Romania’s gambling industry has spent years getting bigger, more digital, and much harder to monitor. The July audit of the National Gambling Office, or ONJN, showed just how wide that gap became. This was not a small paperwork problem. Auditors found missing tax checks, weak online monitoring, gap»»»

In January—July 2026, trade turnover of cars, motorcycles, parts and accessories reached 48,881.9 billion soms. According to the National Statistical Committee, the figure increased by 33.3 percent compared with the first seven months of 2025. Vehicle maintenance and repair services also recorded g»»»

Airports of Kyrgyzstan OJSC has shown what the renovated Manas International Airport looks like. Reconstruction of the airport began in May last year. As part of the project, the terminal complex was expanded by more than 22,000 square meters, passenger and baggage systems were upgraded, and the nu»»»

Want to win Dh30,000? RTA seeks safety films Dubai: Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has launched the second edition of its Road Safety Film Festival, offering up to Dh300,000 in cash prizes and recognition awards for creative films that promote safer road behaviour. The festival builds »»»

India’s Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected a plea seeking to replace hanging with what petitioners argued were less painful methods of execution, leaving hanging as the prescribed method for carrying out the death penalty in the country. However, the court made clear that its ruling need not be the »»»

Belgium is battling its largest wildfire on record, with the blaze scorching around 3,000 hectares and spreading toward the German border, according to local officials. The fire broke out on Friday in the High Fens nature reserve in eastern Belgium and remained out of control on Monday despite cool»»»

A US grand jury has indicted 14 people for allegedly operating a drug ring inside two fraternities at Pennsylvania State University (PSU), where pledges were allegedly forced to cut and package cocaine as part of their initiation. According to Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday, 13 of the de»»»

Playboy founder Hugh Hefner repeatedly contacted the FBI on behalf of a model who alleged that Jeffrey Epstein had raped and trafficked her, but the agency did not contact her until 15 years later, the New York Post has reported. According to a lawsuit filed against the US government by 32 of Epste»»»

ROME: Just three percent of the cropland in Gaza remains accessible and undamaged, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization warned Tuesday, citing an analysis of satellite images. The report found that since October 2025, when a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took hold, the area of ac»»»

Dubai: Dubai’s tourism recovery in the second half of 2026 will depend heavily on the restoration of international air connectivity, with airlines gradually bringing back services after regional disruption affected passenger flows and hotel demand earlier this year, a new report says. Sign up for o»»»

The National Statistical Institute (NSI) has released data on the average wage in Bulgaria in the second quarter, and the figures imply that, "had the majority supporting Rumen Radev not scrapped the formula for determining the minimum wage, businesses and Bulgarian citizens would already know that»»»

Eight investors have already paid advance instalments for plots in Phase 2 of the Burgas Industrial Park, Burgas Mayor Dimitar Nikolov said at the opening of the completed infrastructure in the zone on Tuesday. According to him, 20 plots are still available in the second phase of the industrial par»»»

Manufacturing is gaining ground in Romania’s industrial and logistics market, as more companies consider the country for production and nearshoring activities. Around 28% of publicly announced leasing transactions in the first half of 2026 involved manufacturing space, nearly double last year’s sha»»»

Doha, Qatar: The Amir HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani sent a cable of congratulations to HE Hakainde Hichilema of the Republic of Zambia on the occasion of his re-election for a second presidential term, wishing him success in his duties and the relations between the two countries continued deve»»»

Kyrgyz Agroholding OJSC plans to gradually open up to 100 food truck outlets in Bishkek and across Kyrgyzstan. The Antimonopoly Regulation Service reported following a meeting with company representative Ermyrza Davydov. The meeting participants addressed the situation on the domestic meat market, »»»

Ukraine has derailed the planned August 20–21 visit of IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi to the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant and the town of Energodar, the Russian Foreign Ministry said. All details had been previously worked out by the IAEA Secretariat and the Russian side. Russia provided the»»»

The special-purpose nuclear submarine Khabarovsk, designed to carry the Poseidon nuclear-powered giga-torpedo, is currently undergoing sea trials in the White Sea. Khabarovsk is the first of three submarines of a new class designed to carry Poseidon autonomous, long-range nuclear torpedoes. Its des»»»

Hezbollah has not yet received a "green light" from Iran to launch operations against Israel and Washington has not given Israel the green light to carry out a large-scale operation on the Ali Taher heights, sources told Al-Arabiya’s Al-Hadath channel. “U.S. intervention halted the Israeli escalati»»»

