On June 24, Romania’s Chamber of Deputies quietly approved a controversial bill proposing the country’s unification with neighboring Moldova. For decades, Romanian nationalists have championed the slogan “Basarabia e România” – ”Bessarabia is Romania” – a phrase emblazoned on walls across Bucharest»»»

Dubai: For Jayakrishnan Kannan, a 31-year-old rigger from Kerala working in Saudi Arabia, buying a Big Ticket has become a shared tradition with friends. This week, that tradition has paid off when their group won Dh25,000 in Big Ticket's third weekly e-draw for June. Kannan has been one of four wi»»»

From June 27 until July 12, foreign military personnel and equipment will transit through Bulgaria as part of NATO's Alliance Wall Exercise, the Defence Ministry's press service said. Convoys carrying troops and military equipment from the armed forces of France and Poland will use Bulgaria's natio»»»

Dubai: After years of participating in Big Ticket draws with friends, Abu Dhabi resident Ilanzhsuriyan Vijayakumar has decided to buy a ticket on his own for the first time. The decision has paid off, with the 45-year-old architect winning Dh25,000 in Big Ticket's third weekly e-draw for June. Orig»»»

RIYADH: Startups across the Middle East and North Africa region secured multiple funding rounds and attracted several notable acquisitions across diverse sectors last week, highlighting the region’s continued appeal to global investors. This momentum builds on a record-breaking 2025, when MENA star»»»

BOSTON, Massachusetts: Germany may not ‌be too worried by their 2-1 loss to Ecuador on Thursday as they had secured top spot in Group E beforehand, but it was a timely wake-up call ​ahead of the World Cup knockout stage for the four-time world champions. Germany made it out of their group for the f»»»

Quito: Ecuador President Daniel Noboa declared Friday a holiday after the national team reached the World Cup knock-out stages by beating four-time champions Germany 2-1 in their final group match. "Thank you to the players and to the coach (Sebastian Beccacece) who, in spite of the critics, insult»»»

LONDON: As governments move to tighten rules around children’s access to social media, Saudi users appear to be sending a different message: not rejection, but growing caution, selectiveness and a demand for stronger guardrails. In the Arab world, the discussion has become more visible following re»»»

The Cabinet is calling off all "outrageous public procurements" and a crash barrier contract for some EUR 500 million is among them, Prime Minister Rumen Radev told journalists on Friday, taking an opportunity to attack his predecessors. "We are ending all outrageous public procurements, we are end»»»

Sharjah: The UAE has moved its Electronic Invoicing System (EIS) from planning into practical testing, with the Ministry of Finance launching the pilot phase of the system’s five-corner model. Sign up for our daily business newsletter, Cheques & Balances.The pilot phase, announced during an awarene»»»

Doha, Qatar: Chief Executive Officer of Qatar Free Zones Authority (QFZ), Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Faisal Al-Thani, met with Ambassador of the Republic of Sudan to the State of Qatar, H E Badreddine Abdullah Mohammed Ahmed. During the meeting, the two sides discussed ways to enhance trade and »»»

DUBAI: The Federation Internationale de l’Automobile, the global governing body for motor sport and the federation for mobility organisations worldwide, has reported its strongest operating result in 10 years. For FY2025, the FIA delivered an operating profit of €6.7 million ($7.6m), up 43 percent »»»

Doha, Qatar: Ministry of Justice and the Diplomatic Institute at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) aimed at strengthening cooperation in training, professional development, and scientific research, as part of efforts to develop national expertise and pr»»»

Doha, Qatar: Minister of Social Development and Family H E Buthaina bint Ali Al Jabr Al Nuaimi has described the issuance of the unified system for voluntary work law across Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states as an important milestone in strengthening coordination and integration among member st»»»

Geneva: Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar in Geneva H E Dr. Hind Abdulrahman Al Muftah, participated in the Fifth States’ Consultation on International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and Peace, held yesterday at the headquarters of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Geneva.»»»

