MP Bolot Ibragimov has been elected Vice Speaker of the Zhogorku Kenesh of Kyrgyzstan. Members of Parliament made this decision at a meeting on February 19. His candidacy was proposed by Mekenchil parliamentary group. It was previously reported that Bolot Ibragimov, who had not previously belonged »»»

New Delhi: Bill Gates has cancelled his speech that was scheduled for Thursday at a major AI summit in India, the Gates Foundation said, after the Microsoft founder was named in the Epstein files. “After careful consideration, and to ensure the focus remains on the AI Summit’s key priorities, Mr Ga»»»

Abu Dhabi: The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Centre has enhanced its readiness to welcome visitors during the holy month of Ramadan as part of a wider national initiative. A coordination meeting with strategic partners was held to align efforts and strengthen cooperation, attended by Dr. Yousef Al Obai»»»

Greece’s authority against money-laundering has issued an additional report on a farmer’s union official from Crete, as part of an investigation into an EU farm subsidies scam on the southern island, stating that he concealed a total of €8 million from tax authorities. According to information, an »»»

Former minister of Education and Science Krasimir Valchev thanked the experts at the Ministry for their intensive work and dedication over the past year during a handover ceremony at the Ministry of Education and Science in Sofia on Thursday, the Ministry’s press service reported. Valchev said the »»»

BELGRADE - The Serbian dinar's official median exchange rate against the euro is 117.4176 dinars for one euro on Thursday, which is a slight change relative to Wednesday, the National Bank of Serbia said. The dinar is steady against the euro m-o-m, down by 0.2 pct y-o-y and down by 0.1 pct relative»»»

BELGRADE - The 47th International Tourism Fair opened in Belgrade on Thursday. At the opening of the event, held at the Belgrade Fair, Serbian PM Djuro Macut said EXPO 2027 Belgrade would be a great moment for Serbia and a major opportunity for development of Serbian tourism and the national hospit»»»

US President Donald Trump's allies will gather in Washington on Thursday to inaugurate the “Board of Peace”, a new body aimed at consolidating progress in Gaza while signalling broader ambitions to reshape international conflict management. Follow our liveblog for the latest updates. (FRANCE 2»»»

St. Kitts and Nevis is all set to impose mandatory biometric data collection on all Citizenship Programme applicants from the first quarter of 2026. The sweeping overhaul will directly affect thousands of citizenship holders and applicants, including a substantial number of dual nationals based in »»»

"I have always believed that nothing ever starts with us and nothing ends with us. I will try to build on the useful work you have done," caretaker Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Minister Andrey Yankulov said as he took over the post from Georgi Georgiev at the Justice Ministry, quoted by the in»»»

Caretaker Minister of Tourism Irena Georgieva pledged to keep working closely with municipalities and the tourism industry at a handover ceremony at the Ministry of Tourism in Sofia on Thursday. She said her team would build on the progress made and strengthen Bulgaria’s position as a year-round to»»»

Bulgaria must be consistent and visible in its foreign policy, said Nadezhda Neynsky, Minister of Foreign Affairs in the new caretaker government, told journalists upon taking office on Thursday. “A challenge in today’s time of exceptional geopolitical change is for Bulgaria to have a consistent, a»»»

Nayden Todorov, who took on the post of caretaker Minister of Culture from Marian Bachev in a ceremony on Thursday, said that every new handover of the position of culture minister is more difficult than the last. Todorov was caretaker culture minister in the governments of Galab Donev (2023) and D»»»

The Central Election Commission (CEC) announced Thursday that it has adopted a timeline for the snap parliamentary elections on April 19, 2026. The announcement came shortly after the Office of the President announced that Head of State Iliana Iotova had signed a decree scheduling elections for the»»»

Outgoing Tourism Minister Miroslav Borshosh handed over the Ministry of Tourism to Caretaker Minister of Tourism Irena Georgieva, the Tourism Ministry press service said here on Thursday. They discussed priorities for the ministry, results so far and projects to be developed, with a focus on sustai»»»

Tunis, Feb. 19 (TAP) - The Tunis Stock Exchange (TSE) announced the suspension of trading in the shares of Poulina Group Holding and LAND’OR for Thursday, February 19.The TSE added that the suspension was made at the request of the Financial Market...»»»