JOS, Nigeria: Attackers wielding guns and machetes killed at least two dozen people in central Nigeria’s Plateau state, survivors told AFP on Tuesday, the latest flare-up in a state plagued by recurring communal violence. Muslim ethnic Fulani nomadic herders have long clashed with settled farmers i»»»

Dubai: The UAE Tourism Council has discussed expanding the acceptance and use of the Jaywan card across the tourism sector, alongside joint tourism offers targeting citizens and residents and greater cooperation with benefits programmes including Esaad, Fazaa and Al Saada. Sign up for our daily bus»»»

Тhe Municipality of Kostinbrod, near Sofia, is urging local residents on its official Facebook page to avoid staying outdoors due to the large fire in the Republic of Serbia, which has brought heavy smoke in the area. The Municipality called on residents to close windows and doors, avoid staying ou»»»

Secretary's SpeechLebanon PalestineZionist EntityRegional and International International More Video Language Ar En Fr EsSubscribe for Weekly Updates Subscribe West Bank Erupts as Israeli Raids, Settler Attacks Intensify; Likud Primaries Shake Up Netanyahu’s Party 18-08-2026 13:53 PM A fresh wave o»»»

Construction of ten new schools in Osh is scheduled to be completed in September-October. Minister of Construction, Architecture, Housing and Communal Services of Kyrgyzstan Nurdan Oruntaev announced during a tour of the city’s social facilities. Osh Mayor Zhanarbek Akayev also toured the sites tog»»»

RIYADH: Dubai Integrated Economic Zones Authority recorded a 96 percent occupancy across its three economic zones in the first half of 2026, while the number of companies operating within them rose 13 percent year on year, the authority said. The workforce across Dubai Airport Freezone, Dubai Silic»»»

Some recent developments of US Navy, including low morale on carriers, have dealt a series of heavy blow to the force, exposing mounting challenges across its carrier fleet and broader shipbuilding programs. These symptoms of a deeper decline in US shipbuilding capacity, if unchecked, may erode the»»»

Russian athletes delivered strong performances at the European Championships in artistic gymnastics and aquatics, winning a total of 38 medals across the two events. In Zagreb, Russia’s women’s artistic gymnastics team topped the medal table with 6 medals—3 gold, 1 silver, and 2 bronze.Angelina Mel»»»

Dubai: A Syrian court sentenced Wassim Al Assad, a cousin of ousted ruler Bashar Al Assad, to death after convicting him of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the country’s nearly 14-year conflict. The Fourth Criminal Court in Damascus found Wassim Al Assad guilty of offences i»»»

Israeli forces bulldozed lands in the southern border village of al-Mansouri on Tuesday following a dawn airstrike on the village. Also on Tuesday, artillery shelled the outskirts of Majdalzoun. The strikes follow a series of heavy demolitions in Baraachit, Bani Hayyan and Zawtar al-Sharqiyeh and i»»»

Hezbollah will defend Ali al-Taher against Israel by all means possible and will not relinquish the strategic hill, Hezbollah MP Hassan Ezzeddine vowed Tuesday, adding that the group welcomes any Iranian assistance. Ezzeddine said Iran has established the Dahieh deterrence equation and could do the»»»

Leading UAE property developers will present their latest residential, commercial and mixed-use projects at a two-day property exhibition in Hyderabad later this year, as organisers seek to strengthen investment ties between the UAE and India. The Property Grand Expo, organised by The Times of Indi»»»

Despite the rise in the inflation over the past year, Bulgarians remain optimistic about their personal finances with over 69% of participants in the third edition of ITF Group’s annual SmileCredit Focus survey expecting their financial situation to improve, show the results of the survey, received»»»

The Kyrgyz band The Rolls will perform at International Beatleweek, which will take place from August 26 to September 1 in Liverpool, UK, the hometown of the legendary Fab Four, whose songs about love and peace became known around the world. The event will bring together more than 70 bands from acr»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russia is beginning to implement agreements on construction of small modular reactor nuclear power plant in Myanmar, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said on Tuesday. "We are beginning to implement the agreements on the construction of a smal modular reactor nuclear power»»»

Israeli warplanes carried out four airstrikes on the abandoned Abu Al-Duhur military airport in the eastern countryside of Idlib province in northern Syria. Local sources said the attacks were carried out at around 3 am local time (0000GMT). No information has yet been released on any casualties. S»»»

