In this edition of Europe Rendezvous, we travel to Italy, one of the European Union's founding members, to examine how the country's democratic institutions have come under increasing pressure. It may be the season of la dolce vita, but life ha»»»

RIYADH: Archeological coins unearthed in Saudi Arabia’s AlUla governorate are providing fresh insight into the region’s long history as a thriving commercial and cultural crossroads, underscoring its importance along ancient trade routes that connected civilizations across the Middle East. The disc»»»

Continue the Change (CC) has called on President Iliana Iotova to veto the 2026 State Budget Act and will launch a petition, party leader Assen Vassilev told reporters in Parliament on Friday. Earlier in the day, Parliament adopted the 2026 State Budget Act, which projects a 5.7% deficit. "We urge »»»

BELGRADE/ZURICH - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic says he has decided in favour of early elections for several reasons, including a need to have a legitimate government and people with legitimacy. In an interview for the Swiss Weltwoche weekly, Vucic said that, during last year's protests in the»»»

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia hosts 11 skink species, including the sandfish, spotted sand skink and golden skink — adapting across dunes, oases and plains with their streamlined bodies and smooth, shiny scales. Growing up to 14 centimeters long, these reptiles use clawed limbs and pointed snouts to navigat»»»

Riyadh: Saudi Arabia’s General Education Law has been approved by royal decree. The new law overhauls how the sector is governed, provides the enablers needed to meet its objectives, and aims to raise the quality of the educational environment and its outcomes, spanning educational stages, the Gene»»»

MOSCOW: Russian fashion designer Viktoria Terekhova shipped virtually her entire summer collection of children’s clothes last week to the giant warehouse of online retailer Wildberries at Elektrostal, east of Moscow. Within a couple of days, it was destroyed in a Ukrainian drone strike. Terekhova s»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The new commander-in-chief of the armed forces of Ukraine Mykhailo Drapaty will answer for his words, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday. In an interview published on Thursday, the general made an extremist statement about Russians. He also insulted residents of the D»»»

SpaceX's next-generation Starship is pictured stacked on the pad at Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, ahead of its 13th flight test, which is now scheduled for Friday evening. Photo by SpaceX/UPI | License Photo July 24 (UPI) -- SpaceX pushed the 13th test flight of its Starship booster and spaceship »»»

After two days of debate and voting, Parliament adopted the 2026 State Budget Act at second reading on Friday, approving a budget framework with a projected deficit of 5.7%. The bill was passed by a vote of 125 to 84, with no abstentions, following more than five hours of voting and over 12 hours o»»»

Progressive Bulgaria should apologize to Bulgarian citizens for the 2026 State Budget Act, GERB-UDF MP and former finance minister Temenuzhka Petkova told reporters in Parliament on Friday. “A scandalous budget law with hugely inflated spending, a record deficit and EUR 10.1 billion in debt the gov»»»

BEIJING, (Sputnik) - Chinese partners aim to conduct more than 10 transit voyages to Europe via the Northern Sea Route during this year's "summer water" period, Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom CEO Alexey Likhachev said on Friday. "A transit voyage took place last year, a unique one, the f»»»

TEL AVIV, (Sputnik) - The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Friday that it is preparing for a large-scale counterterrorist operation in the West Bank, citing an increase in attacks on civilians in the area. "Following the terror attack earlier today (Friday) in the area of Tell, IDF soldiers are »»»

TEHRAN, (Sputnik) - Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Friday that it had destroyed three ammunition and equipment hangars at US military base Camp Buehring (formerly Camp Udairi) in Kuwait in the 27th round of strikes. "During the 27th wave of Operation 'Victory 2,' fighters s»»»

London: Enzo Maresca said Friday it is a "privilege" to follow Pep Guardiola as manager of Manchester City. Former Chelsea and Leicester boss Maresca was named as Guardiola's successor after the Catalan stepped down at the end of last season, having won 20 trophies during a superbly successful 10-y»»»

Amman: The Jordanian military announced that its air defense systems and Royal Jordanian Air Force aircraft shot down seven missiles and six drones launched from Iran that targeted the country today. Jordan's state news agency, Petra, quoted a military official at the General Command of the Jordani»»»

