German Foreign Minister Johannes Wadephul has proposed deploying a European Union force in Lebanon to replace the U.N. peacekeeping mission whose mandate is soon to expire, in order to prevent a security vacuum. In an interview published Friday by RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland, he said, "We in the»»»

The India government on Friday approached the Supreme Court against the Delhi High Court's decision to cancel the technical evaluation process for outsourcing Consular, Passport and Visa (CPV) services at Indian missions in UAE, Kuwait, Singapore and Canberra. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta mention»»»

RIYADH: Tuwaiq Academy has announced the launch of a new set of “Tuwaiq Executives” programs, set to run at its headquarters in Riyadh from July to December. The programs aim to develop leaders and decision-makers and equip them to keep pace with emerging technologies through partnerships with lead»»»

In the Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Bulgaria (part of the 2026 Rule of Law Report, released on Friday), the European Commission found that one recommendation in the 2025 Rule of Law Report is fully implemented, some progress has been achieved on two recommendations, limited progr»»»

In the US, smoke from wildfires in Canada has resulted in a drop in air quality in cities including New York and Chicago. According to government data, around 5.9 million acres have burned during this wildfire season in Canada. Officials in parts of both Canada and the US are urging residents to st»»»

Three months ahead of the US midterms, US President Donald Trump gave a half-hour speech laden with unproven claims regarding election fraud, regarding the security of elections in the country and repeating misinformation regarding fraud back in 2020. He also attacked US broadcasters that refused t»»»

Britain has called on FIFA to sanction Argentina after its players celebrated knocking England out of the World Cup with a banner asserting Buenos Aires’ claim to the Falkland Islands. The defending champions beat England 2-1 in Wednesday’s semifinal to set up a final against Spain. After the final»»»

First, a bit of recent history. In 2015, after the Maidan coup in Kiev and the beginning of the confrontation between Russia and the West, the EU created the East StratCom Task Force to fight foreign disinformation campaigns supposedly orchestrated by Russia. This agency is a part of the European E»»»

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has defended its decision to provisionally reinstate the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC), after several EU states threatened to push Brussels to cut funding for sports bodies that readmitted Russian and Belarusian athletes, Reuters reported. The IOC last we»»»

The Polish authorities have accused Russian intelligence of orchestrating the desecration of World War II memorials after charging an 18-year-old Ukrainian with vandalizing monuments commemorating Poles massacred by Ukrainian nationalists. Poland’s Internal Security Agency (ABW) said on Tuesday tha»»»

Russia continues to recruit Africans to fight on the front in Ukraine. The Stop Russian Recruiters platform, which is linked to Urkaine's Ministry of Defence, has now identified nearly 3,000 recruits. Around one in six has already been killed. Among the countries most affected are Cameroon, Ghana, »»»

This week in Reporters: a special report by FRANCE 24's The Observers. After a leak of confidential documents revealed how Russian agents have been planting hundreds of articles in French-speaking media outlets in West and Central Africa, FRANCE 24 travelled to Dakar, Senegal, to investigate this s»»»

ALGIERS: Algerian police on Friday said a fire that killed 11 people at an orphanage in the capital was caused by an electrical spark from an air conditioning unit. The blaze broke out before dawn on Thursday at the childcare facility in the Mohammadia suburb of Algiers. A 52-year-old caregiver was»»»

LONDON: Andy Burnham vowed Friday to “give hope” back to the British people as he was confirmed as the ruling Labour party’s new leader, set to be the next UK prime minister. “People and places … have been waiting too long for politics to let them hope again ... We’re going to give them hope back,”»»»

NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the country’s first hydrogen-powered train on Friday, making the country one of just a handful which have adopted the zero-emissions, clean fuel technology. Developed by state-owned Indian Railways, the blue trainset uses hydrogen fuel cells t»»»

An electronic Lebanese-Israeli-U.S. meeting scheduled for Friday has been postponed with the aim of preparing the necessary files, LBCI television reported on Friday. The meeting was supposed to put the final touches on the results of the Rome meeting regarding the technicalities related to the so-»»»

RIYADH: A Saudi security guard who became the target of online mockery has sparked a wider conversation about the dignity of work, with many Saudis rejecting attempts to belittle the profession and describing it as an honorable role that serves both people and the country. Mousa Al-Saad, who has wo»»»

Rare protests erupted in Ukraine on Thursday over the dismissal of defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov as a dispute between the reformer and Kyiv's top general spilled into the open during the president's second overhaul of his wartime cabinet in a year. FRANCE 24's Emerald Maxwell reports.»»»

