be ready, and people will»»»

Iran intends to take part in this summer’s FIFA World Cup but only if the team’s matches are moved from the US to Mexico, the head of the country’s football federation has said. The announcement comes as the US and Israel continue their military campaign against Iran, now in its fourth week. The 20»»»

Israel says it has carried out air strikes on Syrian government infrastructure in the south of the country, in response to what it described as attacks on Druze civilians in Suweida province. In a statement, the Israeli military said it hit a command centre and weapons stored at army compounds over»»»

1 of 2 | Ting-Wei “Willy” Sun, left, and a worker from another company, work with "dummy" servers to allegedly conceal Nvidia microchips heading to China. Image courtesy of the Department of Justice March 20 (UPI) -- Three men were charged with smuggling Nvidia chips able to run artificial intellig»»»

Bulgaria fully applies Schengen legislation and has achieved substantial progress across key areas of cooperation, including external borders, return, internal security, visas and data protection, according to an assessment by the European Commission (EC), presented in Sofia by Olivier Onidi, Deput»»»

When discussing water pricing and the structural problems in the water supply sector, there are also social dimensions to consider, caretaker Labour and Social Policy Minister Hasan Ademov said during a plenary session of the Economic and Social Council (ESC), the Ministry’s press centre reported. »»»

Warsaw: Poland announced Friday the withdrawal of its troops from Iraq due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz wrote on the X platform, "Given the deteriorating security situation in the Middle East region, and after analysing the operationa»»»

BELGRADE - The energy sector is the most important element of Serbia-Russia cooperation and talks are underway with the Russian side to ensure Serbia continues to have the best natural gas price in Europe, Serbian Minister without portfolio Nenad Popovic, who co-chairs a Serbia-Russia commission on»»»

Kuwait: Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Jarrah Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah received a phone call today from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry stated in a press release that the call addressed developments in the region amid escalating military tensions. The statement indic»»»

Britain's Foreign Minister Yvette Cooper warned her Iranian counterpart in a phone call "against targeting UK bases, territory or interests directly", a foreign office statement said Friday, AFP reported. The statement was response to one issued by Iran's foreign ministry in which it said Foreign M»»»

Abu Dhabi: UAE President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan received messages of congratulations on the occasion of Eid Al Fitr from Kings, Presidents, and Emirs of Arab and Islamic states. His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE»»»

US stocks are sinking Friday as hopes wither on Wall Street for a possible cut to interest rates by the Federal Reserve this year because of the war with Iran. The S&P 500 fell 0.9% and was on track for a fourth straight losing week, its longest such streak in a year. The Dow Jones Industrial Avera»»»

1 of 2 | NASA’s Artemis II rocket and Orion spacecraft are returning to the launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida following a wind delay on Friday. NASA plans to launch a crew of four in the Orion spacecraft on the Artemis II Mission to the moon no earlier than 01April. Photo by Joe Mar»»»

Ideally, policy debates should serve to bring together the fullest information, the brightest minds, and the sharpest arguments in order to find solutions. That is, the optimum combination between what is best and what is feasible. In the real world, shaped by ordinary human fallibility and the ext»»»

The EU will provide a controversial loan to Ukraine “one way or another,” despite it remaining blocked by Hungary, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Friday. Budapest vetoed the EU’s €90 billion ($105 billion) emergency loan for Ukraine after Kiev halted Russian oil flows th»»»

US President Donald Trump joked about the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor in front of a visibly uncomfortable Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, as he defended his decision not to warn allies before striking Iran. Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday, Trump was pressed on the lack »»»

An oil and gas price surge is about to hit Europe, Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev has warned, calling the EU’s rejection of Russian energy, “stubborn stupidity.” The escalating conflict in the Middle East, triggered by the US-Israeli attack on Iran, has driven extreme volatility in global energy mar»»»

The war between Hezbollah and Israel has seen a shift in media handling, particularly regarding announcements of casualties. After initially adopting, at the start of the 2024 war, a policy of near-daily announcements, the group later gradually reduced such statements before halting them altogether»»»

Share: Ali Mohammad Naini, the spokesperson and deputy head of public relations for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), has been killed in strikes carried out by the United States and Israel, Iranian state television reported on Friday. The U.S. is accelerating the deployment of thousa»»»

The war between Hezbollah and Israel has seen a shift in media handling, particularly regarding announcements of casualties. After initially adopting, at the start of the 2024 war, a policy of near-daily announcements, the group later gradually reduced such statements before halting them altogether»»»

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced Friday a sweeping package worth five billion euros ($5.8 billion) aimed at cushioning the economic impact of the Middle East war, including a "drastic reduction" in energy-related taxes. Speaking after an emergency cabinet meeting, the Socialist leader»»»

Bulgaria's Caretaker Prime Minister Andrey Gyurov expressed concern over the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, noting to Euronews that the ultimate outcome remains uncertain. He emphasized that Europe should present a united stance and engage at the negotiating table to determine how the situati»»»

Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodriguez said on Thursday she had replaced all senior military commanders, expanding sweeping reforms after the US ousted Nicolas Maduro. The move follows the dismissal of a long-serving defence minister and the appointment of a former intelligence chief, as Car»»»