Doha, Qatar: The economic impact of the FIFA Arab Cup Qatar 2025 exceeded 2.89 billion Qatari riyals (790 million U.S. dollars), according to figures released by The Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, highlighting the tournament’s contribution to tourism, hospitality, transport, and media s»»»

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that negotiations with Iran were in the final stages, while warning of further attacks unless Iran agrees to a deal. Six weeks since Trump paused Operation Epic Fury for a ceasefire, talks to end the war have shown little progress so far. Trump has said t»»»

Israel's army chief Lieutenant Colonel Eyal Zamir on Wednesday said the military was at its highest alert level, as Tehran and Washington traded threats of war. "At this moment, the military is on the highest level of alert and prepared for any development," Zamir said at a meeting of all division »»»

Bunia: The World Health Organisation said on Wednesday the risk of spread of the Ebola virus in Congo and Uganda is high at national and regional levels, but low at the global level. The risk assessment came as the leader of the WHO team in Congo said the outbreak, which has led to over 130 suspect»»»

Abu Dhabi: The Abu Dhabi Federal Court of Appeals' State Security Chamber, today sentenced Emirati national Saif Salem Saif Ali Al Maqbali to three years in prison and imposed a fine of Dh5 million. Get updated faster and for FREE: Download the Gulf News app now - simply click here.The court also o»»»

CANNES, France: Fate dictated that Russian director Andrey Zvyagintsev’s first feature since leaving his homeland, “Minotaur” — competing at the Cannes Film Festival — was set during the Ukraine war, he told journalists on Wednesday. The director said the idea to adapt French director Claude Chabro»»»

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio offered Cubans a "new path" in a special video address Wednesday hours before Washington was expected to criminally indict the island's influential former leader Raul Castro. Addressing the Cuban people directly in Spanish, Rubio accused the country's communist lea»»»

On May 15, Palestinians commemorated the Nakba ("catastrophe" in Arabic), referring to the forced exodus of Palestinians during the creation of the State of Israel in 1948. Around the same time, Israelis celebrated what they call the "reunification of Jerusalem" in 1967, meaning the occupation»»»

PARIS: Paris ‌St. Germain coach Luis Enrique praised Ousmane Dembele’s defensive commitment ahead of next week’s Champions League final against Arsenal, saying the France forward had become an example for coaches because of the intensity he brings without the ball. “That’s Ousmane’s mentality. Ever»»»

LONDON: Syrian authorities seized 25 million captagon pills bound for smuggling and arrested seven members of an international trafficking network in a large and sophisticated operation. On Wednesday, Syria’s Drug Enforcement Administration discovered drugs hidden inside a shipment of pottery conta»»»

The Pentagon has once again refused to admit responsibility for a strike on an Iranian school that killed more than 170 people, most of them children, despite pressure from US lawmakers. The Shajareh Tayyebeh elementary school in southern Iran was hit on February 28, the first day of the US-Israeli»»»

BELGRADE - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic spoke by phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday, and noted that they had had a good and open discussion on bilateral relations, the European path of Serbia and Ukraine and advancement of economic cooperation. "An open and good d»»»

The Islamic Resistance fighters sent on Wednesday a letter to Hezbollah Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem in response to His Eminence’s earlier message that hailed their resilience in the battlefield. Hezbollah fighters affirmed that the courageous leadership of the Secretary General has opened »»»

New deputy ministers have been appointed to four ministries by an order of Bulgaria's Prime Minister Rumen Radev, the Government Information Service said on Wednesday. Ivian Benishev and Petko Salchev have been appointed to the Health Ministry. Desislava Georgieva has been appointed as deputy minis»»»

DUBAI: The UAE demanded on Wednesday that Iraq “immediately” prevent further attacks from its territory, following an accusation by the Emirates that a drone targeting a nuclear plant was launched from there. The foreign ministry in a statement called on “Iraq to prevent all hostile acts originatin»»»

Doha: The State of Qatar and the Republic of Azerbaijan have discussed ways to enhance media cooperation during a meeting held in Doha on Wednesday. Chief Executive Officer of Qatar Media Corporation HE Sheikh Khalid bin Abdulaziz bin Jassim Al-Thani met Ambassador of the Republic of Azerbaijan to »»»