The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) warned the people of regional countries hosting American bases to immediately take a minimum distance of 500 meters from any covert residences or hideouts of US military personnel. The IRGC statement emphasized that should the enemy continue its war crimes»»»

Germany is paying five times as much for imported gas as it did before abandoning its long-term Russian supply contracts as part of the EU sanctions, Berliner Zeitung has reported. Berlin now has to rely on the volatile international energy market, which is reeling from the de facto closure of the »»»

German prosecutors have linked the Nord Stream pipeline sabotage to Ukrainian state agencies, according to Nicola Canestrini, an attorney representing one of the suspects. He said the indictment argues there are sufficient grounds to believe the operation was ordered and directed by Ukrainian autho»»»

Lausanne: The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) announced Friday that Senegal's appeal of the decision to strip them of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title in favour of Morocco has been set for October 8. At the January 18 final in Rabat, Senegal won 1-0 thanks to Pape Gueye's extra-time goa»»»

Law enforcement officials in Ireland stopped a vehicle containing a car bomb earlier this week during an intelligence sweep of republican dissidents. File Photo by Adam Vaughan/EPA July 24 (UPI) -- Law enforcement officials in Ireland stopped a vehicle containing a car bomb earlier this week during»»»

Dubai: Etihad Rail, UAE’s first national passenger rail service officially began operations on June 30, 2026, with the launch of the Abu Dhabi–Fujairah route, marking a major milestone in the country’s transport network. The inaugural service connects Mohammed Bin Zayed City in Abu Dhabi with Fujai»»»

The 2026 State Budget takes Bulgaria back to the GERB era, Vazrazhdane MP Tsoncho Ganev told reporters on Friday after Parliament gave the budget final approval. Ganev said the budget froze all social benefits and shifted the main burden of what he called financial stability onto pensioners, mother»»»

FARNBOROUGH, UK: As Europe ramps up its rearmament drive, US aerospace giant Boeing is seeking a foothold in the emerging market for autonomous fighter aircraft, showcasing its capabilities at the Farnborough airshow this week. Boeing’s MQ-28 Ghost Bat is an uncrewed aircraft, developed with the Ro»»»

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are scheduled to meet in Washington on Tuesday, a White House official said on Friday. A Ukrainian source said Zelensky was interested in traveling to ‌the United ‌States but his ​team ‌was ⁠waiting ​for official confi»»»

DUBAI: Oscar-winning US actress Zoe Saldana has signed on as an executive producer of “It’s Complicated,” a short film centered on Palestinian womanhood that will have its world premiere at Los Angeles’ HollyShorts Film Festival in August. The film was written by and stars US Palestinian filmmaker »»»

IRBIL, Iraq: Drones carrying explosives targeted a city in northern Iraq on Friday where US forces are stationed. The attack took place hours after the American military said it finished its 13th night of strikes against Iran. The conflict has flared again over the past week, as the US pounded Iran»»»

Abu Dhabi: The UAE's airlines are significantly expanding their global footprint in 2026, adding new international destinations, increasing flight frequencies on high-demand routes and deepening commercial partnerships that allow passengers to reach hundreds of cities beyond their own networks. The»»»

Bulgaria's National Assembly gave final approval to the 2026 state budget on Friday, ending a monthlong legislative process that opened with a record 5.7% deficit and closed with the ruling Progressive Bulgaria party abolishing the automatic wage and minimum-wage formulas that have driven public sp»»»

1 of 2 | The Gordie Howe International Bridge is scheduled to open on Monday. Canada is having a scaled-down opening ceremony on Friday. Photo by Gordie Howe International Bridge July 24 (UPI) -- The new Gordie Howe Bridge between Windsor, Ontario, Canada, and Detroit is set to open to traffic Mond»»»

A total of 20 foreign students are currently studying at Shumen University, Vice-Rector Associate Professor Konstantin Konstantinov told BTA. The international students come from five European countries and are enrolled in programmes including Russian Language and Literature, Computer Design and Mu»»»

The vote on Bulgaria's 2026 state budget, which was adopted by the National Assembly conclusively on Friday, showed that there is no pilot in the cockpit, Democratic Bulgaria (DB) MP Martin Dimitrov told reporters. "There is no pilot, no governing programme and no plan for reforms. This leaves Bulg»»»

