Israeli troops opened Monday heavy machine gun fire towards the southern towns of Hadatha and El Khiam. An overnight strike targeted Wadi al-Hujeir, while artillery shelled on Sunday night Beit Yahoun and Hadatha. Israeli strikes on Saturday killed 11 people in southern Lebanon, in the deadliest at»»»

TEHRAN: Iran’s foreign ministry said on Monday it will consider three missing pilots to be prisoners in Qatar, despite Doha’s denials, until it clarifies their fate.Tehran has said the Iranians went missing while carrying out an operation against the United States’ Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar on Mar»»»

Tunis, Aug. 17 (TAP)- The weather on Monday is slightly cloudy in most regions, growing cloudy during the afternoon central western and southwestern regions. Localised rain and hailstorms are expected in the east, the National Institute...»»»

Tour operators have recorded a decline in the number of Russian tourists traveling to Kyrgyzstan. The Association of Tour Operators of Russia reported a 2.2 percent decrease in trips by Russian citizens to Kyrgyzstan in the first six months of 2026. A decline was also recorded in travel to Kazakhst»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The West is planning a provocation involving accusations against Russia of allegedly supplying weapons illegally to drug cartels and other organized crime groups in Venezuela, Colombia, and Mexico, Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) said on Monday. According to the SVR, »»»

Doha, Qatar: Minister of State for Foreign Affairs HE Sultan bin Saad Al Muraikhi met today with Ambassador of the Czech Republic to the State of Qatar, HE Petr Chalupecky, on the occasion of the end of his tenure. His Excellency the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs extended his thanks to the »»»

Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers and Head of the Presidential Administration of Kyrgyzstan Adylbek Kasymaliev presented key socioeconomic indicators for January—July 2026 during a regular government meeting. According to Kasymaliev, preliminary estimates show that Kyrgyzstan’s GDP reached 1.172»»»

What if your hot coffee came with a bit of cloud? In a (now) viral move, one café in Singapore crafted an interactive drink that makes for great photos and sweet sips. Called Sweet Little Rain, this drink by Mellower Coffee, comes with a puff of candy floss suspended over a cup of black coffee. As »»»

DUBAI: The Saudi Arabian Olympic and Paralympic Committee announced on Sunday that 144 athletes representing 19 national teams will represent the nation at the 20th Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, from Sept. 19 to Oct. 4. The committee, in a press release, confirmed that the Saudi delegation would co»»»

DUBAI: Two drones attacked the office of the Kurdistan Regional Government’s prime minister in Iraq on Monday, the KRG security agency said. The attacks were launched from Iranian territory and targeted the prime minister’s private office and the residence of the director of the region’s security a»»»

Dubai has stepped up operational readiness across its airports to handle an expected influx of citizens, residents and visitors returning from holidays, with additional staff and smart-gate capacity deployed to speed up procedures. The General Directorate of Identity and Foreigners Affairs – Dubai »»»

Seoul: Republic of Korea's industry minister Kim Jung-kwan has said that Seoul and Washington need to resolve outstanding issues over a US$200 billion investment plan agreed upon as part of their bilateral tariff negotiations. Industry Minister made the remarks after arriving in Dallas, Texas, as R»»»

US President Donald Trump on Sunday ordered the Pentagon to scale back "inappropriate and hostile" military drills with South Korea, claiming that the ally had failed to help with the war against Iran and citing his "good relationship" with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.   US »»»

ABU DHABI: The Ultimate Fighting Championship, in partnership with the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi, is set to return to the UAE capital with UFC 333. The event will see UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski and undefeated No. 1-ranked contender Movsar Evloev headlining »»»

Secretary's SpeechLebanon PalestineZionist EntityRegional and International International More Video Language Ar En Fr EsSubscribe for Weekly Updates Subscribe IRGC General Says; ‘Israel’ Too Weak for War with Iran 17-08-2026 10:56 AM A senior IRGC official said that Israel is not capable of waging»»»

Jyoti Thakur | Daniela RivasAs deadly heat threatens livelihoods, women working in Delhi's informal sector are trying out heatwave insurance that pays out automatically when temperatures spike. https://p.dw.com/p/5ImFwAdvertisementMillions of workers in India face a growing threat from extreme heat»»»