Ukraine's ousted defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov was just six months in the role before his ambitious drive to reform the military led to unreconciliable clashes with the country's top general He increasingly battled with a top command he cast as out of date, not flexible and bogged down with bur»»»

PRESS REVIEW – Friday, July 17: China reacts after the UK nationalises its last remaining virgin steel factory, expropriating Chinese Jingye Group. In other news, low rainfall in May followed by three intense heatwaves have 100 French departments under water restrictions. Also, »»»

Foreign Minister Velislava Petrova rejected claims that Bulgaria had undertaken any commitment to join the so-called “Coalition of the Willing” or any other international format related to support for Ukraine. Speaking to journalists in parliament, she said that no Bulgarian representative had sign»»»

Authorities in Uganda cancelled all school trips Friday pending an investigation into a deadly crash involving a school bus carrying junior school pupils in the east of the country. File photo by Justin Lane/EPA-EFE July 17 (UPI) -- At least 21 people were killed and dozens were injured after a bus»»»

TUNIS, July 17 (TAP) – The Civil Protection engaged in 177 fire suppression missions over the past 24 hours, according to a statement released on Friday by the Civil Protection spokesperson.The figure is a reflection of intense heatwaves that...»»»

Secretary's SpeechLebanon PalestineZionist EntityRegional and International International More Video Language Ar En Fr EsSubscribe for Weekly Updates Subscribe Hezbollah Denies Reports of Alleged “Shift’, Reaffirms Gaza Support and Rejection of ‘Israel’ Talks 17-07-2026 15:13 PM Hezbollah flags (im»»»

A major migrant smuggling network operating along the route from the Greek-Turkish border to other European Union countries has been dismantled in an international operation involving Greece, Bulgaria, Romania and the Netherlands, with support from Europol and the South East European Law Enforcemen»»»

Border police officers have detained two Georgians at the Kapitan Andreevo border checkpoint who tried to smuggle 20 combat pistols across the border, the Customs Agency said on Friday. On July 15, a Turkish-registered bus carrying passengers from Türkiye to Poland arrived at the checkpoint. Border»»»

ISLAMABAD/KABUL: Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has rejected allegations of Islamabad opposing Afghanistan’s bid for full membership on the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, following reports that Kabul’s participation was stalled by a member of the region’s most powerful bloc. Founded in »»»

LONDON: TikTok said it is rolling out new artificial intelligence literacy resources and testing enhanced spam-detection systems across the Middle East and North Africa as platforms face growing pressure to police synthetic content. The latest updates unveiled this week include AI literacy resource»»»

BELGRADE - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic met with Russian Ambassador to Belgrade Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko on Friday to discuss Serbia-Russia cooperation, especially addressing the economy as well as the current political situation in the region and the world. "A very good meeting with the A»»»

Prime Minister Rumen Radev said Bulgaria has proposed a mutually beneficial arrangement with Turkiye as part of the efforts to suspend certain obligations under the gas supply agreement between Bulgargaz and the Turkish company BOTAS. Speaking to journalists, Radev said the specific details of the »»»

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said the two-decade-long campaign to restrict weapons solely to state authorities and bolster national sovereignty has yielded significant milestones. In an interview published Friday in the Saudi daily Okaz, Geagea lauded the Lebanese Cabinet, arguing that its p»»»

The European Union's renewed drive to expand eastwards could face its biggest political obstacle yet if French far-right leader Marine Le Pen wins the 2027 presidential election, potentially derailing accession hopes for Ukraine and the Western Balkans at one of the most critical moments in the blo»»»

Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi Maritime has advised boat owners, jet ski riders and other marine users to familiarise themselves with the fines that apply across the emirate's waterways, encouraging everyone to follow safety requirements and obtain the necessary permits before undertaking maritime activities»»»

Arab Finance: Telecom Egypt's (ETEL) board of directors has decided not to proceed with a proposed transaction to sell a 75% to 80% stake in a subsidiary that would own its Regional Data Center Hub (RDH) to Helios Investments after certain conditions required to complete the deal were not met, as p»»»