Saudi Arabia is no longer just an oil-price bet for global investors. It is becoming a core emerging-market play. That is the view of Emmanuel Laurina, head of Middle East, Africa, and official institutions at State Street, one of the world’s major financial services and asset management firms. Spe»»»

DOHA: The FIFA Arab Cup Qatar 2025, which took place from December 1-18, 2025, generated a total of QR2.89 billion of economic value for the local economy, the Local Organising Committee for Football Events (LOC) has announced. An economic impact assessment conducted in partnership with Nielsen Spo»»»

Russian President Vladimir Putin ended a two-day visit to China, holding extensive talks with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping aimed at deepening strategic ties between Moscow and Beijing. Key outcomes of the visit:Russia and China signed a total of 42 bilateral documentsPutin and Xi issued a joi»»»

Japan watched closely as US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in Beijing last week. For Tokyo, several discussion points have a direct bearing on Japan’s economy and security. The importance was underlined by the fact that Trump called Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi»»»

Dubai: His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, said the UAE was accelerating efforts to transform half of its government services and operations through artificial intelligence as part of a broader push to become a global »»»

The UK government and CPF Financial Services have supported the listing of the Spearhead Africa Infrastructure Fund (SAIF) on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), marking the first infrastructure-focused fund to list on Kenya’s bourse amid growing efforts to mobilise domestic capital for long-ter»»»

Dangote Industries Limited has begun preliminary work on a proposed deep-sea port project at the Olokola Free Trade Zone in southwestern Nigeria, as the conglomerate expands further into logistics and maritime infrastructure to support its other operations and export ambitions, The Punch reports. T»»»

Tunis, May 20 (TAP) - Tunisian production of summer stone fruits for the 2025/2026 campaign is expected to reach 263,000 tonnes, up 4.6% compared with the previous season (252,000 tonnes), driven primarily by a 12.6% increase in peaches and...»»»

Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev discussed a waiver of US visas for Bulgaria and the deployment of US aircraft in Sofia during a telephone conversation on Tuesday with US President Donald Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Radev said at the start of the Cabinet's weekly meeting Wednesday,»»»

Doha: The Qatar Olympic Academy has concluded the second semester lectures of the Diploma in Sports and Olympic Institutions Management in its sixteenth edition, accredited by the International Olympic Committee, Olympic Solidarity, and the International Olympic Academy. This semester focused on a »»»

President Mirizoyev recently declared that the latest program of reforms has been completed. That focused on reforming the system of government, the state bureaucracy and improving both economic and physical infrastructure. He said that the country is now entering “an entirely new phase of developm»»»

Armenia continues to hold six Russian citizens accused of espionage over documentary filming activities allegedly linked to Azerbaijan, despite claims from supporters that the case contains no classified material and little concrete evidence. The Arrest of six Russian TV journalists filming a repor»»»

1 of 6 | President Donald Trump speaks to the press about the new East Wing next to the construction site at the White House in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. Photo by Samuel Corum/UPI | License Photo May 20 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump's plan to build a new White House ballroom remains in the ai»»»

VIENNA: Austria put in place quotas for refugee family reunification on Wednesday, as part of changes to tighten migration policy as it implements the EU’s new pact. The conservative-led government last July imposed a freeze on refugees bringing family members to the country, drawing criticism from»»»

DOHA: The State of Qatar and the Republic of Azerbaijan have discussed ways to enhance media cooperation during a meeting held in Doha on Wednesday. Chief Executive Officer of Qatar Media Corporation Sheikh Khalid bin Abdulaziz bin Jassim Al Thani met Ambassador of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the»»»

Amman, May 20 (SANA) Director of International Cooperation Department at of Foreign Affairs Ministry, Qutaiba Qadish, met Wednesday with officials from Jordanian Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation to follow up on the outcomes of the Higher Coordination Council between the two countr»»»

Dubai: Qatar Airways posted a net profit of QAR 7.08 billion ($1.94 billion) for the financial year ended 2025/26, a 7 per cent decline y-o-y. The airline has been working through a year marked by geopolitical disruption and airspace closures that hit Doha’s role as one of the Middle East’s key glo»»»

