Share: The Strait of Hormuz : More than 20,000 sailors are on vessels stuck in the Gulf. Iran has been effectively blocking the Strait of Hormuz and has been charging as much as $2 million per ship in tolls. European Union nations moved Friday toward imposing sanctions on Iranian officials and othe»»»

Albania’s Democratic Party (PD) is facing a significant decline in membership amid growing internal divisions surrounding the leadership referendum organized by former Prime Minister Sali Berisha. According to figures confirmed by the party headquarters, the country’s largest opposition force curre»»»

Israel warned the residents of 10 villages in southern Lebanon to evacuate their homes immediately to avoid planned air strikes against alleged Hezbollah targets. "In light of the terrorist Hezbollah's violation of the ceasefire agreement, the army is compelled to act forcefully against it. The arm»»»

Narayanganj, Bangladesh: Crowds in Bangladesh are flocking to snap photographs with an unlikely social media star -- an albino buffalo with flowing blond hair nicknamed "Donald Trump" due to be sacrificed within days. Owner Zia Uddin Mridha, 38, said his brother named the 700 kilogramme (1,500 poun»»»

CAIRO: A Saudi-backed, big-budget action film shot largely in Riyadh, “7 Dogs” is positioning itself as one of the most ambitious productions to emerge from the region. Set for release on May 27, with a red carpet premiere in Cairo on May 22, the film brings together a major Arab ensemble featuring»»»

NEW DELHI: India’s power ministry urged careful use of electricity on Friday, a day after breaking records for power generation during an intense heatwave in the world’s most populous nation. Peak power usage this week has broken records for four straight days, with temperatures hitting 47°C, accor»»»

Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, told Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, on Saturday that Tehran will not back down from its national rights especially as the United States has shown no honesty and cannot be trusted. “We will pursue our legitimate rights with intel»»»

BEIRUT: Israel kept up strikes on Lebanon on Saturday, hours after overnight raids on the country’s south and east, including one that damaged a hospital, its chief executive told AFP.Israel’s military has been pounding Lebanon despite an April 17 ceasefire, while Lebanese movement Hezbollah has al»»»

At the end of a quadrilateral meeting between Bulgaria, Azerbaijan, Turkiye, and Georgia, Bulgaria's Deputy Energy Minister Kiril Temelkov said that plans are in place to develop a roadmap to identify and accelerate activities related to the implementation of the Green Energy Corridor project betwe»»»

Five policemen were ​killed and several others wounded in an ‌Israeli ‌strike ​on ‌Saturday ⁠on ​a police position near ⁠the Sheikh Radwan area ⁠of northern ‌Gaza, Gaza’s ‌General ​Directorate ‌of ‌Police said. There was no immediate ‌comment from the Israeli ⁠military.»»»

London, May 23 (SANA)– The British government has proposed creating a single market for goods with the European Union in an effort to reintegrate its trade within the continent. The idea was rejected by the EU, reflecting the continued complexity of relations between the two sides since Britain’s d»»»

CAIRO: The preamble and ceremonies for “Glory in Giza” concluded on Friday night at the Grand Egyptian Museum with the official weigh-in ceremony for the fighters competing in the highly anticipated card on Saturday night. The showcase event, part of Riyadh Season, will take place at the Pyramids o»»»

Doha: Qatar’s industrial investment volume reached QR270bn during the first quarter of 2026, marking a 0.13 percent increase compared to the same period in 2025, according to figures released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI). The ministry said 32 factories were evaluated for readines»»»

The Cabinet of Ministers of Kyrgyzstan has amended the regulations governing public procurement. According to the resolution, the list of cases in which goods, works, and services may be procured through a special procedure without standard competitive mechanisms has been updated. The changes also »»»

MINA: Ashmana Al-Sayed Suleiman, a 63-year-old Sudanese pilgrim, has told of the emotional fulfillment of a 15-year dream to perform Hajj, inspired by years of watching images of worshippers performing their rituals in Makkah. Suleiman, who lost a child during Operation Decisive Storm and Restoring»»»

MADINAH: Miqat Dhu Al-Hulayfah in Madinah witnessed heavy pilgrim movement on Friday as crowds departed for Makkah and the holy sites to begin their Hajj rituals. The large-scale movement was supported by a comprehensive operational plan that ensured smooth traffic flow and efficient transportation»»»