The EU preliminarily found TikTok at fault in exposing minors to danger online on Friday (24 July), with issues with the Chinese social media giant’s account settings possibly to result in a fine. TikTok is under investigation for the privacy settings of its 13-18 year old users, with the European »»»

Sweden said that it plans to ban so-called “forever chemicals”, technically known as PFAS, in consumer products such as clothing and kitchenware from 2028. “Sweden has no intention of standing by while ‘forever chemicals’ continue to spread in our homes, in nature and in our bodies,” environment an»»»

In Japan, many people see Marine Day as a chance to get away. Families go to the beach. Office workers take a real break. Trains are crowded with people hoping to escape the summer heat, even if just for a little while. But Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi used the day to catch up on something differe»»»

Parliament adopted the 2026 State Budget Act at second reading on Friday. The budget scheme provides for a government deficit of 5.7%. The vote on the bill lasted more than five hours. /VL/»»»

Secretary's SpeechLebanon PalestineZionist EntityRegional and International International More Video Language Ar En Fr EsSubscribe for Weekly Updates Subscribe IRGC: We carried out a crushing attack on the American base in Azraq, Jordan, and destroyed a Patriot air defense system and a spy balloon »»»

It has now been made official that the Groupama Arena will host a prestigious international pre-season fixture this summer, as Ferencváros welcome Real Madrid to Budapest on Saturday, 8 August. The encounter will form part of the Spanish giants’ Austrian training programme and is set to rank among »»»

Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Friday called for dialogue and de-escalation to end the renewed conflict between the United States and Iran, telling his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi that Washington and Tehran should build on the Islamabad Memorandum of Under»»»

The Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) and Vidin Municipality signed a long-term partnership agreement to support and promote the municipality's Cultural Calendar. Under the agreement, BTA will serve as the Municipality's media partner, regularly publishing information about cultural events on its website»»»

Bulgaria is not a target and will not become one, Defence Minister Dimitar Stoyanov said on Friday at a news briefing after meeting mayors from the southeastern region of Yambol to discuss the upcoming deployment of US aerial refuelling aircraft at Bezmer Air Base. Asked where the aircraft would be»»»

Parliament on Friday voted 144-8, with one abstention, to terminate Plamen Tonchev's mandate as chair of the Committee for Disclosing the Documents and Announcing Affiliation of Bulgarian Citizens to State Security and to the Intelligence Services of the Bulgarian National Army (informally known as»»»

The National Assembly on Friday approved the development of a new mechanism for determining the country's minimum wage. Until the new system is adopted, the minimum wage will remain at its 2026 level of EUR 620.20 per month. The decision came as MPs approved provisions in the 2026 State Budget Bill»»»

The Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) proposed introducing optical ballot scanners, the party said on Friday. The proposal was submitted between the bill’s first and second readings. MRF said the scanners combined the advantages of paper and machine voting and had proved reliable, having been »»»

Secretary's SpeechLebanon PalestineZionist EntityRegional and International International More Video Language Ar En Fr EsSubscribe for Weekly Updates Subscribe Israeli glider drops a stun grenade in Al-Mansouri town, South Lebanon: Al-Manar reporter 24-07-2026 16:14 PM Latest News Urgent News Israe»»»

MANILA - Serbian FM Marko Djuric said on Friday a Serbian delegation at an ASEAN conference in Manila had accomplished all of its three objectives, including a confirmation of support by several Southeast Asian countries for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Serbia. Speaking to reporters»»»

Abu Dhabi: UAE President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan received the top-performing Year 12 students for the 2025-2026 academic year, along with a number of outstanding teachers and education leaders. At the start of the meeting, Sheikh Mohamed congratulated the students, their fam»»»

The National Health Map should be updated and digitalized so that it provides up-to-date information on healthcare needs across the country, Health Minister Katya Ivkova said on Friday during a visit to Silistra. She noted that the current National Health Map was adopted in 2018 and needs to be upd»»»

Dubai: Blackstone, the world's largest alternative asset manager, is planning to open an office in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), marking its return to Dubai six years after relocating its regional base to Abu Dhabi, according to Reuters, citing two people familiar with the matter»»»