Romanian investment management company SAI Globinvest listed its second ETF on the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB) Regulated Market on 18 August, under the ticker GIBXTETF. The Globinvest BET-XT ETF aims to fully replicate the structure of BVB’s BET-XT benchmark index. Launched by BVB in 2008, BET-X»»»

CAIRO: Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Fahmy on Monday called for a unified international stance against Israel over what he described as attempts to derail the Gaza peace roadmap. Fahmy welcomed a statement issued on Sunday by eight Arab and Islamic countries condemning Israel’s rejection of U»»»

Dubai: Alliance Aviation Services has appointed aviation industry veteran Steven Greenway as its new chief executive, with the former Saudi budget airline flyadeal's boss set to take charge of the Australian specialist aviation company from October 1. Sign up for our daily business newsletter, Cheq»»»

Tunis, Aug. 18 (TAP)- The weather on Tuesday is slightly cloudy, growing densely cloudy in the afternoon, the National Institute of Meteorology (INM) said. The wind is blowing north relatively to locally strong near northern coasts and in...»»»

DAMASCUS: A hydrogen tank explosion at a power plant in western Syria killed three people on Tuesday, an electricity company official said. Alaa Sawda, head of the Syrian Electricity Company’s media department told the official SANA news agency that “the explosion at the Banias thermal power plant »»»

There is heavy smoke over Sofia on Tuesday due to a fire in Serbia, the General Directorate for Fire Safety and Civil Protection told BTA. The wind has blown the smoke toward Bulgaria. There are no fires within the capital, the fire department added. /DS/»»»

HEADLINES Bulgarian media on Tuesday focus on economic and social issues, including pensions, the minimum wage and consumer prices, alongside assessments of the Government's first 100 days in office. Other prominent topics include public safety, infrastructure, the activities of the Blood & Honour »»»

Secretary's SpeechLebanon PalestineZionist EntityRegional and International International More Video Language Ar En Fr EsSubscribe for Weekly Updates Subscribe The End of the American Middle East: Foreign Affairs 18-08-2026 13:17 PM The Foreign Affairs magazine published an article about the end of»»»

Poland says it stopped a Russian-directed plot to murder a US citizen in Warsaw - the first time, its prime minister says, that Moscow has tried to kill an American inside another Nato country. Polish security services detained a Russian citizen on August 7 who had been recruited by Russian intelli»»»

Romanian consumers spent RON 68 billion on fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) and Electro-IT products in the first six months of 2026, up 3.2% compared with the same period last year, amid high inflation, weak consumer confidence, and purchasing power around 6% lower than in 2025, according to Niels»»»

Islamabad, Pakistan: Pakistan's Supreme Court ordered on Tuesday that jailed former prime minister Imran Khan be moved to hospital for medical checks, after a petition by his lawyers over claims of poor health. Justice Shahid Waheed said 73-year-old Khan, who has been in jail since 2023 on corrupti»»»

Twelve people died and 47 were injured in the Polish bus tragedy on the M3 motorway near Mezőkeresztes late last Sunday night. The bus, carrying pilgrims from Medjugorje in Bosnia and Herzegovina back to Poland, left the carriageway, plunged into a drainage ditch and overturned. Police preliminaril»»»

Dubai: Donald Trump once argued that the quickest way for an American president to lose credibility was to draw a red line and then fail to enforce it. Nearly six months into the Iran war, the US president risks confronting that test himself. Trump has repeatedly threatened Iran with military actio»»»

DUBAI: “Alone,” a short film co-produced by Egyptian actor Mona Zaki, has been selected for the Female Filmmakers Festival Berlin. The film’s team announced the selection in a post on Instagram. The annual Berlin event runs from Oct. 7 to 11 at the Kino Moviemento and programs international shorts »»»

Israeli forces bulldozed the southern border village of al-Mansouri on Tuesday following a dawn airstrike on the village. Also on Tuesday, artillery shelled the outskirts of Majdalzoun. The strikes follow a series of heavy demolitions in Baraachit, Bani Hayyan and Zawtar al-Sharqiyeh and intermitte»»»

Doha, Qatar: Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs HE Dr. Ahmed bin Hassan Al Hammadi met on Tuesday with Ambassador of the State of Libya to the State of Qatar HE Mohammed Mustafa Al Saghir Al Lafi, on the occasion of the end of his tenure. HE Secretary-General of the Ministry of Fo»»»