Dubai: A major real estate fraud case that promised luxury beachfront chalets and high-return resort investments in Egypt has ended with heavy prison sentences in Kuwait, after authorities uncovered one of the country’s most significant property scam operations in recent years. Kuwait’s Criminal Co»»»

A military source strongly warned enemies about possible move against Iran, saying the country’s Armed Forces are fully prepared to confront hostile moves. “The Iranian armed forces are fully monitoring the situation and have prepared new scenarios for confronting the US and its allies in case the »»»

Authorities across the UAE have announced free public parking during the Eid Al Adha holiday period as part of nationwide measures to ease mobility and support residents during the long break. The exemption applies across major emirates, including Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Ajman, where public p»»»

Sharjah: Sharjah has introduced a new logistics facilitation measure exempting cargo trucks arriving from Oman through key border crossings from truck toll gate fees, as part of the emirate’s efforts to strengthen supply chains and enhance freight movement across the UAE. The initiative, launched t»»»

Setúbal, Portugal: A French woman suspected of abandoning her two young boys in Portugal and her partner arrived at court on Saturday for further questioning, according to an AFP reporter at the scene. The 41-year-old woman and the 55-year-old man could potentially be placed in pretrial detention f»»»

Taiwan's security chief said Saturday that China has deployed more than 100 navy, coast guard and other vessels in regional waters stretching from the Yellow Sea to the South China Sea and Western Pacific. The deployment happened in the past few days after US President Donald Trump's meeting with h»»»

CANNES: “Ben’Imana” created history when it became the first film by a Rwandan filmmaker to premiere within the Official Selection of the Cannes Film Festival, which closed on May 23. Directed by Marie-Clementine Dusabejambo in her feature debut, the film focuses on the memories and emotional fract»»»

Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of Emergency Situations has extended the weather alert for May 23–25. According to weather forecasters, unstable weather with localized heavy rains is expected in the foothill and mountainous regions of the republic. As a result, mudflows are possible, and river water levels a»»»

Twenty-seven countries have moved since the Iran war started to put in place crisis instruments that could quickly access funding from existing World Bank programs, according to an internal document viewed by Reuters. The World Bank document did not name the countries or the total amount of funds p»»»

A man once labelled China’s “most devoted fraudster” has reignited debate over healthcare costs and desperation after mainland media revisited the story of how he illegally secured life-saving dialysis for his wife. The case centres on Liao Dan, a former factory worker in Beijing whose family fell »»»

LUGANSK (Sputnik) - The death toll from the attack on a college in the Lugansk People’s Republic on Saturday rose to 11, while the whereabouts of 10 people remain unknown, Lugansk People's Republic head Leonid Pasechnik said. "As of midday on May 23, 11 victims of this monstrous crime have died: ei»»»

Bolivian riot police fired tear gas at anti-government demonstrators in La Paz on Friday as unions and Indigenous groups renewed demands for President Rodrigo Paz to resign amid a deepening economic crisis and mounting unrest. Bolivian riot police clashed with anti-government protesters in La Paz o»»»

Tunis, May 23 (TAP)- "The Tunisian state demonstrated its capacity to manage several thorny issues, mainly illegal migration," Spokesperson for the National Guard Directorate General Brigadier General Houssem Eddine Jebabli said.The vast majority of...»»»

Tehran accused the United States of "excessive demands", Iranian media reported on Saturday, as US media reports suggested that Washington was mulling new strikes while Iran was considering the latest peace proposal. Read our liveblog for all the latest developments. (FRANCE 24 with Reuters, A»»»

More than 80 workers were killed in a coal mine explosion in China, Xinhua reports. Rescue operations are ongoing, and the cause of the accident is being investigated. A gas explosion at a coal mine in Shanxi Province, northern China, killed 82 people. Another nine are still missing, according to a»»»

A state of emergency has been declared across Gabrovo Region by an order of the regional governor due to heavy, sustained rainfall, rising river and stream levels, and flooding across all four municipalities in the region, the regional administration said on Saturday. The decision followed an emerg»»»

Viktor Chaushev, Sofia's Deputy Mayor for Transportation and Urban Mobility, submitted a report to the Sofia City Council on a large-scale optimization of the capital's tram network, the Sofia Municipality press service reported on Saturday. The report is set to be reviewed by the Municipal Council»»»

