Idlib, Feb. 23 (SANA) Governor of Idlib, Mohammad Abdul Rahman, inaugurated the Idlib branch of the Commercial Bank of Syria on Monday, marking a strategic step toward strengthening the provincial banking sector and alleviating financial burdens on citizens. In a statement to SANA, Abdul Rahman emp»»»

CTP, Europe’s largest listed developer, owner, and operator of industrial and logistics (“I&L”) properties by gross leasable area (“GLA”), is proud to join the Romanian Pavilion at MIPIM—one of the world’s leading real estate trade fairs—to showcase the country’s attractiveness as an investment des»»»

Doha, Qatar: Qatar players reaped pretty good results in the competitions held within the fourth Sheikh Saud bin Ahmed Al-Thani Ramadan Bowling Championship in Doha. Hosted by the Qatar Bowling Federation (QBF), the tournament winds up on March 7, 2026, with the participation of over 100 players fr»»»

The State Department is pulling out non-essential government personnel and their eligible family members from the US embassy in Beirut, a senior State Department official said on Monday, amid growing concerns about the risk of a military conflict with Iran. "We continuously assess the security envi»»»

U.S. President Donald Trump attends a bilateral summit with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi at the State Guest House in Tokyo, on Tuesday, October 28, 2025. File. Photo via Prime Minister's Office of Japan/UPI | License Photo Feb. 22 (Asia Today) -- Major Japanese newspapers welcomed a U.S. »»»

Doha, Qatar: Qatar has ranked sixth worldwide as the largest hub for Islamic financial technology, according to the Global Islamic Fintech (GIFT) Report 2025-2026. The report estimates the size of Qatar's Islamic fintech market at $3.1 billion in 2024-2025 and projects it will grow at a compound an»»»

Final election costs are estimated to be around EUR 75–80 million, Finance Minister Georgi Klisurski told a news briefing at the Council of Ministers following the first regular meeting of the caretaker cabinet on Monday. The Council of Ministers adopted the budget for the parliamentary elections o»»»

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio may push back a trip to Israel in which he is expected to speak to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about potential strikes on Iran, a US official said Monday. "Secretary Rubio is still planning to travel to Israel but the schedule remains subject to change," the »»»

Doha, Qatar: The holy month of Ramadan represents an opportunity to promote values of moderation, balance, solidarity, and self-discipline. However, the month also witnesses a noticeable rise in consumption levels across several sectors, particularly food, energy, and water. Instead of being a mont»»»

Skopje, 19 February 2026 (MIA) – Since the government assumed office, 23 new direct flights have been introduced, with 3.5 million passengers served at Ohrid and Skopje airports. This year, I expect that Skopje Airport will emerge as the regional leader in growth, surpassing 4 million passengers, s»»»

The Abu Dhabi Judicial Department (ADJD) has accredited a group of government notaries at the Creative Media Authority, following the taking of the legal oath before Counsellor Yousef Saeed Al Abri, Undersecretary of the Department. The step aims to enhance the flexibility of notarial services and »»»

Tunis, Feb. 23 (TAP) – The Independent High Authority for Elections (ISIE) announced on Monday that periodic draws will be held on March 1 to ensure the rotation of council members in regional councils and the alternation of presidencies in local...»»»

Ramadan in the Arab world is a month of fasting and prayer by day — and television by night. For decades, families have gathered after the iftar, the evening meal that breaks the daytime fast, to follow the season’s highly anticipated drama series, produced specially to air during the Islamic holy »»»

Doha, Qatar: The Ministry of Interior (MOI) has issued a public safety advisory through its official social media platforms, urging residents to take necessary precautions to prevent cooking oil fires at home. The ministry stressed that awareness of preventive measures plays an important role in en»»»

1 of 4 | President Donald Trump, alongside Ambassador to France Charles Kushner, right, watches as a U.S. flag is raised on the South Lawn at the White House in June. The French foreign minister said Sunday that he would summon Kushner for comments he made about the beating death of a far-right act»»»

Dubai: The UAE Council For FATWA has issued a new religious ruling clarifying the status, virtues and number of rak’ahs for Taraweeh prayers during the holy month of Ramadan, encouraging worshippers to maintain the practice as much as possible. In its statement, the Council said Taraweeh is a highl»»»

