The forum, held from September 24–26 under the theme “United Cultures — Common Values,” brings together more than 2,000 participants from over 70 countries to discuss cultural cooperation, heritage, and international dialogue. Sputnik is live from St. Petersburg, where Russian President Vladimir Pu»»»

UN crime congress in Abu Dhabi sets five-year roadmap under new Declaration Abu Dhabi is set to welcome the world tomorrow as the 15th United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice commences at ADNEC Centre Abu Dhabi, running from 26 September to 1 October. Up to 5,000 delegates,»»»

Speaking to broadcasters TF1 and France 2, French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday announced that “military resources” will be sent to protect the Yanbu oil site in Saudi Arabia, integral to maintaining the kingdom’s fuel exports and increasingly threatened by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels»»»

The United Nations Security Council on Friday condemned attacks by Yemeni Houthi rebels on Saudi Arabia. The wars in Iran and Gaza have dominated the agenda at the annual UN General Assembly in New York. Follow or liveblog for the latest updates.  (FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)»»»

Berlin: German automobile giant Volkswagen confirmed Friday a recall of around 2.86 million vehicles worldwide over a potential steering risk, according to the German transport authority KBA. The affected models include VW's Tiguan, Touran, Golf and Caddy vehicles built between 2013 and 2024, and a»»»

Viral video shows adventurous pair tackling rugged Himalayan roads in three-wheeler Forget the SUV or adventure motorcycle. Two British tourists exploring one of India’s most spectacular mountain regions have chosen a rather more unconventional ride — an auto-rickshaw. The pair have attracted atten»»»

Tigray's rebel authorities say they are now in a "full-blown war" with the Ethiopian government, as fighting spreads into the neighbouring Amhara and Afar regions. Ethiopia's federal army says 272 rebels were killed and 260 wounded in the north, while FRANCE 24 spoke to Jervin Naidoo, Political Ana»»»

Iran seeks return to earlier deal as Hormuz deadline, Saudi attacks keep tensions high The US-Iran conflict is entering another critical diplomatic window, with Tehran calling on Washington to return to an earlier agreement before the US midterm elections and setting a four-to-five-day deadline for»»»

Israeli colonists attacked a Palestinian home in the village of Umm Safa, north of Ramallah, while a Palestinian citizen of Israel was seriously wounded in a shooting in Sakhnin and occupation forces detained a father and son in Tulkarm, in a series of incidents underscoring the escalating violence»»»

Crowds have already begun gathering outside Notre-Dame Cathedral as Pope Leo XIV prepares for one of the highlights of his Paris visit. Before heading to the cathedral, the pontiff is expected to deliver another speech at UNESCO headquarters, where he is set to address global challenges including p»»»

“Xi did not bring a Chinese business delegation because he did not need one. The American tech and finance crowd came to him,” Hong Kong-based geopolitical analyst Angelo Giuliano told Sputnik, commenting on the optics and substance of the Chinese president’s state visit to Washington. “Bringing ex»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Russian forces struck the DataGroup data center in Kiev, which provided the processing and transmission of intelligence data in the interests of the armed forces of Ukraine, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Friday. The Russian forces continue to launch drone strikes again»»»

Secretary's SpeechLebanon PalestineZionist EntityRegional and International International More Video Language Ar En Fr EsSubscribe for Weekly Updates Subscribe MP Fadlallah: Hezbollah is Ready for Political Resolution, Not Surrender 25-09-2026 17:39 PM Member of the Loyalty to the Resistance Block,»»»

Bulgaria's Black Sea exclusive economic zone has been added to a high-risk maritime area following a sharp increase in attacks on commercial vessels, with maritime risk assessment firm Ambrey reporting at least 45 such incidents in previously unaffected parts of the Black Sea over the past 12 month»»»

Democratic Bulgaria is calling for Parliament to hear the foreign minister or the relevant deputy foreign minister over conflicting statements about Bulgaria's position on Ukraine, MP and Democratic Bulgaria parliamentary group chair Nadezhda Yordanova said. The request concerns the differing posit»»»

TUNIS, Sept. 25 (TAP) – The Permanent Mission of Tunisia to the United Nations Office at Geneva took part Thursday in the General debate on human rights bodies and mechanisms as part of the Human Rights Council's 63rd session. The mission reaffirmed...»»»

