Look, Queen Ursula, we need to talk, girlfriend. Yes, I’m addressing you directly, EU Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen, because I’m not going to pretend that there’s anyone in charge in Europe who’s actually elected by the people and crafting EU policy. And since you’ve apparently been mor»»»

Dubai: More UAE companies are now accepting Jaywan, the country's domestic card scheme, with national airline Etihad Airways becoming the first airline to allow customers to use Jaywan cards to book flights. Sign up for our daily business newsletter, Cheques & BalancesThe expansion now includes Maj»»»

The strategy also targets raising investment’s contribution to gross domestic product from 22 percent in 2019 to 30 percent by 2030. Sectors of particular importance include green energy, technology, and health care as well as biotechnology, advanced mobility and logistics. RIYADH: Saudi Arabia iss»»»

BERLIN: Germany and France on Wednesday condemned remarks by Israel’s far-right national security minister, who declared that Israel should kill “30 or 40” people every night in the Palestinian territory of Gaza. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz “strongly condemns the inhumane appeals made by Minis»»»

Israeli informed U.S. General Joseph Clearfield of its rejection of any agreement on a new pilot zone in south Lebanon, Lebanese sources involved in the deliberations said. The sources added, in remarks to al-Liwaa newspaper, that Israel’s priorities are “expanding the occupied strip, erecting mili»»»

Brasília: A head-on collision between a bus carrying medical patients and a truck killed at least 23 people early Wednesday in southern Brazil, highway police said. The crash occurred at 3:30 am local time (6:30 GMT) when the truck veered into the other vehicle's lane in the municipality of Ipirang»»»

Pantsir-SMD – the new version of Russia’s Pantsir SAM & AA system, has undergone modernization work that “touched on virtually all” of its elements, “including radar station, missile guidance and most crucially, the missiles themselves,” military expert and air defense historian Yuri Knutov told Sp»»»

SEOUL (Sputnik) - Kim Yo Jong, the director of the General Department of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) and sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, said on Wednesday that North Korea is completely uninterested in the US-South Korea decision to halve their joint milita»»»

Abu Dhabi: First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), the UAE’s global bank and one of the world’s largest and safest financial institutions, has announced that Payit, its digital financial platform, has launched Send Now Pay Later (SNPL), giving eligible customers greater flexibility and control over how they se»»»

CAIRO: An Israeli airstrike killed nine Palestinians at a police station in Gaza on Wednesday, medics said, two days after US envoy Jared Kushner ended a trip to the region that failed to push forward Donald Trump’s plan to end the war in the enclave. Medics and police sources said several officers»»»

The Cabinet Wednesday adopted a 2026-2030 Action Plan for Bulgaria's National Financial Literacy Strategy. The Plan sets out the main activities to be carried out over the five-year period to improve financial literacy among children and students, young people, the economically active population an»»»

ADEN: The Saudi aid agency KSrelief, in cooperation with the World Health Organization, has handed over vaccine cold-chain equipment to Yemen’s Ministry of Public Health and Population. The shipment includes 32 solar-powered refrigerators and 12 freezers as part of a project to strengthen the cold-»»»

RIYADH: Falcon breeders at an international auction in Riyadh are highlighting the different criteria used to select birds for hunting and breeding, with performance, build, size and bloodlines all playing a role. The International Falcon Breeders Auction, organized by the National Center for Falco»»»

RIYADH: The General Directorate of Public Security has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Saudi Arabia Financial Investigation Unit at the Presidency of State Security to enhance cooperation in combating money laundering and associated predicate offenses. Lt. Gen. Mohammed Al-Bassami, di»»»

Lawyers for Australian Erin Patterson, who is serving life for poisoning three relatives and the attempted murder of a fourth person, opened an appeal in a Melbourne court on Wednesday by saying her conviction was unsafe because the jury, prosecutors and a key witness had shared the same hotel duri»»»

Heavy evening traffic is building across Dubai and Sharjah on Wednesday, with major delays reported on Sheikh Zayed Road, Al Khail Road and Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road. Get updated faster and for FREE: Download the Gulf News app now - simply click here.Dubai trafficSheikh Zayed Road (E11) is hea»»»

Sikka, Indonesia: A paralysed 84-year-old woman has been found alive three days after a strong earthquake flattened her home on an Indonesian island, an official said Wednesday, as the death toll rose to 73. More than 900 people were injured and nearly 60,000 displaced by the 7.7-magnitude quake th»»»

