It was supposed to be just another Thursday in Laos, where Anthonin Levelu's father was born. Instead, the 30-year-old French citizen found himself among more than 140 people, mostly tourists, on a ferry that capsized in the Mekong River. All but three are thought to have made it to safety. Videos »»»

Prime Minister Mark Carney has appointed financier and former BlackRock executive Mark Wiseman as Canada's ambassador to the US, ahead of major trade talks with the Trump administration. Wiseman, an experienced investment manager, takes on the task as Canada works to reset its strained relations wi»»»

1 of 2 | Mark Wiseman, president and CEO of Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, attends the economy summit of China development forum 2015 at Diaoyutai in Beijing, China. Wiseman was selected Monday as Canada's ambassador to the United States. File Photo by Wu Hong/EPA Dec. 22 (UPI) -- Canadian P»»»

Ali Turki Al Subaie, Chief Operating Officer of the Education Above All (EAA) Foundation, has highlighted the organisation’s evolving journey in youth empowerment, reflecting on its key milestones, challenges, and future ambitions, in an exclusive interview with Qatar Tribune’s Khaled Al Hameidi. D»»»

Sofia Municipality Monday reported a notable improvement in air quality following recent measures prompted by spiking air pollution, including the discounted Green Tickets” for public transport, that were launched for the first time in response to forecasts of high air pollution. Also, stricter enf»»»

The Justice Department has sued Washington, DC, over its law banning residents from registering ownership of semi-automatic guns. Under DC law, all gun owners must register their weapons with local police. The nation's capital, though, bars the registration of AR-15 and other fast-loading guns, whi»»»

Damascus, Dec. 22 (SANA) TThe Syrian specialized export clothing exhibition “Motex Khan Al-Harir” for the Spring/Summer 2026 season kicked off Monday evening at the Damascus Fairgrounds. The event is organized by the Chambers of Industry and Commerce in Damascus and Aleppo, in cooperation with the »»»

Spain's Christmas lottery has been welcomed as an "injection of hope" in the northwest of the country, where the jackpot handed out hundreds of millions of euros just months after wildfires had caused devastation. Most of the first-prize-winning tickets in the lottery, known as El Gordo, had been b»»»

Dec. 22 (UPI) -- A large sinkhole in a British canal swallowed several boats early Monday, causing more than 10 people to be rescued, local authorities said. The sinkhole was in the Shropshire Union Canal in Chemistry, Whitchurch, Shropshire, England, near the Welsh border. The hole was about 164 f»»»

Dubai: The Department of Education (DepEd) has commenced the distribution of year-end incentives to approximately one million employees nationwide following a directive from Philippines President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. The package, which includes various bonuses for both teaching and non-teaching »»»

Sofia Municipality Monday reported a notable improvement in air quality following recent measures prompted by spiking air pollution, including the discounted Green Tickets” for public transport, that were launched for the first time in response to forecasts of high air pollution. Also, stricter enf»»»

The Trump administration has paused the leases given to five offshore wind farms. File Photo by Pat Benic/UPI | License Photo Dec. 22 (UPI) -- The Interior Department announced Monday it would pause the leases of five offshore wind farms being built on the East Coast. The five projects are: Vineyar»»»

Tunis, Dec. 22 (TAP) - Five advisory committees of the Industrial Upgrading Programme approved 484 upgrading applications in 2025, 65% of which concerned small and medium-sized enterprises, according to data released on Monday by the Ministry of...»»»

A group of Salvadorans asks the Supreme Court in November to declare unconstitutional the decree that allows the state of emergency in El Salvador to end a measure that, they claim, has led to arbitrary arrests of thousands of people and 'multiple human rights violations' as part of the fight again»»»

A one-year-old Palestinian girl evacuated from Gaza with severe nutritional problems is back in hospital in the territory after being returned there from Jordan. Siwar Ashour, whose story the BBC has followed for several months, was repatriated to Gaza on 3 December after completing her medical tre»»»

The leaders of Denmark and Greenland insisted Monday that the United States won’t take over Greenland and demanded respect for their territorial integrity after President Donald Trump ‍​announced ​the appointment of a ‌special envoy to the semi-autonomous territory. Trump’s announcement on Sunday t»»»

