Russia is stitching together a web of new railway corridors that reach from the South Caucasus to the Indian Ocean, redirecting freight away from Europe and towards Asia and the Global South as it makes a pivot to the east. More than 93% of Russian Railways' (RZD) international traffic already runs»»»

Bulgaria is becoming an increasingly important source of electricity for Romania after drought and record-low Danube levels forced the shutdown of both reactors at the Cernavoda Nuclear Power Plant. The loss of 1,400 MW of nuclear capacity has put additional pressure on Romania's electricity system»»»

DAMASCUS/FRANKFURT: A former Syrian security officer sentenced to prison in Austria for abusing detainees during Bashar Assad’s rule left the country while appealing against his sentence and returned to Syria earlier this month, according to four sources and messages reviewed by Reuters. Lt. Col. M»»»

PARIS/HAMBURG: Relentless heat and drought could halve this year’s French maize harvest and reduce European Union production to its smallest in decades, analysts said, despite expectations that crops in Poland and Romania will hold up better. The European Commission in late July cut its forecast fo»»»

LONDON: The Taliban released journalist Hamid Farhadi after he completed a two-year prison sentence on charges of propaganda against the group and cooperation with the exiled Etilaatroz newspaper. Farhadi’s family confirmed his release on Thursday from Bagram prison. He was detained by Taliban Inte»»»

Russia's economy bounced back to 1.3% growth in the second quarter, beating official forecasts after a rare contraction at the start of the year. Preliminary data from Rosstat, the state statistics service, put second-quarter GDP up 1.3% y/y, above the 0.8% the central bank had forecast and the 0.9»»»

Tunis, August 14, 2026 (TAP) — Tunisia’s energy sector exports increased by 38% through the end of June 2026 compared with the same period in 2025, while the value of energy imports rose by 36%, according to data from the National Observatory of...»»»

Tunis, August 14, 2026 (TAP) – The Agency for the Promotion of Industry and Innovation (APII) has joined a national initiative launched on August 10 by the Ministry of Family, Women, Children and the Elderly to establish a unified pathway for...»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Russian armed forces struck a warehouse containing weapons, military equipment, and property belonging to the Ukrainian armed forces in the port of Yuzhny with missiles and drones, the Russian Ministry of Defense said on Friday. "During the day, high-precision air-launched we»»»

Dubai: Friday saw a steady stream of updates across the region, from maritime developments in the Strait of Hormuz to further adjustments on regional flight schedules. Airlines continue to advise passengers to check their flight status before travelling, while energy markets remain in focus. Here's»»»

Tunis, August 14 (TAP) — The Tunisian Embassy in Abu Dhabi announced on Friday that the Ministry of Interior has dispatched a technical team to the United Arab Emirates to provide Tunisian nationals residing in the country with services related to...»»»

The Communications Regulation Commission (CRC) and mobile operators will jointly combat a rise in caller ID spoofing scams, the regulator said on Friday. The initiative involves the three mobile operators holding nationwide licences, A1 Bulgaria, Vivacom and Yettel Bulgaria, as well as industry org»»»

The Reserve Bank of India has moved up the deadline for banks to mobilise foreign currency deposits from non-resident Indians, after the scheme attracted more than $56 billion in inflows. The RBI said on Friday that banks will now have until August 31, 2026, to raise Foreign Currency Non-Resident (»»»

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The national debt of the United States has increased by more than $500 billion since July 1 and has come close to a record high of $40 trillion, RIA Novosti calculated based on data from the US Treasury Department. In early July, that number was $39.389 trillion, by mid-Augus»»»

LONDON: The American Israel Public Affairs Committee condemned senior New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman on Wednesday following Friedman’s encouragement of Michigan Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed to “be true to your pro-Palestinian, Arab American roots and stick it to” the pro-Israel lob»»»

NEW DELHI: Tata Steel sold all its stake in Indian Super League side Jamshedpur FC to Goa-based club Churchill Brothers for a token amount of 100 Indian rupees ($1.05) on Friday, two weeks after the conglomerate announced it was pulling out of the ISL. Twice national league champions Churchill Brot»»»

On Friday, the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church issued an official call for public condemnation of violence, following the murder in Plovdiv of 37-year-old Georgi Kuzev. "Such an act of extreme aggression and blatant lawlessness shakes the very foundations of our society’s moral conscien»»»

