Police arrested Greek musician Aris Mougopetros on Thursday following a complaint filed by his wife alleging a domestic threat. According to police sources, Mougopetros is being held at the Tripoli police security department. The incident occurred earlier in the day when he went to a residence wher»»»

Doha, Qatar: The FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Championships 2025 get underway in Doha on Friday, with Qatar hosting the elite global event until December 30. The tournament brings together the world's leading players to compete for four world titles in rapid and blitz chess across the men's and women»»»

The Christmas holiday exodus from cities is continuing, with traffic conditions showing marked improvement after widespread disruption caused by farmers’ road blockades earlier in the week. According to police, negotiations between farmers and traffic authorities helped ease congestion at several k»»»

The coldest Christmas Day in Greece occurred in 1909 (based on the Julian calendar used at the time) according to the records of the historic climate station of the National Observatory of Athens (NOA), permanently stationed at the Nymphs Hill in the Thissio area that has been providing valuable in»»»

Turkiye’s flag carrier, Turkish Airlines, will transfer ownership of an Airbus A319?115J, a government-configured jet valued at $11.9 million, to the Albanian government under a bilateral grant agreement as part of efforts to strengthen diplomatic and economic ties between the two countries. Accord»»»

Albania’s Ombudsman has found violations of the right to privacy and medical confidentiality in the case of Tirana Mayor Erion Veliaj, who is currently being held in pre-trial detention in Durrës. According to the published report, the presence of prison police officers during Veliaj’s medical exam»»»

DONETSK (Sputnik) - After forcibly mobilizing a Ukrainian man, Territorial Recruitment Center (TRC) officers told him he was being sent "straight to the slaughter," a captured conscript and former fighter of Ukraine's 25th brigade told Sputnik. "The next morning, I woke up and my military ID was re»»»

2025 has yielded some extraordinary own goals that have exposed the posturing of Western politicians and left the EU isolated, irrelevant, and alone, pursuing policies contrary to self-interest. Unwelcome stories often cling to reality, like an alien to John Hurt’s face. And just as the notorious s»»»

The jailed ex-president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, has undergone a successful surgery for a double hernia, his wife Michelle says. The former leader is serving a 27-year sentence for plotting a coup after he lost the 2022 presidential election to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Braz»»»

Turkish football club Fenerbahçe president Sadettin Sarar was released Thursday after giving a statement in a drug-related investigation. Sarar, who returned to Istanbul from abroad, was summoned to testify on December 20 in a preliminary probe into allegations of procuring and facilitating the use»»»

Damascus, Dec. 25 (SANA) First Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Syria Mokhles Nazer said on Thursday that removing zeros from the new currency does not constitute a change in the Syrian pound’s purchasing power, but rather an attempt to restore it to its natural place in people’s lives and or»»»

Damascus, Dec. 25(SANA) The Central Organization of Financial Control maintained an accelerated pace of work throughout 2025, prioritizing the recovery of state and citizens’ rights, uncovering corruption cases and protecting public funds from waste, within a previously announced institutional fram»»»

Lebanon said Israeli strikes near the Syrian border and in the country's south killed three people on Thursday, as Israel said it targeted a member of Iran's elite Quds Force and a Hezbollah operative. Despite a November 2024 ceasefire that was supposed to end more than a year of hostilities betwee»»»

Los Angeles: Torrential rains unleashed flash floods and warnings of debris flow across southern California, particularly in fire-scarred areas, with further downpours forecast for Thursday as authorities declared a state of emergency in several counties. Driven by an atmospheric river known as "th»»»

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said Thursday that this year’s Christmas comes amid ongoing suffering in southern Lebanon, speaking after a private meeting with Maronite Patriarch Béchara Raï. While cautiously optimistic about a potential easing of regional tensions, he emphasized that challenges pe»»»

Doha, Qatar: The FIFA Arab Cup Qatar 2025 attracted more than 1.2 million spectators and concluded with Morocco lifting the trophy, as the tournament underlined Qatar's growing reputation as a host of major global sporting events. Held from December 1 to 18, the competition featured 16 national tea»»»

