LONDON: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Wednesday that ending Israel’s occupation and establishing an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital are the only path to a just and lasting peace. Speaking at a joint news conference with Turkish President Recep Tayyip E»»»

RIYADH: What kind of relationship binds the Houthis to Iran? Afrah Al-Zouba, the first woman to head Yemen’s Foreign Ministry, has a term for it: “mutual instrumentalization.” “I use the term because it describes the relationship more accurately,” Al-Zouba told Asharq Al-Awsat in her first intervie»»»

PARIS: Xavi Hernandez has been named as the successor to Ronald Koeman as head coach of the Netherlands national team, becoming their first foreign boss in 48 years, the country’s football association announced on Wednesday. The Barcelona great, who won the 2010 World Cup with Spain as a player, ha»»»

GENEVA: The World Health Organization said Wednesday it hopes to reverse the spread of Ebola in the DR Congo within three months, but warned the deadly outbreak would not be over by then. The epidemic, which began in the conflict-scarred northeastern province of Ituri, is spreading faster than any »»»

Polish Nuclear Power Plants (PEJ) remains committed to bringing the first unit of Poland’s Choczewo nuclear plant online in 2036, despite ongoing negotiations over the key EPC contract with the Westinghouse-Bechtel consortium. PEJ CEO Marek Woszczyk said talks have advanced but major commercial iss»»»

Petroleum and Mineral Resources Minister Karim Badawi said the regular settlement of partners’ dues, together with the incentives and corrective measures introduced by the government, has helped rebuild investor confidence and paved the way for increased drilling, exploration and field development,»»»

Moderate Democrats are damaging their brand by campaigning alongside crazy leftist radicals who openly call for the destruction of the West, White people, and the United States. Democrats are quietly expressing concern that the entire Democratic Party is about to go up in flames as increasingly rad»»»

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s rejection of a US-backed peace plan for Gaza last week offered a diplomatic victory to Hamas, according to some analysts. The Palestinian Islamist movement had agreed to gradually give up weapons in exchange for an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, but agreei»»»

The government programme of Prime Minister Rumen Radev's cabinet was significantly delayed, despite the campaign slogan of Progressive Bulgaria being, "We are ready. We can do it," said Ivaylo Mirchev, co-chair of Yes, Bulgaria! and an MP from Democratic Bulgaria on Darik radio, quoted by the coali»»»

An interactive map of youth policies in Bulgaria has been presented in Pernik for the first time, bringing together data on opportunities and conditions for young people across all Bulgarian municipalities. The presentation was part of a national initiative of the National Youth Forum and the Citiz»»»

Addis Ababa: Ethiopia has started implementing a new 10-year national strategic initiative to modernize the country's coffee production value chain, and more than double average coffee productivity. The Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture announced Tuesday that the effective implementation of the new»»»

British officials and diplomats fear an unintended maritime escalation with Russia and are pressuring senior military leaders to restore direct communication with their Russian counterparts, The Times reported on Tuesday. According to the newspaper, former British chief of the defense staff Tony Ra»»»

International Youth Day was marked with a variety of activities at Harmanite Beach in Sozopol on Wednesday. The event was attended by Youth and Sports Minister Encho Keryazov, Labour and Social Policy Minister Nataliya Efremova, adviser to the Youth and Sports Minister Zhelyazko Zhelyazkov, Sozopol»»»

The Israeli military on Wednesday failed to remove settlers from blockaded Palestinian homes in the occupied West Bank. The siege began over the weekend, when a group of settlers blocked essential supplies from entering the Palestinian village of Qusra. The incident marked a ⁠rare confron»»»

Beijing: The Yellow River, China's second-longest river, has maintained an uninterrupted flow for 27 consecutive years, the Ministry of Water Resources said Wednesday. The Yellow River Conservancy Commission under the ministry launched unified water regulation for the river in 1999. Since then, wat»»»

Budapest’s long-discussed plan to extend Metro Line 3 could finally be moving towards construction, with the city now reviewing existing plans for a new section reaching Rákospalota-Újpest. But before work can begin, around 24 properties – most of them residential – must be acquired, while the proj»»»

The Chilean government's decision to let Codelco retain its profits aims to strengthen its equity and liquidity and reduce the need for additional borrowing to finance investment projects amid rising costs and production problems. File Photo by Elvis Gonzalez SANTIAGO, Chile, Aug. 12 (UPI) -- Presi»»»

