Russia is stitching together a web of new railway corridors that reach from the South Caucasus to the Indian Ocean, redirecting freight away from Europe and towards Asia and the Global South as it makes a pivot to the east. More than 93% of Russian Railways' (RZD) international traffic already runs»»»

Bulgaria is becoming an increasingly important source of electricity for Romania after drought and record-low Danube levels forced the shutdown of both reactors at the Cernavoda Nuclear Power Plant. The loss of 1,400 MW of nuclear capacity has put additional pressure on Romania's electricity system»»»

DAMASCUS/FRANKFURT: A former Syrian security officer sentenced to prison in Austria for abusing detainees during Bashar Assad’s rule left the country while appealing against his sentence and returned to Syria earlier this month, according to four sources and messages reviewed by Reuters. Lt. Col. M»»»

PARIS/HAMBURG: Relentless heat and drought could halve this year’s French maize harvest and reduce European Union production to its smallest in decades, analysts said, despite expectations that crops in Poland and Romania will hold up better. The European Commission in late July cut its forecast fo»»»

Russia's economy bounced back to 1.3% growth in the second quarter, beating official forecasts after a rare contraction at the start of the year. Preliminary data from Rosstat, the state statistics service, put second-quarter GDP up 1.3% y/y, above the 0.8% the central bank had forecast and the 0.9»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Russian armed forces struck a warehouse containing weapons, military equipment, and property belonging to the Ukrainian armed forces in the port of Yuzhny with missiles and drones, the Russian Ministry of Defense said on Friday. "During the day, high-precision air-launched we»»»

Dubai: Friday saw a steady stream of updates across the region, from maritime developments in the Strait of Hormuz to further adjustments on regional flight schedules. Airlines continue to advise passengers to check their flight status before travelling, while energy markets remain in focus. Here's»»»

The Communications Regulation Commission (CRC) and mobile operators will jointly combat a rise in caller ID spoofing scams, the regulator said on Friday. The initiative involves the three mobile operators holding nationwide licences, A1 Bulgaria, Vivacom and Yettel Bulgaria, as well as industry org»»»

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The national debt of the United States has increased by more than $500 billion since July 1 and has come close to a record high of $40 trillion, RIA Novosti calculated based on data from the US Treasury Department. In early July, that number was $39.389 trillion, by mid-Augus»»»

LONDON: The American Israel Public Affairs Committee condemned senior New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman on Wednesday following Friedman’s encouragement of Michigan Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed to “be true to your pro-Palestinian, Arab American roots and stick it to” the pro-Israel lob»»»

NEW DELHI: Tata Steel sold all its stake in Indian Super League side Jamshedpur FC to Goa-based club Churchill Brothers for a token amount of 100 Indian rupees ($1.05) on Friday, two weeks after the conglomerate announced it was pulling out of the ISL. Twice national league champions Churchill Brot»»»

The Varna District Court has approved the extradition of a 40-year-old man wanted by German authorities, where he is being investigated for attempted murder, the court’s press office said. The district court in Kassel issued a European Arrest Warrant for the Bulgarian national on May 26, after whic»»»

KYIV: Russian jet-powered drones struck a home in northern Ukraine on Friday, killing a 29-year-old woman and her 9-year-old son, officials said. The strike came a day after the United Nations said July was the deadliest month for Ukrainian civilians since the weeks following Moscow’s all-out invas»»»

GENEVA: More than 650,000 refugees and asylum seekers in South Sudan risk losing food aid access within weeks due to a severe funding shortfall, potentially forcing some to return to war-torn Sudan in search of help, the UN warned on Friday. South Sudan faces one of the world’s worst hunger crises,»»»

Hungary is set to begin the controlled sinking of two 80-metre-long barges near Paks on Friday afternoon in an extraordinary effort to raise water levels in the Danube and help safeguard the operation of the Paks Nuclear Power Plant. Prime Minister Péter Magyar announced the latest stage of the eme»»»

Israeli settlers have taken control of a freshwater spring that Palestinian farmers in the occupied West Bank have relied on for generations, diverting its water to create a pool at an archaeological site advertised as a tourist attraction and leaving crops to wither. It is estimated that Israeli s»»»

