PRESS REVIEW – Friday, October 9: US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth announces that the military execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan will be "livestreamed". But first: we look at reactions in Italy after the country's parliament passes a controversial electoral reform that critics »»»

Nice, France: Two paintings by French master Pierre-Auguste Renoir have been recovered a month after they were stolen from a museum in southern France, the town’s mayor said Friday. In September, thieves broke into the museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer and managed to escape with two works by the French impr»»»

NEW DELHI: India is in talks with Saudi Arabia for investment in its strategic port projects and closer cooperation in shipbuilding and seafarer training, the Indian shipping minister said following a meeting with Saudi Ports Authority President Suliman Al-Mazroua. New Delhi is hosting South Asia’s»»»

Beijing: Chinese AI cybersecurity tool Artex said it stopped programmers from accessing its source code, acknowledging misuse by "bad actors" after South Korea linked it to several recent bank hacks. Artex was designed to help organisations strengthen their cyber defences through security testing t»»»

Senegal and Morocco on Thursday are again set to fight for the African Cup of Nations title – this time, in the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland. The closed-door hearing comes nine months after the Confederation of African Football stripped Senegal of their trophy after the team's»»»

Ten months after the explosive AFCON final, Senegal and Morocco are still fighting over the title, this time at sport's highest court. A verdict on Senegal's appeal against Morocco's victory by default is expected within days. Also, it's a race against time in Kenya. Health officials are traci»»»

Bulgarian Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev said bomb threats against institutions across the country had increased sharply during periods following his parliamentary hearings on flights linked to Delyan Peevski, leader of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS). Speaking from the parliamentary»»»

Kostadin Kostadinov, chairman of the "Revival" parliamentary group (a pro-Russian party), accused Rumen Radev and President Iliana Yotova of withholding information about Ukrainian official Kyrylo Budanov’s unannounced visit to Bulgaria, warning that the country’s security could be at risk. Fu»»»

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s chief of staff, Kyrylo Budanov, met with Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev in Sofia on October 8 during a visit kept confidential for security reasons, the government press service confirmed. In a statement issued in response to media inquiries, the Counc»»»

Top Chinese and EU commerce officials reached an "understanding" on the trade of hybrid vehicles following closely watched talks on Friday, Beijing's commerce ministry said, citing a joint statement. "After intensive consultations, the two sides reached an understanding on trade in hybrid vehicles »»»

A 45-year-old woman was found dead in an apartment in Plovdiv’s Severen district, and a young man has been detained in connection with the suspected murder, with preliminary findings indicating that her death was intentional. Investigators believe the suspected perpetrator may be a member of the wo»»»

Before she finished explaining daughter’s problem, Sharjah Ruler already stepped in Sharjah: A mother who called a live radio programme seeking help for her daughter’s university education was told, before she could finish explaining her predicament, that the Ruler of Sharjah had already intervened»»»

Prime Minister Rumen Radev met with Ukrainian Presidential Chief of Staff Kyrylo Budanov on October 8, the Government Information Service said here on Friday. During the meeting, Budanov shared the Ukrainian side’s views on the prospects for reaching a peaceful resolution to the war in his country.»»»

Flights to Riyadh and Yanbu cancelled until Oct 10, with Abha services halted until Oct 11 Dubai: Dubai-based carrier flydubai has cancelled flights to Riyadh and Yanbu until October 10, while services to Abha will remain suspended until October 11, amid escalating regional tensions and disruptions»»»

Saudi civil aviation assesses damage after Houthi strikes on Riyadh airport Saudia has named Captain Hamoud Ali Alkalthami as the employee killed in Thursday’s attacks on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, paying tribute to him as the airline confirmed damage to one of its aircraft. In an»»»

Police and protesters clashed in Brussels on Friday as tens of thousands of people rallied in the Belgian capital against rising living costs and budget-tightening measures introduced by the government. Dozens of protesters, many of them young, dressed in black and wearing masks, threw rocks and fi»»»