The Bulgarian Foreign Ministry has prepared a diplomatic protest note over the case of Iva Mihaylova in North Macedonia, Prime Minister Rumen Radev told a briefing in Pleven on Friday. The trial against Mihaylova, who is charged with a serious offence related to road traffic safety in North Macedon»»»

The Varna District Court has approved the extradition of a 40-year-old man wanted by German authorities, where he is being investigated for attempted murder, the court’s press office said. The district court in Kassel issued a European Arrest Warrant for the Bulgarian national on May 26, after whic»»»

Jakarta: Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto said Friday that Southeast Asia's largest economy could achieve a 6 percent growth rate by the end of this year despite global economic uncertainties. In his annual State of the Nation address before members of the Parliament in the capital Jakarta, Pr»»»

Secretary's SpeechLebanon PalestineZionist EntityRegional and International International More Video Language Ar En Fr EsSubscribe for Weekly Updates Subscribe Israeli artillery targeted the Shmeis area in the outskirts of Kfarshouba town with a shell: Al-Manar reporter 14-08-2026 16:44 PM Latest N»»»

KYIV: Russian jet-powered drones struck a home in northern Ukraine on Friday, killing a 29-year-old woman and her 9-year-old son, officials said. The strike came a day after the United Nations said July was the deadliest month for Ukrainian civilians since the weeks following Moscow’s all-out invas»»»

ABUJA: The masked police officers burst into Ahmed Soliman’s hotel room in Equatorial Guinea and dragged him and two dozen other US deportees outside, guns drawn, to deliver a message: go home. “I have police officers yanking on my neck, trying to throw me on the ground, I have officers elbowing me»»»

GENEVA: More than 650,000 refugees and asylum seekers in South Sudan risk losing food aid access within weeks due to a severe funding shortfall, potentially forcing some to return to war-torn Sudan in search of help, the UN warned on Friday. South Sudan faces one of the world’s worst hunger crises,»»»

Hungary is set to begin the controlled sinking of two 80-metre-long barges near Paks on Friday afternoon in an extraordinary effort to raise water levels in the Danube and help safeguard the operation of the Paks Nuclear Power Plant. Prime Minister Péter Magyar announced the latest stage of the eme»»»

In Colombia hopes are fading of finding survivors after Monday’s powerful earthquake. Rescue teams are now turning their focus to recovering bodies, but families are still holding out hope of finding their loved ones alive beneath the rubble. Many have taken matters into their own hands, as our rep»»»

Israeli settlers have taken control of a freshwater spring that Palestinian farmers in the occupied West Bank have relied on for generations, diverting its water to create a pool at an archaeological site advertised as a tourist attraction and leaving crops to wither. It is estimated that Israeli s»»»

Israeli settlers are conducting a campaign of violence and intimidation against the Palestinian village of Qusra in the occupied West Bank. Families have had their electricity and water supplies cut off, in what residents say is an attempt to force them from their homes. According to France 24 corr»»»

In tonight's programme: Mourners gather in memory of the 44 people killed in Tuesday's ferry accident on Zimbabwe's Lake Kariba. Also, ballot counting has started in Zambia, where President Hakainde Hichilema is expected to win a second term. Finally, researchers believe that the rising cost o»»»

Zambia's electoral commission on Friday suspended vote counting from Thursday's presidential and parliamentary elections for at least 24 hours due to “violence targeted at poll staff” and reported instances of theft of marked ballot papers. Former minister Brian Mundubile, the main challenger to Pr»»»

In Zimbabwe, hundreds of people have attended a memorial service following a ferry disaster on Lake Kariba that claimed at least 46 lives. The boat was a vital link for villagers and fish traders around the vast lake, but was reportedly overloaded when it ran into trouble on Tuesday. Laurent Berste»»»

Authorities evacuated 525 people from the village of Luglon Friday as a new wildfire tore through southwestern France, burning 1,100 hectares and advancing to within a few kilometres of the village centre amid an unprecedented wildfire season.  French ​authorities evacuated 525 villagers after»»»

Japan’s foreign minister summoned the Russian ambassador in Tokyo to lodge a “strong protest” against President Vladimir Putin’s surprise visit to the Kuril islands on Thursday. Tokyo maintains its claim to the disputed islands near Japan's northernmost Hokkaido island since they were seized by the»»»

