RIYADH: Officials from the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority at Al-Haditha border crossing have foiled an attempt to smuggle a huge cache of captagon pills. The authority, which seized the contraband, said on Friday: “ZATCA, in coordination with the General Directorate of Narcotics Control, thwarted»»»

BELGRADE - Serbian Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic said on Friday Serbia's talks with Hungary about an acquisition of a Russian majority stake in the Serbian oil company NIS by Hungary's MOL were making progress and that the details of an agreement among the shareholders »»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - A total of 193 Russian soldiers have returned from the Kiev-controlled territory and 193 Ukrainian POWs have been transferred in return to Ukraine, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Friday. "On April 24, 193 Russian servicepeople were returned from the territory controlled by »»»

The Yes, Bulgaria party accused prosecutors on Friday of being used, "once again", to target officials working for institutional reform. Their statement followed claims by Interior Ministry acting Secretary General Georgi Kandev that he had come under pressure and was smeared through false testimon»»»

GENEVA: Drought displaced nearly 62,000 people in just five Somali districts since the start of the year, the UN said Friday, estimating that the countrywide number could be in the hundreds of thousands. The United Nations’ migration agency said that in the five out of Somalia’s 90 districts that i»»»

Kuwait City, Kuwait: The Kuwaiti military said on Friday that two drones coming from the direction of neighboring Iraq struck border posts on its northern frontier with the country, causing damage but no casualties. “This morning, two of Kuwait’s northern land border posts were targeted in a crimin»»»

Kuwait Airways will resum operations from Terminal 4 at Kuwait International Airport, restoring flights to 17 destinations from Sunday, 26 April, following the reopening of the country’s airspace after a temporary suspension. The move comes after the Directorate General of Civil Aviation lifted res»»»

An Athens court has handed down lengthy prison sentences to two women convicted over a fatal blast in the Ambelokipi district in October 2024 in which one man was killed accidentally when the bomb he was handling exploded. The Three-Member Felony Appeals Court sentenced the injured partner of the m»»»

IZHEVSK, Russia (Sputnik) - Russia hopes that the United States and Iran will be able to reach a final agreement amid the ceasefire extension announced by US President Donald Trump, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Friday. "We hope that they will be able to resolve the e»»»

ISTANBUL: Turkish lawmakers passed a bill late Wednesday that includes restricting access to social media platforms for children under 15, state media reported. The legislation is the latest in a global trend to protect young people from dangerous online activity. Its passage comes a week after a 1»»»

The risk of a water and energy crisis is growing in Central Asia, leaving Kyrgyzstan vulnerable as a water source, experts stated following the environmental summit in Astana. Photo Internet. Alikbek Dzhekshenkulov Former Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Alikbek Dzhekshenkulov noted that the current resourc»»»

Algeria: Algeria today hosted the official signing of the second phase of the “Baladna Algeria” project. This includes a new set of contracts for the integrated farm project, alongside the launch of an airlift program to import dairy cows from the United States, starting in November 2026. The step »»»

ALGIERS: Algeria has hosted the official signing of the second phase of the 'Baladna Algeria'project. This includes a new set of contracts for the integrated farm project, alongside the launch of an airlift program to import dairy cows from the United States, starting in November 2026. The step ref»»»

Secretary's SpeechLebanon PalestineZionist EntityRegional and International International More Video Language Ar En Fr EsSubscribe for Weekly Updates Subscribe Israeli Media: Israel’s Position Worse Than Before War on All Fronts 24-04-2026 15:24 PM Israeli rescue services gather at the site of an I»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The US Department of State spent $39.7 million on Aegis Defense Services, a firm with a documented history of recruiting former child soldiers from Sierra Leone to reduce labor costs during the Iraq War. The contract for professional security services at the US Embassy in Kiev wa»»»

Dubai: AMIS Development has recently received another tranche of funding from a leading Singaporean investment fund, further solidifying the ongoing partnership between the Dubai-based developer and the fund. Such investments and the continued flow of global capital into Dubai are vital in maintain»»»

Malabar Gold & Diamonds, the fifth largest jewellery retailer globally and a brand synonymous with responsibility and trust has delivered its strongest-ever Akshaya Tritiya performance, driven by robust consumer demand, superior customer engagement, and the company’s integrated manufacturing streng»»»