Manama, Bahrain: Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs H E Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani yesterday participated in Manama in the joint ministerial meeting of Their Highnesses and Excellencies GCC foreign ministers, with the participation of Secretary of State of the U»»»

Hungary’s property market has attracted growing international attention in recent years. From elegant apartments in central Budapest to lakeside homes near Balaton and charming countryside properties, foreign buyers are increasingly exploring opportunities in the country. Compared with many Western»»»

East Rutherford, United States: Ecuador upset Germany to squeeze into the last 32 of the World Cup on Thursday while the Netherlands, Japan and the Ivory Coast advanced safely as the draw for the knockout rounds began to take shape. The Netherlands wrapped up their first round campaign with a 3-1 v»»»

PHILADELPHIA: Nicolas Pepe scored twice as Ivory Coast beat Curacao 2-0 on Thursday to reach the World Cup knockout rounds for the first time ever and bring the tiny Caribbean country’s run at the tournament to an end. Former Arsenal forward Pepe, now playing in Spain for Villarreal, opened the sco»»»

EAST RUTHERFORD, United States: Ecuador kept their World Cup campaign alive as Gonzalo Plata’s winner completed a memorable come-from-behind 2-1 victory over Germany to send them through to the last 32 on Thursday. Leroy Sane controversially fired Germany ahead less than two minutes into the Group »»»

A framework agreement between Washington and Tehran has already pulled oil prices lower, but Erste Group's quarterly outlook warns the inflationary scar tissue from the conflict will outlast the crisis itself across the eurozone, the US and emerging markets alike. The third quarter of 2026 looks se»»»

FLORIDA, USA: It’s halftime at the World Cup. Take a break, everyone. Wednesday marked the midpoint of the 104-match tournament — technically, just past the midpoint, with 54 matches now in the books and 50 remaining before a World Cup champion are crowned in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on July 19»»»

TUNIS: Tunisia’s humiliating exit from the 2026 World Cup after two heavy losses against Sweden and Japan delt a blow to Eagles of Carthage fans, who say it laid bare years of dysfunction within the football federation. The team, which had made history in 1978 by becoming the first African nation t»»»

The Latin American Association of Zoos and Aquariums warned the region's illegal wildlife trade is increasingly shifting to social media. File Photo by Attila Kovacs/EPA June 25 (UPI) -- The Latin American Association of Zoos and Aquariums on Thursday launched a regional campaign to combat illegal »»»

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba has been accused by leading American AI-developer Anthropic of "illicitly" seeking to harvest the abilities of its Claude chatbot. Photo by Jessica Lee/EPA June 25 (UPI) -- AI firm Anthropic sought the assistance of Congress to crack down on alleged clandestine effo»»»

The Bulgarian government presented its draft budget for 2026 on Wednesday, setting a deficit of 5.7% of GDP, the highest figure in three decades, and immediately drew fire from opposition parties who accused the cabinet of repeating the same fiscal practices it once condemned. Deputy Prime Minister»»»

  Ukraine's expanding drone campaign against Russia's oil industry is testing the Kremlin. Can it keep the domestic economy functioning after more than four years of war as its cash cow industry takes a painful pounding. Successful strikes against the Kapotnya refinery in southeast Moscow earl»»»

EAST RUTHERFORD, USA: Co-hosts the United States and Germany will bid to complete perfect World Cup group stage campaigns on Thursday, while the Netherlands and Japan look poised to join them in the last 32. The US have clinched top spot in Group D with a game to spare after wins over Paraguay and »»»

JEDDAH: The ABB FIA Formula E World Championship will begin a new chapter in electric motorsport when the revolutionary GEN4 era makes its competitive debut under the lights of the Jeddah Corniche Circuit in December. Formula E and the FIA have confirmed the provisional calendar for the 2026-27 sea»»»

Dubai: UAE motorists will finally see some relief at the pump in July after four consecutive months of fuel price increases, as global oil prices drop sharply from the highs triggered by the Middle East conflict. The case for lower fuel prices next month is stronger than at any point since the war »»»

New Delhi: Amazon will invest an incremental $48 billion in India between 2026 and 2030, significantly raising its commitment to one of its fastest-growing markets, Chief Executive Officer Andy Jassy announced on Thursday after meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. The latest announcem»»»

Passengers travelling on Budapest’s buses this summer may have to prepare for increasingly uncomfortable journeys, as many of the city’s ageing vehicles struggle to keep their air conditioning systems running during extreme heat. According to Budapest transport operator BKV, a significant part of t»»»

Doha, Qatar: The Ministry of Education and Higher Education, represented by the Department of E-Learning and Digital Solutions, has announced the launch of Digital Citizenship courses through the Qatar Education System, targeting fifth-grade primary students and eighth-grade preparatory students. T»»»