Bulgaria is benefiting from a rapid expansion of battery energy storage systems as record drought hits electricity generation across Eastern Europe, according to an Agence France-Presse (AFP) analysis from Sofia. Around 100 battery energy storage sites are currently operating in Bulgaria, most of t»»»

An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission led by Fabian Bornhorst will visit Sofia from September 28 to October 2, the Fund said. During the visit, the IMF delegation will meet with government officials, representatives of the Bulgarian National Bank, private-sector representatives and other sta»»»

Pezeshkian tells US TV interview Iran ready to strike deal with Trump to end conflict United Nations: It is for the United States to choose whether to end its war in Iran as Tehran does not wish to continue fighting, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in a US television interview aired Thursd»»»

New survey finds confidence growing as fewer investors cut exposure to UAE equities UAE retail investors are becoming increasingly bullish on their home market despite six months of geopolitical uncertainty, according to etoro’s latest UAE Retail Investor Beat, a survey of 1,000 retail investors re»»»

On a warm afternoon in May, a simple gathering on Margaret Island had slowly turned into a small Filipino feast. We were there for a friend’s birthday. Around the picnic blankets were the usual signs of a celebration: cake, drinks, bags of snacks, and people taking photos for their Instagram. There»»»

BELGRADE- Serbian caretaker Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic announced on Friday a 175 mln euro World Bank loan for the construction of the first phase of gas infrastructure in Serbia had been approved. In an Instagram post, Djedovic Handanovic wrote that the project inclu»»»

EU governments are deadlocked on how to proceed with a major overhaul to the bloc’s pesticides rules following a sustained pushback from scientists and countries outside the EU. The revisions to the pesticides regulation form part of a food-and-feed ‘Omnibus’ law proposed by the EU Commission last »»»

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - US President Donald Trump on Friday said he expects "tremendous" things to occur following his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. "Tremendous things will be happening," Trump said via Truth Social. Donald Trump called his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping "ver»»»

Great Britain is going through a war scare. Or to be precise, its combined political and media establishment is subjecting its people to a relentless propaganda (in up-to-date NATO-speak “cognitive warfare”) campaign to create a sense of impending war against Russia. As you would expect, that war i»»»

September is proving a miserable month for German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Two weeks ago, his Christian Democratic Union suffered a crushing defeat in Saxony-Anhalt, where the Alternative for Germany won 43.8% of the vote against just 17.2% for the CDU, then, on September 20, another humiliation »»»

Virtually all of America’s most powerful technology executives joined US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping for a lavish White House state dinner on Thursday, as AI emerged as a major theme of the Chinese leader’s visit. The black-tie dinner in the White House East Room brought to»»»

MP Hassan Fadlallah of Hezbollah on Friday snapped back at Free Patriotic Movement chief Gebran Bassil over recent remarks criticizing the Iran-backed group and the recent wars it has fought. “Lebanon is in dire need today of honesty, loyalty, and words that unite rather than divide -- a national d»»»

About 250 affected jets are already flying, but Airbus says there is no safety risk Airbus has identified a manufacturing quality defect affecting about 500 A321neo aircraft, including roughly 250 already in service. The European planemaker said the problem could reduce corrosion resistance inside »»»

Albania’s top state officials and senior security leaders are expected to meet Monday morning at the Palace of Brigades for a session of the National Security Council, amid heightened attention over an investigation involving a former intelligence chief. The meeting, convened by President Bajram Be»»»

The 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly has produced one of the most politically damaging scenes for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in recent years: as he approached the podium on September 24, dozens of diplomatic delegations left the chamber. Western media coverage plac»»»

Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan will hold chief of staff talks to support the kingdom, Riyadh said in a statement on Friday, as Yemen's Houthis ramp up attacks on the world's top crude exporter. The Iran-backed group has escalated its attacks on the kingdom since July, ending a years-long truce a»»»

NEW YORK - The Republic of Serbia established diplomatic relations with the Kingdom of Tonga on Thursday. On the sidelines of the 81st UN General Assembly session in New York, Serbian caretaker FM Marko Djuric and Tonga's Minister for Infrastructure Tevita Fatafehi Puloka attended the signing of a »»»

Argentina's poverty rate jumped to 32.3% in the first half of 2026, official data showed Thursday, as incomes failed to keep pace with the rising cost of basic goods, a setback for libertarian President Javier Milei little more than a year before he seeks reelection. The national statistics agency,»»»

