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 »»»

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,” »»»

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»»»

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 »»»

Israeli strikes targeted Thursday Sinay, Teffahta, Tebna, Froun, Siddiqine, Haddatha, Zrarieh, Brayke', Kfarmelki, Qsaybeh, Jarjou', Kfarseer, Kafra, Arnoun-Shqif, al-Mansouri, Srifa and other villages and towns in south Lebanon, despite a ceasefire and direct Lebanese-Israeli talks scheduled for T»»»

Preliminary contacts and meetings intensified behind the scenes a few hours before the third round of Lebanese-Israeli talks in Washington, amid "clear U.S. pressure to push both sides toward tangible results," MTV reported on Thursday afternoon. According to MTV, the Lebanese delegation held a ser»»»

The continuing rise in food prices and the decreasing purchasing power of Bulgarian citizens is becoming a real challenge that requires adequate and timely measures, said Prime Minister Rumen Radev during a meeting at the Council of Ministers on Thursday. The meeting focused on government measures »»»

BELGRADE - Serbian FM Marko Djuric will attend the 135th Council of Europe (CoE) Committee of Ministers meeting in Chisinau, Moldova, on May 14-15. On the sidelines of the high-level meeting, Djuric will also have several bilateral meetings, the Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced. Se»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russia must independently produce critically important goods, all modern challenges have proved this, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday. "Life itself, the challenges we faced, proved the correctness of the thesis that we need to independently produce critically im»»»

RIYADH: Students from kindergarten age up to year 11 came together on stage at Beech Hall School in Riyadh for an orchestra and choir performance celebrating Saudi Arabia’s rich history, thriving present, and ambitious future. Youngsters from a variety of nationalities performed “From Desert Sands »»»

Net income guidance for 2026 is confirmed at around €10 billion. Together, first-quarter revenue growth — driven by fees and commissions and insurance income — along with lower costs and provisions and a CET1 ratio above 13% underline Intesa Sanpaolo’s low risk profile, solid outlook and sustainabl»»»

London, UK: Wes Streeting announced Thursday that he has resigned as Britain's health minister. In his resignation letter to the prime minister, which Streeting posted on X, he said he had "lost confidence" in Starmer's leadership and "it is now clear that you will not lead the Labour Party into th»»»

US President Donald Trump’s counterterrorism director has suggested that two of the president’s loudest critics – Tucker Carlson and Nick Fuentes – are considered potential left-wing threats by the White House. The White House released its National Strategy for Counterterrorism last week, which lab»»»

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a secret visit to the United Arab Emirates at the height of the US-Israeli war on Iran, his office revealed on Wednesday. The visit coincides with the UAE receiving Iron Dome air defense batteries from Israel. Netanyahu met with UAE President Sheikh Mo»»»

Israeli strikes targeted Thursday Sinay, Teffahta, Tebna, Froun, Siddiqine, Haddatha, Zrarieh, Brayke', Kfarmelki, Qsaybeh, Jarjou', Kfarseer, Kafra, Arnoun-Shqif, al-Mansouri, Srifa and other villages and towns in south Lebanon, despite a ceasefire and direct Lebanese-Israeli talks scheduled to ta»»»

Sharjah: Marine rescue teams from the Sharjah Civil Defence Authority rescued a driver after his vehicle plunged into Khalid Lagoon opposite the Sharjah Courthouse on Thursday morning, with the operation completed in less than eight minutes. The incident occurred at 7.04am on May 14 while marine re»»»

Beijing: Donald Trump paid a visit to the Temple of Heaven in the Chinese capital on Thursday, but the US president had a face like thunder. Standing stiff and unsmiling next to Chinese President Xi Jinping, Trump appeared unmoved by the former imperial temple in Beijing where emperors once prayed »»»

Paris, France: 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 »»»

ATHENS - Serbian Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic said on Thursday the basic provisions of a contract to build a gas-fired power plant near Nis had been agreed with Azerbaijan's state oil company SOCAR. "With the Azerbaijani company SOCAR, we have agreed the basic provisio»»»

In the past, Pakistan was heavily dependent on the Middle East, but the recent crisis has underscored the urgent need for economic diversification. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has instructed government ministries and other bodies to develop plans for sourcing fertilizer imports from Cen»»»

For much of his political career, V.D. Satheesan was regarded as one of the Congress party’s brightest political minds in Kerala — a leader admired for his sharp Assembly performances, command over detail and relentless preparation — yet somehow always just short of the very top. That long wait is »»»