100 million mangroves by 2030: UAE's vision for a greener future Abu Dhabi: Mangrove trees, locally known in the UAE as qurm, are assuming growing strategic importance in Abu Dhabi as the emirate steps up efforts to address the impacts of climate change, protect coastal ecosystems and advance its e»»»

DUBAI: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, in a social media post, reiterated the bloc’s solidarity with Saudi Arabia and the wider Gulf region and emphasized that attacks on civilian infrastructure were unacceptable. “Houthis have once again struck Riyadh’s airport, taking three in»»»

US green card freeze sparks concerns over skilled talent mobility and innovation India on Friday strongly criticised US Vice President JD Vance for describing H-1B visa workers as “indentured servants”, calling the remark deeply offensive and insensitive to the historical and colonial associations »»»

Foreign-controlled companies employed 18.7% of Bulgaria’s business-economy workforce in 2023, according to Eurostat data, giving international capital a significant role in the country’s employment structure. Across the European Union, enterprises under foreign control represented just 1.1% of all »»»

Vazrazhdane leader Kostadin Kostadinov said on Friday that he would send an official letter to the Council of Ministers seeking information about the purpose of the visit to Bulgaria by Kyrylo Budanov, Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and the talks held with him.»»»

OpenAI said Thursday it shut down Russian and Iranian influence operations that used ChatGPT to create fake journalist personas and support a purported think tank spreading anti-Ukraine propaganda. The Iranian operation involved seven profiles posing as Western journalists to place lengthy articles»»»

MoU signed at AI Everything 2026 strengthens UAE AI sovereignty and industrial capacity MoU signed at AI Everything 2026 empowers governments and enterprises in-country self-reliance across the AI stack while boosting the national industrial capability and Emirati talent. Dubai, UAE – Kerno, a UAE-»»»

BELGRADE - Air Serbia achieved its best-ever Q3 result in 2026, carrying a total of 1,737,977 passengers on scheduled and charter flights, the national airline announced on Friday. "At the same time, the national airline achieved a record result for the first nine months of the year, carrying a tot»»»

A former Syrian general wanted for crimes against humanity is being bankrolled and protected by the U.S. and Lebanese authorities, a BBC investigation has found. Bassam al-Hassan, who oversaw Syria's chemical weapons program and was a senior adviser to former President Bashar al-Assad, is being har»»»

New study estimates 183,000 tortoises on Aldabra Atoll after decades of conservation Giant tortoises that were once hunted to the brink of extinction now outnumber humans in the Seychelles, with a landmark scientific survey estimating that nearly 183,000 of the animals live on a remote Indian Ocean»»»

Gold gained over 1% to trade near $4,180/oz after dipping to a 2-month low earlier Dubai: Gold prices climbed overnight after strong demand at a 30-year US Treasury auction pulled long-dated yields back from their highest levels in more than two decades. The metal gained over 1 per cent to trade ne»»»

Emirates, Etihad and flydubai list Riyadh cancellations, Air Arabia reports flight changes Dubai: Several flights from the UAE to Riyadh have been cancelled on Friday, October 9, and Saturday, October 10, according to the airlines’ websites, with Emirates, Etihad and flydubai reporting changes to t»»»

Bulgarian customs officials seized nearly 25 million cigarettes worth an estimated EUR 5 million in a 24-hour operation targeting illicit excise goods. The cigarettes were discovered in four trucks at the Lesovo and Kulata border checkpoints, Stefan Bakalov, Deputy Director of the National Customs »»»

DUBAI: Jordan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a condemnation following the two attacks launched by the Houthi militia on Thursday, which targeted King Khalid International Airport in the Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia’s civil aviation authority confirmed the attacks resulted in the death of three »»»

BELGRADE - Serbian caretaker Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management Dragan Glamocic met with Chinese Ambassador to Belgrade Li Ming on Friday to discuss further advancement of cooperation between the two countries, primarily in agricultural digitalisation and application of modern t»»»

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani has said he will ask US President Donald Trump to remove ICE from the city after federal immigration agents on Thursday shot a man in a vehicle with his five-year-old child during an attempted arrest. The 28-year-old survived and is being treated at hospital.»»»

