The United States on Thursday said it had approved a $24.3 billion sale of 48 F-35 stealth warplanes to Saudi Arabia. Israel has previously voiced concerns about Riyadh buying F-35s, despite a push to normalise relations. The United States has approved a $24.3 billion sale of 48 F-35 stea»»»

In an interview with FRANCE 24, former Obama administration National Security Council member Charles Kupchan said the war in Iran "in many respects jeopardises the Trump presidency", calling it "yet another failed war of choice" that has driven up fuel and living costs ahead of the midterms. Trump'»»»

NAGOYA: President of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) and Qatar Olympic Committee HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani took part in the final stage of the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games torch relay on Friday. The relay was held at Hisaya Odori Park in Nagoya, with the participation of OCA vice presid»»»

Nigerian authorities launched an investigation Thursday after 37 suspected illegal miners died in a civil defence detention facility in central Niger state, with conflicting accounts blaming either a disease outbreak or overcrowding and poor ventilation. The governor of a central Nigerian state sai»»»

Share: HERE IS THE LATEST: A U.K. navy agency said a second tanker was hit by a projectile in the Strait of Hormuz early Friday, hours after reporting another vessel coming under attack in the vital waterway. Iran claimed to have struck a ship attempting an “illegal crossing” of the strait. Preside»»»

ESSEN, Sept. 18, 2026 (TAP) - The Tunisian Confederation of Citizen Enterprises (CONECT) on Friday led a delegation of Tunisian companies during the first day of the Tunisian-German Economic Forum, held in Essen, with the participation of...»»»

LONDON: Qatar Airways has capped a successful Skytrax World Airline Awards 2026, winning four titles and retaining its 5-Star Airline rating. The four World Airline Awards presented to Qatar Airways were the World's Best Business Class (the thirteenth time to receive this award); Best Airline in th»»»

Nagoya: President of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) and Qatar Olympic Committee HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al-Thani took part in the final stage of the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games torch relay on Friday. The relay was held at Hisaya Odori Park in Nagoya, with the participation of OCA vice presid»»»

Tokyo, Sept. 18 (SANA) The Bank of Japan raised its benchmark interest rate on Friday from 1.0% to 1.25%, marking its highest level in 31 years to counter inflationary pressures, particularly driven by rising energy costs. The decision was approved by a 7–2 vote following a two-day policy meeting, »»»

Munich, Germany: Bayern Munich forward Harry Kane has become the fastest player to score 100 Bundesliga goals, achieving the mark in his 98th league match on Friday against Union Berlin. Kane beat goalkeeper Frederik Ronnow to score Bayern's second goal of the evening from the penalty spot after 39»»»

Speaking during a meeting with GERB representatives from Plovdiv Region in Parvomay on Friday evening, party leader Boyko Borissov said that GERB must return to being a strong right-wing, conservative party again. “GERB must return to what we used to be – a strong right-wing, conservative party. Ri»»»

More American service members have died in the Middle East during the ongoing Iran war than the Pentagon has disclosed publicly, according to six U.S. officials familiar with the Defense Department’s internal casualty accounting data, The Washington Post reported. Five of the officials said there h»»»

Qatar says money, food, medicine and fuel entered Gaza with Israeli coordination Dubai: Qatar has rejected reports in Israeli media about the destination of its humanitarian aid to Gaza, saying the claims were false and insisting that assistance was directed to Palestinian civilians through mechani»»»

Russian defense-industry workers continuously supply units of the Russian Armed Forces participating in the special military operation with the weapons they need most, Russian President Vladimir Putin said. The president emphasized that the Russian defense industry’s export order book is growing, m»»»

President escalates feud with media, labels coverage 'fake news' US President Donald Trump said Friday he was banning news outlets CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House, accusing them without specifics of reporting "fiction and lies." "I am proud to announce that, effective immediately, I a»»»

BusinessIrelandRyanair boss apologizes for calling other airlines 'rapists'Wesley Dockery with AFP, dpaThe airline CEO had used the term to describe other airlines with high fares. His comments were criticized by officials both in Ireland and the UK. https://p.dw.com/p/5MsQFO'Leary has been Ryanair»»»

