Dubai: Mastercard is joining forces with Kee Platforms to provide embedded financing for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), micro retailers and solo entrepreneurs via Mastercard Merchant Cloud. With the opportunity to scale in the Middle East region, the collaboration will aim to create fas»»»

The Cabinet of Rosen Zhelyazkov announced its resignation Thursday. The resignation was announced by Prime Minister Zhelyazkov at an emergency press conference in Parliament as he stood in the company of senior officials of the three parties in the government coalition: GERB-UDF, There Is Such a Pe»»»

Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson are reportedly set to return to the Hunger Games in next year's highly anticipated prequel. The pair last starred together in Mockingjay - Part 2, the climactic installment of the original film series. US magazines The Hollywood Reporter and Deadline reported t»»»

Dubai: Dubai Police has rolled out an enhanced version of its “Circulars and Travel Bans” enquiry service on both its smart app and official website, allowing residents to instantly check their criminal or financial status without the need to visit police stations or judicial departments. The upgra»»»

Lhokseumawe, Indonesia: The death toll in Indonesia's devastating floods closed in on the 1,000 mark Thursday as hundreds of thousands more continued to face shortages, with frustration growing over relief efforts. Disaster mitigation agency spokesman Abdul Muhari said 990 people had died by late T»»»

Doha, Qatar: Education Above All (EAA) Foundation, a global foundation for education and development, and Qatar Foundation’s Pre-University Education (PUE) today signed a collaboration agreement at Qatar Foundation Headquarters in Education City, marking a significant step toward strengthening educ»»»

FLORENCE, Italy - The new US National Security Strategy, the December 2025 version, is an intriguing, quirky, Bosch-style hybrid beast. It does not exactly look as it seems. A tsunami of headlines across the discombobulated West focused on an apparent drive towards normalization between Washington »»»

The inaugural Sustainability Excellence Awards 2025, hosted by Gulf News and BeingShe, took place last night at the SEE Institute, The Sustainable City in Dubai, setting a new benchmark for the UAE’s growing sustainability movement. The event brought together leaders from across industries to recog»»»

Dubai: When Delhi restaurateurs Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra fled to Thailand just hours after a fire at their Goa nightclub killed 25 people, many wondered how the owners managed to slip out so easily. But the real turning point came later — when the Indian government deployed a powerful legal tool t»»»

PoliticsAfricaTrump's new security strategy: A chance for Africa?Martina SchwikowskiUS President Donald Trump's new foreign policy focuses less on aid and more on trade with African countries, specifically on raw materials. Could this be a wake-up call for Africa to become more economically indepen»»»

Amid the golden desert dunes of Al Dhafra, the Liwa International Festival 2026 returns with an expanded and more diverse edition, offering a dynamic blend of sand sports, artistic celebrations, adventure experiences, and family-friendly activities. The festival is one of the UAE’s most anticipated»»»

Lightning struck not once but twice for Indian expat Saritha Sekhar Battepati, who clinched back-to-back cash prizes in Big Ticket’s ‘Race and Luxury Yacht’ experience at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi. The Dubai-based IT professional was one of 30 lucky participants selected during the Formula On»»»

Kottayam In a shocking incident, a woman teacher was allegedly attacked inside her school on Thursday by her husband, triggering panic among staff and students. The incident took place at Poovathumoodu School in Ettumanoor around 10.30 a.m., when the accused, identified as Kochumon, entered the cam»»»

The International Criminal Court’s (ICC) entrenched bias reflects a deep crisis in the entire international system, Ali Fadlallah, Beirut-based professor of political science and international law, told Sputnik. “Prosecutor Karim Khan has publicly said that certain Western leaders told him outright»»»

NIS - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Thursday he was confident Serbia would "finish everything" about its Russian-majority owned oil company NIS appropriately and succeed in maintaining good relations with both Russia and the US, and that he expected even greater support from the EU. NI»»»

A US helicopter flies low over a hazy blue sea as it approaches a massive ship. It hovers as camouflaged soldiers holding rifles swing down ropes to the vessel's deck. The video, released by the US government, shows the latest in a series of escalations in Washington's pressure campaign on Nicolás »»»

New Delhi: The Cyber Cell of the Delhi Police Crime Branch has arrested three key members of a cyber fraud syndicate involved in a “Digital Arrest” and investment scam that duped a 71-year-old woman of Rs 49 lakh (Rs4.9 million) , officials said on Thursday. The breakthrough came after coordinated »»»