An earthquake of magnitude 6.0 struck near Honaunau-Napoopoo on the Big Island of Hawaii late on Friday and the state's volcano observatory was assessing the Kilauea volcano, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said. Kilauea, one of the ⁠world's most active ⁠volcanoes, is located on Hawaii's»»»

Addis Ababa: Uganda said on Saturday it had confirmed three new cases of Ebola, bringing to five the total since the virus outbreak was discovered in the east African country on May 15. "Three new cases of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) have been confirmed in the country," the health ministry said, »»»

Senegal President Bassirou Diomaye Faye on Friday dismissed Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko and dissolved the government after months of mounting tensions between the two leaders, plunging the debt-stricken West African nation deeper into political uncertainty. Senegal President Bassirou Diomaye Faye »»»

The first group of French activists from the Global Sumud aid flotilla returned to Paris on Friday after being detained and then deported by Israel amid international outcry. They described what they said was a violent, humiliating ordeal – including sexual abuse – after they were detaine»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Ukraine lost over 290 soldiers in combat against Russia's Battlegroup Tsentr over the past 24 hours, in addition to losses in manpower and equipment on other fronts, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Saturday. "Units of Battlegroup Tsentr occupied more advantageous lines and p»»»

LESNYYE DALI, Moscow Region, Russia (Sputnik) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Saturday said that Armenia is being drawn into an anti-Russian camp in an attempt to make Russia "suffer as much as possible." "The West is trying to pull apart our allies, first and foremost beginning with ou»»»

South Korean company plans $200 million joint investment with ReElement Technologies to produce rare earth materials and permanent magnets in the United States The entrance of POSCO Tower Yeoksam in Seoul, photographed May 22, 2026. Photo by Hyojoon Jeon / UPI May 22 (Asia Today) -- POSCO Internati»»»

Paris, France: Alone in her bedroom, six-year-old Emilia laughs at jokes told by kids on the other side of the world and listens to stories told by a lively adult voice. The tales and gags -- many baffling to adult ears -- are emitted by a Yoto player, one of a growing class of sound-only gadgets f»»»

Doha, Qatar: The Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani, held a phone call on Saturday, May 23, 2026, with HE Badr Abdelatty, Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Egyptian Expatriates of the sisterly Arab Republic»»»

Israel staged fresh airstrikes in Lebanon on Saturday after earlier raids killed 10 people, according to media and the government in Beirut, targeting an area near the Syrian border. The state-run National News Agency said there were five Israeli airstrikes shortly before midnight in the mountainou»»»

Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his deep condolences to Chinese President Xi Jinping following the tragedy at a coal mine in Shanxi province, according to a telegram published on the Kremlin’s website. “Dear Mr. President, dear friend! Please accept my deepest condolences in connection w»»»

Ten Turkish citizens accused of being ISIS members have been arrested in Syria, Turkish state media said on Saturday. The 10 -- for whom Interpol had issued international alerts, or Red Notices -- were apprehended in a joint operation by the Turkish and Syrian intelligence services, they said. Nine»»»

Hundreds of suspected child predators have been apprehended and dozens of minors rescued in a sweeping multi-agency crackdown across Southern California targeting internet-facilitated child exploitation, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) has said. A total of 341 suspects were arrested and 40»»»

SpaceX’s Starship rocket exploded in a fireball after splashing down in the Indian Ocean on Friday, capping what the company described as a successful test flight of its next-generation spacecraft. The massive rocket lifted off from SpaceX’s Starbase facility in Texas at around 6:30 PM EST and flew»»»

Doha, Qatar: One day after CBS aired the final episode of 'The Late Show' with Stephen Colbert, US President Donald Trump posted an AI video of throwing the host into a dumpster. The 22-second clip, published at 2:34am on May 23, 2026, was posted without any captions and had garnered over 41 millio»»»

An Israeli strike on southern Lebanon killed six people on Friday, including two rescuers and a child, the Lebanese health ministry said, despite a fragile ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war. In a statement, the ministry said that "six people were martyred" including two rescuers from the Risala»»»

The Army Command has finalized a list of the Lebanese military delegation scheduled to travel to the United States to meet with an Israeli military delegation on May 29, pro-Hezbollah al-Akhbar reported Friday. The meeting will be the first Lebanese-Israeli military meeting and will be held at the »»»