Convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein victim Haley Robson speaks during a press conference with other victims on the Epstein Files Transparency Act outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, in November. The House Oversight Committee is investigating as many as 95,000 photos of Epstein with high »»»

Buddhist and Christian leaders attend a Christmas tree lighting ceremony at Jogyesa Temple in Seoul on Dec. 18. Photo by Asia Today Dec. 18 (Asia Today) -- South Korea's largest Buddhist order held a Christmas tree lighting ceremony Thursday at Jogyesa Temple in central Seoul, bringing together rel»»»

Unification Minister Chung Dong-young arrives at the Government Complex Seoul in Seoul on Dec. 11. Photo by Asia Today Dec. 17 (Asia Today) -- South Korea's Unification Ministry said Wednesday that the Korean War Armistice Agreement is "military in nature" and does not prohibit the peaceful use of »»»

Migrants are placed into vans by the U.S. Border Patrol after crossing the border wall from Mexico near Campo, Calif., about 50 miles from San Diego, in 2024. The agency is increasing trainee recruits at its academy in Artesia, N.M. File Photo by Pat Benic/UPI | License Photo Dec. 18 (UPI) -- U.S. »»»

Dubai: For many metro users, Zoom stores were a fixed part of the commute. A predictable stop between ticket gates and platforms. Over the past few months, that familiarity has started to fade. Sign up for our daily business newsletter, Cheques & Balances.Several Zoom outlets inside Dubai Metro sta»»»

MIAMI: Democrat Eileen Higgins was sworn in Thursday as Miami's first female mayor, two weeks after defeating a Republican endorsed by President Donald Trump. Higgins also becomes the first Democrat in almost 30 years to lead the city of 487,000 people. She replaces Republican Francis Suarez, who h»»»

South Korea's well-coiffed president is on a mission to help the country's balding residents. In his crosshairs: the national health insurance scheme, which he suggests should foot the bill for hair loss treatments. President Lee Jae Myung made the suggestion to officials at a briefing on this week»»»

The US House of Representatives has passed legislation that would criminalize performing gender transition treatments on minors, approving a bill sponsored by Georgia Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. The measure passed the House by a narrow 216-211 vote on Wednesday. To become law, »»»

Violence has erupted in Bangladesh following the death of a prominent leader of the youth movement that ousted former prime minister Sheikh Hasina. Sharif Osman Hadi was shot by masked attackers while leaving a mosque in Dhaka last week and died of his injuries on Thursday while being treated in Si»»»

The House Oversight Committee has released a batch of around 70 photos from the estate of late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. It's the third such release from a tranche of over 95,000 photos the committee has acquired from Epstein's estate. It includes images of quotes from the book Lolita»»»

This is the second part of RT's special investigation on Igor Kolomoysky. You can find Part 1 here to read about Kolomoysky's rise to the status of godfather of Ukrainian corruption, his involvement in the Maidan revolution and the following years leading up to Vladimir Zelensky's election. Zelensk»»»

The parliamentary Committee on Internal Security and Public Order Thursday unanimously approved at first reading, with 18 votes in favour, a bill amending and supplementing the National Service for Protection (NSP) Act concerning the provision of security for Members of Parliament. The bill was tab»»»

Dec. 18 (UPI) -- A small plane crashed Thursday at a regional airport north of Charlotte, N.C., killing multiple people, local and federal authorities said. The Cessna C550, a light corporate jet, had six people on board when it crashed at Statesville Regional Airport in Iredell County around 10:15»»»

A British man was sentenced to 13 years by a Russian court after he fought for Ukraine and was captured. File Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI | License Photo Dec. 18 (UPI) -- A British man has been sentenced to 13 years in prison in Russia after he fought for Ukraine and was captured. Hayden Davies, 3»»»

Dubai: Dubai's private schools and early childhood centres will finish their school day no later than 11:30am on Fridays starting January 9, 2026, the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) has announced. The decision follows the nationwide adjustment of Friday prayer time to 12:45pm and »»»

Citizens have gathered in downtown Sofia to protest against the government. The demonstration, which was registered with Sofia Municipality, was organized by Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB) under the slogan "Don’t Feed the Pig with Your Money, Vol. 3." It is the latest in a series»»»

