Doha, Qatar: The Amir HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani sent a cable of congratulations to President of the Republic of Paraguay HE Santiago Pena on the occasion of his country's Independence Day.»»»

Doha, Qatar: The Embassy of Italy in Doha on Wednesday opened the new six-part cultural film series “She Reel: Women in Society” with a special screening of “Sinceramente, Gae (2022)”, a documentary tribute to the renowned Italian architect and designer Gae Aulenti, at the Katara Cultural Village. »»»

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has begun a five-nation tour, departing from Delhi on Friday with the United Arab Emirates as his first stop. According to the Ministry of External Affairs, the Prime Minister will visit five countries over six days, including the UAE, the Netherlands, Sweden, No»»»

Blink and you might miss the few stone walls that are all that’s left of the village that Yusuf Abu Hamam’s family was forced to flee when he was an infant in 1948. The village, al-Joura, was demolished by the Israeli military at the time. It has since vanished under neighborhoods of the southern I»»»

Guney was once a water-rich village fed by 50 springs in Türkiye's western Usak province, but since a gold mine opened 20 years ago, they have all dried up. "Before, you only had to drill 60 meters to find water," said Ugur Sumer, environmental activist and resident of Guney, which is about 170 kil»»»

Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi utility major TAQA reported a net profit of Dh2.1 billion for the first quarter of 2026, as the company accelerated investments in UAE power, water and transmission infrastructure despite lower revenues. Sign up for our daily business newsletter, Cheques & Balances.The company »»»

President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov signed a law introducing amendments to the Code of Offenses, as well as the laws «On the Basics of Crime Prevention» and «On Silence.» The document introduces new mechanisms to address violations of noise regulations in residential areas. Under the new rules, r»»»

Israel's military said Friday that one of its soldiers died in combat in southern Lebanon, bringing its losses to 20 personnel since the war with Hezbollah began in early March. Staff Sergeant Negev Dagan, 20, "fell during combat in southern Lebanon", the military said, without providing additional»»»

The leaders of China and the United States have reached a consensus on maintaining stable trade relations and expanding cooperation in various fields, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Friday. "We have reached a consensus on maintaining stable trade and economic relations and expanding cooperati»»»

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani reopened on Thursday his country’s embassy in the Moroccan capital Rabat. The FM was on an official visit to the kingdom at the head of a ministry delegation. He met with his Moroccan counterpart Nasser Bourita, hailing the historic ties between their count»»»

Kanatbek Abdrakhmatov has been relieved of his duties as President of the National Academy of Sciences of the Kyrgyz Republic, the presidential press service reported. Photo Internet. Kanatbek Abdrakhmatov Kanatbek Abdrakhmatov was appointed acting president of the National Academy of Sciences in N»»»

NEW DELHI: Oil ​prices gained more than 1 percent after President Donald Trump said he would not be much more patient with Iran and as concerns persisted over ship attacks and seizures despite Tehran saying about 30 vessels had passed through the Strait of Hormuz. Brent crude oil futures rose $1.32»»»

Doha, Qatar: Cardiac rehabilitation programmes offered by Hamad Medical Corporation are helping improve survival rates, reduce hospital readmissions, and enhance quality of life for patients recovering from heart conditions, according to a senior cardiology expert. Senior Consultant Adult Cardiolog»»»

Romania is above the European average in the case of people with poverty and social exclusion risk, with a share of 27.4%, according to a press release of the Federation of Food Banks in Romania (FBAR). “Recent data released by Eurostat face us with a reality we cannot ignore: in 2025, Romania reco»»»

The Competition Council and the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) concluded a cooperation agreement for situations where certain offences that may cause damage to the EU budget also fall under competition rules.According to a release from the competition authority, the cooperation will mai»»»

Romania must transition from a model which mainly focuses on public investments to a truly clear partnership with the private sector from 2028 onwards, through the National Regional Partnership Plan, a National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) "on steroids," interim Minister of Investments and E»»»

The European Commission has confirmed having positively assessed Romania's payment request for EUR 2.6 billion under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan announced on Thursday."I am glad that today the European Commission has officially confirmed the validation of»»»