Israel on Wednesday carried out its first air strike in more than a week in Gaza, both sides said, breaking a relative lull as the United States pressed a peace plan. The Israeli military said it targeted a Hamas commander, charging that he had been planning attacks against Israeli forces operating»»»

Poland’s rental market saw a sharp increase in demand in July, with about 59,500 apartments rented or withdrawn from the market, up more than 21% from June, according to Adradar. Around 55,000 new listings appeared, up 17%, causing total available supply to fall from about 84,000 to 79,500 units. W»»»

Analysts are increasingly skeptical that CD Projekt will meet the PLN 2 bln cumulative net profit target under its 2023-2026 incentive program. A Strefa Inwestorów survey found that 80% of Polish and foreign gaming analysts doubt the target will be reached. After Q1 2026, the company still needs PL»»»

LONDON: Attacks and other incidents affecting healthcare services and facilities in the occupied West Bank have surged this year, placing further strain on a system already hobbled by a worsening financial crisis and shortages of staff and medical supplies. The World Health Organization recorded 98»»»

BANGKOK: The Thai government pledged Wednesday to tighten gun controls and crack down on illegal firearms after two deadly shootings near Bangkok in less than a week. The country has one of the highest rates of gun ownership in Asia despite its fairly restrictive gun laws. The two recent shootings,»»»

Damascus, Aug. 12 (SANA) Agriculture Minister Basel al-Suwaidan on Wednesday discussed with International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) Representative to Syria Tawfiq el-Zabri the projects implemented by the fund in Syria and its plans for the next phase. During the meeting, al-Suwaidan »»»

AL-MUKALLA: Two Houthi missiles struck Yemen’s Red Sea port of Mocha on Wednesday, causing further damage to the government-controlled facility as the Iran-backed militia targeted the city and its strategic port for the fourth consecutive day, local government and military officials said. Abdul Mal»»»

BERLIN: The German government Wednesday signed off on a major overhaul of the country’s intelligence agencies to give them broad new powers to conduct covert operations and take action against foreign threats. Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt announced a “new era” for Germany’s secret services,»»»

The Bulgarian government adopted its Governance Program for 2026-2030 at a meeting on August 12, setting out its priorities for the remainder of the current term and the country's longer-term development. The document is based on the election program of the ruling Progressive Bulgaria coalition and»»»

Poland’s eastern regions are gradually closing the economic gap with the rest of the country despite increased geopolitical risk following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Between 2019 and 2024, business investment per capita in Podlaskie, Lubelskie and Podkarpackie rose 51%, while county own-source r»»»

QUSRA, Palestinian territories: The Israeli military failed in an attempt on Wednesday to remove occupied West Bank settlers who for days have blockaded Palestinian homes, an eyewitness and an AFP photographer reported.The siege began on Sunday, when a group of settlers set up a makeshift tent near»»»

DOHA: Kearney has launched the Global Telecom Health Index, a 34-market global benchmark of telecoms sector health, revealing Qatar as one of the two healthiesttelecom markets in the world, second only to the UAE. The index expands Kearney's 2025 EuropeanTelecom Health Index into a global assessmen»»»

ConflictsAsiaGulf states scramble for Strait of Hormuz alternativeAmir SoltanzadehSaudi Arabia has redirected oil exports away from the Strait of Hormuz, but most Gulf producers still lack a reliable backup option to the world's most important energy choke point. https://p.dw.com/p/5IgwpBefore the »»»

ConflictsAsiaGulf states scramble for an alternative to Strait of HormuzAmir SoltanzadehSaudi Arabia has redirected oil exports away from the Strait of Hormuz, but most Gulf producers still lack a reliable backup option to the world's most important energy chokepoint. https://p.dw.com/p/5IgwpBefore»»»

BELGRADE: Croatia launched a search in the Adriatic Sea Wednesday after four young Portuguese tourists went missing in their inflatable boat in severe weather, the national maritime rescue agency said. The four disappeared early in the morning in the Velebit Channel — a stretch of the Adriatic betw»»»

Stories from yesteryear pull me in and “Little House on the Prairie,” currently streaming on Netflix, is no exception. The eight-episode series, released this year, follows the tight-knit Ingalls, who navigate the complexities of life. Set in the late 19th century, Charles Ingalls, with his wife Ca»»»