MP Ali Fayyad of Hezbollah on Friday charged that the Lebanese leadership "has abandoned its people, indifferent to their suffering and the extent of the crimes committed against them by the Israelis." "This ruling authority seems to have become corrupt and is persisting in its choices despite all »»»

Traffic police in Sofia issued a fine or administrative citation to every electric scooter rider inspected during a one-day enforcement operation, authorities said. Speaking at a press briefing, Martin Tsurinski, Deputy Head of the Traffic Police Department at the Sofia Directorate of the Interior,»»»

President Iliana Iotova said on Friday she was reassured of the readiness of the Bulgarian Navy after observing the national naval exercise "Breeze 2026" aboard the frigate Drazki. "I am extremely pleased with what I have seen so far. I feel reassured about the sovereignty of our maritime border an»»»

Democratic Bulgaria has called on President Iliana Iotova to convene the Consultative Council for National Security (CCNS) to discuss the country's geopolitical risks and strategic geopolitical projects. This emerged during a briefing in the National Assembly by Ivaylo Mirchev, MP and co-chair of t»»»

Border police officers have detained two Georgians at the Kapitan Andreevo border checkpoint who tried to smuggle 20 combat pistols across the border, the Customs Agency said on Friday. On July 15, a Turkish-registered bus carrying passengers from Türkiye to Poland arrived at the checkpoint. Border»»»

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi participated on Friday in a launching ceremony of the country's first hydrogen-powered train, Indian media reported. The train took off from the Jind station in the state of Haryana, the state-run All India Radio News reported. The train is the first in India to »»»

An IndiGo flight bound for Ahmedabad was delayed by more than five hours after a hoax bomb threat was discovered on board the aircraft at Bengaluru airport on Thursday evening. Flight 6E 6423 had been scheduled to depart Bengaluru for Ahmedabad at 8pm but was immediately grounded after a threatenin»»»

Dubai: Oman's Islamic banking sector could be headed for one of its biggest shake-ups in years after Bank Nizwa proposed acquiring Alizz Islamic Bank and merging it into its operations, while bringing Ominvest on board as a strategic shareholder. Sign up for our daily business newsletter, Cheques &»»»

Israeli occupation forces intensified attacks on southern Lebanon on Friday, with drone strikes targeting areas in Tyre and Nabatieh districts, amid demolition operations and continued Israeli aircraft reconnaissance activity over Bekaa. An Israeli drone targeted a motorcycle on the Bayada–Naqoura »»»

TUNIS, July 17, 2026 (TAP) – The exceptional heatwave affecting Tunisia, which has triggered power outages across the country, is having a direct impact on production activity in the textile and clothing industry, the Tunisian Federation of Textile...»»»

In 2024 Bulgaria ranked fourth in the EU in the ratio of professional judges per 100,000 people: 35.4, behind Croatia (43.3), Slovenia (40.2) and Luxembourg (36.0) and ahead of Romania (35.3), according to figures released by Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the EU, on Friday. On the lowest end,»»»

Dubai: Saudi Arabia on Thursday entered the period known as “Jamrat Al Qaydh”, traditionally regarded as the most intense phase of the summer, when temperatures across much of the kingdom approach their annual peaks. The period, which typically begins in mid-July and lasts until early August, is ex»»»

London: Andy Burnham was officially declared leader of Britain's governing Labour Party on Friday, clearing his final hurdle to taking office as prime minister next week. The center-left party announced the result of a leadership contest to replace departing Prime Minister Keir Starmer, in which Bu»»»

TUNIS, July 17, 2026 (TAP) – German group DELTEC, specialized in the manufacturing of electronic components and Electronic Manufacturing Services (EMS) solutions, has officially announced the acquisition of the production facility of Swiss group...»»»

The United Arab Emirates has condemned in the strongest terms the renewed hostile attacks by Iran targeting the Kingdom of Bahrain, the State of Kuwait, the State of Qatar, and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan with missiles and drones. In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) affirmed »»»

A humanitarian aid flight carrying 100 tonnes of relief supplies departed Ras Al Khaimah International Airport on Friday for the Gaza Strip under Operation Chivalrous Knight 3. The aid flight, organised in cooperation between the Emirates Red Crescent (ERC), the Emirati-Palestinian Friendship Club »»»