Chinese robotaxis could be set to hit UK roads in 2026 as ride-sharing apps Uber and Lyft announce partnerships with Baidu to trial the tech. The two companies are hoping to obtain approval from regulators to test the autonomous vehicles in London. Baidu's Apollo Go driverless taxi service already »»»

bTV reported on Monday that it has decided to part ways with journalist Maria Tsantsarova, a host of the TV channel’s morning show. Tensions between the two sides escalated after, on the day of the large-scale anti-government protest on December 10, Tsantsarova placed in front of her on air a cup b»»»

The Association of European Journalists – Bulgaria (AEJ-Bulgaria) issued a statement on Monday, saying it will organise a new protest outside the bTV headquarters in Sofia, after the media outlet announced its decision to terminate the contract of journalist Maria Tsantsarova, a host of the TV chan»»»

PoliticsIndiaIndia's nuclear expansion draws global interestMurali Krishnan in New DelhiLandmark nuclear reform opens India's nuclear sector to foreign firms, aiming for massive growth, but critics highlight safety, oversight and supply chain gaps. https://p.dw.com/p/55oXLIndia is on track to meet »»»

The Chairman of the State Commission on Commodity Exchanges and Markets (SCCEWM), Vladimir Ivanov, at a weekly briefing on prices and trends in wholesale trade in fruits, vegetables, and basic food products described the outgoing 2025 as a year of market stabilization after the severe instability i»»»

Most companies and bosses would squirm at the idea of being called "woke" and may even regard it as an insult. But not Mark Constantine. Lush's outspoken co-founder and chief executive wears it like a badge of honour and is not ashamed of turning it into a business philosophy. The firm is renowned »»»

Dubai: Politics, technology and entertainment dominated global search behaviour in 2025, with a small group of public figures accounting for a disproportionate share of online attention, according to an analysis by PlayersTime using Ahrefs search volume data. Sign up for our daily business newslett»»»

bTV reported on Monday that it has decided to part ways with journalist Maria Tsansarova, a host of the TV channel’s morning show. Tensions between the two sides escalated after, on the day of the large-scale anti-government protest on December 10, Tsansarova placed in front of her on air a cup bea»»»

King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) and SARsatX, a Saudi company specializing in Earth observation technologies, have developed computer-generated data to train deep learning models to predict oil spills. According to KAUST, validating the use of synthetic data is crucial for»»»

The Association of Banks in Lebanon has issued a statement expressing its "fundamental reservations and strong objection to the draft law presented to Cabinet concerning financial regulation and the handling of deposits, due to its provisions and procedures." ABL said the draft law’s provisions “co»»»

Dubai: As Christmas approaches and offices across the UAE enter the year-end slowdown, many employees are asking a familiar question: Is Christmas Day a public holiday in the UAE? The short answer is no. Christmas is not listed among the UAE’s official public holidays under the Cabinet resolution r»»»

Failure to adopt the 2026 State budget will affect Bulgarians’ standard of living, according to 63.8% of respondents in a survey conducted by the Myara polling agency. The opposite view is held by 31.8% of those surveyed, while a small “grey” zone of 4.4% are undecided. The data come from an indepe»»»

At a rail yard near Milton Keynes, a group of men in orange outfits are making final checks on huge slabs of railway track, preparing them so that they are ready to be installed over Christmas and New Year. At a time when many commuters stop work to enjoy celebrations with friends and family, rail »»»

Thousands of job seekers converged on a small airstrip in Sambalpur district this month for a home guard recruitment exam, transforming the venue into an open-air classroom. According to PTI, more than 8,000 candidates contested just 187 vacancies, highlighting Odisha’s deepening unemployment crisi»»»

Egypt’s stock market closed the week of 14–18 December firmly in the red, as intensified selling by domestic investors pushed indices lower despite sustained foreign buying. The benchmark EGX30 fell 1.39% to 40,926.86 points, marking one of the sharpest weekly pullbacks in December and erasing gain»»»

Lebanon’s government has submitted a long-awaited financial gap law, committing to the recovery of the majority of bank deposits as part of a broader effort to resolve the country’s deep-seated financial crisis. In a televised address last week, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said the draft law provide»»»

Egypt has granted a manufacturing license enabling Deli Group’s local subsidiary, Deli Egypt, to establish an EGP 8.8 billion industrial complex in the 10th of Ramadan City, one of the country’s largest and most strategically located industrial zones. The approval was confirmed in a cabinet stateme»»»

The Industrial Research Centre in Tajoura, Tripoli, organized a workshop yesterday, on the reality of local industries and supporting exports and imports under regional agreements, under the slogan “Industry, Quality, Trust.” The workshop was attended by the Minister of Economy and Trade, Mohamed A»»»

