Islamabad: Saudi Arabia has awarded its highest national honour to Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, during his visit to Riyadh, Pakistan’s military said Monday, underscoring deepening ties between the two countries, including cooperation on counterterrorism. Munir received the King »»»

BELGRADE - Serbian football coach Dejan Stankovic was officially named new Red Star Belgrade head coach on Monday. Stankovic, 47, succeeds Vladan Milojevic, whose contract with the club was terminated by mutual agreement on Sunday. Stankovic, who has signed a deal until June 2028, has already coach»»»

Several major US tech companies – including Google, Apple, and Microsoft – have warned foreign-national employees holding H-1B visas against traveling outside the country amid President Donald Trump’s immigration clampdown, which could leave them stranded abroad for months, Business Insider reports»»»

Chinese robotaxis could be set to hit UK roads in 2026 as ride-sharing apps Uber and Lyft announce partnerships with Baidu to trial the tech. The two companies are hoping to obtain approval from regulators to test the autonomous vehicles in London. Baidu's Apollo Go driverless taxi service already »»»

GAZA, Dec 22 (KUNA) -- Hospitals across the war-devastated Gaza Strip received corpses of 12 martyrs over the past 48 hours, the local health authorities said on Monday.They said in a report that batch included bodies of four martyrs, in addition to 20 newly injured Gazans. Meanwhile, paramedics re»»»

Doha: The Qatar Football Association's winter training camp for its elite referees commenced this Sunday at the Hilton Doha Hotel. The five-day camp, running through Thursday, aims to technically and physically prepare officials for the upcoming challenges of the season. The primary objective is to»»»

Tuesday will begin under persistent fog and low cloud cover across much of Bulgaria’s plains and low-lying areas, according to the National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology’s forecast for December 23. In Southwestern Bulgaria, the weather will be largely sunny, although fog is also expected i»»»

Detty December, a popular term for Ghana and Nigeria's end-of-year party season, can have "negative connotations", Ghana's official for diaspora affairs has said, adding that he does not want the label linked with his country. "On a personal level I don't want the word 'detty' to be associated with»»»

Dec. 22 (UPI) -- Japan's H3 rocket faced issues Monday during its seventh launch attempt. The H3 rocket lifted off from the Tanegashima Space Center at 8:51 p.m. EST Sunday night in Japan carrying the Michibiki 5 navigation satellite designated QZS-5 into orbit. "However, the second stage engine's »»»

Dubai: Foreign yachts travelling between Abu Dhabi and Dubai will soon benefit from a simplified and unified set of procedures, under a new protocol aimed at making inter-emirate sailing smoother and faster. From January 2026, sailing permits issued by either emirate will be recognised by both auth»»»

Mogadishu: The drought emergency in Somalia has significantly deepened, with authorities estimating that 4.61 million people have been affected by prolonged dry conditions across the country, the United Nations (UN) relief agency said Monday. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affai»»»

A Hanukkah menorah drawing is among items, including cards, photos and artworks that are collected to be included in memorials and the Jewish Museum as staff clean up the tribute site at the Bondi Pavilion following a shooting at Bondi Beach in Sydney. Police released new details and images Monday »»»

bTV reported on Monday that it has decided to part ways with journalist Maria Tsantsarova, a host of the TV channel’s morning show. Tensions between the two sides escalated after, on the day of the large-scale anti-government protest on December 10, Tsantsarova placed in front of her on air a cup b»»»

Colombo: Sri Lanka is moving ahead with plans to build housing complexes for families who lost their homes due to Cyclone Ditwah, a government minister announced on Monday. Minister of Housing, Construction and Water Supply, Susil Ranasinghe, said more than 6,000 houses were destroyed by the cyclon»»»

TOKYO, Dec 22 (KUNA) -- Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and his Australian counterpart Penny Wong on Monday agreed to promote multi-layered cooperation with like-minded countries, including frameworks such as Japan-US-Australia and the four-nation "Quad" group invoving India to realize »»»

BRUSSELS, Dec 22 (KUNA) -- The European Commission said on Monday that it considers setting "minimum prices" that cannot be undercut as a "viable alternative" to the EU tariffs imposed on electric vehicles manufactured in China, confirming that it continues to explore this option with the Chinese s»»»