The winning ticket was sold in Arkansas. A single ticket sold in Arkansas won the $1.817 billion Powerball jackpot prize in Wednesday night's Christmas Eve drawing. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo Dec. 25 (UPI) -- A single Powerball ticket hit the $1.817 billion jackpot on Christmas Eve»»»

Search efforts continued Thursday in northern Greece for a 45-year-old fire service officer who has been missing since Tuesday. The man, commander of the fire brigade unit in Ano Poroia, in the Serres region, disappeared after leaving the home where he lives with his wife and children. He left behi»»»

In an unprecedented development, an armed gang active in Gaza City forced inhabitants of residential bloc to evacuate their homes under threat of arms. Field sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that identified the gang as the “Rami Halas Group”. At dawn on Thursday, its members opened fire in the air in t»»»

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday he had had "very good" talks with US President Donald Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, focused on ending the "brutal Russian war". "We discussed certain substantive details of the ongoing work," he said in a post on social media. "»»»

Mogadishu: Somalians voted on Thursday in the Mogadishu region's first direct local election in nearly 60 years, despite security concerns and a boycott by opposition leaders. The election is seen as a test ahead of the 2026 presidential ballot, in a country struggling to emerge from decades of con»»»

BELGRADE - Serbia's EXPO 2027 Commissioner Jagoda Lazarevic, who is also minister of internal and external trade, EXPO 2027 Director Danilo Jerinic and Iranian EXPO 2027 Section Commissioner Sodaif Beikzadeh signed on Thursday in Belgrade a contract on Iran's participation in the specialised expo. »»»

The bodies of two members of the Iowa National Guard who were killed in an ambush in Syria earlier this month arrived home on Wednesday afternoon. Photo courtesy Gov. Kim Reynolds/X Dec. 25 (UPI) -- The remains of two Iowa National Guard soldiers killed in an ambush in Syria arrived at the Iowa Nat»»»

Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi Police have reported five cases of suffocation linked to the use of charcoal and firewood for indoor heating, urging residents to follow safety guidelines during the winter season. The incidents were highlighted as part of the ‘Safe and Enjoyable’ winter campaign, launched join»»»

Syrian authorities on Thursday said forces killed a senior leader in the ISIS group and arrested another operative in fresh operations near capital Damascus in coordination with the US-led coalition. Syrian security and intelligence forces, working in coordination with the international coalition, »»»

As Bulgaria prepares to adopt the euro from January 1, 2026, the Ministry of Interior (MI) advises citizens to use only official currency exchange points, such as banks or post offices. During the first six months following the currency changeover, these exchanges will be free of charge. To ensure »»»

Israeli security forces announced on Thursday the arrest of five Israeli settlers over their alleged involvement in an attack on a Palestinian home that injured a baby girl in the occupied West Bank. The eight-month-old infant suffered "moderate injuries to the face and head" in the late Wednesday »»»

Abu Dhabi: Hotels and restaurants with tourism licences across Abu Dhabi can now welcome pets, following changes to the emirate’s animal control regulations in public venues. The Department of Municipalities and Transport announced amendments to Chairman’s Decision No. (4) of 2018, issued under Law»»»

Attempts to secure peace in Sudan and halt the unfolding humanitarian catastrophe have continued for nearly two-and-a-half years of war. Yet a determined belief within the army and those backing it that military victory is still possible has prevailed. The result is unending destruction, displaceme»»»

A Powerball player in Arkansas won a whopping $1.817bn (£1.34bn) jackpot in a Christmas Eve drawing, making it the second-largest lottery prize ever claimed. The single winning ticket matched all six numbers - 4, 25, 31, 52, 59 and red Powerball 19 - giving the winner the option of taking a lump-su»»»

Tel Aviv: Mohammad Bakri, a Palestinian director and actor who sought to share the complexities of Palestinian identity and culture through a variety of works in both Arabic and Hebrew, has died, his family announced. He was 72. Bakri was best known for “Jenin, Jenin,” a 2003 documentary he directe»»»

Riyadh Air has announced its ‘Employment-First’ Overseas Scholarship Program, which aims to launch several scholarship tracks, starting with two specialized paths for engineers in Australia, followed by a pilot training program in the United States. The initiative falls under ‘Promising Path’, one »»»

