Passengers unaffected by an illness outbreak on a British cruise ship have been allowed off the ship in the French port city of Bordeaux, while authorities confirmed the cause of the outbreak is norovirus, a nasty stomach bug that spreads easily. French authorities had initially ordered over 1,700 »»»

Lebanon will demand Israel cease fire at face-to-face talks that began in Washington on Thursday, a senior Lebanese official said, as Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel continued to trade blows despite a US-backed truce declared last month. A State Department official confirmed that a meeting of Leba»»»

Russia is intensifying its daytime attacks on Ukraine, including on regions sometimes far from the front lines. On Wednesday, Moscow launched at least 800 drones against Ukraine, according to Volodymyr Zelensky. The attacks continued into Thursday morning, killing at least six people and wounding d»»»

Britain’s political turmoil deepened on Thursday as Health Secretary Wes Streeting resigned from the government, a move widely seen as the opening shot in a potential leadership bid against embattled Prime Minister Keir Starmer. In his resignation letter to Starmer, which Streeting posted on X, he »»»

In London, the Tube and iconic red double-decker buses are deeply woven into the city's fabric. When these ageing vehicles retire, some are given a surprising second life and transformed into unique dining experiences. From underground carriages turned into restaurants to vintage buses serving afte»»»

President Volodymyr Zelensky's chief of staff until just November, Andrii Yermak, has fallen a long way. He is now accused of laundering nearly 9 million euros in a high profile corruption scandal. A Kyiv judge ordered on Thursday that he be placed in pre-trial detention. Story by Marc Paupe and An»»»

Immigration advocates rally outside the Supreme Court after its a ruling in favor of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program in Washington in June 2020. The court's 5-4 decision rejected the Trump administration's plan to end DACA. File Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo WASHINGT»»»

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defence and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai, today visited Jebel Ali Port, operated by DP World, to review operations, meet the teams keeping regional trade flowing and see firstha»»»

Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev said the government has no intention of intervening directly in the market by imposing prices, but stressed that the state has a responsibility to ensure effective regulations and oversight mechanisms amid rising consumer costs and declining purchasing power. Sp»»»

Industrial production across the eurozone and the wider EU continued its gradual recovery in March 2026, while Bulgaria stood out with one of the strongest monthly performances in the bloc, according to Eurostat figures. In the euro area, industrial output increased by 0.2% compared with February, »»»

Riyadh Saudi Arabia: Secretary-General of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi said developments and changes witnessed in the region over the recent period have confirmed that strengthening Gulf integration and coordination is no longer merely an institutional option, but has beco»»»

The CEO of Nvidia, Jensen Huang, is among the delegation of CEOs that met with US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Thursday. The maker of AI chips is hoping the meeting between the two world leaders will lead to a lifting of restrictions on sales to China. Also in th»»»

KIDAL, Mali: Mali’s army carried out overnight airstrikes on the northern town of Kidal, which has been under the control of Tuareg separatists and their jihadist allies since a large-scale offensive last month, the army and witnesses said Thursday. “We are targeting specific targets. We have our s»»»

MOSCOW: Europe should not expect ​to act as a mediator in the Ukraine peace process given its current approach, ‌Russia’s ‌state-run ​RIA ‌news ⁠agency ​reported on Thursday, citing ⁠Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. Peskov reiterated Moscow’s position that Europe ⁠is currently involved ‌in ‌the con»»»

Tunis, May 14 (TAP) - New Delhi played host on May 11-12 to works of the second meeting of the Tunisia-india task force on trade and investment.Ways to increase cooperation and the competitive edge of Tunisian exports were discussed, the Tunisian...»»»

