LONDON: Saudi Arabia’s investment momentum across energy, healthcare and culture continues to grow, even as renewed tensions in Iran and the Arabian Gulf continue to cloud the regional outlook. That was the message from business leaders and investors at the 18th edition of the BMG Economic Forum he»»»

The twin blasts that rocked Damascus during French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Syria this week underscore the fragility of President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s authority and the security challenges he faces. They also undermine the message of stability that Damascus is striving to convey to the int»»»

A heated debate in Hungary’s Parliament has birthed political controversy after Krisztián Kulcsár, an MP for the governing Tisza Party, apologised for making an offensive remark during a speech by Anna Lezsák of the Fidesz-KDNP alliance. Although the alleged comment could not be heard on the offici»»»

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The United States might end up taking over Iran's Kharg Island, President Donald Trump said on Wednesday amid renewed hostilities and the end of the ceasefire. "We attacked Kharg Island last night. We knocked out a piece, I said: "Don't touch the oil, because maybe we'll take»»»

LONDON: France has returned 23 Syrian archaeological artifacts that had been in Paris since before the outbreak of the civil war in Syria, handing them back during President Emmanuel Macron’s recent visit to Damascus. The move has been welcomed as a sign of renewed ties and respect for Syria’s cult»»»

US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Washington would give Kyiv the "the right to make" Patriot air-defence missiles as he met Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky at NATO's summit. "So one of the things we're going to be talking about is we're going to give a licence to you to make Patriots. That»»»

SAO PAULO: Brazil’s federal police searched the home of former President Jair Bolsonaro for weapons and ammunition on Wednesday, but did not find anything, one of Bolsonaro’s lawyers said in a post on X. “The defense had already previously informed the whereabouts of all the ‌weapons. Result: ‌Noth»»»

The funeral procession of Iran's late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei continued to draw massive crowds as it made its way through the holy cities of Iraq, home to some of the Shia faith's most sacred shrines. The six-day funeral ceremony will conclude on Thursday when Khamenei's body is retur»»»

RIYADH: The International Monetary Fund has raised Saudi Arabia’s economic growth forecast for 2027 to 5.5 percent, up from the 4.5 percent it projected in April, as the Kingdom is expected to be less affected by regional disruptions due to its diversified export routes. The revised forecast, publi»»»

The 11th century Bayeux Tapestry will arrive in London in the coming days in a discreet overnight operation under police protection ahead of its first-ever exhibition in Britain, the UK envoy overseeing the transfer said. The 68-metre-long masterpiece, which depicts the 1066 Norman conquest of Engl»»»

LA FLECHE, France: France’s far-right supremo Marine Le Pen hit the campaign trail on Wednesday fresh off her announcement she would run for president despite an embezzlement conviction. Surrounded by crowds and journalists in the western town of La Fleche, that was won by her National Rally (RN) p»»»

Bulgaria recorded the fastest annual growth in services production among European Union member states in April 2026, according to the latest preliminary figures released by Eurostat. Output in the country's services sector climbed 9.3% compared with April 2025, placing Bulgaria at the top of the EU»»»

The National Bank of Uzbekistan, the country’s largest commercial bank, is betting that the next phase of the country's economic transformation will be driven not by state-backed megaprojects but by households and small businesses. After a decade of reforms since Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev »»»

People in Bahrain and Kuwait awoke on Wednesday to the now familiar sound of warning sirens and explosions in the distance, as Iranian strikes again dashed hopes of a return to normalcy. The latest round of strikes pushed U.S. President Donald Trump to declare the ceasefire was "over", raising fear»»»

Bulgaria's Interior Ministry has contacted the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Department of the Treasury to say it is ready to provide evidence regarding the enforcement of sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Act, the Ministry said on Wednesday The Bulgarian authorities are prep»»»

FIFA's decision to revoke USA striker Folarin Balogun's one-match World Cup suspension has sparked a global debate over the independence of international sporting bodies. FIFA’s disciplinary committee replaced a one-match suspension for USA striker Folarin Balogun with a conditional penalty in the »»»

Anthropic’s latest AI model Claude has evolved an internal workspace that it uses to manipulate concepts similar to how people consciously think, the corporation says. In a paper published on Monday, Anthropic researchers said they had found evidence suggesting that Claude has learned to create abs»»»