Doha, Qatar: University of Doha for Science and Technology (UDST) has announced that admissions for the Fall 2026 semester are now open. The university asked prospective students to apply online for Master's, Bachelor's, and Diploma programs through the university's official website. It added that »»»

In a proactive move to strengthen workplace safety standards, the Director General of the Sharjah Civil Defence Authority conducted an extensive inspection tour across several industrial areas in the emirate, visiting factories, warehouses and commercial establishments to assess compliance with app»»»

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri does not seem concerned about a possible spillover of the U.S.-Iran conflict into Lebanon, sources told Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper. The sources said they sensed from Berri's attitude that Hezbollah will not take any action in the event of a strike on Iran. A report pub»»»

Vazrazhdane has submitted documents for holding a referendum at Sredets Municipality, Burgas Region against the establishing an immigration detention centre, the press centre of the political party said on Monday. At a meeting with residents, the procedure for creating an initiative committee was l»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Hungary blocked the 20th package of anti-Russia sanctions, as well as the 90 billion euro ($106 billion) loan to Ukraine, due to Kiev's shutdown of the Druzhba oil pipeline, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Monday. "At today's meeting, I made it clear that we do»»»

The caretaker government, led by Prime Minister Andrey Gyurov, has approved the allocation of €65 million for the organization of the parliamentary elections scheduled for April 19. Speaking at the first meeting of the interim cabinet, Gyurov stressed that funding the vote is a necessary commitment»»»

Ajman Police have stepped up road safety awareness efforts by organising a series of educational lectures for delivery motorcycle riders working with several private companies across the emirate. The initiative forms part of the main traffic campaign, “Towards a safe road for all its users,” and co»»»

Bulgaria has successfully collected the majority of its national currency. Acting Finance Minister Georgi Klisurski emphasized during the regular briefing of the Coordination Center of the Euro Mechanism that the state is committed to protecting citizens throughout this transition, working closely »»»

PRISTINA - A basic court in Pristina on Monday re-convicted Kosovo-Metohija Serb Dusko Arsic to 13 years in prison for an alleged war crime against civilians during the 1999 conflict in Kosovo-Metohija. Arsic, who is from the Maticane village near Pristina, was sentenced in second-instance proceedi»»»

U.S. Ambassador Michel Issa and Saudi Ambassador Walid Bukhari have openly raised the issue of postponing the parliamentary elections with Speaker Nabih Berri but he did not show cooperation, al-Akhbar newspaper reported. “It is currently being discussed that any potential postponement of the elect»»»

A 26-year-old man in the northern town of Kozani has been arrested for allegedly robbing a woman of a small amount of cash, her phone and her shoes, police said Monday. A police statement said the 20-year-old woman was approached as she was unlocking her parked car early Saturday by a man who had c»»»

Doha, Qatar: Old Doha Port has announced that registration is now open for the third edition of the Old Doha Port Fishing Competition, taking place alongside the second edition of the Fishing Exhibition in March 2026. The competition is organized in collaboration with Doha Marina Sports Club. Regis»»»

Abu Dhabi Police have urged motorists to strictly follow traffic safety measures and reduce their speed to no more than 80 km/h when fog or poor visibility develops, as misty conditions are forecast to affect parts of the UAE in the coming days. The warning comes as the National Centre of Meteorolo»»»

A new draft report by Green MEP Sergey Lagodinsky suggests amending the EU’s AI Omnibus proposal to prohibit artificial intelligence apps that can generate nonconsensual sensualised content. The draft was published on Monday (2 February), with the German MEP leading the file for the legal affairs c»»»

New anti-asylum laws are likely to be rubber-stamped by the European Parliament amid further alarm over the far-right influence on migration. The Strasbourg assembly on Tuesday (10 February) will most likely adopt two new laws that will make it legally easier to deport asylum-seeker hopefuls to cou»»»

The European Commission preliminarily found TikTok in violation of the Digital Services Act (DSA) on Friday (6 February), for breaching the EU’s addictive design rules. Under the DSA, online platforms have certain risk assessment and mitigation obligations. Brussels has reason to believe that TikTo»»»

Global corruption is worse than it was a decade ago, with democracies particularly slipping, according to the new 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index published on Tuesday (10 February) by the Berlin-based NGO Transparency International. Governmental corruption has increasingly been a concern across t»»»