Romania's fourth payment request under the NRRP, which includes complex reforms on sustainable forest management, decarbonisation, digitalisation and fiscal-framework revision, has been approved without financial corrections, and the implementation rate of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan »»»

The European Commission (EC) on Thursday issued a positive preliminary assessment of Romania's fourth payment request for EUR 2.62 billion under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), the centrepiece of NextGenerationEU."This important step relates to the delivery of the funds tied to this pay»»»

Germany, the Republic of Moldova and France top the ranking of countries perceived as friendly by Romanians, according to a survey conducted by INSCOP Research at the request of Informat.ro news platform in partnership with Strategic Thinking Group think tank.Thus, in the ranking of countries perce»»»

Black Sea Defense and Aerospace (BSDA) 2026, the leading defense and security industry event in the Black Sea region, opened on Wednesday in Bucharest with official visits by Czech President Petr Pavel and Slovak President Peter Pellegrini, who arrived at the exhibition immediately after attending »»»

President Nicusor Dan will hold, on Monday, at the Cotroceni Palace, consultations with the parliamentary parties regarding the formation of a new government, informs the Presidential Administration.Pursuant to the provisions of art. 103 paragraph (1) of the Romanian Constitution, the President of »»»

Iraqi lawmakers approved a new government on Thursday led by Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, who vowed to ensure a state monopoly on weapons amid growing US pressure to dismantle Tehran-backed groups. Iraq has long walked a tightrope between the competing influences of its allies, neighboring Iran and»»»

Beijing: President Donald Trump said he had made "fantastic trade deals" with China's Xi Jinping, as the pair met on Friday at final talks of a superpower summit that according to the US leader has also reaped a Chinese offer to help open the Strait of Hormuz. Trump had arrived in Beijing seeking t»»»

On May 16, 2026, the republican fishing sports tournament Chebak Cup 2026 will take place in the bay near the village of Tamga in Issyk-Kul region. The event is organized by the Fishing Sports Federation of the Kyrgyz Republic. The competition will be open to amateur and professional anglers aged 1»»»

A citizen of Turkey has been detained in Jalal-Abad on suspicion of drug distribution, the regional Internal Affairs Department reported. Police said that during a special investigative operation, the 50-year-old foreign national K.M. was detained while allegedly selling 1.66 grams of hashish for 5»»»

Israel refused to withdraw from Lebanese territories it occupied during its recent war with Hezbollah before eliminating the military capabilities of the Iran-backed group and securing its northern borders. Israel’s position came during the third round of direct negotiations with Lebanon held in Wa»»»

The Ministry of Science, Higher Education, and Innovation of Kyrgyzstan has begun selecting scientific, scientific-technical, and scientific-innovative programs and projects from the Science Fund for program-targeted funding from the 2027 national budget. The selection is based on priority scientif»»»

Police’s organized crime unit twice intervened to warn Giorgos Moschouris of active plots to take his life, according to multiple sources familiar with the investigation, months before the senior Greek Mafia figure was fatally shot in April 2025 in the northern Athens suburb of Halandri. The 55-yea»»»

Yemen's legitimate government and the Iran-backed Houthi militants agreed Thursday to free more than 1,600 detainees in the largest swap during Yemen's 11-year war. The deal was signed in Amman, Jordan, after 14 weeks of negotiations observed by UN officials and the International Committee of the R»»»

Asharq Al-Awsat collected harrowing testimonies from survivors of “deliberate liquidation” operations carried out against detained opponents at Tishreen Military Hospital in Damascus and other military hospitals during the years of the Syrian revolution. They described torture methods and killing t»»»

Doha, Qatar: The Ministry of Education and Higher Education has accelerated its digital transformation efforts across Qatar’s education sector, launching a wide range of electronic services aimed at improving efficiency, accessibility, and the overall educational experience for students, schools, a»»»

Energy prices were broadly higher in afternoon trading Friday (May 15, 2026), with benchmark crude oil futures posting gains as traders tracked shifting supply signals across global markets. As of 2:01 pm Friday in Tokyo, WTI was up $1.24 at $102.41, a 1.23% increase. Brent crude rose $1.24 to $106»»»

First Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Kyrgyz Republic, Daniyar Amangeldiev, held a meeting with the Head of the Republic of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov during a working visit to the city of Kazan on the sidelines of the International Economic Forum «Russia—Islamic World: KazanFo»»»