Nestlé reports its financial results for 2025 and announces organic growth of 3.5%, consisting of 0.8% real internal growth and 2.8% pricing. Nestlé is the largest food and beverage company in the world. It is present in 189 countries around the world, and its 277,000 employees are dedicated to Nes»»»

Sputnik international news agency and radio held another SputnikPro session for Daffodil International University, one of the leading private universities in Bangladesh, based on its cooperation agreement with Sputnik. Senior Social Media Editor at Sputnik’s Foreign Language News Production, Denis »»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russian Deputy Foreign Minister and member of the country's delegation Mikhail Galuzin said on Thursday that he would like Europe to tune in to peace and not to fund the conflict in Ukraine. "The whole concept is 'we have to be in peace talks because we are paying for the war.' I»»»

DOHA: Fasting during the holy month of Ramadan represents a golden opportunity to reset one's lifestyle and enhance both physical and mental well-being. By granting the body a period of physiological rest, fasting can help improve key health indicators such as blood sugar regulation, weight managem»»»

Following the swearing-in of the caretaker cabinet, Prime Minister Andrey Gyurov addressed the National Assembly, emphasizing a government guided by reason rather than hysteria. He made it clear that his administration would not promise immediate reforms or miracles, but would focus on ensuring fai»»»

A British couple detained in Iran since January 2025 have been sentenced to 10 years in jail for espionage, their family announced on Thursday. The UK government has condemned the prison terms for Lindsay and Craig Foreman as "completely appalling and totally unjustifiable". An Iranian co»»»

Israeli warplanes carried out strikes on the southern area of Tabna near Sidon overnight, with Israel claiming that it targeted Hezbollah arms depots, launchpads and military sites. Troops also entered the southern border towns of Yaroun and Khiam and detonated two houses there, as incursions into »»»

Vice Speaker of the Zhogorku Kenesh of Kyrgyzstan Karim Khanjeza has resigned from his post. He announced his decision during a parliamentary session on February 19. He stated that the decision was made due to personal circumstances. The parliamentary group Mekenchil has nominated MP Bolot Ibragimo»»»

Sharjah: The Sultanate of Oman has been named Guest of Honour at the 45th edition of the Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF), organisers announced on Wednesday. The decision was revealed by Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi, Chairperson of the Sharjah Book Authority (SBA), who said the choice»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Cuba will resolutely defend its independence while maintaining readiness for an equal dialogue with any country in the world, Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla said on Thursday. "The government and people of Cuba will resolutely defend their independence and sovereignty a»»»

Russia, China and Iran will conduct joint naval exercises as part of growing military cooperation aimed at reshaping the global balance of power at sea, Russian presidential aide Nikolay Patrushev has said. Warships from the three countries have been dispatched for maneuvers in the waters off Iran,»»»

Emirati President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan met US Senator Lindsey Graham on Wednesday in Abu Dhabi, the senator said in a post on X. It comes as the biggest American ‘armada’ in decades builds in the Middle East. As US and Iranian representatives met in Geneva on Tuesday, a steady flow o»»»

Vladimir Zelensky has said he would refuse to discuss the historical issues underpinning the Ukraine conflict during any potential meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Putin has highlighted the shared history between the neighboring countries and argued that Moscow has a duty to protect t»»»

Bishkek Mayor Aibek Dzhunushaliev, together with members of the Urban Development Council, inspected construction work on a section of Chui Avenue, paying particular attention to the preservation of the fountain and green areas. During the inspection, the mayor stated that the structure being built»»»

A mass fight involving senior students broke out at one of the schools in Bishkek, the press service of the Internal Affairs Department of Sverdlovsky district of the capital reported. After receiving information about the incident, police officers promptly arrived at the scene. The conflict was br»»»

The Philippines’ transport chief has relieved a senior enforcement officer from his post after an ambulance carrying a critically ill patient was stopped from using a dedicated bus lane, resulting in the death of the patient. With this, acting Department of Transportation (DOTr) secretary Giovanni »»»

Former justice minister Georgi Georgiev told journalists as he left the Justice Ministry on Thursday that he was leaving with his head held high and with more than 50 draft laws and regulations prepared, as well as progress on reforms related to the Recovery and Resilience Plan. He handed over the »»»

Caretaker Prime Minister Andrey Gurov and his cabinet took the oath of office before the National Assembly on Thursday, with President Iliana Iotova in attendance. Earlier on Thursday, Iotova signed decrees appointing the caretaker government and setting National Assembly elections for April 19, 20»»»