Brazil's right-wing presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro secured third-place finisher Augusto Cury's endorsement on Thursday, strengthening his position against incumbent President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva ahead of the runoff. Cury won nearly three percent in Sunday's first round. A Datafolha p»»»

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has a “substantial” number of forces deployed in Saudi Arabia acting in a defensive capacity, Pakistan’s foreign ministry spokesman said on Friday. “From Pakistan already we have substantial number of forces as well as resources in town, in Riyadh,” foreign ministry spokesman Sa»»»

Hungary’s government is considering a 15 per cent tax on unrealised gains for wealthy Hungarians who change their tax residency and move abroad. The proposed measure would apply to assets worth more than HUF 500 million, although the details have yet to be finalised. Taxing the rich for moving mone»»»

Ulaanbaatar: Mongolia warned schools and kindergartens on Friday to avoid outings to forested and mountainous areas after a fatal bear attack and a sharp rise in sightings of the animals. So far this year, 754 bear sightings have been recorded across the vast and thinly populated country, 80 percen»»»

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DUBAI: Jordan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a condemnation following the two attacks launched by the Houthi militia on Thursday, which targeted King Khalid International Airport in the Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia’s civil aviation authority confirmed the attacks resulted in the death of three »»»

‘If you clap a little bit more I may share this prize with Trump’ Oslo: South African champion of international law Navi Pillay, who was awarded this year’s Nobel peace prize, joked that she might “share the prize” with US President Donald Trump if people kept applauding her. “If you clap a little »»»

The decision follows a state Cabinet resolution honouring Modi’s 25 years in public life India’s newest major airport, Noida International Airport at Jewar, will be named after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced on Friday, following a state Cabinet »»»

‘Whoever has a mother has the whole world’: Mohammed bin Rashid to his late mother Dubai: His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has shared one of the most personal messages from his new book, writing to his late mother a»»»

Non-oil activities drive economic diversification, contributing 79.2% to UAE GDP Abu Dhabi: The Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre (FCSC) announced that the UAE's real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) reached Dh961.9 billion at constant prices in the first half of 2026, recording growth of 0»»»

BELGRADE - Serbian caretaker Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic said on Friday the construction of the first 5 km of a 145 km gas interconnection between Serbia and North Macedonia would begin next week. "It is a project that will largely be carried out next year and in the »»»

President Iliana Iotova had remarks to the joint statement on Ukraine issued by 51 countries at the United Nations on September 23, but amendments were not possible, Foreign Minister Velislava Petrova said during Question Time in Parliament on Friday. Petrova was responding to a question from Democ»»»

Damascus, Oct. 9 (SANA) The second TEXPO International Technology and Innovation Exhibition opened Thursday at the Damascus Fairgrounds, bringing together more than 120 local and international companies across 29 technology-related sectors. Organized by Glovent under the sponsorship of the Ministry»»»

Romania’s economy stagnated in the second quarter of 2026 compared with the previous three months, while GDP remained below last year’s level, according to the latest data published by the National Institute of Statistics (INS) on Friday. The figures come a day after the National Bank of Romania (B»»»

Riyadh: Three people were killed following attacks targeting King Khalid International Airport in Saudi Arabia, the kingdom’s General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) said. The General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) announced that on Thursday, October 8, 2026, King Khalid International Airpor»»»

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s consumer spending jumped 23.4 percent week on week to SR16.51 billion ($4.4 billion) in the week ending Oct. 3, driven by a sharp increase in education-related outlays, official data showed. The increase in point-of-sale spending was accompanied by a 12.5 percent rise in tran»»»

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Friday at a regional summit in Turkmenistan that peace negotiations will only succeed without "pressure and threats", with the months-long Middle East war locked in a stalemate. "Dialogue holds meaning and a chance of success only when based on mutual respec»»»

An 18-year-old secondary school student has been missing from Budapest for three days, with police appealing to the public for information about his whereabouts. Bauer Dénes left his home in the Hungarian capital’s Zugló district at around 6 PM on 6 October and has not been located since, according»»»