French far-right chief Marine Le Pen Tuesday said she was still standing for president next year, after an appeals court confirmed her embezzlement conviction but paved the way for her to run with a shorter ban from office. FRANCE 24's Mark Owen speaks with Dr Katy Brown, Fellow in Language and Soc»»»

Hungary’s central government finances recorded a HUF 424.1 billion (EUR 1.2 billion) surplus in June, marking the strongest June budget balance on record and offering a welcome boost after months of mounting fiscal pressure. According to preliminary data released by the Ministry of Finance, the sur»»»

GENEVA: United Nations rights experts on Wednesday condemned the life sentence a Pakistani court handed a prominent rights activist, calling it a “travesty of justice.” Mahrang Baloch, a 33-year-old from the southern Balochistan province, was arrested in 2025 on charges stemming from a protest in t»»»

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that ​NATO allies must lift defence-industry restrictions among them, pressing the ‌case for Ankara to break into some Europe-only initiatives. “Restrictions among allies on defence cooperation, especially in the defence industry, must be lifted,” »»»

London: The 1,000-year-old Bayeux Tapestry depicting the last successful military invasion of England will arrive in London in the coming days by dead of night and under “police protection”, the UK envoy helping to coordinate the historic transfer told AFP. But Peter Ricketts, the UK’s Bayeux Tapes»»»

Israeli artillery shelled overnight into Wednesday the strategic hill of Ali al-Taher where Israel claims Hezbollah fighters are hiding in tunnels. Israeli warplanes also struck overnight a region between Beit Yahoun, Kounine and Baraashit. Israeli forces have continued to clash with Hezbollah figh»»»

A total of 7,057 people employed within Bulgaria’s Ministry of Interior are simultaneously receiving pensions and salaries, according to data from the National Social Security Institute cited by newspaper Sega. The figure, based on information from June this year, is significantly higher than previ»»»

The contract between Bulgaria and Turkish energy company Botas should be terminated rather than temporarily frozen, according to Asen Vassilev, leader of opposition party We Continue the Change (PP) and MP from the parliamentary group of the coalition. Vassilev accused Prime Minister Rumen Radev of»»»

Atlanta: The Egyptian football federation said Wednesday it had asked for the officiating team who handled the Pharoahs loss 3-2 last-16 to Argentina to be thrown out of the World Cup. "Hany Aburida, President of the Egyptian Football Federation, filed a complaint with FIFA, demanding an investigat»»»

London, United Kingdom: Oil prices soared and stock markets slid Wednesday after US President Donald Trump said the ceasefire with Iran was over, following renewed strikes in the Middle East. The latest bout of fighting was sparked by Iranian attacks on ships in the vital Strait of Hormuz shipping »»»

DEIR AL-BALAH: An Israeli strike on Gaza just before the kickoff of the Egypt-Argentina World Cup match killed a top Palestinian aid official who helped organize public screenings of the game across the enclave, according to local health officials. The blast turned what was supposed to be a moment »»»

Secretary's SpeechLebanon PalestineZionist EntityRegional and International International More Video Language Ar En Fr EsSubscribe for Weekly Updates Subscribe Trump Throws Open NATO’s Door to Turkey Again, Pledges F-35 Sales and Sanctions Lift 08-07-2026 14:01 PM US President Donald trump in an im»»»

London: The 1,000-year-old Bayeux Tapestry depicting the last successful military invasion of England will arrive in London in the coming days by dead of night and under "police protection", the UK envoy helping to coordinate the historic transfer told AFP. But Peter Ricketts, the UK's Bayeux Tapes»»»

RIYADH: Qatar Central Bank’s foreign currency reserves and liquidity climbed 1.24 percent year on year in June, reaching 262.1 billion Qatari riyals ($71.7 billion), according to official data. Figures published by the institution showed that official international reserves rose 1.48 percent year o»»»

On the eve of the NATO summit in Ankara, Ukraine and Russia seemed to be locked in a competition to see who can torch more of the opponent’s capital. Russia won. On the night of July 7, Kiev launched over 430 UAVs at Moscow and the Moscow region – the biggest such attack in the past two years. Acco»»»

The UAE topped the list of Arab destinations for foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2025, attracting US$48.2 billion, representing 40.4 percent of the total. It also ranked first in the Arab world and 17th globally in Dhaman's 2025 Composite Investment Climate Index, improving by two places compare»»»