RIYADH: Net loans at Saudi Arabia’s 10 listed banks rose 7 percent year on year to SR3.25 trillion ($865.2 billion) by the end of the second quarter of 2026, while deposit growth outpaced lending for a second consecutive quarter, according to Al Rajhi Capital. Deposits increased 9 percent to SR3.15»»»

Abu Dhabi: The United Arab Emirates has announced the success of new mediation efforts between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Ukraine, resulting in the release of 103 captives from each side, bringing the total number of captives exchanged between the two countries through UAE-mediated »»»

BEIRUT: Lebanon said Wednesday it had received an invitation from France for a meeting to prepare for an international conference on support for the Lebanese army, an event postponed by the Middle East war. The conference in Paris was supposed to take place in March but was delayed after militant g»»»

LONDON: Weeks into US-backed talks meant to trade an Israeli withdrawal for Hezbollah’s disarmament, renewed strikes and evacuation orders in southern Lebanon are raising a difficult question: Is there anything meaningful left to negotiate? The US said on Aug. 11 that the next round of Israel-Leban»»»

LONDON: In May 2024, a furious Gilad Erdan, then Israel’s ambassador to the UN, stood in front of the General Assembly in New York and proceeded to feed a facsimile of the UN Charter into a tiny electric shredder. The assembly was poised to vote to adopt a resolution urging the Security Council to »»»

LONDON: Mikel Arteta will sign a new contract with Premier League champions Arsenal “very shortly,” the club’s chief executive Richard Garlick said on Wednesday. Arteta ended Arsenal’s 22-year wait to win the Premier League last season, but the Spaniard has entered the final 12 months of his curren»»»

Burgas will host the XXV International Geography Olympiad in 2029, after a decision to that affect was made during a International Geography Union meeting in Istanbul, said Burgas Municipality here on Wednesday. Among the other candidates were cities like Porto Seguro (Brazil) and Nicosia (Cyprus).»»»

Continue the Change (CC) Wednesday said that within 100 days in office, the Radev government had managed to drag the country into a war. The statement was published on Facebook following a Financial Times report that Iran is considering military targets in Europe, including Bulgaria, if US Presiden»»»

Doha, Qatar: Undersecretary of the Ministry of Interior HE Abdullah bin Khalaf bin Hattab Al Kaabi received Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan to Qatar HE Bakhyt Batyrshayev. During the meeting, they reviewed cooperative relations in the security sector, discussed ways to support and enhance »»»

Dubai: UAE shoppers visiting Bicester Village in the UK can now have their luxury purchases delivered directly to their doorstep in the UAE, under a new partnership between Emirates Delivers and famed outlet shopping destination. Sign up for our daily business newsletter, Cheques & BalancesThe serv»»»

Vazrazhdane leader Kostadin Kostadinov Wednesday said the policies of the ruling Progressive Bulgaria party are destroying Bulgarian sovereignty. This position comes in response to media reports that Iran is allegedly considering strikes on US military targets in Europe, Vazrazhdane said. "Promotin»»»

Doha, Qatar: The Amir HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani sent a cable of congratulations to HE Dr. András Baka on the occasion of his swearing-in as President of Hungary, wishing him success and the bilateral relations between the two countries further development and growth.»»»

DOHA: The Public Works Authority (Ashghal) is continuing work on the Qatar Aeronautical Academy development project in the Ras Abu Aboud area. The project aims to create a specialized educational and training environment that meets the latest standards, supporting the development of national talent»»»

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia bolstered its long-term commitment to Yemen during the second quarter of 2026, rolling out a sweeping series of development, infrastructure, and capacity-building projects designed to drive economic recovery. Executed by the Saudi Development and Reconstruction Program for Yeme»»»

El-Alamein (Egypt): A preparatory meeting of senior officials for the Qatari-Egyptian Joint Higher Committee in its seven session was held on Wednesday, in the city of El-Alamein, Egypt, in preparation for the session scheduled to be held on Thursday (August 20, 2026), with the participation of a l»»»

UAE citizens can now receive government scholarships to study academic programmes delivered entirely online, under new regulations issued by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MoHESR). Under Ministerial Resolution No. 179 of 2026, scholarships may be granted for fully distanc»»»