Doha, Qatar: The Police Academy, represented by the Police Officers Institute, celebrated the graduation of the Senior Officers Course in the presence of Major General Abdulrahman Majid Al Sulaiti, President of the Police Academy, along with a number of officers, at The Torch Doha. In a statement b»»»

Oman: The Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances Control Department of the Royal Oman Police has arrested four individuals in Wilayat Al Musanah on drug possession charges. In a social media post, the police stated that the suspects, all of Asian nationality, were found in possession of quantities o»»»

The National Assembly passed at first reading on Thursday all three bills amending the Judicial System Act, introduced by Progressive Bulgaria, Democratic Bulgaria, and Continue the Change. The Progressive Bulgaria bill was approved unanimously with 189 votes in favour by all parliamentary groups. »»»

RIYADH: Students looking for an American higher education in Riyadh can now apply for a place at the first accredited US university in the Kingdom. At 106 years old, the University of New Haven is officially the first American university to receive a foreign branch campus license from the Ministry »»»

RIYADH: Officials and institutions continued their extensive preparations on Thursday for the upcoming Hajj season which is expected to host more than 1.5 million pilgrims from abroad. Prince Saud bin Mishaal, the deputy governor of the Makkah Region, and Gov. of Jeddah Prince Saud bin Abdullah bin»»»

Bulgaria's Constitutional Court on Wednesday declared unconstitutional a March 13 National Assembly resolution instructing the Council of Ministers to take urgent measures to mitigate the adverse economic impact of high crude oil and natural gas prices, the Court said on its website. The Court open»»»

New Delhi: India's capital announced fuel-saving measures on Thursday, including work-from-home days for government employees, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for reduced consumption as the Middle East war disrupts supply chains. India is one of the few countries in the region that has no»»»

Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping shook hands ahead of bilateral talks in Beijing on Thursday, marking the first visit by a US president to China since 2017. In his opening remarks, Xi said he had always believed that the two countries “have more common interests than differences.” “A stable b»»»

DUBAI: The Red Sea Film Foundation gathered actors, filmmakers and industry executives on the French Riviera on Wednesday for its annual Women in Cinema luncheon and press day, held alongside the 79th edition of the Cannes Film Festival. The event celebrated women creatives from the Arab world, Asi»»»

Solaren Power has expanded its renewable energy footprint across the Philippines with the rollout of a broad portfolio of solar installations spanning industrial, commercial, institutional, agricultural, and residential segments, reflecting accelerating adoption of distributed solar solutions acros»»»

Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Tim Scott, R-S.C., and ranking member Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., are among 24 senators who will vote on the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, a bill to set a framework for regulating cryptocurrency, on Thursday. Photo by Bonnie »»»

BELGRADE - The first Business Summit, to be held in Belgrade on Friday, will bring together top Serbian and international leaders in business, politics and banking who will address key economic, business, political and tech and innovation topics. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, PM Djuro Macut, »»»

Oil prices dipped on Thursday after Iran's state media said about 30 vessels had crossed the Strait of Hormuz in recent hours while the semi-official Fars news agency cited a source saying Iran had begun allowing transit for some Chinese vessels. Meanwhile, the White House, speaking of US President»»»

KARNEI SHOMRON SETTLEMENT, Palestinian Territories: From her home in an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank, Anna Sloutskin yearns to expand her country’s borders and one day move to southern Lebanon. And she is not alone. With fighting between Israel and Hezbollah displacing more than a m»»»

KYIV: The International Atomic Energy Agency ​said on Thursday it has been informed of a major increase in ‌drone ‌activity ​near ‌Ukrainian ⁠nuclear ​power plant ⁠sites this week, with more than 160 UAVs recorded ⁠flying in the ‌vicinity ‌of the ​South ‌Ukraine, Chornobyl, ‌and Rivne NPP sites on »»»

PARIS: France’s health minister said Thursday that 26 people in France identified as close contacts of hantavirus cases linked to the MV Hondius cruise ship had tested negative for the illness. Dutch authorities said that all people who arrived in the Netherlands on evacuation flights from the ship»»»

DHAKA: When Sharif Sheikh spoke to his Lebanon-based younger brother Karim Miah over the phone in the early hours of Monday, discussing his safety amid Israel’s war on the country was inevitable. “He said everything was fine with him despite the war situation. But that ‘fine’ didn’t last for him,” »»»

REGGIO EMILIA, Italy: The Princess of Wales’ visit to Italy has put the spotlight on an Italian early childhood educational model that helped revolutionize how toddlers learn in school. The Reggio Approach, used in public daycare centers and preschools in the northern city of Reggio Emilia, values »»»

Havana: Cuba was hit by worsening power outages on Thursday as the island's government said oil reserves had run out and rare protests broke out around the capital Havana. Eastern Cuba was plunged Thursday into the latest of regular electricity shutdowns affecting the whole country, while people pr»»»

