The International Monetary Fund said the Middle East, North Africa, and Pakistan were facing a pivotal and exceptionally difficult moment in their modern economic history after the war that broke out on Feb. 28, 2026, describing it as a severe and multifaceted shock to one of the world’s most strat»»»

Hezbollah plunged Lebanon into war with Israel in early March. Six weeks later, the group, which had suffered setbacks in 2024, is still putting up a fight. But how? And can the Lebanese government succeed in getting the militant group to disarm? In this edition of Middle East Matters, we are »»»

Eight people have been arrested in one day for allegedly illegally connecting their homes to the power network and not paying for the electricity they used, police said Thursday. Two people were detained Wednesday near the northwestern town of Igoumenitsa after power network employees complained th»»»

The Council of Ministers on Thursday approved a draft Act on Tackling Corruption of Public Office Holders, the Government Information Service said in a press release. The new bill has been drafted implementing the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) and the recommendations of the European »»»

Plastic sheeting serving as tents and mattresses laid on the ground: in Beni, Democratic Republic of Congo, the widows of fallen soldiers are struggling to survive in a makeshift camp. They say they fled the capital of North Kivu province, Goma, after it fell to the M23 rebels in January 2025. Left»»»

Damascus, April 16 (SANA) Chief of the General Staff of the army, Major General Ali Al-Naasan, and a number of officers received on Thursday a delegation from the Lebanese Army, headed by Liaison Officer Brigadier General Michel Boutros. During the meeting, which was characterized by understanding »»»

Chilean President Jose Antonio Kast (C) arrives by car at the Metropolitan Cathedral to attend aass and a 'Prayer for the People of Chile and the New Government' in Santiago on Sunday. Photo by Allen Diaz/EPA SANTIAGO-Chile, April 16 (UPI) -- Chilean President José Antonio Kast announced a package »»»

Tunis, April 16 (TAP) – The Assembly of People’s Representatives (ARP) is taking part in the 152nd Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), held in Istanbul from April 15 to 19, 2026, with a delegation composed of the Assistant Speaker in...»»»

Tunis, April 16 (TAP) - Permanent Representative of Tunisia to the United Nations Nabil Ammar reaffirmed Tunisia's total solidarity with its brothers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Kingdom of Bahrain, the State of Kuwait, the State of Qatar,...»»»

The caretaker Government Thursday approved the establishment of an interagency working group to coordinate industrial cooperation in projects for the procurement of defence equipment and products for the needs of the Bulgarian Armed Forces, the Government Information Service reported. The working g»»»

According to the latest population projections from Eurostat, the EU population is expected to decline by 11.7% between 2025 and 2100. This translates to a predicted decrease of 53.0 million people in the EU by the start of the next century. This information comes from the population projections pu»»»

Boyanka Yankova, top-of-the-list candidate of the Treti Mart [March 3] coalition in Stara Zagora, presented her priorities for the regional city here on Thursday, the coalition said in a press release. Yankova highlighted energy independence, a decent standard of living in rural areas, and a return»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The protracted Middle East conflict has had significant impact on international energy security and the safety of shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Thursday. "The US-Israel war against Iran should never have started. The protracted conflic»»»

Washington, April 16 (SANA) US President Donald Trump announced on Thursday an agreement for a ten-day ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel. “I had excellent talks with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and they agreed that in order to achieve peace betwe»»»

The caretaker Government Thursday approved an Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction (the BBNJ Agreement), signed by the Republic of Bulgaria on September 20, 2023. The Government proposes that the Nat»»»

The Council of Ministers Thursday approved a Strategy for the Development of the Bulgarian Defence Technology Industrial Base, the Government Information Service reported. The need to develop a new strategy to replace the existing one stems from the mismatch between the current strategic framework »»»

An Israeli strike on the southern Lebanese town of Ghazieh has killed at least seven people and wounded 33, the health ministry said Thursday, hours before a 10-day ceasefire between the two countries is scheduled to take effect. Lebanese state media reported a "massacre against civilians" in the t»»»

U.S. President Donald Trump announced that Israel and Lebanon had agreed to a ceasefire Thursday, and said he was trying to set up the first-ever meeting between the leaders of the two countries. Following what he called "excellent" phone calls with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Leb»»»