The parliamentary Committee on the Internal Security and Public Order unanimously approved at first reading on Thursday, with 18 votes in favour, a bill amending and supplementing the National Service for Protection (NSP) Act concerning the provision of security for Members of Parliament. The bill »»»

Brazilian opposition senators celebrate during a Senate session in Brasilia, Brazil, on Wednesday after a bill passed that could reduce the sentences of former president Jair Bolsonaro, who was sentenced to 27 years in prison, and other participants in the coup plot that followed the 2022 elections»»»

The opposition Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB) coalition Thursday submitted a bill amending and supplementing the Election Code, which fully reinstates machine voting. The reasoning of the bill is that "it is a necessary and timely step to strengthen democratic principles, enhance»»»

Dec. 17 (UPI) -- A bus driver in Brisbane, Australia, spotted a koala darting through traffic on a busy road and brought the animal aboard the vehicle to wait for rescuers. Koala Rescue Brisbane South said on social media that the Brisbane CityGlider bus driver spotted the koala on Wiles Street at »»»

The head of the UN refugee agency in Lebanon said Thursday that the move by the United States to lift sweeping sanctions on Syria could encourage more refugees to return to their country. The US Senate voted Wednesday to permanently remove the so-called Caesar Act sanctions after the administration»»»

Moderna announced a $54.3 billion investment from CEPI to fund its Phase 3 trial of a bird flu vaccine. File Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI | License Photo Dec. 18 (UPI) -- The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations announced it will invest up to $54.3 million with Moderna to fund a Phase 3 »»»

A grocery shopper pictured Feb. 2022 in Richmond Heights, Missouri. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Thursday a 2.7% annual CPI increase last month short of the 3.1% projected by Wall Street. Core CPI rose 2.6% year over year, below the 3% forecast. File Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI | Licens»»»

A doctor in France was sentenced to life in prison Thursday after being found guilty of the poisoning deaths of 12 of his patients. File Photo by Mike Theiler/UPI | License Photo Dec. 18 (UPI) -- A French court sentenced a former "star" anesthetist to life in prison after convicting him of murderin»»»

The US Congress has voted to permanently repeal sweeping sanctions imposed on Syria under former leader Bashar al Assad, clearing the way for foreign investment and marking a significant shift in Washington’s policy towards the war-ravaged country following the rise of a new government. The US Cong»»»

Sharjah Charity International’s “Dirham Al Hamd” initiative has contributed more than Dh23 million to charitable projects since its launch in 2017, reinforcing its role as one of the organisation’s key funding streams for humanitarian programmes inside and outside the UAE. Built on a simple daily m»»»

The head of the U.N. refugee agency in Lebanon said Thursday that the move by the United States to lift sweeping sanctions on Syria could encourage more refugees to return to their country. The U.S. Senate voted Wednesday to permanently remove the so-called Caesar Act sanctions after the administra»»»

The EU will not discuss plans to seize Russian assets during Thursday's summit in Brussels, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced on Wednesday, calling it a “victory.” The bloc has temporarily immobilized roughly $230 billion in Russian central bank assets by invoking Article 122, an emer»»»

Bulgaria is moving toward another early parliamentary election in spring 2026, after political formations in the current National Assembly confirmed to President Rumen Radev that forming a new government within this legislature is unfeasible. In the meantime, MPs approved an “extended budget,” allo»»»

Thursday's news media are dominated by the topics of legal changes on Bulgarians' second pension and the extension of the 2025 state budget into 2026. ECONOMY 24 Chasa reports on its front page that Bulgarians' second pension will be increased by linking it to the minimum wage. Under amendments to »»»

Bulgaria officially received its first eight F-16 Block 70 fighter jets, which were presented today at the Third Air Base near Plovdiv. The ceremony was attended by retired Defense Minister Atanas Zapryanov, Chief of Defense Admiral Emil Eftimov, Deputy Prime Ministers Tomislav Donchev and Grozdan »»»

Revising the Election Code to strengthen the role of machine voting has become a major issue during the ongoing consultations with the parliamentary forces that President Rumen Radev is holding ahead of asking them to form a government following the resignation of the Rosen Zhelyazkov cabinet on De»»»

There Is Such a People Floor Leader Toshko Yordanov said Thursday that his parliamentary group will submit a proposal to Parliament to remove the amendments to the National Service for Protection Act that transferred National Service for Protection vehicles to the President's Administration. On Nov»»»