MOSCOW, (Sputnik) - The Russian armed forces and security agencies must be prepared to respond quickly and effectively to potential external threats, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday. Speaking at a meeting of the Military-Industrial Commission, Putin said that the agenda included dis»»»

Berlin races to ease pump pain amid global supply shocks and oil route attacks Germany is poised to cut taxes on fuel for vehicles under an agreement within the country's coalition government, sources said Friday, as Europe's biggest economy grapples with surging prices because of the Middle East w»»»

Nagoya: Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) HE President Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al-Thani chaired the 110th OCA Executive Board meeting in Nagoya, Japan, ahead of the Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026. The meeting reviewed preparations for upcoming OCA events, including the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games»»»

Tashkent, Sept. 18 (SANA) Minister of Economy and Industry Nidal al-Shaar and Uzbek Minister of Investment, Industry, and Trade Laziz Kudratov signed a memorandum of understanding in Tashkent on Friday to establish a joint economic and trade committee. The agreement establishes a framework for regu»»»

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: Brazilian police arrested a suspected serial killer linked to at least 16 deaths on Friday in Rio de Janeiro, catching the fugitive disguised as a woman and carrying a baby. He claims to have killed more than four times that number. The suspect was arrested Sunday after a 30»»»

New Pentagon hormone policy sparks debate over science, readiness and risk The Pentagon has rolled out formal guidance for mandatory testosterone testing for male service members 30 and older, a policy that leaves out women for now and faces questions from medical experts about the need and efficac»»»

Bulgaria has urgently recalled its ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, Ivan Yordanov, following allegations that a company owned by his father was involved in financing private flights taken by Delyan Peevski. Foreign Minister Velislava Petrova has summoned Yordanov to Sofia and ordered an insp»»»

Doha, Qatar: The International Media Office of the State of Qatar released a statement in response to false claims and fabricated reports in Israeli media. "Reports circulating in the Israeli media about the destination of humanitarian aid provided by Qatar to Gaza are categorically false. These al»»»

He claims to have killed more than 80 people Brazilian police said Friday they had captured a suspected serial killer linked to at least 16 deaths since May, who was arrested while disguised as a woman and carrying a baby. He claims to have killed more than four times that number. Get updated faste»»»

Community-wide challenge advances Dubai’s 2033 sports and quality of life goals Under the patronage of Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence of the UAE, and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai, the second editio»»»

TUNIS, September 18, 2026 (TAP) – Thunderstorms are expected to continue over northern and central regions from Friday night, before gradually spreading to the southwest. Rainfall will be locally heavy, with hail in some areas, according to the...»»»

Tinubu orders urgent inquiry into deaths of suspected illegal miners in custody Survivors of a Nigerian disaster that saw 37 suspected illegal gold miners die while in the custody of a paramilitary civil defence group recounted their panic on Friday as they struggled to breathe inside the cell. Pol»»»

A position issued by the Economy, Investments and Industry Ministry on Friday in response to statements by opposition leaders notes that the more than EUR 300 million in government assistance provided in response to rising fuel prices to support public transport, bus operators, agricultural produce»»»

Social sector workers demonstrated outside the Prime Minister’s Office in Budapest on Friday, demanding an immediate 25 per cent pay rise and improved working conditions. Péter Magyar then went out and met them to hear their demands. Demonstrators call for higher wages and better working conditions»»»

Two audio units were reported stolen after officers traced the mosque caretaker Cairo: Egyptian police have arrested a man after a widely circulated video appeared to show him stealing equipment from a mosque in Matrouh governorate. The footage, which has gone viral onsocial media, prompted securit»»»

Another Sydney Sweeney ad goes viral – this time promoting a sports betting application almost naked. The campaign sparked fury among female athletes who said it undermines decades of progress in women's sports. Yet is the outrage itself part of the overall marketing strategy and ‘feminist-bai»»»

French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday said he had ordered measures to protect France's critical infrastructure and defence industry sites from "Russian hybrid attacks", adding that the threat from Moscow had intensified in recent weeks.  ⁠France ​was threatened ​by Russian hybrid att»»»

