The Ukrainian parliament has unanimously approved Yevhen Khmara as Ukraine's new defense minister, giving their go-ahead to a man who earlier pledged that "Russia will burn" after orchestrating the deadly August 12 attack on the Russian city of Novorossiysk. A career SBU officer, Khmara is notoriou»»»

Dubai: UAE customers can now use Jaywan cards to pay for Etihad Airways flights directly on the airline’s website, making Etihad the first airline to accept the UAE’s national domestic card scheme for flight bookings. Get updated faster and for FREE: Download the Gulf News app now - simply click he»»»

LONDON: Islamophobic incidents in London during the first six months of the year exceeded figures for all of 2023, a monitoring group has warned. The “alarming” statistics reveal a sixfold growth in annual cases from 2021 to 2025, Tell Mama said, warning that it reflects a “sustained escalation of »»»

JERUSALEM: Israel’s military said Wednesday it would launch criminal investigations into two high-profile attacks on Palestinians during the war in Gaza, including the killings of 5-year-old Hind Rajab and her family and of 15 Palestinian paramedics. The military said it would not launch criminal i»»»

Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf arrived in neighboring Iraq Wednesday for a three-day visit where he will meet with Iraqi officials and leaders of an Iran-backed political coalition. Iran-backed Iraqi militias have launched and claim drone attacks targeting US bases and diplomatic presence both within the »»»

DOHA: The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) on Wednesday organised an open introductory meeting for the public on Law No. (10) of 2026 regulating unmanned aircraft (drones), as part of its efforts to raise awareness of the legislation, its key provisions and requirements. The meeting highlighted the r»»»

Damascus, Aug. 19 (SANA) Gold prices remained stable in the Syrian market Wednesday, while global bullion prices rebounded as the US dollar and global bond yields eased. According to a bulletin issued by the General Authority for Precious Metals Management, the price of 21-karat gold stood at SYP 1»»»

A drone strike on a minibus in the Ukrainian frontline city of Kherson killed at least 4 people and injured 5 others amid a rise in Russian attacks on the approximately one-third of the province still controlled by Ukraine. File photo by State Emergency Service of Ukraine/EPA-EFE Aug. 19 (UPI) -- A»»»

The possibility of directly electing the president resurfaces from time to time. For now, András Baka was elected by Tisza’s parliamentary majority, but Péter Magyar, the prime minister, has repeatedly indicated that he would support a direct election. Baka, meanwhile, is only an interim president,»»»

The Montana Regional Prosecution Office has filed an indictment against the mayor of the Danubian town of Lom, Tsvetan Petrov, for an alleged offence against citizens' political rights, the Sofia Appellate Prosecution Office said on Wednesday According to the indictment, on April 15, Petrov met wit»»»

A team from Penza State University has been granted a patent for a system capable of ensnaring drones in a large net at distances of one kilometer or more, providing a non-kinetic alternative to conventional gunfire or fragmentation interception. How it works:The net is compactly stowed within a cy»»»

Dubai: Dubai will host a packed run of exhibitions, conferences and consumer events through the end of 2026, with GITEX Global, Arabian Travel Market, Beautyworld Dubai, Big 5 Global and Automechanika Dubai among the major shows scheduled between August and December. Get updated faster and for FREE»»»

Eight birds - seven vultures and one crow - have been found poisoned in the Central Balkan Nature Park, the Green Balkans nature conservation organization said on Wednesday. Following alarming data from the GPS transmitter of a bearded vulture, experts from the Park and the Bulgarian Society for th»»»

Water from two public fountains near Vratsa (Northwest Bulgaria) and two in Novi Pazar (Northeast Bulgaria) was deemed unfit for consumption, stated the Regional Health Inspectorates in Vratsa and Shumen.In Vratsa, after laboratory testing of the fountains near the Leva River's beach and at the sta»»»

EL ALAMEIN: Director of the Arab Affairs Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs HE Nayef Al Emadi and Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for Arab Affairs of the Arab Republic of Egypt HEEhab Fahmychaired in the city of El Alamein on Wednesday the preparatory meeting of senior officials fo»»»

Athletes from Bishkek won four medals at the International Sambo Tournament. According to the Bishkek City Hall, the competition was held from August 13 to 15, 2026, in Moscow. Kyrgyzstan was represented by students from the Specialized Youth Sports School of the Olympic Reserve in combat sports. A»»»