Abu Dhabi: Police authorities in the UAE are using artificial intelligence to analyse driver behaviour, as part of ongoing efforts to reduce road accidents despite the country’s high global ranking in road quality. The Ministry of Interior said AI-powered monitoring systems are now in place to asse»»»

Dubai: Filipino workers abroad can now convert their years of job experience into formal college degrees, following the launch of a new online enlistment system by the Philippine Commission on Higher Education (CHED). The platform, introduced early this April during a forum in Manila, has been desi»»»

Rebuilding trust between Abu Dhabi and Tehran will take "ages and ages", UAE presidential advisor Anwar Gargash said Friday, after Iran targeted the United Arab Emirates during the Middle East conflict. "You can't be attacked with 2,800 missiles and drones and then talk to me about trust. That will»»»

In an increasingly cautious global economic environment, businesses are re-evaluating expansion strategies, prioritising sustainability, cost control, and operational flexibility. Demonstrating resilience in such conditions, FDI Zone (Rep office of Ajman Nuventures Center in Dubai) has adopted a me»»»

Members of the non-profit Dignity in Dying campaign group protest outside Parliament in London on Friday where the House the Lords was holding its final debate on an assisted-dying bill before it runs out the clock in the legislative timetable of the current session of parliament, which is due to e»»»

Dubai: The UAE plans to shift 50% of government services to AI within two years, a move that signals a deeper change in how residents interact with everyday processes such as visas, licensing, and document renewals. At first glance, this may sound like another phase of digital government, but the u»»»

The Association for the Development of Bulgarian Healthcare (ADBH) will submit a complaint on Monday to the Commission for Protection against Discrimination against the Bulgarian Medical Association and the National Health Insurance Fund over their refusal to include a procedure for financing bioma»»»

Berlin/Zagreb: German carmaker Porsche announced on Friday the sale of its stakes in sports car manufacturer Bugatti Rimac to a consortium led by a US fund founded by the Egyptian billionaire Sawiris family. The amount of the transaction, which still has to be approved by regulators, has not been d»»»

BELGRADE - Serbian Minister for International Economic Cooperation and the Social Position of the Church in the Country and Abroad Nenad Popovic said on Friday that, throughout history, the Serbs had never had a closer friend or a more dependable ally than Russia, and noted that Serbia needed Russi»»»

Seoul: South Korean police said on Friday they had arrested a man for distributing an AI-generated image of a wolf that escaped from a zoo this month, triggering a frantic search. The two-year-old male wolf named Neukgu dug out of his enclosure in the central city of Daejeon on April 8 and was on t»»»

Abu Dhabi: Motorists in Abu Dhabi have been warned against stopping or overtaking on the road shoulder, with authorities highlighting the serious safety risks associated with the practice. Abu Dhabi Police said that stopping on the shoulder can endanger both the driver and other road users, particu»»»

Islamabad: Iran’s top diplomat is expected to travel to Pakistan by this weekend for talks, two Pakistani officials said on Friday. The officials declined to provide any other details about Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi’s visit, other than to say he would be accompanied by a small governm»»»

The dollar was on track for its first weekly gain in three weeks on Friday in broadly muted trading, as stalled peace negotiations between the US and Iran dampened hopes for an immediate easing of Middle East tensions. While Lebanon and Israel extended their ceasefire for three weeks ahead of its e»»»

Syria's Interior Ministry said on Friday it had arrested the main suspect in the 2013 Tadamon massacre, one of the worst acts of violence attributed to the former government of Bashar al-Assad, in which 288 civilians were killed. The ministry released footage of Amjad Yousef’s arrest in the Al-Ghab»»»

BEIRUT: The UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon, UNIFIL, announced on Friday that an Indonesian blue helmet died in hospital of wounds suffered on March 29 in an attack on his base. “UNIFIL deplores the passing today of Corporal Rico Pramudia, who was critically injured following a projectile explosio»»»

MANILA: Doctors from the Saudi Conjoined Twins Program have given Maurice Ann and Klea Misa a chance each to live their own distinct lives, their mother told Arab News on Friday following successful separation surgery in Riyadh. The 7-year-old girls, who are from Lubang, a municipality on the Phili»»»

TORONTO: After dropping the opening two games of their first-round playoff series on the road, the Toronto Raptors returned home facing a clear challenge. They needed to respond or fall into a 3-0 deficit, territory few teams in NBA history have come back from. The early stages of the series had be»»»