Doha, Qatar: The State of Qatar participated in the 28th meeting of Their Excellencies the Undersecretaries of the Ministries of Justice in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, held at the GCC General Secretariat headquarters in Riyadh. The Qatari delegation to the meeting was headed by Un»»»

Doha, Qatar: Qatar’s Candidate Training Center has graduated the 15th cohort of its Military Science Diploma programme for university graduates during a ceremony held under the patronage of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defence Affairs H E Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman bin Hassan A»»»

Rabat: Qatar Postal Services Company (Qatar Post) has outlined its vision for the future of postal services amid the rapid shift towards e-commerce during the Third Arab Postal Leaders Forum in Rabat, Morocco. The two-day forum, held under the theme “Transforming Postal Supply Chains and Digital Tr»»»

Reykjavik: President of the Republic of Iceland H E Halla Tomasdottir met with Ambassador of the State of Qatar (non-resident) to Iceland H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Saoud Al-Thani. They discussed cooperation relations between the two countries. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iceland H E T»»»

Doha, Qatar: The Indian Business & Professionals Council (IBPC) Qatar hosted a special edition of its flagship Monday Bites series on 22 June 2026, bringing together business leaders, professionals, entrepreneurs, and emerging talent for an evening that celebrated leadership, knowledge-sharing, art»»»

Doha, Qatar: The Qatar School for Science and Technology for Boys celebrated the graduation of its fifth cohort for the 2025-2026 academic year, with all 56 graduates securing admission to universities in Qatar and abroad, achieving a 100 percent university acceptance rate. The graduation ceremony »»»

Doha, Qatar: Chairman of Qatar Chamber (QC) Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani met at his office at the Chamber’s headquarters with H E Saeed Abdullah Al Qamzi, Ambassador of the sisterly United Arab Emirates to the State of Qatar. The meeting was attended by Mohammed bin Ahmed Al Obai»»»

Polish fintech Autopay is refocusing its international expansion on Europe after concluding that its strongest growth opportunities lie in digital payments and mobility services rather than wider global markets. The Sopot-based company generated PLN 1.3 billion in revenue in 2025, up 10 percent yea»»»

Tokyo: Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Thursday advised citizens to remain vigilant after an earthquake with its epicentre off the coast of Iwate Prefecture occurred, and a strong shaking with a maximum seismic intensity of 6-upper was observed in Hashikami Town, Aomori Prefecture. Takaic»»»

Dubai: Kunal Shah’s appointment to lead WhatsApp has added a new name to the growing list of Indian-origin executives running some of the world’s most influential companies. Sign up for our daily business newsletter, Cheques & Balances.Until recently, Shah was best known within India’s startup and »»»

Abu Dhabi/Dubai: As the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi and the Indian Consulate in Dubai gear up to switch service providers for passport, visa and other consular services, there are plenty of changes that Indian expats in the UAE must be aware of. As announced by the Indian missions, Alhind Tours and»»»

Agencies/TNN Vancouver A successful strike from veteran Hassan Al Haydos just before half time raised hopes of a spirited Qatar comeback but later fortune failed to favour Al Annabi as a second-goal attempt from Pedro Miguel ended up in the ball getting deflected of the bottom left post before Bosn»»»

For over two decades, Syed Azfar Gardezi has walked a unique dual path. By day, he operates in the high-stakes, empirical world of oil and gas exploration — an electrical engineer specialising in electronics and telecommunications, having managed complex drilling and completions across South Africa»»»

QNA Rabat Qatar Postal Services Company (Qatar Post) has outlined its vision for the future of postal services amid the rapid shift towards e-commerce during the Third Arab Postal Leaders Forum in Rabat, Morocco. The two-day forum, held under the theme ‘Transforming Postal Supply Chains and Digital»»»

QNA Doha Qatar Postal Services Company (Qatar Post) has announced the launch of the new version of CONNECTED, an integrated international shipping service that enables customers in Qatar to enjoy a seamless global shopping experience from leading online retailers worldwide using international shipp»»»

QNA Doha The Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MoEHE), represented by the Department of Public Education E-Learning and Digital Solutions, has launched “Digital Citizenship” curricula through the Qatar education system, targeting fifth-grade primary and eighth-grade preparatory students, »»»

AMMAN — Minister of Investment Tareq Abu Ghazaleh met Chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), Ren Hongbin, on the sidelines of Jordan’s participation in the China International Supply Chain Expo in Beijing.The meeting was held as part of Abu Ghazaleh’s visit »»»