Damascus, Aug. 19 (SANA) Syria’s oil and gas sector recorded production and continued the rehabilitation of facilities and wells during the first half of 2026, according to the Ministry of Energy. The ministry said the achievements during the first six months contributed to strengthening energy sec»»»

IGA-BARRIÈRE: Isaac Batisa is only a child but he spends his days digging for gold at a mining site in eastern Congo, hoping to earn enough money to support his family. The 11-year-old is among hundreds of people, many of them children, working at the artisanal gold mine in eastern Congo’s Ituri pr»»»

DUBAI: Diriyah Art Futures, an asset of Saudi Arabia’s Museums Commission under the Ministry of Culture, on Tuesday announced the lineup for “Continuum 26,” an exhibition showcasing the creative output of participants in its second Emerging New Media Artists Program. Running from Sept. 3 to Nov. 7 »»»

LONDON: Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios said on Wednesday that he had made “a huge mistake” after testing positive for cocaine.The 31-year-old, who reached the final at Wimbledon in 2022, failed a doping test during an ATP event in Mallorca, Spain, on June 22.“On 17 July 2026, a World Anti-Dopi»»»

BRUSSELS: NATO is prepared to address ​any threat and will always do what is necessary to defend all allies, a NATO ‌official said ‌on ​Wednesday ‌in ⁠response ​to questions about ⁠a report in the Financial Times that Iran has allegedly weighed ⁠attacking US military ‌targets ‌in ​Europe should ‌Do»»»

LONDON: Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios said on Wednesday that he had made “a huge mistake” after testing positive for cocaine. The 31-year-old, who reached the final at Wimbledon in 2022, failed a doping test during an ATP event in Mallorca, Spain, on June 22. “On 17 July 2026, a World Anti-Do»»»

MALMEDY, Belgium: Firefighters managed overnight to fully surround Belgium’s largest wildfire in a century, but the situation on the ground “remains complicated” with crews battling several new flare-ups, authorities said Wednesday. Crisis cell spokesman Tony Hosmans said the fire raging in the Hig»»»

ALKHOBAR: For Anan Al-Mahanna, the distance between years of hard work and a place in Saudi Arabia’s Women’s Premier League once came down to a single match. The Saudi footballer had founded Al-Taqadom’s women’s team in the summer of 2023 and only months later had taken the club to the semifinals o»»»

The "Violence Is Powerlessness" campaign, launched by Bulgaria’s Ministry of Education and Science (MES) and Ministry of Interior (MoI) to tackle aggression among young people, aims to reach 100,000 students in more than 1,000 schools, Education and Science Minister Georgi Valchev said on Wednesday»»»

With EUR 500,000 allocated following a decision by the Council of Ministers on Wednesday, the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency (BFSA) will have a laboratory capable of verifying the authenticity of Bulgarian rose oil by the end of the year, Minister of Agriculture and Food Plamen Abrovski said at a new»»»

The rapid rise in gold prices and growing interest among Romanians in precious metal investments have also led to more fraud attempts, according to Avangard Gold. The company says counterfeit products have become increasingly common in recent months, particularly through online marketplaces, privat»»»

Romania ranks among the top 10 European destinations for digital nomads, but it still lacks a coherent strategy for mobile talent. Competitive costs, good connectivity, and access to the European market help, but they are not enough to create real differentiation. What separates a convenient destin»»»

DOHA: The Establishments and Authorities Security Department, represented by the Sports Security Section, organised the Second Annual Forum titled 'Integration of Security and Organizational Roles for the Doha Bank Stars League'. The forum brought together representatives from various entities invo»»»

Citizens of Kyrgyzstan who registered for Hajj 2026 but were not included in a quota and remained on the waiting list can re-register through the state digital Hajj system from August 14 to 20, the muftityat reported. For citizens registering for the 2027 Hajj for the first time, the registration a»»»

RIYADH: Iraq’s cabinet has approved a three-month mechanism for exporting crude through specialized local and international companies and multiple export outlets, as Baghdad seeks to diversify its oil export routes amid disruptions. The decision was taken during the 15th regular session of the Coun»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russian President Vladimir Putin and Malian transitional president Assimi Goita held phone talks and agreed to coordinate efforts to ensure stability in Mali and the Sahel‑Saharan region as a whole, the Kremlin said on Wednesday. "It was agreed to continue coordinating efforts to»»»

Dubai: Google has opened its first office in Pakistan, deepening its decade-long investment in the country as the technology giant seeks to support Pakistan’s ambitions to become a $30 billion IT export hub. The move will create more opportunities for its young workforce. Pakistan Prime Minister Mu»»»