Dubai: Community initiatives by Dubai Police generated an estimated social return of Dh647.9 million between 2017 and 2026, according to a study assessing 80 programmes that reached 3.8 million people. The Social Return on Investment (SROI) study, conducted by the Future Foresight Centre at Dubai P»»»

Doha, Qatar: The Qatar Civil Aviation Authority (QCAA) organized an introductory session open to the public on Law No. (10) of 2026 Regulating Unmanned Aircraft on August 19, 2026, as part of its efforts to raise awareness of the Law and its key provisions and requirements. The session highlighted »»»

Attacks on Russia’s infrastructure have not caused, do not cause and cannot cause critical consequences, but they do inflict damage, Russian President Vladimir Putin said. "It is clear that a number of factors affect economic growth, including external pressure and terrorist attacks on industrial a»»»

Kyiv: Ukrainian anti-corruption agencies announced Wednesday that they are investigating senior officials in President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office, a day after the country’s recently fired defence minister called for national elections despite the ongoing fight against Russia’s attack. The revelat»»»

Dubai: Aramco and Maaden have signed a shareholders’ agreement to form a joint venture focused on mineral exploration and hard-rock mining across approximately 182,000 square kilometres of Saudi Arabia, an area equivalent to nearly 10% of the Kingdom’s total land mass. Get updated faster and for FR»»»

A total of 640 contracts worth over EUR 694.4 million have been concluded in the Stara Zagora region under European programs for the period 2021–2027, according to data updated as of August 14 and presented by the Stara Zagora Regional Information Centre during a working meeting with the media, at »»»

The Israeli army struck and shelled overnight into Wednesday al-Khiam, Mays al-Jabal, the Ali al-Taher hill, the outskirts of Wadi Zebqine and a house in Nabatieh al-Fawqa. Israeli forces also carried detonations in Hadatha, al-Khiam and al-Mansouri. Later in the day, the National News agency said »»»

Free Patriotic Movement leader Jebran Bassil has called for a public parliamentary session to question the government regarding the war, Hezbollah's weapons, and the U.S.-sponsored framework agreement with Israel. Bassil urged Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri to schedule a public session to question »»»

Speaker Nabih Berri noted Wednesday that "what the South is experiencing is intolerable and may even surpass the crimes and massacres perpetrated in Gaza.” "The United States is the only country, and President Donald Trump is the only one capable of compelling Israel to end its war, cease fire, and»»»

London: Britain's Queen Camilla has spoken about the difficulty of not revealing King Charles III had cancer when she visited a support charity shortly after her husband had been diagnosed with the disease. Buckingham Palace announced the British monarch's shock diagnosis in February 2024 and that »»»

San Francisco, United States: ChatGPT creator OpenAI said Tuesday that it was tapping the brakes on development of its most advanced AI model and tightening internal controls, a month after revealing that one of its AI tools carried out an autonomous cyberattack. OpenAI is a key player in the rapid»»»

IMPACT Developer & Contractor, one of Romania’s leading real estate developers and a company listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange, announces the appointment of Iulia Iana as CEO of IMPACT Finance & Sales, a company within the IMPACT Group specializing in sales, marketing, brokerage, commercial le»»»

A crew operating a Cougar helicopter from the 24th Air Base in Krumovo, South Central Bulgaria, part of the Air Force, joined the efforts to extinguish the forest fire burning near the village of Tlachene, Vratsa Region, Northwestern Bulgaria, the Ministry of Defence reported on Wednesday. The heli»»»

A Turkish delegation had visited an air base in northern Syria the day before it was hit by Israeli airstrikes, Syrian officials said. The Israeli strikes hit the Abu Duhur base early Tuesday, hours after the delegation had left, causing damage but no casualties. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Net»»»

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 U.S. bases and diplomatic presence both within th»»»

SHANGHAI — Chinese humanoid pioneer Unitree, whose backflipping robots wowed the world earlier this year, made a much-anticipated market debut in Shanghai on Wednesday with a similarly impressive leap in share price of more than 600 per cent.The Hangzhou-based firm's machines have become synonymou»»»

Kolkata, India: A fire ripped through a hotel in the Indian city of Kolkata on Wednesday, killing nine people, including five Bangladeshi nationals who were seeking medical care, officials said. "Nine people were killed, including a child, in the fire that broke out early on Wednesday," Anuj Sharma»»»