The EU’s €650bn pandemic era fund remains wide open to fraud with weak accountability and oversight, according to financial watchdogs. “This vast sum of money offers huge potential scope for fraudulent activity,” says Katarína Kaszasová of the Luxembourg-based European Court of Auditors (ECA). Spea»»»

In our ongoing weekly digest, award-winning journalist Veronika Munk summarises and explains the most important political developments in Hungary. We guide readers on the route to the key April 2026 election — a poll without precedent in the region over the past 15 years. This week, we cover: An in»»»

Europe’s national leaders are meeting in a medieval castle in Belgium on Thursday (12 February) to discuss how to modernise. Europe’s economic and political system is predicated on openness and rules, built over decades, that are meant to ensure companies compete on a ‘level playing field’. But wit»»»

Greek authorities have issued a European arrest warrant against Norwegian human rights activist Tommy Olsen, who leads an organisation supporting migrants. Olsen runs the Aegean Boat Report, a Norwegian non-governmental organisation (NGO) set up in 2018 to monitor and share data on people seeking r»»»

MEPs raised concerns about the weakening of democratic standards in Slovakia at a plenary debate on Wednesday (11 February) — while representatives of Slovak governing coalition parties called it a deliberate humiliation of the country. “No corruption, no problems with the rule of law. These are yo»»»

Gibraltar will finally obtain free movement into Spain within the coming days, after the European Commission confirmed it had published the draft law that will govern the UK territory. In a statement on Tuesday (17 February), the EU Commission said that it had finalised the legal text of an agreeme»»»

When EU leaders met at a medieval castle this week to discuss how to ramp up Europe’s economic power, they were confronting a stark reality: Europe is lagging behind the innovation race with China and the US. In its 2026 competitiveness report, the European Commission admitted that Europe “risks lo»»»

“At the beginning of the full-scale war, we were most afraid of artillery,” says Vasyl Barninets, a manager at a large grain farm in the Zaporizhzhia region in southern Ukraine. “Now, the biggest fear is the drones.” “If we work close to the frontline, the staff have to put on bulletproof vests,” h»»»

The Spanish government asked its public prosecutor on Tuesday (17 February) to investigate TikTok, X, and Meta for potentially spreading AI-generated child sexual abuse material (CSAM) on their platforms.The move is an escalation in tension after the EU and national regulators stepped up scrutiny o»»»

Hailed as a “new gateway to European justice”, the redesign of the main portal to access EU case law, InfoCuria, has drawn the ire of legal scholars from around Europe. “It’s a disaster,” one law professor wrote to EUobserver. A letter seen by EUobserver, dated 9 February, and signed by law practit»»»

Our weekly Thursday digest offers a comprehensive guide to the most significant political developments of the week in Hungary. We accompany our readers along the historic road to the April 2026 election – a journey unlike anything seen in the region over the past decade-and-a-half. This week we exa»»»

Negotiations and divisions on the EU’s deportation bill remain entrenched among European lawmakers, ahead of a committee-level vote scheduled for 9 March. Malik Azmani, a Dutch liberal from the Renew Europe faction, is the lead MEP on the so-called returns regulation that seeks to make it easier to»»»

Teenagers’ access to social media has emerged as a topic of concern among politicians, not just parents, as more and more countries in Europe (and beyond) consider social media bans. Spain, France, Denmark, Portugal, Germany, Greece, Austria, and others have either initiated or announced plans, or »»»

Sensational claims that Ukraine blew up a German gas pipeline are being thrown around by Hungary’s populist prime minister Viktor Orbán ahead of upcoming elections. “Ukraine is trying to ensure that Russian energy reaches Europe only on its terms. Nord Stream bypassed Ukraine, so it was destroyed,”»»»

The caretaker government is allocating EUR 65 million for the snap parliamentary elections on April 19, Prime Minister Andrey Gurov announced at the beginning of the first regular meeting of the new Council of Ministers on Monday. "We have a task that is both simple and difficult at the same time. »»»

Oil prices steadied near a six-month high on Monday as the US and Iran prepared for a third round of nuclear talks while increased economic uncertainty was also in focus after the latest US tariff upheaval. Brent crude futures were up 9 cents at $71.85 a barrel by 1308 GMT while US West Texas Inter»»»