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was due to hold urgent talks Thursday with leaders and officials from about 30 countries that are supporting Kyiv’s effort to obtain fair terms for an end to the war with Russia. The leaders of Germany, Britain and France were among those expected to take par»»»

Kamarrr Group Technology, a UAE-based emerging AI ecosystem founded by Ioannis (Giovanni) Kamarikos, today announced the launch of a $50 million investment round to accelerate international expansion and deepen integration across its portfolio of more than 20 artificial intelligence platforms. The »»»

Torrential rain may have sent floodwaters surging through Nicosia’s Pedieos River and turned the sea red at Agia Triada beach with silt and mud in Paralimni as Storm Byron swept across Cyprus earlier this week, but the island’s dams remain critically depleted. According to a report by the Phileleft»»»

An appeals court on Thursday upheld the life sentence passed down at the first instance against a 35-year-old man convicted of the cold-blooded murder of his girlfriend more than four years ago. The court found that the defendant was of sound mind and acted in a calculated manner when he killed Gar»»»

DOHA: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defense Affairs HE Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman bin Hassan Al Thani launched the Defense Strategy 2025-2030 during a ceremony held at Qatar Amiri Signal Corps. The strategy focuses on strengthening defence capabilities and enhancing interoperabi»»»

The euro has been in use since 1999 as a non-cash accounting unit and since 2002 as physical currency. Today, it is the official currency in 20 countries. Despite its wide circulation, the euro still hides a number of intriguing details. Here are five curious facts about the euro you may not know —»»»

Global car buyers are putting the brakes on adoption of electric vehicles, with many shifting back to internal combustion engines (ICEs) and reassessing electric vehicle ownership, according to the new EY Mobility Consumer Index (MCI), a global survey examining sentiment and buying intent across ma»»»

Casablanca, Morocco: Al Tamimi & Company is pleased to announce that it has advised L’Assiette Nordique, a leading seafood processing and distribution company in Morocco, on the opening of its capital to Capmezzanine V, FPCC-RFA, the fifth fund managed by CDG Invest Growth. This transaction marks a»»»

Bulgaria's e-Government Minister Valentin Mundrov and Yun Hojung, Minister of the Interior and Safety of the Republic of Korea, opened a Bulgarian-Korean forum dedicated to improving digital transformation and public safety, which took place here on Thursday, Mundrov's Ministry reported. The event »»»

As the world prepares to celebrate a new year, the Lebanese are living day by day amid fears and threats of a renewed war. The Lebanese army has been tasked by the government to disarm Hezbollah by the year end, under U.S. pressure and Israel's almost daily strikes. However, the army's resources ar»»»

Opposition leader María Corina Machado said Thursday that she doesn't believe the Venezuelan government knew where she was hiding for most of this year, as she met Norway's leader a day after her daughter received the Nobel Peace Prize on her behalf. Machado arrived in Oslo hours after Wednesday's »»»

Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado vowed at a press conference on Thursday that Venezuela "will be free". The Venezuelan opposition leader, honoured for her fight for democracy, said she would try to return to end the "tyranny" in her home country, despite warnings she could be arre»»»

Starting with January,2026, Ionuț Pătrăhău will join Raiffeisen Bank Romania as Vice President, responsible for the strategic and operational direction of the new SME division, at the national level, after obtaining BNR approval. Raiffeisen Bank announced this year the creation of an SME Division t»»»

Dubai: Insights Success Media Tech LLC announced today that TradeQuo will serve as its title sponsor for the Global Excellence & Leadership Awards 2026. The international ceremony takes place on January 24, 2026, at the DoubleTree by Hilton Dubai – M Square Hotel & Residences. The event will be gra»»»

MASSIVE PROTESTS In the aftermath of Wednesday night's mass rallies organized by the opposition Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB) coalition in Sofia and other cities, the media are awash with analysis and commentaries ahead of Thursday's no-confidence vote in the Rosen Zhelyazkov Ca»»»

Bolivia's former president, Luis Arce, has been arrested in La Paz as part of an investigation into alleged graft, the government has said. The investigation relates to when Arce, 62, was economy minister under then-president Evo Morales, who was in office from 2006 to 2019. He is accused of author»»»

