ANTALYA, Turkiye: Iran will have an answer from US authorities over their World Cup visa applications “this week,” their football federation vice president Mehdi Mohammad Nabi said on Friday. The Iranian World Cup squad will be based in Mexico during the tournament in North America, but all three o»»»

QNA Singapore Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defense Affairs HE Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman bin Hassan Al Thani has held a series of high-level talks with Singaporean and Malaysian officials on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue 2026 in Singapore. Sheikh Saoud met separately»»»

Jordan & the UAE are set to embark on a transformative $2.3 billion railway project, with construction tenders expected to be issued in early 2026. This initiative aims to enhance Jordan’s mineral export capabilities by connecting the Port of Aqaba to the mining sites of Shidiyah and Ghor Al Safi. »»»

The Louisiana state legislature on Friday passed a new congressional district map that eliminates one of the state's two majority black districts. File Photo by A.J. Sisco/UPI | License Photo May 29 (UPI) -- Louisiana's Republican-led legislature on Friday voted to approve a new congressional map t»»»

Budapest: Paris Saint-Germain stars Ousmane Dembele and Marquinhos insisted their team are ravenous for European glory ahead of Saturday's Champions League final clash with Arsenal after tasting success last season. The French side claimed the trophy for the first time and are defending their crown»»»

Doha, Qatar: The Amir HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani sent two congratulatory cables to his brother the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and to Crown Prince and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia HRH Prince Mohammed bin»»»

Mexico approved a constitutional reform that adds foreign intervention or interference in electoral processes as a new ground for annulling elections. File Photo by Sashenka Gutierrez/EPA May 29 (UPI) -- Mexico's Congress approved a constitutional reform that adds foreign intervention or interferen»»»

LONDON: Some walked out of Syria’s Sednayah prison unable to remember their own names. After years inside what rights groups described as a “human slaughterhouse,” survivors of the country’s most notorious prison emerged in late 2024 unsure whether their families were alive or whether their homes w»»»

LISBON: With Cristiano Ronaldo set to be ‌45 years old when Portugal hosts the 2030 World Cup alongside Spain and Morocco, one might think it’s unlikely that he’ll be on the squad for what would be his seventh World Cup. But don’t tell that to Portugal’s manager Roberto Martinez. “No one should dou»»»

MIAMI: The Trump administration has extended protections shielding about 11,000 Lebanese from deportation, allowing them to stay and work in the United States for another six months. The decision, announced Thursday by the Department of Homeland Security, marked a rare reprieve for people protected»»»

The international Special Operations Forces exercise Trojan Footprint 26 brought together 3,000 military personnel from Bulgaria, Germany, Georgia, Greece, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, the United States, the Republic of North Macedonia, Hungary, and Croatia, who participated in trai»»»

Hungary will not supply weapons or military equipment to Ukraine, the country’s newly elected prime minister, Peter Magyar, said on Thursday shortly after meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Brussels. Magyar’s center-right Tisza party defeated Viktor Orban’s Fidesz last month, securin»»»

The Council of Ministers appointed Deputy Prime Minister Ivo Hristov as Chair of the National Council for Cooperation on Ethnic and Integration Issues under the Council of Ministers, the government press service reported on Friday. The Cabinet also appointed Deputy Prime Minister Atanas Pekanov as »»»

Rep. Frederica Wilson, D-Fla., announced on Friday that she will not seek re-election for a ninth term in Congress. File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo May 29 (UPI) -- U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson, D.-Fla., said she has decided not to run for what would be her ninth term in the House of Rep»»»

In a letter to Romanian President Nicusor Dan, Bulgarian President Iliana Iotova expressed sympathy with the Romanian people, after a residential building in Galati, eastern Romania, was hit by a Russian drone, the press office of the presidential institution reported on Friday. The incident result»»»

The bodies of the victims of a overnight fire at Utumishi Girls Academy are moved outside the burned dormitory in Gilgil, 77 miles northwest of Nairobi, Kenya, on Thursday. At least 16 students were killed in a fire in the school dorm. On Friday, eight girls were arrested on suspicion of arson. Pho»»»

TEHRAN: Iranian authorities are laying the groundwork for a “grand” funeral for slain supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, official media reported Friday, following a lengthy postponement due to the Islamic republic’s war with the United States and Israel. Though the timing was still uncertain, “»»»