LONDON: Jailed in Israel for the past 24 years, Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti remains a rallying figure for his people and could head a “democratic renewal,” his son told AFP.Sometimes called the “Nelson Mandela of Palestine” by his supporters, Barghouti, 66, is Israel’s most high-profile pri»»»

Political and diplomatic developments are accelerating toward forging an understanding between Lebanon and Israel, that has started to be known as a "non-aggression pact," based on a U.S.-Saudi initiative joined by Egypt, a political source informed on the talks said. "Egypt is reviving its previou»»»

The Sofia City Court (SCC) has left in indefinite custody two Ukrainian ex-servicemen detained in Bulgaria and charged with espionage, BTA learnt from the Court on Friday. The ruling was issued on Thursday and is appealable before the upper court. The SCC panel held that there is sufficient evidenc»»»

Athens: Greece on Friday named over 250 beaches in environmentally important areas that must be left in their natural state, amid ongoing efforts to limit the impact of overtourism in its multi-billion-euro travel industry. The initiative bans the use of umbrellas and sunbeds for hire in areas both»»»

Gold prices fell on Friday and were on course for their first weekly decline after a four-week winning streak, as a US-Iran deadlock kept oil prices elevated and inflation concerns in focus. Spot gold was down 0.2% at $4,683.23 per ounce at 0938 GMT, having hit its lowest point since April 13. It i»»»

Abu Dhabi: UAE travellers will soon have more flight options to the United States. UAE flag carrier Etihad Airways is ramping up services to Chicago and Charlotte amid strong demand. From June 15, the airline will double its flights to Chicago and upgrade its recently launched Charlotte route to da»»»

Dubai: Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence of the UAE, and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai and one of the most followed royals on social media, set the internet buzzing today, April 24, with a simple yet i»»»

Reacting to the statement of Interior Ministry's acting Secretary General Georgi Kandev that he had been pressured to step down, Continue the Change (CC) leader Assen Vassilev wrote on Facebook: "Apparently, in Bulgaria, as soon as someone starts doing their job, they immediately try to frame them »»»

Ombudsman Velislava Delcheva has supported draft amendments to a 2015 ordinance on general education, tabled by the Education Ministry, to officially integrate artificial intelligence and digital literacy into the curriculum from third to twelfth grade, her office said. In her opinion addressed to »»»

Skopje, 22 April 2026 (MIA) - The average monthly net wage paid per employee in February 2026 was Mden 46.159, an increase of 7.2% compared to the same month in 2025, the State Statistical Office said Wednesday. This increase is caused by the increase of the average monthly net wage paid per employ»»»

The Sofia Appellate Court Friday upheld a decision by a first-instance court to deny the early release of Evelin "Brendo" Banev who is serving a sentence in Sofia for drug trafficking. The early release application was first denied by the Sofia City Court on March 27, 2026. The application was subm»»»

In a Facebook post on Friday, acting Interior Minister Emil Dechev wrote: "Old cops are using dirty tricks - all too familiar to us, endlessly worn-out - to undermine and neutralize Georgi Kandev, the acting Secretary General of the Interior Ministry." Earlier in the day, Kandev said in a video mes»»»

The team of Bulgarian caretaker Justice Minister Andrey Yankulov has drafted revisions to the Judicial System Act intended to enhance the election procedures for the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) and the SJC Inspectorate, Yankulov's Ministry said in a press release on Friday. The draft legislation»»»

Dubai: Overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the UAE and across the Middle East can request help through official government channels during crises such as conflict, disasters, or personal emergencies. The Philippine Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), Department of Migrant Workers (DMW),»»»

Hezbollah reserves the right to respond to any Israeli "aggressions" during the ongoing truce in Lebanon, Ali Fayad, an MP for the party, said on Friday. He said extending the ceasefire "makes no sense" in light of continued "hostile acts" by Israel, saying they gave "the resistance the right to re»»»

BEIRUT: Lebanese militant group Hezbollah reserves the right to respond to any Israeli “aggressions” during the ongoing truce in Lebanon, Ali Fayad, an MP for the party, said on Friday. He said extending the ceasefire “makes no sense” in light of continued “hostile acts” by Israel, saying they gave»»»