Dubai: UAE banks recorded net profits of Dh90.8 billion in 2025, up 11.7% from the previous year, while the banking system’s total assets increased 17.1% to Dh5.3 trillion, according to the Central Bank of the UAE’s Financial Stability Report 2025. Get updated faster and for FREE: Download the Gulf»»»

Athens: Two fires on the Greek island of Salamis near Athens that claimed two lives and led to the evacuation of nearly 600 people have been largely extinguished, the fire service said Monday. "The situation is better, there is no active front," a fire department spokesman told AFP, adding that two»»»

Damascus, Aug. 17 (SANA) Syria has intensified diplomatic efforts to challenge attempts to alter the legal status of the occupied Syrian Golan, relying on UN resolutions and growing international support for its demand that Israel withdraw to the June 4, 1967 line. Damascus has pursued the issue at»»»

Bulgaria spent nearly €6.5 billion on pensions during the first half of 2026, with pension expenditure increasing by 10.2% year-on-year, according to data released by the National Social Security Institute (NSSI). Pension payments accounted for the largest share of expenditure from the state social»»»

Rescuers were digging through collapsed buildings and clearing landslide-blocked roads Monday as Indonesia's death toll from a powerful magnitude 7.7 earthquake rose to at least 54, with thousands of people still displaced across eastern Indonesia, local media reported. The earthquake struck early »»»

Dubai: Oman’s Ministry of Labour imposed fines totalling OMR3.246 million and deported nearly 3,000 workers following a nationwide crackdown on labour violations, according to its latest inspection figures. The ministry said 6,707 inspection visits were carried out across Oman’s governorates as aut»»»

DUBAI: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces a key test of his influence over his Likud party on Monday, as members vote in a primary to select most of the party’s candidates for the October 27 Knesset election. The vote could help determine the political direction of Likud, with several »»»

Russia has begun its winter campaign to freeze Ukraine into submission early and since the end of July has been tearing into what is left of Ukraine’s power sector. Last year’s campaign only scaled up in September, hitting Ukraine's power grid in the hope of making its major cities unliveable. Temp»»»

Russia's foreign trade surplus grew 14% to $73.4bn in the first half of 2026, with Asia now taking three quarters of everything the country buys and sells abroad. Exports rose almost 12% to $219.5bn and imports 10.8% to $146.1bn, lifting total turnover 11.4% to $365.6bn, the Federal Customs Service»»»

Mbay, Indonesia: Thousands of people displaced by a powerful earthquake in eastern Indonesia awaited aid Monday as they camped out at schools, police stations and government offices. The 7.7-magnitude quake early on Saturday killed 54 people and injured more than 100. Rescue officials have said the»»»

RIYADH: Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah received Yemeni Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Dr. Afrah Abdulaziz Al-Zouba in Riyadh on Sunday, the Saudi Press Agency reported. Prince Faisal bin Farhan congratulated Al-Zouba on her appointment, expressi»»»

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) signed on Sunday a joint executive program with a civil society organization at KSrelief’s headquarters in Riyadh to implement a project supporting farming families in the Gaza Strip. The project will benefit 300 indiv»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The militarization of Europe and bellicose rhetoric directed at CSTO member states are extremely dangerous given the countries' vast military arsenals, especially amid mutual mistrust, CSTO Secretary General Taalatbek Masadykov told Sputnik. "Against the backdrop of mutual mistru»»»

Japan's economy grew an annual rate of 1.1% in the April-June quarter even as private consumption stayed flat and the growth of exports declined, according to government data released Monday. Japan 's real GDP, or gross domestic product, the sum value of nation's goods and services, grew at a seaso»»»

The Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD) has launched a new Innovation Charter outlining nine commitments aimed at supporting environmental sustainability, digital transformation and the use of new technologies. Announcing the Charter through its social media platforms, EAD said the initiative aims»»»

An extremist Israeli lawmaker in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition publicly advocated for killing "30 to 40" people in Gaza each night, comments that surfaced Sunday and were quickly shared by Palestinian media. Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir made the statement while spea»»»