GAZA: The ​German government is concerned about ‌Israeli ‌plans ​to ‌take ⁠more ​of Gaza, ⁠a Foreign Ministry spokesperson ⁠said ‌on ‌Friday, ​adding ‌that ‌Germany opposes a permanent ‌division of the ⁠Palestinian territory. Palestinians view Israel’s widening Gaza buffer zone as a part of a strat»»»

DEIR EZZOR: The Syrian Arab Republic’s government has continued its emergency operations in Deir Ezzor after surging water levels along the Euphrates River affected about 2,400 families. The crisis prompted widespread evacuations, urgent shelter preparations, and a sweeping humanitarian relief effo»»»

MAKKAH: Saudi Minister of Interior Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Naif held talks with his Jordanian counterpart Mazen Al-Faraya in Makkah. During the meeting, the two sides discussed security cooperation between their respective ministries and reviewed several topics of mutual interest. Al-Faraya p»»»

In 2025, the Public Financial Inspection Agency (PFIA) completed 838 financial inspections and audits related to the expenditure of public funds, as reported in the agency's activity report, which was approved at a meeting of the Council of Ministers on Friday, the government press service said on »»»

ASTANA: Armenia should hold a referendum on EU membership “as soon as possible,” President Vladimir Putin and three Russian-allied leaders said in a statement Friday, escalating pressure on Yerevan over its deepening ties with Brussels. Armenia is formally allied with Moscow, but has been building »»»

PARIS: France’s government said on Friday that it’s asking prosecutors to investigate Israel’s alleged violent mistreatment of activists from a flotilla to Gaza, potentially opening a route for criminal proceedings. France had already announced an indefinite ban from French territory of Israel’s fa»»»

Colombia will head to the polls Sunday to elect President Gustavo Petro's successor. File Photo by Tannen Maury/UPI | License Photo May 29 (UPI) -- Colombia will head to the polls Sunday to elect its next president under an unprecedented security deployment that includes 246,000 members of the secu»»»

TEHRAN (Sputnik) - Iran's final agreement with the United States depends on Washington abandoning excessive demands and contradictory actions, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said on Friday, citing the country's top diplomat, Abbas Araghchi. "Explaining the situation around the diplomatic process medi»»»

When President Vladimir Putin warned that Russia has the capability to eliminate a potential aggressor, he may have been referring to the possible use of tactical nuclear weapons, National Defense magazine editor-in-chief Igor Korotchenko told Sputnik. "The systems in question include the Iskander-»»»

Singapore: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defense Affairs HE Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman bin Hassan Al-Thani attended the ministerial reception of the 23rd IISS Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on Friday. Also present was HE Ambassador of the State of Qatar to the Republic of Sing»»»

LONDON: Kazakhstan has offered to take Iran’s uranium stockpile if the United States and Iran reach an accord on Tehran’s contested nuclear program, UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi told the Financial Times on Friday. The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency met with Kazakhstan’s P»»»

Aleksandar Todorov has been appointed as Chair of the Management Board of the Road Infrastructure Agency (RIA) as of Friday by order of the Minister of Regional Development and Public Works Ivan Shishkov. The Minister has appointed a new Management Board of the agency, and the previous members of t»»»

The government has established an organizing committee to run and coordinate the preparation and holding of the 2027 Eurovision Song Contest in Bulgaria, the government press service said on Friday. The committee will be chaired Deputy Prime Minister Ivo Hristov. The rest of the members will be the»»»

Iranian Commander of the Mohammad Rasoolullah Corps Hassan Hassanzadeh attends an event with Iranian officials at the Imam Khomeini Mosque in Tehran, Iran, on Sunday. President Donald Trump is expected to make a decision on the proposed Iran cease-fire Friday. Photo by Behnam Tofighi/UPI | License »»»

Washington, United States: US President Donald Trump on Friday mocked Jill Biden for saying she thought her husband Joe was having a stroke during the 2024 election debate, accusing the former first lady of being a bad wife. During a promotional tour for her upcoming book on life in the White House»»»

MAKKAH: Dr. Mohammed bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa, the secretary-general of the Muslim World League and chairman of the Organization of Muslim Scholars, has received Ahmad Muzani, the speaker of Indonesia’s People’s Consultative Assembly, and his accompanying delegation in Makkah. The delegation included»»»

Deputy Prime Minister Galab Donev will chair the National Council for Prevention and Protection from Domestic Violence, the government press service reported on Friday. The National Council is a specialized, permanent, collective and consultative body under the Council of Ministers for the implemen»»»

Severe prison overcrowding, judicial backlogs, and selective justice resulting from political interference -- much of it linked to years of Syrian and Hezbollah influence -- have left Lebanon with a ticking bomb ready to explode, while sectarian disputes continue to delay a new general amnesty law.»»»