Damascus, Dec. 11 (SANA) Syria welcomed Thursday the U.S. House of Representatives’ vote in favor of repealing the “Caesar Act,” saying it is a direct result of constructive diplomatic efforts between Syria and the United States, led by President Ahmad al-Sharaa and the Syrian government over the p»»»

Pakistan's former spy chief has been sentenced to 14 years in prison by a military court, on charges including violation of state secrets and interfering in politics. Faiz Hameed led Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency from 2019 to 2021, during the tenure of now-jailed former prime »»»

Ghana has deported three Israeli nationals who arrived in the country on Wednesday in what appears to be a tit-for-tat move over the alleged mistreatment of Ghanaian nationals at Ben Gurion International Airport in Israel. Seven Ghanaians, including four members of an official delegation attending »»»

BRUSSELS - European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday evening her meeting with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic in Brussels had addressed Serbia's progress on the EU path and that Serbia could count on EU support on that path. In a post on X after the meeting with Vucic,»»»

Deadly clashes between Thailand and Cambodia intensified on Thursday along their disputed border, killing at least 19 and forcing more than half a million people to flee, as US President Donald Trump prepared to urge both sides to halt the fighting. Fighting raged Thursday along the border of Cambo»»»

US President Donald Trump has said Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky should be realistic about the course of the conflict with Russia and the need to hold elections. Zelensky, whose five-year presidential term expired in May 2024, has refused to call new elections, citing martial law. Russian Pres»»»

The Tripoli based Libyan government held a meeting yesterday with a World Bank delegation from Washington, headed by the Regional Director for the Maghreb and Malta, Ahmedou Mustafa Ndiaye, and the World Bank Representative in Libya, Henriette Kaltenborn, along with several Bank experts. The Libyan»»»

The Sofia Directorate of the Interior Ministry (SDIM) detained 57 people for up to 24 hours during Wednesday’s anti-government protest in Sofia, SDIM Director Lyubomir Nikolov said, as quoted by the Sofia police on Thursday. The group included 22 youths under 18 years old and two kids under 14. Of »»»

Swiss authorities have formally charged a 43-year-old man with the murder of his wife, former Miss Switzerland finalist Kristina Joksimovic, whose remains were found dismembered and partially destroyed in their home in Binningen, near Basel, in February 2024. The Basel-Landschaft Public Prosecutor’»»»

Did you know that if bees – whose population has been on a steady decline since the 1960s – went extinct, we would lose much of our natural food? Fruits, nuts, and veggies depend on the trusty pollinators and without them, production would suffer immensely. The rather small bug casts a large shadow»»»

BEYOND Developments, the bold and design-led real estate developer shaping next-generation waterfront destinations in the UAE, today unveiled SIORA, its first beachfront masterplan on Dubai Islands and the company’s second large-scale community within a year. The launch underscores BEYOND’s acceler»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Russian armed forces have liberated the settlement of Liman in the Kharkov region, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Thursday. "Battlegroup Sever have completed the liberation of the Liman settlement in the Kharkov region with active actions," the ministry said in a statem»»»

A boat carrying migrants overturned early on Thursday on the Sava river in eastern Croatia, killing at least three people and injuring eight, officials said. The accident happened in the eastern town of Slavonski Brod, by the border with Bosnia. Migrants were apparently trying to cross the Sava Riv»»»

The Bishkek City Court has upheld the verdict previously handed down by the Sverdlovsky District Court against human rights defender Rita Karasartova, her relatives reported. In September of this year, the Sverdlovsky District Court found Karasartova guilty under Article 278 (Mass riots) and Articl»»»

As winter bites in Gaza, displaced Palestinians set out every day to homes destroyed by Israel. There they rip out iron rods from the walls and use them to prop up their flimsy tents or sell to scratch out a living in an enclave that will take years to recover from war. The rods have become a hot i»»»

Dubai: A new co-branded credit card from ADNOC Distribution, First Abu Dhabi Bank and Mastercard is set to give people across the UAE more ways to save on daily spending, from fuel and car care to groceries, parking and travel. Sign up for our daily business newsletter, Cheques & Balances.The ADNOC»»»

Israeli enemy forces detonated a building under construction north of Mays al-Jabal southern Lebanon and targeted a house in Adaysah with a quadcopter drone early this morning, according to Al-Manar TV correspondent. In another attack, enemy forces targeted the roof of a building opposite a spring »»»