The top U.S. military commander Adm. Brad Cooper visited the USS Lincoln as reports have emerged of mental health and supply issues. The Lincoln arrived in the Middle East in January and has been supporting the U.S. war against Iran, including the blockade on Iranian ports. It has spent a record-se»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Russian women's team topped the medal table at the European Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Zagreb. The Russian women's team led the overall medal count (6) and gold medals (3). The Russian team won the team all-around, while Angelina Melnikova won gold in the individual»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - US President Donald Trump said he was pleased that Turkiye, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan have signed the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement. "Very happy to see that Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, and Pakistan have recently, and finally, signed the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement," Trump said on T»»»

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - After visiting the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, where sailors allegedly attempted to jump overboard, Pentagon Central Command Chief Brad Cooper said the ship's mental health situation was not the worst. "Of the US Navy's 11 active aircraft carriers, the Lincoln curre»»»

Future Banking Summit 2026 returns on October 7-9 at Qosmo Hotel ...»»»

Banca Transilvania (BT) has granted a EUR300 million financing facility to Transgaz to support the development and modernisation of Romania's national natural-gas transport infrastructure, the two companies said on Wednesday in a joint statement. The move comes as energy security, regional intercon»»»

Shares of companies listed on the Regulated Market of the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB), together with BVB-listed ETFs, are available through Interactive Brokers, as of Thursday, expanding international access to Romanian listed companies for investors using the broker's global platform.This devel»»»

In January - June 2026p, the balance-of-payments current account posted a deficit of EUR 14,202 million, compared with EUR 13,555 million in the same year-ago period. The breakdown shows that the deficit on trade in goods increased by EUR 121 million, the surplus on services expanded by EUR 58 mill»»»

The Ministry of Agriculture and Food is launching nationwide inspections starting on Monday to check compliance with legal requirements for activities affecting agricultural land and forest areas, the Ministry said here on Monday. The inspections will cover legal compliance related to land cultivat»»»

U.S. negotiator and President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner held a rare meeting with the Hamas chief on Sunday in a new diplomatic effort to make progress in the stalled Gaza ceasefire. Kushner will meet on Monday with Israel's prime minister, who is under pressure after rejecting the new»»»

Taiyuan: China successfully sent a new satellite into space on Monday from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in north China's Shanxi Province. The SEO satellite was launched at 1102 a.m. (Beijing Time) aboard a Long March-2C carrier rocket. It entered its preset orbit successfully. This launch ma»»»

Taipei: Taiwan's government will propose record defence spending for 2027, President Lai Ching-te said Monday, as the island democracy faces growing military pressure from China. "Next year's total defence budget -- including both the annual budget and the special budget -- will exceed NT$1 trillio»»»

Jakarta: An earthquake measuring 5.4 on the Richter scale struck eastern Indonesia on Monday. The Indonesian Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) stated that the earthquake occurred 46 kilometers northwest of Nagekeo, in eastern Indonesia, at a depth of 10 kilometers.»»»

The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is spreading faster than ever before. According to forecasts by the World Health Organization (WHO), it could become the deadliest outbreak in the history of the fight against the disease. According to the WHO, one person dies from th»»»

RIYADH: Project management directors, engineers and specialists will be among the professions subject to a 70 percent Saudization requirement in the Kingdom from Feb. 14, 2027. The move follows a decision by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development, in partnership with the Ministry of»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russian drones struck a berthing terminal in the Izmail port that was used to unload military cargo from ships, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Monday. The Russian armed forces continue to carry out strikes against the port infrastructure and Ukrainian naval vessels used in »»»

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The United States should resume alternate negotiations with Moscow and Kiev to bring the two sides closer together on resolving the conflict in Ukraine, Thomas Graham, former Special Assistant to President George W. Bush and Senior Director for Russia on the National Security»»»

SYDNEY: Australian toxic mushroom killer Erin Patterson launches an appeal Wednesday against her conviction in a triple-murder case that made headlines worldwide. The 51-year-old was found guilty last year of murdering her husband’s parents and an elderly aunt in 2023 by serving them a beef Welling»»»