From the Temple of Heaven to the Forbidden City, plenty of great power pageantry on display as the leaders of the world’s two mightiest nations toasted each other at an official state banquet. Donald Trump flanked by Elon Musk, Tim Cook of Apple and Jensen Huang of chipmaking leader Nvidia – t»»»

Doha, Qatar: Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs H E Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani yesterday inaugurated the 35th edition of the Doha International Book Fair at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center, with the event set to continue until May 23. The exhibition ha»»»

Dubai: Dubai gold prices fell sharply on Friday morning, tracking a broad global decline in bullion prices as investors moved away from safe-haven assets amid rising US bond yields, a stronger dollar and fading hopes of near-term US interest rate cuts. The Dubai 24K gold rate dropped to Dh556.50 pe»»»

DEIR AL-BALAH: Blink and you might miss the few stone walls that are all that’s left of the village that Yusuf Abu Hamam’s family was forced to flee when he was an infant in 1948. The village, Al-Joura, was demolished by the Israeli military at the time. It has since vanished under neighborhoods of»»»

Edward Lee Busby Jr. was executed by Texas Thursday night for the January 2004 abduction and murder of a 78-year-old woman. Photo courtesy Texas Department of Criminal Justice May 15 (UPI) -- Texas on Thursday executed a 53-year-old man for the 2004 murder of an elderly woman, marking the state's 6»»»

US President Donald Trump wraps up his visit to Beijing on Friday with a private meeting at Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s official residence before he departs for Washington. During a series of meetings and events on Thursday the two discussed divisive issues such as the Iran war, trade, technology a»»»

US President Donald Trump said his patience with Iran was running out after he discussed the costly and unpopular war with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday and a ship was reported seized by Iranian personnel off the United Arab Emirates. The White House said ​Trump and Xi had agreed during »»»

NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi began a five-nation tour on Friday, heading to the United Arab Emirates before Europe, overshadowed by energy and supply-chain worries due to the Iran war. Disruptions around Gulf shipping routes and the Strait of Hormuz continue to drive volatility in»»»

Transparency, dialogue, and decisions no longer made in secret — this is what awaits Hungary’s cultural sphere as well, Minister for Social Relations and Culture Zoltán Tarr wrote on Facebook on Thursday after the so-called statute decree listing the responsibilities of individual ministries was pu»»»

The ministerial handover has been completed, and a comprehensive investigation will begin across all areas, Prime Minister Péter Magyar announced on Thursday at a press conference in Budapest. The prime minister said that all ministers of the Orbán government attended the governmental handover, alt»»»

China called on Friday for a lasting truce in the Middle East and for shipping lanes to be reopened "as soon as possible", as the strategic Strait of Hormuz has been effectively closed during the war with Iran. Iran has largely blocked shipping through the vital strait since conflict broke out with»»»

Beijing: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has no love for Venezuela's deposed leader Nicolas Maduro, and says he doesn't take fashion inspiration from him. Flying with President Donald Trump to China, a picture of Rubio went viral as he was decked out in a grey Nike tracksuit. The suit -- in brand»»»

A two-day national conference entitled "Healthcare in the 21st century: Modern aspects and challenges" will kick off on Friday. The forum, organized by the Bulgarian Association of Health Professionals in Nursing, will be opened by President Iliana Iotova, the presidential press secretariat reporte»»»

India’s National Testing Agency (NTA) has announced that the re-examination for the NEET-UG 2026 medical entrance test will be held on June 21, weeks after the May 3 exam was scrapped over alleged paper leaks and other irregularities that triggered nationwide outrage among students and parents. In »»»

China called on Friday for a lasting truce in the Middle East and for shipping lanes to be reopened "as soon as possible", as the strategic Strait of Hormuz has been effectively closed during the war with Iran. Iran has largely blocked shipping through the vital strait since conflict broke out with»»»

A NASA spacecraft chasing a rare metal asteroid swings past Mars this week for a gravity boost, snapping thousands of pictures as practice for the main encounter in 2029. Named Psyche like the asteroid it’s after, the robotic explorer will slingshot past the red planet at 12,333 mph (19,848 kph) on»»»