Zambia's electoral commission on Friday suspended vote counting from Thursday's presidential and parliamentary elections for at least 24 hours due to “violence targeted at poll staff” and reported instances of theft of marked ballot papers. Former minister Brian Mundubile, the main challenger to Pr»»»

Authorities evacuated 525 people from the village of Luglon Friday as a new wildfire tore through southwestern France, burning 1,100 hectares and advancing to within a few kilometres of the village centre amid an unprecedented wildfire season.  French ​authorities evacuated 525 villagers after»»»

Japan’s foreign minister summoned the Russian ambassador in Tokyo to lodge a “strong protest” against President Vladimir Putin’s surprise visit to the Kuril islands on Thursday. Tokyo maintains its claim to the disputed islands near Japan's northernmost Hokkaido island since they were seized by the»»»

Paris: France’s top constitutional authority on Friday struck down a ban on social media access for children under 15, dealing a blow to the legislation championed by President Emmanuel Macron. The Constitutional Council found that Article 1 of the legislation “constitutes an infringement that is n»»»

The Bulgarian National Audit Office (BNAO) published more than 16,000 asset and interest declarations by public officeholders on Friday. The declarations comprised annual filings submitted by May 15, 2026, and initial and final declarations filed between January and August 2026. They included decla»»»

GERB leader Boyko Borissov has called for political unity after Burgas was selected to host Eurovision 2027, urging Bulgarian cities and institutions to work together to present the country positively to an international audience. In a post on Facebook, Borissov first congratulated DARA, whose Euro»»»

Bulgaria's Central Election Commission (CEC) has approved the official schedule for the country's presidential and vice-presidential election, setting October 25, 2026 as election day and establishing the key deadlines leading up to the vote. The chronogram, adopted on August 13, formally launches »»»

Prime Minister Rumen Radev said Burgas is a strong choice to host the 2027 Eurovision Song Contest and expressed confidence that the city will present Bulgaria well on the international stage. He also used a visit to Dolna Mitropolia in the Pleven region to address the water crisis in northern Bulg»»»

Bulgaria expects to receive two additional anti-drone systems by the end of next week as the country works to strengthen its ability to detect and counter unmanned aircraft, Defense Minister Dimitar Stoyanov said during a meeting with journalists in Pleven. Stoyanov said two systems are expected to»»»

A reconnaissance drone has washed ashore near Primorsko, while another drone-related object was found on the nearby beach area of Lozenets. The discoveries have prompted questions about the origin of the unmanned aircraft, with BIRD.BG claiming that the drone found near Primorsko is Russian-made. B»»»

A specialized operation by Bulgaria's General Directorate for Combating Organized Crime (GDBOP) is underway in the Botevgrad area, targeting two alleged criminal groups known locally as “Peevite” and “Inket.” Three people have so far been detained on suspicion of usury, coercion and pimping. The op»»»

Dubai: UAE students who achieved top A-level grades have shared how they adapted to an unprecedented assessment process after formal examinations were cancelled earlier this year. In April, Cambridge, Pearson Edexcel and OxfordAQA cancelled all IGCSE and A-level examinations in the UAE for the May/»»»

US President Donald Trump has imposed steep tariffs on imported drones and their components, potentially complicating Ukraine’s plans to expand UAV sales to Washington. Under a proclamation signed on Thursday, drones weighing more than 25 kg and those equipped with thermal imagers will face tariffs»»»

At the request of the prosecution, the Regional Court in Botevgrad ordered the pre-trial detention of 24-year-old G.G., who has been charged with causing grievous bodily harm to a five-year-old child in a case involving domestic violence, the press office of the prosecution service said Friday. The»»»

Bulgaria and Turkey are preparing to strengthen their transport and energy links, including a new railway route from Edirne through Lesovo, Elhovo and Yambol that will provide an alternative connection to the congested Kapitan Andreevo-Kapıkule border crossing. Prime Minister Rumen Radev highlighte»»»

Burgas will build a small Eurotown for international teams and guests attending Eurovision 2027, as preparations for the contest continue in the seaside city. Deputy Mayor for Construction Chanka Koralska told Bulgarian National Radio that a separate temporary structure will be erected near Arena B»»»

Burgas has begun preparations for Eurovision 2027, with the seaside city expecting thousands of fans, tourists, delegations and media representatives to arrive for the contest next May. The event is already generating excitement among local businesses, while also raising questions about accommodati»»»