DUBAI: Nearly 9,300 cases of chickenpox were reported in Gaza in just two weeks, with over half in Khan Younis alone, according to a recent report by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. “The situation remains critical, with an urgent need to restore supplies to prevent furth»»»

Atlanta: Lionel Messi once retired from international football after blasting a penalty into the American sky to lose a Copa America final 10 years ago. A decade on, Messi's problems from the spot persist on US soil, but his magic is more than masking that flaw as he continues to lead the Argentina»»»

Coworking operator Supertree Workspaces & More and office real estate firm Globalworth are expanding their partnership through the development of a new corporate events hub within Globalworth BOC Tower. The project marks the expansion of Supertree’s business through the launch of a new service line»»»

An Israeli strike on Gaza just before the kickoff of the Egypt-Argentina World Cup match killed a top Palestinian aid official who was instrumental in efforts to organize public screenings of the game across the enclave, according to local health officials. The blast turned what was supposed to be »»»

European football revenues passed the €40 billion mark for the first time in the 2024/25 season, but the industry is entering a more difficult phase, as growth slows, costs remain high and the match calendar becomes increasingly crowded. According to Deloitte’s Annual Review of Football Finance 202»»»

This photo, provided by Seoul's foreign ministry, shows South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun (C), U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio (L) and Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara on Tuesday. Photo courtesy of South Korea Foreign Ministry SEOUL,»»»

The European Ombudsman is opening an inquiry into the EU Commission’s so-called “Reality Checks,” a new form of closed-door consultation, often reserved for businesses and lobbyists, that feeds directly into the EU’s simplification and deregulation drive. Ombudswoman Teresa Anjinho announced on Wed»»»

ATLANTA: The Egyptian football federation said Wednesday it had asked for the officiating team who handled the Pharoahs loss 3-2 last-16 to Argentina to be thrown out of the World Cup. “Hany Aburida, President of the Egyptian Football Federation, filed a complaint with FIFA, demanding an investigat»»»

POLITICS - ELECTIONS Several media outlets report that the governing parties have tabled amendments to the Election Code less than three months before this autumn's presidential election. 24 Chasa writes that Progressive Bulgaria has proposed restoring compulsory machine voting, as introduced in 20»»»

A new study by iSense Solutions finds that the pressure felt by Romanian consumers increased in the second quarter of 2026 compared to the beginning of the year, and remains at alert level. Romanians are facing higher prices, political instability, health concerns and a tense international context »»»

Dubai is stepping up its summer tourism drive with the launch of the sixth edition of its #DubaiDestinations campaign, showcasing everything from water parks and indoor attractions to family entertainment, hotel deals and exclusive seasonal offers aimed at residents and international visitors. Laun»»»

Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar delivered one of his clearest statements yet on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine during the second day of the NATO summit in Ankara, declaring that “Ukraine is the victim, Russia the brutal aggressor.” Speaking alongside other NATO leaders, Magyar stressed that Hun»»»

For much of the past decade, Uzbekistan's economic story has been one of domestic transformation. The government liberalised the currency, opened previously closed sectors to foreign investment, modernised state institutions, reduced trade barriers and launched one of the region's most ambitious pr»»»

For much of the past decade, Uzbekistan's economic story has been one of domestic transformation. The government liberalised the currency, opened previously closed sectors to foreign investment, modernised state institutions, reduced trade barriers and launched one of the region's most ambitious pr»»»

The UAE labour market is entering the second half of 2026 with strong resilience. Earlier this year in Q1, private sector employment grew by 2.5%, while the number of registered companies increased by 0.4%, reflecting a healthy pipeline of business activity. Hiring activity is expected to close 202»»»

Dubai: One question from his then 10-year-old daughter changed the way Bobby Kapoor thought about success. It was June 2014, during Ramadan, and Kapoor's family has decided to celebrate his daughter Khwaab's birthday differently. Instead of a party, they have prepared meals for workers who would be»»»

Doha, Qatar: The Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, represented by its Department of Da’wah and Religious Guidance, organised the second edition of the “Provision for Preachers” (Zad Al-Du’ah) forum on Monday, July 6, under the theme “The Role of Islamic Creed and the Deeds of the Heart in Stre»»»