The Academy Awards will be shown only on YouTube from 2029, in a radical gambit for a movie industry that remains wary of streaming platforms even as viewing habits shift online. The US broadcaster ABC's contract to broadcast the Oscars is set to end in 2028, with the 100th Academy Awards. The new »»»

US President Donald Trump gave an address at the White House on Wednesday, attempting to cast his first year back in office as a success, deflecting concerns about the cost of living and offering few new policy details as he looked ahead to the 2026 midterm elections. US President Donald Trump used»»»

Around 67% of Belgians oppose the EU scheme to use frozen Russian central bank assets to back a ‘reparations loan’ to prop up Ukraine, according to a recent poll conducted by Ipsos and Belgian news outlets published on Monday. The bulk of sovereign Russian assets frozen in the West are held in the »»»

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Wednesday evening the official approval of a major natural gas agreement with Egypt. During a press conference, Netanyahu stated: ‘We are actively extracting gas from our territorial waters, and our economy remains one of the strongest in the w»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Ghislaine Maxwell, an accomplice of infamous financier Jeffrey Epstein, has filed a petition in a US District Court to overturn or reconsider her conviction, according to a court document seen by Sputnik. "Petitioner Ghislaine Maxwell, proceeding pro se, respectfully moves this C»»»

Dubai: India’s biggest carrier, IndiGo, on Thursday issued a travel advisory for passengers flying from UAE airports, cautioning that heavy rainfall and thunderstorms forecast across the region may cause intermittent disruptions to flight operations throughout the day. Sign up for our daily busines»»»

Parents (or adoptive parents) of children up to the age of 12 will be entitled to flexible working hours throughout the year, following the National Assembly’s final approval of amendments to the Labour Code at second reading. The initial proposal foresaw this option only during the summer school h»»»

On Dec. 18, 2019, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to impeach President Donald Trump, charging him with abusing the powers of the presidency and obstructing Congress. 1 of 5 | Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calf., speaks after the House voted to impeach President Donald Trump on Decemb»»»

Israeli troops fired a mortar shell over the ceasefire line into a Palestinian residential area in the Gaza Strip, in the latest incident to rock the tenuous ceasefire with Hamas. Health officials said at least 10 people were wounded, and the army said it was investigating. The military said the mo»»»

Dubai: Worried the inclement weather may ruin your travel plans? Fortunately, flights from Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah are running largely on schedule today (as of Wednesday, December 18 afternoon), except of a few non-rain-related sporadic delays. Still, residents are well placed »»»

Damascus, Dec. 18 (SANA) Syria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani, thanked the U.S. Senate on Wednesday for its support for the Syrian people and the vote to repeal the Caesar Act. In a post on the X platform, al-Shaibani said, “We consider this step a positive »»»

The Trump administration has announced a massive package of arms sales to Taiwan valued at more than $10 billion that includes medium-range missiles, howitzers and drones, a move that is sure to infuriate China. The State Department announced the sales late Wednesday during a nationally televised a»»»

Damascus, Dec. 18 (SANA) Tourism Minister Mazen al-Salhani said Wednesday that the repeal of the U.S. Caesar Act marks a significant shift in Syria’s international engagement, reopens economic channels and paves the way for renewed cooperation, particularly in the tourism sector. Al-Salhani told SA»»»

India has lodged a strong protest against what it has called the "deteriorating security situation" around its mission in Dhaka. On Wednesday, India's foreign ministry summoned Bangladeshi envoy Riaz Hamidullah to convey its concerns about the actions of some "extremist elements", the ministry said»»»

Dubai: India’s markets regulator has approved a sweeping overhaul of mutual fund regulations, rewriting a framework that has governed the industry for nearly three decades. The changes, cleared by the Securities and Exchange Board of India at its December 17 meeting, aim to lower costs for investor»»»

A South Korean soldier stands guard in a conference room in the United Nations Command Military Armistice Commission Conference Building at the joint security area(JSA) of Panmunjom in the demilitarized zone (DMZ) near Paju, South Korea on August 25, 2018. File Photo by Keizo Mori/UPI | License Pho»»»

On the way to Brussels for the European Council summit, Prime Minister Orbán warned that despite a long and diverse agenda, the coming days will be defined by a single, decisive question: war or peace. At the center of the discussions is whether the European Union should provide further support to »»»