Hezbollah mourned on Thursday the Islamic scholar and resistance figure Sheikh Reda Mahdi, extending condolences to the Islamic nation and to religious seminaries and their scholars. In a statement, the group said Sheikh Mahdi passed away peacefully after a long life devoted to learning and struggl»»»

Yangon: Myanmar's junta will stage the third and final round of its heavily restricted elections on January 25, a statement said Thursday, just days before polls open for the first batch of ballots. Democracy watchdogs say the junta-run vote is a charade to rebrand the rule of the military, which s»»»

Britain's King Charles III called for "compassion and reconciliation" at a time of "division" across the world in his annual Christmas Day message broadcast on Thursday. The 77-year-old monarch said he found it "enormously encouraging" how people of different faiths had a "shared longing for peace"»»»

Damascus: Syria's central bank has announced that a new national currency would be introduced on Jan. 1, 2026, with a process to exchange the existing notes set to begin on the same date. Governor of the Central Bank of Syria, Abdul Qader Husrieh, said a 2025 presidential decree authorizes the laun»»»

Antakya: Saint Peter’s, one of the world’s oldest rock churches, is a sacred rallying point for the isolated Christians still left in quake-hit Antakya in southeastern Turkey, the city known in ancient times as Antioch. “Since the earthquake, our community has scattered,” said worshipper Mari Ibri.»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Russian space forces successfully launched a Soyuz-2.1a rocket carrying a satellite from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in the Arkhangelsk Region, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Thursday. "On Thursday, December 25 ... a combat crew of the space forces successfully launched a S»»»

In 2026, Bulgarians will work a total of 1,984 hours spread across 248 working days, with May being the shortest month in terms of workdays at 18, and July the longest at 23. The new year begins with an extended break due to the introduction of the euro, as January 2 is declared a non-working day b»»»

Dubai: This Christmas festive season in Dubai has reached new heights of sweetness with spectacular giant gingerbread houses including ones that visitors can actually step inside. These edible architectural and culinary wonders are turning heads, offering families and Christmas enthusiasts unique p»»»

The Israeli military said it killed a member of Iran's elite Quds Force in a strike in Lebanon on Thursday, accusing him of planning attacks against Israel, AFP reported. The military said the strike killed Hussein Mahmud Marshad al-Jawhari, "a key terrorist in the operational unit of the Quds Forc»»»

A man suspected of attempting to forcibly place a foreign national into a car has been detained in Issyk-Kul region of Kyrgyzstan, the Internal Affairs Department of the region reported. The incident came to light after a video circulated on Instagram on December 24, 2025, showing an attempt to for»»»

The CSTO countries held exercises to neutralize extremist groups. The organization’s press service reported. The exercises, conducted under the guidance of the joint staff, involved duty shifts from the Crisis Response Center, as well as the Ministries of Defense and Emergency Situations of Tajikis»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Slow but steady progress is being observed in Russia's negotiations with the United States on a Ukrainian settlement, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said on Thursday. "Slow but steady progress is being observed in the negotiation process with the United Sta»»»

On December 25, deputies of the Jogorku Kenesh considered an agreement between Kyrgyzstan and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) on the project «Expansion of Wastewater Treatment Facilities in Osh city.» It was noted that the EBRD has already implemented two phases of the «»»»

Doha, Qatar: The Ministry of Education and Higher Education, MOEHE, has announced that the results of the first semester of the secondary school certificate for the academic year 2025-2026, will be released on Saturday, December 27, 2025. The Ministry while stating this on its official platforms, n»»»

Bulgarian Patriarch and Metropolitan of Sofia Daniil arrived on his first peaceful visit to the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul on Thursday. On the church delegation are metropolitans Anthony of Western and Central Europe, John of Varna and Veliko Preslav, Naum of Ruse, Cyprian of Stara Zagora,»»»

Mohammad Bakri, a Palestinian director and actor who sought to share the complexities of Palestinian identity and culture through a variety of works in both Arabic and Hebrew, has died, his family announced. He was 72. Bakri was best known for “Jenin, Jenin,” a 2003 documentary he directed about an»»»