Fabian DittmannA German startup is bringing self-driving vehicles to Estonia. Its roof-mounted AI-powered system is designed to enable autonomous travel under remote human supervision. https://p.dw.com/p/5IxkWAdvertisementThe German startup Bliq is developing self-driving cars capable of transporti»»»

Dubai: The US dollar hovered near multi-month lows against major currencies on Wednesday, with softer Treasury yields and reduced expectations for another near-term Federal Reserve rate increase weighing on the currency ahead of the release of the central bank's latest meeting minutes. Get updated »»»

Washington, United States: Harvard University has agreed to pay a $53 million settlement after its former morgue manager stole and sold body parts donated for scientific research, with a Boston court reportedly approving the plan on Tuesday. Cedric Lodge, who managed the morgue at the prestigious H»»»

In January—June 2026, imports of passenger cars into Kyrgyzstan increased by 36.5 percent compared with the same period last year. A total of 78,375 vehicles worth more than $680 million were imported. Data from the National Statistical Committee say. Where does Kyrgyzstan buy most cars? China acco»»»

Diverzum, the digital platform targeting students and Generation Z, has surpassed 100,000 registered users in Romania less than a year after its local launch. Over the same period, the company has attracted more than 50 partner brands and developed collaborations with 10 student organisations acros»»»

Iran’s foreign minister said the Iran war had changed the region’s security thinking, convincing Arab states that security must be collective and regional, not dependent on foreign bases that had become sources of insecurity. In a wide-ranging interview with the president’s communications office, A»»»

Arab Finance: Dubai-based paid public parking provider Parkin Company has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Modon Misr for Asset and Facility Management, Mwasalat Misr, and Redcon Properties to explore the development of smart parking and mobility solutions in Egypt, as per a press re»»»

Dubai: Interviewing the twenty-something crew behind Kalyani, the Malayalam viral hit with more than 97 million Spotify streams and a rather unexpected fan in Snoop Dogg, feels less like a conventional celebrity interview and more like gatecrashing a wild boys’ road trip. They are all squeezed into»»»

Jordan is preparing to mark the 2,000-year anniversary of Jesus Christ’s baptism in the Jordan River, with the Muslim nation investing more than $100 million to draw Christian pilgrims to one of the world’s holiest sites. Jordanian Prime Minister Jafar Hassan met with Christian leaders this month a»»»

The US has suspended negotiations with Iran and is seeking to gradually “strangle” the country, CNN reported on Tuesday, after its bombing campaign near the Strait of Hormuz failed to yield the desired results. The US abruptly halted its most recent wave of strikes late last month amid reports that»»»

The prospect of US control over Venezuela’s sovereign assets would amount to a “colonial relationship” and set a “terrible precedent” for Latin America, former IMF Executive Director Paulo Nogueira Batista Jr. has told RT. Reports have surfaced that some 31 tons of Venezuelan gold – valued at appro»»»

Agricultural producers across the EU have warned of sharp drops in yields after Europe has been hit by successive heatwaves this summer. Economists have said the losses are likely to push food prices higher in the coming months. June and July were the hottest on record in western Europe, according »»»

US congressional lawyers are struggling with a flood of error-ridden AI-generated legislation, forcing them to spend increasingly more time rewriting proposals produced by chatbots, Politico reported on Monday. Staffers and outside groups have more frequently turned to ChatGPT and Claude to produce»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - German Federal Prosecutor's Office said on Wednesday it detained another suspect in connection with Nord Stream pipeline blast case. "This morning (August 19, 2026), the German Federal Prosecutor's Office, acting on the basis of a European arrest warrant issued by the investigati»»»

Dubai: Nearly six months into the war, Donald Trump appears to be settling on a new strategy for Iran: Stop chasing an elusive diplomatic breakthrough, maintain economic and naval pressure and wait for Tehran to bend. Iran is signalling something very different. It says that if the squeeze continue»»»

Israeli occupation forces launched a sweeping arrest campaign across the occupied West Bank in the early hours of Wednesday, storming homes and neighborhoods in multiple governorates as fierce confrontations erupted with Palestinian youths. The large-scale operation stretched from Bethlehem and Nab»»»

An investigation is under way into the cultivation of 3,215 kg of marijuana in a field near the southwestern village of Sugarevo, the Blagoevgrad District Prosecution Office (BDPO) said on Wednesday. The investigation is proceeding under the BDPO's direction and supervision. The authorities have fo»»»