Rescuers at work at the scene of Russian strike on a nine-storey residential building in Kyiv on Thursday where four people were killed and at least 10 remain missing. Photo by Sergey Dolzhenko/EPA May 14 (UPI) -- A major aerial assault by Russian forces on Kyiv overnight killed at least five peopl»»»

French President Emmanuel Macron greets Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina at the Elysee Palace in Paris in 2025. Silina resigned Wednesday. File Photo by Maya Vidon-White/UPI | License Photo May 14 (UPI) -- Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina resigned Wednesday after a political battle stemming f»»»

A total of 2,063 reports about children at risk were registered in 2025 by the State Agency for Child Protection. The National Child Helpline at 116 111 received 25,356 calls, which led to 13,078 psychological support consultations, said Deputy Chair Ivayla Kasarova on Thursday during a conference »»»

Kuwait: Kuwait Bourse closed trading on Thursday as the All Share Index lost 17.61 points to reach 8,764.47 points, a decrease of 0.20 percent. As many as 543.4 million shares valued at KWD 108.4 million (roughly USD 390.2 million) were traded via 28,671 transactions. The Main Market Index went dow»»»

A Hezbollah drone exploded inside Israel on Thursday, injuring three civilians, two of them severely, according to the Israeli military and hospitals. The incident occurred ahead of a third round of direct talks between Israel and Lebanon in Washington, as the Trump administration pushes for a brea»»»

Israel and Lebanon opened a new round of peace talks in Washington on Thursday as their latest ceasefire -- considered to still be in place despite hundreds of deaths in Israeli strikes -- nears its end. The two sides started discussions just after 9 am (1300 GMT) at the State Department and will m»»»

Ukraine is working closely with international terrorist groups to prepare a fight against legitimate governments, including in Africa, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Dmitry Lyubinsky said on Thursday. "The Kiev regime is working closely with international terrorist groups and transnational crimina»»»

RIYADH: Riyadh hosted the signing of an agreement on Thursday to establish the first regional headquarters of the Institute of Internal Auditors outside the US. The event was attended by President of the General Court of Audit and Chairman of the Saudi Authority of Internal Auditors Dr. Hussam Alan»»»

Oman’s Ministry of Labour has announced a mandatory pre-arrival medical examination and visa processing system for workers arriving from the Philippines, with the new measures taking effect on Monday, May 18. The ministry said the system was introduced in coordination with relevant authorities and »»»

Dozens of ships set sail from southwestern Türkiye as part of a Gaza-bound aid flotilla on Thursday, an organizer told AFP. "Around 50 ships sailed from Marmaris around an hour ago," Gorkem Duru, a member of the Türkiye branch of the Global Sumud Fleet said. "They will be joined by four or five shi»»»

Tehran: Iran's football federation chief on Thursday said no visas had yet been issued for the national team to participate in the 2026 World Cup in the United States, state media reported. "Tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, we will have a decisive meeting with FIFA. They must give us guarantees,»»»

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer faced the gravest threat yet to his leadership on Thursday as unrest within the Labour Party spilled into open rebellion, with potential successors manoeuvring for position after the party’s bruising local election losses. The crisis deepened after Health Secreta»»»

The Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security (ICP) said customs inspectors at Zayed International Airport have foiled an attempt to smuggle cocaine into the country after a passenger arriving from an African country was found carrying narcotics concealed inside his bod»»»

Rome, Italy: Jannik Sinner reached the semi-finals of the Italian Open on Thursday after seeing off Andrey Rublev and establishing a new record of consecutive wins in Masters 1000 tournaments. Another straight-sets victory, this time 6-2, 6-4 over Rublev, moved Sinner up to 32 straight wins in the »»»

Rabat, May 14 (SANA) Syria and Morocco announced steps to restore full diplomatic engagement and expand bilateral cooperation during talks between Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani and Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita in Rabat on Thursday. Speaking during a joint press confer»»»

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday pledged to press ahead with reforms within the Palestinian Authority, saying he was prepared to hold long-delayed presidential and parliamentary elections. Abbas's Fatah party began a three-day conference to elect a new central committee, its highest »»»