The Tirana City Council has asked Albania’s Special Prosecutor’s Office (SPAK) and the General Directorate of Prisons to allow Tirana Mayor Erion Veliaj to participate in the council’s upcoming meeting on September 29. The meeting is scheduled to take place at 3 p.m. in the Tirana City Council cham»»»

Israel’s military said two of its soldiers were killed in northern Gaza on Thursday while inspecting an unexploded Israeli drone near a military post. They were the first Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza in months. The drone exploded as the soldiers approached it, the military said Friday. They were»»»

NEW YORK - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic met on Thursday in New York with the UK's special Western Balkans envoy Karen Pierce, noting that Serbia and the UK had a mutual interest in establishing strategic dialogue as an additional framework for cooperation on bilateral and regional issues, sec»»»

Ukrainian forces encircled in the DPR town of Dobropolye “attempted to break out several times,” but to no avail. “We eliminated 50 fighters and destroyed several armored vehicles in the process,” former Spetsnaz officer Anatoly Matviychuk told Sputnik, commenting on the fierce fighting around the »»»

Couple were preparing for pre-marriage medical checks when an argument turned violent Dubai: An 18-year-old man has died after being stabbed during an argument with his 19-year-old fiancée in the Turkish city of Adana, as the couple were preparing to complete formalities ahead of their marriage. Lo»»»

Iran war and soaring fuel costs accelerate airline's retirement of older A330 jets Qatar Airways has retired its remaining Airbus A330 passenger aircraft and is sending some of its A330-trained pilots to Rwanda’s national carrier as the Iran war continues to disrupt Gulf aviation and drive up fuel »»»

The Air India-flydubai tie-up links UAE travellers to more Indian and global destinations Dubai: Indian travellers in the UAE could get more ways to connect to destinations across India and beyond through a new Air India-flydubai interline partnership, as the two airlines link their networks throug»»»

Inspections found illegal alterations, overcrowding and bachelors in restricted areas Dubai Municipality has carried out more than 16,000 inspection visits across residential areas of the emirate since the beginning of 2026, identifying 2,395 building and occupancy violations. The inspections inclu»»»

With Saudi oil facilities, cities and ships off its coast coming under escalating attacks, the kingdom's top religious authority has called on soldiers to be prepared to defend the country from Iran-backed Houthis. The strongly worded statement from Grand Mufti Sheikh Saleh al-Fawzan, who tradition»»»

New York: The State of Qatar participated today in the high-level ministerial meeting of the Global Alliance for the Implementation of the Two-State Solution, held on the sidelines of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Minister of State at the Ministry of Foreign A»»»

Two midwives were flown in by helicopter as tiny North Ronaldsay celebrated a rare arrival For 34 years, no baby had been born on the tiny Scottish island of North Ronaldsay. That changed at 4.05am on September 15, when Duncan Wilder Thorstein Traill Suarez Ford entered the world in an ancestral fa»»»

Largest-ever narrowbody order deepens Turkish Airlines-Boeing ties amid fleet growth Turkish Airlines has finalized a deal with Boeing for up to 150 737 MAX aircraft, the carrier's largest single-aisle order to date. This ends months of uncertainty after negotiations over engine terms had threatene»»»

The Sofia City Prosecution Office (SCPO) filed an indictment against six people for participation in an organized criminal group trafficking in migrants, the SCPO press service said on Friday. According to the indictment, the group operated in Bulgaria from the summer of 2017 until April 1, 2022. O»»»

President Joseph Aoun praised the army on Monday for defending all Lebanese, including those standing against it. "You defend all our people, even the very few who stand against our homeland and our state," he told army personnel. "Your weapons are the only legitimate weapons — not by force, nor un»»»

In southern Lebanon, eight-year-old Yara Ajami started the academic year this week in a doorless, windowless classroom after her school was destroyed by an Israeli strike. Well known in the area for its excellence, Ajami's elementary school in Burj Qalaway was struck by Israel in May. "We are happy»»»

Doha, Qatar: The State of Qatar strongly condemns in the strongest terms ballistic missile attacks by the Houthi group on the Saudi cities of Taif and Yanbu, describing them as a violation of Saudi Arabia's sovereignty and international law. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expresses its categorical»»»