Paris: France’s top constitutional authority on Friday struck down a ban on social media access for children under 15, dealing a blow to the legislation championed by President Emmanuel Macron. The Constitutional Council found that Article 1 of the legislation “constitutes an infringement that is n»»»

The Bulgarian National Audit Office (BNAO) published more than 16,000 asset and interest declarations by public officeholders on Friday. The declarations comprised annual filings submitted by May 15, 2026, and initial and final declarations filed between January and August 2026. They included decla»»»

Former Agriculture Minister Ivan Hristanov has announced that he will run for president in Bulgaria's upcoming presidential election, saying his candidacy has been in preparation for more than a year. Hristanov confirmed his decision in an interview with Nova TV, explaining that the initiative was »»»

Sofia Mayor Vasil Terziev has congratulated Burgas and Mayor Dimitar Nikolov after the seaside city was selected over Sofia to host Eurovision 2027, stressing that the contest should be treated as a national opportunity rather than a source of division. “I am used to criticism. I want to congratula»»»

GERB leader Boyko Borissov has called for political unity after Burgas was selected to host Eurovision 2027, urging Bulgarian cities and institutions to work together to present the country positively to an international audience. In a post on Facebook, Borissov first congratulated DARA, whose Euro»»»

Bulgaria's Central Election Commission (CEC) has approved the official schedule for the country's presidential and vice-presidential election, setting October 25, 2026 as election day and establishing the key deadlines leading up to the vote. The chronogram, adopted on August 13, formally launches »»»

Prime Minister Rumen Radev said Burgas is a strong choice to host the 2027 Eurovision Song Contest and expressed confidence that the city will present Bulgaria well on the international stage. He also used a visit to Dolna Mitropolia in the Pleven region to address the water crisis in northern Bulg»»»

Bulgaria expects to receive two additional anti-drone systems by the end of next week as the country works to strengthen its ability to detect and counter unmanned aircraft, Defense Minister Dimitar Stoyanov said during a meeting with journalists in Pleven. Stoyanov said two systems are expected to»»»

A reconnaissance drone has washed ashore near Primorsko, while another drone-related object was found on the nearby beach area of Lozenets. The discoveries have prompted questions about the origin of the unmanned aircraft, with BIRD.BG claiming that the drone found near Primorsko is Russian-made. B»»»

A specialized operation by Bulgaria's General Directorate for Combating Organized Crime (GDBOP) is underway in the Botevgrad area, targeting two alleged criminal groups known locally as “Peevite” and “Inket.” Three people have so far been detained on suspicion of usury, coercion and pimping. The op»»»

Dubai: UAE students who achieved top A-level grades have shared how they adapted to an unprecedented assessment process after formal examinations were cancelled earlier this year. In April, Cambridge, Pearson Edexcel and OxfordAQA cancelled all IGCSE and A-level examinations in the UAE for the May/»»»

GENEVA: The State of Qatar concluded its discussion of its combined report covering the second to fourth periodic reports on the implementation of the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, during the interactive dialogue with the United Nations Committee on the Ri»»»

US President Donald Trump has imposed steep tariffs on imported drones and their components, potentially complicating Ukraine’s plans to expand UAV sales to Washington. Under a proclamation signed on Thursday, drones weighing more than 25 kg and those equipped with thermal imagers will face tariffs»»»

At the request of the prosecution, the Regional Court in Botevgrad ordered the pre-trial detention of 24-year-old G.G., who has been charged with causing grievous bodily harm to a five-year-old child in a case involving domestic violence, the press office of the prosecution service said Friday. The»»»

Bulgaria and Turkey are preparing to strengthen their transport and energy links, including a new railway route from Edirne through Lesovo, Elhovo and Yambol that will provide an alternative connection to the congested Kapitan Andreevo-Kapıkule border crossing. Prime Minister Rumen Radev highlighte»»»

Burgas will build a small Eurotown for international teams and guests attending Eurovision 2027, as preparations for the contest continue in the seaside city. Deputy Mayor for Construction Chanka Koralska told Bulgarian National Radio that a separate temporary structure will be erected near Arena B»»»

Burgas has begun preparations for Eurovision 2027, with the seaside city expecting thousands of fans, tourists, delegations and media representatives to arrive for the contest next May. The event is already generating excitement among local businesses, while also raising questions about accommodati»»»