Handing over the post of Labour and Social Minister to Hasan Ademov at a ceremony on Thursday, Borislav Gutsanov expressed confidence that the Ministry will continue to develop in the most beneficial way for the people. He described it as good news that the Labour Ministry will be headed by someone»»»

Bulgarian sports are celebrating a successful year with investments in infrastructure and consistent support for competitors, said former sports minister Ivan Peshev at the handover of the post to Dimitar Iliev. "We are sending off a successful year - a year with many new investments in sports infr»»»

Active support for Bulgarian athletes and creating better opportunities for young people in Bulgaria - these are the main priorities that Dimitar Iliev highlighted when taking over the management of the Ministry of Youth and Sports from Ivan Peshev on Thursday. "Among my main goals are providing st»»»

Former finance minister Temenuzhka Petkova said the caretaker government was inheriting stable and sustainable public finances from the regular cabinet at a handover ceremony at the Ministry of Finance in Sofia on Thursday. Petkova added that she had briefed Caretaker Minister of Finance Georgi Kli»»»

Singer Bad Bunny is to take on his first lead acting role, starring in a film alongside Javier Bardem and Edward Norton. Porto Rico, described as a love letter to the 31-year-old's home of Puerto Rico, will be directed by rapper René Pérez, known as Residente. The film, which has been in developmen»»»

President Joseph Aoun on Thursday received an official invitation from his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron to join him in presiding over the Lebanese Army support conference that will be held in Paris on March 5, the Presidency said. “Your personal participation in this conference will represent»»»

New York, Feb. 19 (SANA) The Arab Group at the U.N. Security Council renewed its condemnation of Israel’s recent measures aimed at asserting control over the West Bank, expanding settlements, enabling settler violence and forcibly displacing Palestinians. The group said these unilateral actions vio»»»

Doha, Qatar: The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) has called on all citizens and residents planning to travel to the Holy Sites to perform Umrah to take the initiative to receive the essential vaccinations that will ensure a safe and healthy journey, foremost among them the meningococcal meningitis»»»

Dubai: I started thrifting five years ago and I haven’t looked back. It's not just cheap, but makes me feel like I am saving the planet, one Jean Paul Gautier top (yes, I got one in a bin) at a time. Let's also not forget that the fashion industry is one of the world’s biggest polluters, from texti»»»

OVERVIEW All media report on the caretaker cabinet proposed by Prime Minister-designate Andrey Gurov to President Iliana Iotova on Wednesday. Iotova signed a decree appointing the caretaker government on Thursday morning. POLITICS In an interview with the Bulgarian National Radio (BNR), Continue th»»»

Hasan Ademov took over as caretaker Minister of Labour and Social Policy from Borislav Gutsanov at a ceremony at the Ministry on Thursday. Earlier in the day, the caretaker government of Andrey Gurov was sworn in before the National Assembly. Assuming the post, Ademov said that the caretaker cabine»»»

Caretaker Minister of Finance Georgi Klisurski said the caretaker government’s three priorities for his ministry were funding the April 19 elections, extending the budget law and ensuring fair distribution of funds earmarked for municipalities, during a handover ceremony at the Ministry of Finance »»»

Doha, Qatar: Demand for dates is witnessing a marked increase during the holy month of Ramadan, driven by dietary traditions associated with fasting. At the same time, market supply remains diverse and robust, benefiting from continued government support that has strengthened domestic production to»»»

Dubai: The rapid buildup of US military forces in the Middle East has progressed to a stage where President Donald Trump now has the option of launching military action against Iran as soon as this weekend, The New York Times reported, citing administration and Pentagon officials. The report unders»»»

Wizz Air, the leading airline in Bulgaria by market share, has announced the launch of a new direct route connecting Burgas with Radom, Poland. Flights on this line will operate twice weekly, on Tuesdays and Saturdays, beginning on July 21, 2026, at the peak of the summer travel season. Tickets are»»»

Rumyana Bachvarova has been appointed Chef de Cabinet to caretaker Prime Minister Andrey Gurov, the government’s press service told BTA on Thursday. Earlier in the day, she attended the handover ceremony at the Council of Ministers. Bachvarova holds a degree in sociology from Sofia University St. K»»»