Russia is stitching together a web of new railway corridors that reach from the South Caucasus to the Indian Ocean, redirecting freight away from Europe and towards Asia and the Global South as it makes a pivot to the east. More than 93% of Russian Railways' (RZD) international traffic already runs»»»

Empty produce shelves and hand-printed apology notices have appeared in Kyiv's supermarkets, as Russia retaliates for Ukraine’s targetting of some of Russia’s biggest retail companies in an effort to bring the confict into the frontroom of ordinary Russians. Ukrainians are being a taste of the sam»»»

Russia is rebuilding its drone war around the jet-powered Geran-4, a faster machine built to slip past the cheap interceptors now knocking down its slower first generation Geran-2 drone, based on the Iranian-designed Shahed-136 loitering munition that Moscow bought from Tehran at the start of the U»»»

Ukraine’s drone warfare on Russian ecommerce giant Wildberries is burning holes in the pockets of Uzbek export businesses. Enterprises in Uzbekistan have informed government officials of a marked decline in exports made through the Russian online marketplace – often described as “Russia’s Amazon” –»»»

Ukraine, a country with no navy, has driven Russia's Black Sea Fleet out of its home in the Crimea to Novorossiysk, the largest functioning port on the Russian Black Sea coast, where it has now struck warships in the Kremlin’s last naval refuge. Ukrainian forces hit the naval base at Novorossiysk, »»»

Russia's defence ministry has put its winter plan for Ukraine on Telegram: a photograph of attack drones in flight, captioned "just like snow on your head". Beneath the picture the ministry added a second line - "In winter you will get a 'freeze'" - and pinned the post to its own earlier message ab»»»

Russia is stitching together a web of new railway corridors that reach from the South Caucasus to the Indian Ocean, redirecting freight away from Europe and towards Asia and the Global South as it makes a pivot to the east. More than 93% of Russian Railways' (RZD) international traffic already runs»»»

Ukraine, a country with no navy, has driven Russia's Black Sea Fleet out of its home in the Crimea to Novorossiysk, the largest functioning port on the Russian Black Sea coast, where it has now struck warships in the Kremlin’s last naval refuge. Ukrainian forces hit the naval base at Novorossiysk, »»»

Ukraine’s drone warfare on Russian ecommerce giant Wildberries is burning holes in the pockets of Uzbek export businesses. Enterprises in Uzbekistan have informed government officials of a marked decline in exports made through the Russian online marketplace – often described as “Russia’s Amazon” –»»»

N’DJAMENA: Chadian President Mahamat Idriss Deby on Friday pardoned jailed ex-prime minister and leader of the main opposition party Succes Masra and eight other opposition leaders. Deby has led Chad since 2021 after taking charge of a military transition following the death of his father, Idriss D»»»

Hezbollah's complete surrender of the Ali al-Taher hills to the Lebanese Army is a prerequisite for fully implementing the Framework Agreement, said a political source familiar with Lebanese-U.S. discussions, including the recent visit of the head of the Military Coordination Group for Lebanon, Gen»»»

Americans unexpectedly cut their spending in July as a boost from government tax refunds faded. Retail sales slipped 0.6% last month, the biggest drop since May 2025, from a revised gain of 0.2% in June, according to Commerce Department data released Friday. There was a notable bump in spending in »»»

Iraq's average daily oil exports since the beginning of August are the highest since the outbreak of the Middle East war between Iran and the United States, which has choked off the Strait of Hormuz, the oil ministry said Friday. Iraqi Oil Minister Bassem Mohammed Khudair told a press conference th»»»

Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz rose sharply on Thursday, with 13 confirmed vessel crossings — a 44% increase from the previous day — according to data from marine tracking firm MarineTraffic. Volumes stayed far below normal amid ongoing conflict and competing claims over the waterway»»»

QUSRA, Palestinian Territories: Israel’s defense minister called Friday for the police to take over law enforcement in the occupied West Bank from the military, which has come under fire from the right-wing for trying to remove settlers harassing Palestinians. The measure, if implemented, would be »»»

Russian forces are preparing to “completely choke off Ukraine’s last remaining waterway,” and the latest overnight strikes on Izmail port and its railway hub confirm that intent, military expert Yevgeny Mikhailov tells Sputnik. Severing these arteries could slash NATO deliveries by up to two-thirds»»»