A British woman jailed in Iran for almost a year has spoken of the pain of separation from her family in a poignant Christmas message written in her cell. "At a time when we should be connected, we find ourselves alone, down, dejected," Lindsay Foreman wrote in a poem entitled A Sad Voice From Evin»»»

Dubai: Dubai Municipality on Monday announced the launch of the region's first integrated recreational vehicle route, marking a groundbreaking development in nature-based tourism for the emirate. “The initiative will establish a single, easily accessible network of dedicated RV stations, serviced p»»»

A total of 262 DUI violations were recorded by police between 18 and 22 December during a large-scale operation carried out on major roadways across Attica, involving 19,712 breathalyzer checks. In addition, seven drivers were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol with breathalyzer re»»»

President Rumen Radev and the leadership of the Association of Banks in Bulgaria discussed here on Monday the banking sector's readiness for the introduction of the euro as of January 1, 2026, the President’s press secretariat said. Vice President Iliana Iotova also took part in the meeting. The he»»»

Türkiye expects the second phase ​of a Gaza ceasefire deal to begin early in 2026, ‌Foreign Minister Hakan ‌Fidan ‌said ⁠on ​Monday, ‌following talks with US, Qatari and Egyptian officials in Miami over ⁠the weekend, Reuters reported. Speaking at ‌a press ‍conference ‍in Damascus, ‍Fidan said the d»»»

Moscow on Monday said there was "slow progress" in talks with the United States over a plan to end the war in Ukraine, following weekend talks in Miami that failed to break the deadlock, AFP reported. "Slow progress is being observed," state media reported Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Rya»»»

Italy said Monday it intends to keep a military presence in Lebanon even after the UN peacekeeping force it belongs to leaves as planned from December 31, 2026. "Even after (the peacekeeping force) UNIFIL, Italy will continue to do its part, supporting with conviction the international presence and»»»

BEIJING, Dec 22 (KUNA) -- China on Monday declared new custom fees reaching 42.7 percent on dairy imports from the European Union states.The official news agency, Xinhua, quoted a statement by the commerce ministry as saying that the European bloc has provided substantial support for the dairy indu»»»

BEIRUT, Dec 22 (KUNA) -- Lebanese President Joseph Aoun affirmed on Monday that his country is taking steps to encourage, exchange, and protect investments with the member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).In a statement, the Lebanese Presidency said that during his meeting with Wissam A»»»

BRUSSELS, Dec 22 (KUNA) -- The European Union condemned on Monday the tariffs announced by China on certain European dairy products.European Commission spokesperson Olof Gill told reporters that the new Chinese measures are "unjustified and not based on sound grounds." According to the Chinese Mini»»»

Veteran bTV journalist Stoyan Georgiev announced he is leaving the television station in solidarity with Maria Tsantsarova, who was removed as host of the morning show “This Morning.” Georgiev made the announcement on Monday in a post on Facebook, saying he had formally submitted his resignation. “»»»

A consortium in which ZUE holds a 33% stake has submitted the most advantageous bid – worth approximately PLN 392.2 million – in a Romanian public tender for the project titled “Design and execution of railway (CF) infrastructure works and auxiliary works to improve accessibility for users, as part»»»

Orlen Upstream Norway, part of the Orlen Group, acquired 7.6% stakes in the Albuskjell and Vest Ekofisk fields in the North Sea from DNO. This deal adds approximately 8 million barrels of oil equivalent to Orlen’s reserves. Alongside other partners, Orlen has also committed to developing the Albusk»»»

Echo Investment plans to build 11 residential buildings with around 400 apartments on the former Tesco site in Kabaty, Warsaw. The project includes 15–20 service units, 304–355 parking spots, a 150-space Park & Ride, and 1,100 bicycle stands. Local residents and Ursynów council members strongly opp»»»

Student Depot has secured a five-year financing package worth PLN 770 million (~€183 million) from a consortium led by PKO Bank Polski and ING Bank Śląski. The funds will be used to refinance debt on ten existing student housing facilities and to support new developments in Warsaw and Gdańsk, where»»»

Panattoni has finalized the sale of its 40,500 m² logistics and production facility, Panattoni Park Koluszki, to DL Invest Group for €29 million. The fully leased property reflects strong market liquidity and investor demand for well-located, income-generating assets. Located in central Poland, the»»»