Pope Leo XIV condemned "a handful of tyrants" that were ravaging the world with war on Thursday, calling instead for the billions spent every year on weapons to go instead towards healthcare and education. The pontiff's strident comments came during a visit to Cameroon's separatist west, where thou»»»

As France debates a controversial antisemitism bill, Oliver Farry welcomes Renaud Foucart, Economist, Senior Lecturer at Lancaster University, for a nuanced and critical examination of the so-called Yadan Bill. Speaking from both an economic and institutional perspective, he evokes three competing »»»

UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik) - The ongoing blockade by the US Navy of Iranian waters is a violation of its sovereignty and territorial integrity, Iranian Permanent Representative to the UN Amir Saeid Iravani said on Thursday. "The imposition of a maritime blockade announced by the United States constit»»»

NEW DELHI (Sputnik) - The date for the second round of negotiations aimed at resolving the Middle East conflict, hosted by Pakistan as a mediator, has not yet been determined, Tahir Andrabi, the official spokesperson for Pakistan's Foreign Ministry, said on Thursday. "The dates for the next round o»»»

At a sitting on Thursday, the Council of Ministers adopted a report approving Draft Amendment and Supplement No. 1 to the Letter of Offer and Acceptance (LOA) BU-B-UCR Procurement of Ammunition for Stryker Vehicles. Proposing amendments and supplements to existing contracts under the Foreign Milita»»»

Dimitar Karbov, the top-of-the-list candidate of Nation for Varna, is quoted by the party’s press office as saying that "Children are our greatest treasure and hope for Bulgaria’s future, which is why addressing the country’s demographic crisis is a top priority for Nation." Karbov added that solvi»»»

Secretary's SpeechLebanon PalestineZionist EntityRegional and International International More Video Language Ar En Fr EsSubscribe for Weekly Updates Subscribe House Speaker Nabih Berri asks residents who were displaced from South Lebanon, Dahieh, and Bekaa to postpone return till ceasefire becomes»»»

Tunis, April 16 (TAP) - Any potential funding raised to address the repercussions of the war must be additional to that previously allocated, so as not to jeopardise the financing of the portfolio of ongoing projects, affirmed Minister of Economy...»»»

Tunis, April 16 (TAP) - Tunisia's Ambassador in Paris Dhia Khaled received President of the Syndicat des Entreprises du Tour-Operating (SETO) Patrice Caradec, at a meeting held at the embassy to promote Tunisia as a destination in the French...»»»

Tunis, April 16 (TAP) - Athens, the capital of Greece, hosted on Thursday the fourth round of Tunisian-Greek political consultations, chaired by Nabil Ben Khedher, Director-General for Bilateral Relations with European Countries at the Ministry of...»»»

MUSCAT: His Highness the Amir of the State of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani left Muscat, after a fraternal visit to the Sultanate of Oman. At the forefront of those bidding farewell to HH the Amir and the accompanying delegation was HM Sultan Haitham bin Tariq of the sisterly Sultanate of O»»»

In a speech in Riyadh in May 2025, US President Donald Trump appeared to criticise his White House predecessors, including fellow Republican President George W. Bush, for invading Iraq in 2003, bringing down Saddam Hussein’s regime, and trying to rebuild the Iraqi state. Trump’s barb was at “so-cal»»»

Cairo is seeing renewed diplomatic momentum on Gaza, with mediators working to narrow gaps between Hamas and Israel, alongside the United States and Nickolay Mladenov, the high representative for Gaza at the Board of Peace. A meeting in Cairo on Tuesday brought together Hamas chief negotiator Khali»»»

1 of 2 | Pope Leo XIV waves to supporters as he leaves after his visit to the Ngul Zamba orphanage in Yaounde, Cameroon, Wednesday. Pool photo by Alberto Pizzoli April 16 (UPI) -- Pope Leo XIV spent his second day in Cameroon in the city of Bamenda, the center of separatist fighting, calling for pe»»»

The Council of Ministers Thursday adopted a decision to open a Bulgarian consulate in Turkiye, headed by an honorary (non-career) consular officer, with its seat in Izmir and a consular district covering the territories of the provinces of Izmir, Sakarya, Bilesik, Eskisehir, Kocaeli, and Kutahya. T»»»

Secretary's SpeechLebanon PalestineZionist EntityRegional and International International More Video Language Ar En Fr EsSubscribe for Weekly Updates Subscribe Islamic Resistance fighters targeted at 17:30 on Thursday 16-04-2026 Ya‘ara settlement with a rocket barrage: statement 34 16-04-2026 20:40»»»