Despite a raft of unrelated agreements resulting from talks between President Vladimir Putin (L) and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday, the pair failed to make progress on a long-planned 1,615 mile second pipeline from Siberia to supply China with natural gas. Photo by Alexander Kazakov/EPA»»»

Nearly 100% of Russia-China trade is now settled in national currencies, which is a landmark in financial sovereignty, Hong Kong-based political analyst Angelo Giuliano tells Sputnik. Russia's energy and mineral resources "perfectly match" China's world-class manufacturing and tech scale, Giuliano »»»

Dubai: UAE’s new West-East oil pipeline designed to bypass the Strait of Hormuz is now nearly 50% complete, as the country pushes ahead with plans to strengthen energy export security. Get updated faster and for FREE: Download the Gulf News app now - simply click here.Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Mini»»»

BEIRUT: Standing before their devastated building in central Beirut, childhood neighbors Wael Sabbagh and Ghida Krisht vow to fight for justice after an Israeli strike killed their family members. On April 8, hours after a ceasefire was announced between the United States and Iran, Israel launched »»»

DAMASCUS: Syrian leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa has thanked US President Donald Trump for a gift of Trump cologne, a callback to their historic meeting in November when the American leader lavished his fragrance on the Syrian president. Sharaa was the first Syrian leader to visit the White House since the »»»

JERUSALEM: Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir posted a video on Wednesday showing detained activists from a Gaza-bound flotilla kneeling with their hands tied behind their backs and foreheads on the ground. The footage, published on Ben Gvir’s X account and captioned “Wel»»»

DOHA: HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani, President of the Olympic Council of Asia, President of the Qatar Olympic Committee, and Chairman of the 4th GCC Games – Doha 2026 Organizing Committee, toured the 35th edition of the Doha International Book Fair. He was accompanied by Minister of Culture HE»»»

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia highly appreciates US President Donald Trump’s decision to give diplomacy a chance to reach an acceptable agreement to end the war on Iran, the Kingdom’s Foreign Minister said on Wednesday. In a post on X, Prince Faisal bin Farhan said: “The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia highly appre»»»

In this edition of Entre Nous, we explore the rapidly expanding market of non-alcoholic wine. Amanda Thomson, founder and CEO of Noughty, speaks to FRANCE 24 about the factors driving the sector’s success and explains why alcohol-free wine is creating excitement among consumers. Thomson, a for»»»

King Charles III found himself at the centre of an extraordinary sequence of events during his visit to Ireland and Northern Ireland this week — beginning with a UK radio station mistakenly announcing his death and ending with the monarch being splattered by a seagull during a public appearance. Th»»»

Dubai has built one of the world's most extraordinary real estate markets. Towers rise in months, transactions close in days and billions of dirhams change hands every quarter. Yet for all of that velocity, the experience of actually owning, managing and optimizing a property here has remained larg»»»

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index rose on Wednesday, gaining 3.26 points, or 0.03 percent, to close at 10,985.56. The total trading turnover of the benchmark index was SR5.30 billion ($1.41 billion), as 119 of the listed stocks advanced, while 135 retreated. The MSCI Tadawul Index also»»»

Latvia’s prime ministerial candidate Andris Kulbergs says the country’s budget must be urgently reassessed amid mounting economic pressures, warning that current spending levels are unsustainable, Latvia’s national broadcaster LSM.lv reported on May 19. A drone crash in Latvia triggered the resigna»»»

Hungary wants to revive and strengthen the Visegrad Group cooperation based on the long-standing friendship between Hungary and Poland, Prime Minister Peter Magyar said in Krakow on May 19, after his delegation arrived in Krakow. In the campaign, Magyar said his first official visit would lead»»»

DOHA: The State of Qatar and the European Union have discussed ways to strengthen cooperation in the energy sector during high-level virtual talks held on Wednesday. Minister of State for Energy Affairs HE Saad bin Sherida Al Kaabi met European Union's Commissioner for Energy and Housing HE Dan Jor»»»