BEIJING: Former Chinese premier Zhu Rongji, whose market reforms helped drive the country’s extraordinary economic rise, died Wednesday at the age of 97. An obituary jointly issued by China’s top political bodies said he lived a “life of glory,” according to the state news agency Xinhua. Zhu passed»»»

RIYADH: The Saudi Red Crescent Authority’s 2025 annual report reveals an agency quietly shifting from a traditional transport-and-ambulance service into an agile, preemptive civil protection network. For citizens, incoming pilgrims, and international relief efforts, this operational pivot under Sau»»»

U.S. consumer inflation slowed slightly to 3.4 percent in July despite turbulent oil prices due to the Iran war, government data showed, with the data likely giving the Federal Reserve room to breathe on interest rates. The consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.1 percent from a month earlier, but fell »»»

LONDON: Acclaimed Iranian photojournalist Yalda Moaiery has spent much of her career documenting moments of dissent and the lives of women in Iran. The work has repeatedly brought her into ​conflict with the authorities, and on Iran’s National Journalist Day on Saturday she learned she had been sen»»»

Restrictions on children's use of social media are among the measures considered by the government to address juvenile delinquency and antisocial behavior, Labour and Social Policy Minister Nataliya Efremova told a briefing at the Council of Ministers. On Tuesday, Prime Minister Rumen Radev called »»»

President Donald Trump on Tuesday confirmed a US media report that he secretly switched planes while flying out of Turkey last month due to a security risk. While some journalists left on the original Air Force One flight expressed anger at having unwittingly served as decoys, Trump maintained the »»»

Jury selection begins Wednesday in a lawsuit filed by the US states of California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey alleging that Meta uses technology to make Facebook and Instagram addictive for children. The states are demanding changes to Meta's apps in addition to financial penalties as high a»»»

Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley on Wednesday eked out a stunningly narrow win against democratic socialist Francesca Hong in the Democratic party primary for the Wisconsin governor's race. Crowley's win by less than a percentage point comes as the party faces a divide between establishment»»»

Prime Minister Rumen Radev said Bulgaria is considering tougher measures to tackle youth crime following the killing of Georgi Kuzev in Plovdiv, while warning that children cannot be left to be raised by social media. Opening the Cabinet meeting, Radev said the Interior Ministry had detained those »»»

Russian Ambassador to Bulgaria Eleonora Mitrofanova has called for Sofia and Moscow to restore at least a normal bilateral dialogue, saying that Russia has so far had no contacts with Bulgaria’s new government led by Prime Minister Rumen Radev. Speaking to the Russian news agency TASS about the sta»»»

DOHA: High school students from Qatar and abroad aspiring to pursue careers in medicine were given a glimpse of the profession and campus life through the Medical Minds Online Program (MMOP), a summer initiative organized by Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar (WCM-Q). In its second edition, the week-long»»»

FAN Courier announces the appointment of Lucian Pântece as IT&C Director, a decision that strengthens the company’s leadership team and marks an important step in its strategy to accelerate digitalization. The appointment comes at a time when FAN Courier aims to transform technology from a support »»»

Israeli drones targeted Wednesday the Kafra-Assi road, Beit Yahoun and al-Mansouri, injuring several people, the National News Agency said. In Zawtar al-Sharqiyeh, Haddatha, Beit Yahoun, Wadi touline and Wadi Slouqi, Israeli forces carried out demolitions. Overnight into Wednesday, artillery shelle»»»

North Korea on Wednesday condemned South Korea's push to build a nuclear-powered submarine. In this May 2026 photo, President Lee Jae Myung (C) is briefed on the country's submarine plans in Changwon. Photo by Yonhap North Korea on Wednesday denounced South Korea's efforts to build a nuclear-powere»»»

Sofia Mayor Vassil Terziev told a press briefing on Wednesday that more than 20 nurseries are being built in the capital, with 1,500 new places expected to open in the coming months and years. Terziev was attending the opening of a renovated nursery in Lozenets borough. The Mayor reported that ther»»»

FRANKFURT: German travel giant TUI said Wednesday that bookings were returning to normal levels despite the ongoing Mideast war, as it presented its latest financial results. Tourism in Europe is experiencing a turbulent summer marked by soaring jet fuel prices because of the US and Israeli war aga»»»

The EU is pumping €90 billion ($105 billion) into Ukraine without knowing how the burden of the interest-free loan will be distributed among member states, German MEP Fabio De Masi told the Berliner Zeitung, warning that the money will enrich “corrupt oligarchs” in Ukraine. Member states gave the g»»»