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman said Friday that message exchanges with Washington continue, but no final understanding has been reached, dismissing any notion that Tehran takes orders from abroad. “We said goodbye to the language of ‘must’ 47 years ago,” Esmaeil Baghaei told state television on »»»

MAKKAH: Dr. Mohammed bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa, the secretary-general of the Muslim World League and chairman of the Organization of Muslim Scholars, has received Ahmad Muzani, the speaker of Indonesia’s People’s Consultative Assembly, and his accompanying delegation in Makkah. The delegation included»»»

Washington: The Trump administration claimed that its campaign of military and economic pressure has succeeded in bringing Iran to the negotiating table on its nuclear programme, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent arguing that Tehran is now discussing issues that previous US administrations coul»»»

Abu Dhabi: Dr. Anwar Gargash, Diplomatic Adviser to the UAE President, on Friday paid tribute to former Yemeni president Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi following his death on Thursday, recalling a pivotal moment during Yemen’s conflict and expressing hope for lasting peace in the country. In a post on X, G»»»

The US is deliberately causing hunger in Cuba as part of its economic strangulation of the island, City University of New York professor Danny Shaw has said in an interview with RT’s Rick Sanchez. Speaking on the Sanchez Effect show, Shaw, an ethnography scholar, discussed his recent visit to Cuba »»»

The Cabinet has named Deputy Prime Minister Ivo Hristov Chair of the Civil Society Development Council, the Government Information Service said on Friday. The Council is a consultative body responsible for developing and implementing policies that support the development of civil society. It consis»»»

Doha, Qatar: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defense Affairs, HE Sheikh Saud bin Abdulrahman bin Hassan Al Thani, met with the Foreign Minister of Singapore, HE Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan. The meeting took place on the sidelines of His Excellency’s participation in the Shangri-La Dialo»»»

Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that Russia has all the means to destroy anyone who attempts to destroy its air defense bases. “Russia has all the means to flatten anyone who tries to do this,” Putin told journalists during a press briefing following his visit to Kazakhstan, commenting on t»»»

The Council of Ministers has adopted a decision naming Deputy Prime Minister Atanas Pekanov as Chair of the Bulgarian Council for Economic Analyses, the Government Information Service said on Friday. The Council was established as part of the implementation of a key reform envisaged under the Natio»»»

“We have agreed with the President of the European Commission on the release of 16.4 billion euros, approximately 6,000 billion forints, in EU funds,” Prime Minister Péter Magyar announced in Brussels on Friday. Péter Magyar promises aid for many in Hungary At a joint press conference with Presiden»»»

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defense Affairs HE Sheikh Saud bin Abdulrahman bin Hassan Al Thani met with His Excellency Mohamed Khaled bin Nordin, the Malaysian Minister of Defense, on the sidelines of His Excellency's participation in the Shangri-La Dialogue 2026, which is being»»»

The Cabinet has named new members to the Supervisory Board of the National Social Security Institute (NSSI), the Government Information Service said on Friday. Hasan Ademov, Antoniya Dimova-Yordanova, and Lyubomir Yosifov have been relieved of their duties as members of the Supervisory Board. The g»»»

The government approved a draft amendment to the Framework Agreement between Bulgaria and Lockheed Martin Global INC regarding the F-16 Block 70 Industrial Cooperation Programme, the government information service reported on Friday. By a decision of the National Assembly of May 8, 2026, the Minist»»»

The Council of Ministers has revoked two of its decisions in the field of defence and modernization of the armed forces on Friday. The Council of Ministers decision No. 263 of April 2, 2026, approving the Report on the State of the Defence and Armed Forces of the Republic of Bulgaria for 2025 is re»»»

U.S. President Donald Trump holds a Cabinet meeting at the White House on Wednesday. On Friday, a federal judge temporarily blocked his administration's so-called anti-weaponization fund. Photo by Samuel Corum/UPI | License Photo May 29 (UPI) -- A federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked the Jus»»»