Strengthened tax procedures and digitalization have contributed to a reduction in the shadow economy and ensured the overfulfillment of tax revenue plans. Deputy Chairman of the State Tax Service of Kyrgyzstan Mirlan Rakhmanov said in an interview with Ala-Too LIVE program summarizing the results o»»»

Protests have erupted across northern India after the Supreme Court redefined the Aravalli hills - one of the world's oldest geological formations spanning the states of Rajasthan, Haryana, Gujarat, and the capital, Delhi. Under the new definition, accepted by the court following federal government»»»

Dubai: It was a soggy, chaotic Friday in Dubai when Bollywood’s IT couple, Kartik Aaryan and Ananya Panday, touched down to promote their new rom-com, hitting UAE cinemas on December 26. Rain poured relentlessly, the streets gleamed like Korean glass-skin, and I low-key wondered if my car would sur»»»

Sydney: Australia is reckoning with its deadliest mass shooting in decades after a father and son opened fire on crowds gathered for a Jewish festival at Bondi Beach. Using newly released police allegations, witness testimony, and official statements, AFP pieced together a timeline of the December »»»

Dubai: Dubai's Gold Souk Extension is offering visitors an unusual incentive this winter season: the chance to win a custom gold Mercedes-Benz S-Class 500. Running from December 11 through February 8, the promotion allows shoppers to enter a draw each time they spend Dh 500 or more at participating»»»

BusinessUnited States of AmericaWhy Trump is backing Bayer in weedkiller cancer battleNik MartinThe Trump administration has diverged from the position of former US President Biden, throwing its weight behind the German chemical giant in its courtroom battle over the pesticide Roundup. https://p.dw»»»

POLITICS Trud covers the creation in Nessebar of the Treti Mart [March 3, Bulgaria's Liberation Day] Movement, whose founders describe President Rumen Radev as an informal leader, while Radev distances himself in advance from similar formations. Political scientist Pervan Simeonov says on bTV the n»»»

The mid-December period of 2025 has been marked by a tragic convergence of violence across three continents, shattering the festive atmosphere of Hanukkah and the pre-Christmas season. The events at Bondi Beach in Australia, Brown University in the United States, and a cluster of Germany-related ho»»»

Gold prices surged dramatically in 2025, posting gains of over 40% year-to-date by September and reaching around 70% this month. Driven by central bank purchases of the yellow metal, alongside expectations of more Fed rate cuts, spot gold prices hit $4,445.4 per ounce as of December 22, 2025 (3:22:»»»

When Dickson Ngome first leased his farm at Lake Naivasha in Kenya’s Rift Valley in 2008, it was over 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) from shore. The farm was on 1.5 acres (0.6 hectares) of fertile land where he grew vegetables to sell at local markets. At the time, the lake was receding and people were w»»»

Dubai: Dhurandhar is soaking up praise from critics and cash from the box office in equal measure. Directed by Aditya Dhar, the film unfolds in Pakistan — but here’s the plot twist no one saw coming: not a single frame was shot there. Or in India, for that matter. Instead, the makers went all out t»»»

President Donald Trump's return to the White House in 2025 kicked off a frenetic year for global trade, with waves of tariffs on US trading partners that lifted import taxes to their highest since the Great Depression, roiled financial markets and sparked rounds of negotiations over trade and inves»»»

Romania is on the cusp of a transformative shift in its energy landscape, with electric mobility leading the charge. As the expansion of fast and ultra-fast charging stations picks up pace, the sector is poised to become a cornerstone for decarbonising transport and modernising the grid. The journe»»»

Results of the Korea Federation of SMEs’ “2026 SME Export Outlook Survey.” Graphic by Asia Today and translated by UPI Dec. 21 (Asia Today) -- Nearly half of South Korea's small and medium-sized exporters expect their overseas shipments to decline next year, with many citing intensifying low-price »»»

Celebrating 25 years on the Romanian market, IULIUS has emerged as a driving force in urban transformation and lifestyle innovation. With EUR 1.2 billion invested across four major cities, the company has set new benchmarks for mixed-use urban regeneration and redefined retail, expanding from a sin»»»

Doha, Qatar: QNB Financial Services (QNBFS), a subsidiary of QNB Group yesterday announced the launch of retail trading in fixed-income securities on the Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE), where QNBFS executed its first transaction in fixed-income securities for individuals. This pioneer step makes QNBFS »»»