French far-right politician Éric Zemmour said on Friday that he would run in next year's presidential election, joining far-right candidate Marine Le Pen, who was runner-up to President Emmanuel Macron in the last two elections. Zemmour is campaigning on a crackdown on immigration, i»»»

Haxie Meyers-Belkin is pleased to welcome Renaud Foucart, Senior Lecturer in Economics at Lancaster University’s Management School in the UK. According to Foucart, France’s energy and economic crises expose a deeper collision between economic constraints, political accountability and an approaching»»»

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Thursday to transfer assets of Swiss food giant Nestle and three French groups to a company called LEV Management. Most Western companies quickly sold their Russian operations and holdings after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukra»»»

Polls opened in Russia's Far East on Friday as the country began three days of voting for its parliamentary election, the first since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The Kremlin's main party, United Russia, is poised to keep its grip on power alongside other parties aligned with»»»

Spanish police in Ceuta on Friday morning started moving hundreds of migrants from the beaches of the Spanish enclave to a new tented area. Several thousand migrants remain in Ceuta after tens of thousands of people crossed the border with Morocco in late July.  Police on Friday began moving h»»»

In this episode, we debrief one of the key annual events in the EU calendar: the State of the Union speech. It was Ursula von der Leyen’s sixth such address as President of the European Commission, and the second State of the Union speech of her second mandate. We home in on the key innovations sin»»»

Ireland is managing a jam-packed agenda as the current holder of the rotating presidency of the EU. We caught up with the country’s Minister of State for European Affairs, Thomas Byrne, who was in Strasbourg for the 2026 State of the Union speech and debate with EU Commission President Ursula von d»»»

Former Environment and Water Minister Borislav Sandov has been charged with official misconduct in the “Petrohan” case, the Sofia City Prosecutor’s Office announced. The charges concern actions taken on February 8, 2022, when Sandov was serving as environment minister. According to prosecutors, he »»»

Doha, Qatar: The 2026 Police Padel Championship, organised by the Qatar Police Sports Federation from 14 to 17 September 2026 at the 1969 Padel Courts at Al Sadd Club, concluded. More than 90 teams representing the Ministry of Interior, the Internal Security Force “Lekhwiya,” and the Qatar Armed Fo»»»

BELGRADE - Serbian caretaker Deputy PM and Interior Minister Ivica Dacic met on Friday in Belgrade with International President of the International Police Association (IPA) Martin Hoffmann to discuss joint activities and the Interior Ministry’s support for the work of the international association»»»

Financial experts say Bulgaria has limited ability to contain rising prices as higher oil and energy costs continue to put pressure on consumers. “There is no way for the state to counter rising oil and energy prices. We have to learn to live with these prices,” financial analyst Max Baklayan said »»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russia is unmatched globally in terms of accessibility of natural gas to its population, Russian energy giant Gazprom CEO Alexey Miller said on Friday. "On January 1, 2026, we set a new record in supplying piped natural gas for our consumers in Russia. Its level amounted to 91.2%»»»

A person was hit by a tram on Margaret Boulevard in Budapest’s 2nd district on Friday afternoon, temporarily disrupting services on several lines. Tram services disrupted after accident The accident happened near Mammut shopping centre at Széna Square, where the vehicle struck a person, according t»»»

Ankara: Turkish Justice Minister Akin Gurlek announced a major operation against an Israeli-linked international fraud network that swindled foreign nationals through fake foreign exchnge (forex) and cryptocurrency investment schemes, with 175 suspects detained in coordinated raids across Istanbul »»»

Prime Minister Rumen Radev held a working meeting with the leadership of international investment fund Meridiam, a leading partner in the concession for Vasil Levski Sofia Airport, the Government Information Service said on Friday. The talks focused on the possible resumption of concession payments»»»

HUTA, Ukraine - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of a Carpathian Initiative summit in Huta, Ukraine, on Friday to discuss issues important for the two countries and the entire region. "Grateful to President Zelenskyy for the hospit»»»

Kyiv: The Ukrainian government announced today that it had received a new tranche of EUR 3.3 billion from the European Union (EU), part of the "Ukraine Support" loan, to meet defense needs. Ukrainian Prime Minister, Serhiy Koretskyi stated in a post on Telegram that the country would allocate these»»»