Only about one-third of Polish municipalities have drafted a general zoning plan (plan ogólny), a new strategic document required by mid-2026. Without it, municipalities will be unable to issue building conditions decisions (so-called "wuzetki"), risking a near-complete freeze on new housing develo»»»

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Synektik has signed a contract with the Regional Specialist Hospital in Lublin for the delivery, assembly, installation, and commissioning of the da Vinci robotic surgery system, valued at PLN 20.8 million net, the company announced in a statement. The contract was awarded through a public procurem»»»

Medicover and Google Cloud have entered into a strategic partnership to accelerate Medicover’s digital transformation using cutting-edge cloud and AI technologies. The collaboration aims to improve patient care quality and operational efficiency. According to Medicover’s CDIO Łukasz Krause, the par»»»

Poland's new State Procurement Policy for 2026–2029 aims to strengthen national economic competitiveness and resilience by prioritizing domestic companies in public tenders – especially in sensitive sectors like cybersecurity, defense, and infrastructure. The strategy promotes digital sovereignty b»»»

BACKI PETROVAC - Slovak President Peter Pellegrini said on Monday his two-day official visit to Serbia was historic and noted that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic was doing much to ensure good life to ethnic Slovaks in Serbia's northern province of Vojvodina and that building a Slovak House in N»»»

KUWAIT, Dec 22 (KUNA) -- Kuwait is currently affected with a wave of cold and humidity along with low visibility, said the Meteorological Department on Monday.The visibility in some regions has ebbed to zer0 level, said Dherar Al-Ali, the acting director in a statement to KUNA.Fog will accumulate a»»»

BRUSSELS, Dec 22 (KUNA) -- The European Commission announced on Monday that it has opened an in-depth investigation to assess whether the public support that the Czech Republic plans to grant for the construction and operation of two new nuclear units at the Dukovany site complies with European Uni»»»

Containers are loaded onto a train at the Yingkou Container Terminal in Liaoning Province, a major international trade gateway serving northeastern China. File Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI | License Photo Dec. 22 (UPI) -- Beijing unveiled tariffs as high as 42.7% on imports of European Union dairy p»»»

Ras Al Khaimah: The body of 27-year-old Salman Fariz, an Indian expat delivery rider in the UAE who died in a tragic construction wall collapse during torrential rains in Ras Al Khaimah on Thursday, was repatriated to his hometown on Monday morning. The young man from the south Indian state of Kera»»»

The Association of European Journalists – Bulgaria (AEJ-Bulgaria) issued a statement on Monday, saying it will organise a new protest outside the bTV headquarters in Sofia, after the media outlet announced its decision to terminate the contract of journalist Maria Tsantsarova, a host of the TV chan»»»

The countries of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and Indonesia have signed a free trade agreement. What does this entail? Agreement between Indonesia and the EAEU, which includes Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Armenia, and Kyrgyzstan, will diversify the bloc’s export mix and reduce the negative ef»»»

Dubai: Air Arabia has expanded its European network with the launch of flights to Warsaw Modlin Airport, giving travellers from the UAE access to two airports in the Polish capital. Sign up for our daily business newsletter, Cheques & Balances.The Sharjah-based low-cost carrier began the new servic»»»

PoliticsIndiaIndia's nuclear expansion draws global interestMurali Krishnan in New DelhiLandmark nuclear reform opens India's nuclear sector to foreign firms, aiming for massive growth, but critics highlight safety, oversight and supply chain gaps. https://p.dw.com/p/55oXLIndia is on track to meet »»»

Dubai: The UAE carried out a major overhaul of its residency and visa system in 2025, introducing new categories and updating existing rules to strengthen the country’s position as a global hub for living, working, and investment. The reforms, approved by the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizen»»»

During a video conference on Monday, outgoing Defence Minister Atanas Zapryanov and Deputy Chief of Defence Lieutenant General Mihail Popov congratulated Bulgarian military personnel participating in missions and operations abroad, the Defence Ministry said here on Monday. "You can all be proud of »»»

Israel's government approved on Monday the closure of the country's military radio station, dismissing objections from the attorney general, who warned that the move threatened media freedom. According to a government survey of audiences, it is Israel's third most listened-to station, with a market»»»