Share: President Trump announced that Israel and Lebanon agreed to a 10-day ceasefire, to begin on Thursday at 5pm ET. Why it matters: The U.S. has been pressing for a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon for several days, while working in parallel on a potential peace deal with Iran. “I just had e»»»

The acting president of Venezuela, Delcy Rodriguez, speaks at a pro-government event in Caracas on Monday to commemorate National Dignity Day, which marks the return of the late former president Hugo Chavez to the presidency after being ousted in a coup. Photo by Miguel Gutierrez/EPA April 16 (UPI)»»»

Four people, including a 15-year-old boy, have been identified and charged with scamming an elderly woman in northern Greece out of more than €18,000 worth of gold coins and jewellery, police said Thursday. A police statement said the phone scammers swindled the woman in Kilkis in March, using a co»»»

A large peri-urban forest project in western Thessaloniki is set to open June 6, as work nears completion on a 3,000-stremma green space being developed on former landfill land in Evkarpia in the municipality of Pavlos Melas. So far, 100,000 trees and 220,000 shrubs have been planted at the site, w»»»

Tsvetan Predov, the top-of-the-list-candidate of There Is Such a People in Sliven, concluded the political party’s election campaign in the region with an address to the residents of the area, the campaign headquarters announced. In his message, Predov highlighted his years of experience in the soc»»»

At a meeting here on Thursday, the Council of Ministers approved an agreement with the International Bank for Economic Co-operation (IBEC) settling the mutual obligations arising from the country’s withdrawal from the agreement on IBEC's organization and activities and from its membership in the IB»»»

The Council of Ministers Thursday adopted a decision to open an honorary consulate in Maputo, Republic of Mozambique, and to appoint Boris Atanasov as honorary consul based in Maputo, with a consular district covering the entire country. Bilateral relations between Bulgaria and Mozambique are based»»»

Sharjah: Sharjah Museums Authority is marking the 30th anniversary of Sharjah Science Museum under the slogan “Thirty Years of Scientific Achievement”, celebrating three decades since the museum first opened its doors on April 17, 1996, and its continued role in promoting hands-on learning and scie»»»

Hezbollah lawmaker Ibrahim al-Moussawi told AFP on Thursday that the Lebanese group would respect a ceasefire with Israel announced earlier by U.S. President Donald Trump if Israeli attacks on the militants stopped. "We in Hezbollah will cautiously adhere to the ceasefire on the condition that it i»»»

Tunis, April 16 (TAP) - The National Agency for Energy Management (ANME) and Les Ciments de Jebel El Oust have agreed on a new strategic cooperation framework aimed at converting textile waste into refuse-derived fuel (RDF), in order to reduce...»»»

Istanbul: Speaker of the Shura Council HE Hassan bin Abdullah Al Ghanim held two bilateral meetings with with Speaker of the National Assembly of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, HE Sardar Ayaz Sadiq and Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives, HE Milton Dick. The meetings were held on »»»

The French government on Thursday said it was pushing for the release of an 86-year-old French citizen who has been detained by ICE since early April. Marie-Thérèse Ross, who is now widowed, moved to the US last year to marry her sweetheart from the 1950s.  French officials have said they»»»

More than three dozen Democrats backed a bid by Senator Bernie Sanders on Wednesday to block US arms sales to Israel, reflecting growing unease over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and conflicts in Gaza and Iran. The measures failed, opposed by Republicans, but underscored rising dissent within t»»»

Angela Diffley is pleased to welcome Bilal Y. Saab, Senior Managing Director of TRENDS US.Former Pentagon Official in the first Trump administration. According to Saab, Lebanon is at a crossroads: the government is committed to reform, is fundamentally “pro-Lebanese” and rejects interference from e»»»

US President Donald Trump on Thursday said that Israel and Lebanon had agreed to a 10-day ceasefire that would come into effect at 5pm EST. Trump said he had earlier spoken with both Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Follow our liveblog for the latest upd»»»

A woman who came to the world's attention at the age of just 16 has spoken to FRANCE 24 about how helping women has been an honour for her. Now 22, as a teenager Bohlale Mphahlele invented what she calls the Alerting Earpiece, designed to help protect women against sexual predators. She spoke »»»