Dubai: When Judy Dimayuga was eight years old, her classroom was often a rice field. Growing up in Bicol in the Philippines, she spent her childhood helping her grandparents work on the family farm and sell rice and vegetables to supplement the household income. Long before she has learned about en»»»

WASHINGTON: The Trump administration is blocking foreign governments, companies and ​individuals from accessing Anthropic’s most advanced AI models, Axios reported on Friday.US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Friday sent a letter to Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei saying that the Mythos 5 and Fable»»»

I still remember sitting in the back of a cycle rickshaw and being taken to school as a child. I was around eight years old, and for nearly two years it became part of my everyday life. The same man, the same morning route, the same silence between us. A few coins exchanged at the end, a brief nod,»»»

Share: Photo- Iranian Foreign ‌Minister Abbas Araqchi The United States and Iran signalled on Friday that an agreement to end their war was close, with a senior U.S. administration official saying both sides had agreed on a text and that Washington expects to sign an initial deal in the coming days»»»

Egypt’s Minister of Supply and Internal Trade Ali Moselhi issued a decree this week obliging all food producers to print a price label on all their products in clear Arabic font or face jail time, ministry spokesman Mamdouh Ramadan said. “We don’t want to scare the market. This is not an Egyptian i»»»

Dubai: When regional conflict put pressure on global shipping routes, Al Dahra rerouted more than 5,500 containers, secured new food supplies and raised grain stocks to keep essential commodities moving into the UAE. Sign up for our daily business newsletter, Cheques & Balances.The UAE-grown agribu»»»

WASHINGTON/DUBAI/PARIS The United States and Iran signalled on Friday that an agreement to end their war ​was close, with a senior US administration official saying both sides had agreed on a text and that Washington expects to sign an initial deal in the coming days.Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas »»»

BOSTON: A US judge on Thursday allowed an Iranian-born engineer to be released on bail just days before his trial ​on charges that he conspired to illegally export technology to Iran that had potential application in military drones. US District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston had previously decline»»»

AL-AHSA: The first yields of the fresh date harvest have arrived at central markets across Al-Ahsa Oasis, marking the start of a highly anticipated agricultural season that produces over 120,000 tons of dates annually from more than two million palm trees for distribution across Eastern Region and »»»

The US and Iran on Friday signaled that an initial peace agreement to end the Iran war was close although details of the deal were not officially released. The consensual signaling came hours after President Donald Trump posted a message lashing out at "very dishonorable" Iranians after local media»»»

BANGUI, Central African Republic: An Iranian woman is among around two dozen migrants who arrived Friday in the Central African Republic on a deportation flight from the United States, lawyers said, in the latest example of the Trump administration’s widely criticized deals with African and Latin A»»»

BEIRUT: Hezbollah said on Friday its fighters had confronted Israeli forces advancing toward a southern Lebanese town, as Israel pressed on with its strikes in Lebanon.In a statement, Hezbollah said its fighters first targeted Israeli troops advancing toward Majdal Zoun, around five kilometers (thr»»»

TORONTO: Canada striker Cyle Larin came off the ​bench to grab a 1-1 draw for his side against Bosnia and Herzegovina in a frenetic Group B opener on Friday that long looked like it would end in defeat for the World Cup co-hosts. Bosnia went ahead in the 21st minute when Jovo Lukic steered home a f»»»

TORONTO: Canada striker Cyle Larin came off the ​bench to grab a 1-1 draw for his side against Bosnia and Herzegovina in a frenetic Group B opener on Friday that long looked like it would end in defeat for the World Cup co-hosts. Bosnia went ahead in the 21st minute when Jovo Lukic steered home a f»»»

NEW DELHI: Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar has called US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in protest after American strikes on three largely Indian-crewed merchant vessels off Oman killed three Indians, upping the diplomatic ante.The call came after New Delhi summoned a senior US dipl»»»

BusinessUnited States of AmericaSpaceX IPO makes Elon Musk world's first trillionaireMatt Ford | Mark Hallam with AFP, AP, ReutersSpaceX floated on the Nasdaq stock exchange on Friday, with shares trading 25% above the opening price at one point. The IPO has made Musk the world's first trillionaire»»»

Toronto, Canada: Co-hosts Canada grabbed a second-half equaliser to draw 1-1 with Bosnia-Herzegovina on Friday in the first World Cup finals game ever played on Canadian soil. Cyle Larin got Canada's goal after Jovo Lukic put Bosnia ahead with a header on 21 minutes in Toronto.»»»

NEW YORK: Elon Musk became the world’s first trillionaire after shares of his rocket company SpaceX soared in Wall Street’s biggest initial public offering of stock. Shares in SpaceX jumped more than 19 percent after opening for trading at noon Friday, a sign that investors are looking past the bil»»»

Prime Minister Péter Magyar has dismissed the heads of Hungary’s four principal national security agencies in one of the most significant personnel changes since his government took office. The dismissals were published in Friday evening’s issue of the Hungarian Gazette and take effect on Saturday,»»»

DAMASCUS: Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa told visitors that Damascus has no intention of intervening in Lebanon, two of them told AFP, days after US President Donald Trump suggested it might be willing to do so. One of those present, requesting anonymity to speak freely, said that Sharaa told doz»»»

BAGHDAD: Uruk, the world’s first metropolis and the birthplace of written language, was nourished by the Euphrates River, ​as was Babylon, ancient Mesopotamia’s grandest city. The fertile plain between the Euphrates and its companion waterway, the Tigris River, was one of humankind’s cradles of civ»»»

FRISCO, Texas: Sweden boast a formidable strike partnership in Alexander Isak and Viktor Gyokeres, but the two will have their work cut out in their opening World Cup Group F game on Sunday when they take on a Tunisia side that didn’t concede a goal in qualifying. The 28-year-old Gyokeres arrives i»»»

MEXICO CITY: Shakira, Mana, Andrea Bocelli and a surprise appearance by Salma Hayek lit up the World Cup opening ceremony ahead of Mexico’s 2-0 victory over South Africa on Thursday. Shakira performed “Dai Dai,” the tournament’s official song, with Burna Boy. The Colombian star had a hit with “Waka»»»

LONDON: Iraqi officials like to say that the “age of militias” is ending. On paper, the past few weeks seem to support that narrative. Asaib Ahl Al-Haq, a hardline Iran-aligned faction, announced it would disengage from the Popular Mobilization Forces and place its weapons under state control, foll»»»

Gold is increasingly being weaponised by states, criminal networks and sanctioned regimes as a strategic financial tool, while regulatory systems are failing to keep pace with rapidly evolving illicit supply chains, according to a new report from the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organize»»»

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against nitrogen gas as an execution method. File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo June 12 (UPI) -- The Supreme Court has denied Alabama's attempt to execute a prisoner with nitrogen gas after two lower courts denied the method, calling it cruel and unusual. The»»»

FOXBOROUGH, USA: Scotland star Scott McTominay is ready for the team’s opening World Cup game against Haiti on Saturday after overcoming a stomach bug, coach Steve Clarke has said. “He is perfect and ready to go,” Clarke said when asked about the fitness of the Napoli man, Scotland’s star player. M»»»

Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa has lifted an embargo on arms sales to Israel after allegedly enlisting the help of an Israeli private intelligence firm to oust his left-wing, pro-Palestine predecessor. Jansa’s government announced the decision on Thursday, adding that it would also overturn a»»»

An Israeli cyber company suspected of interfering in French local elections and targeting pro-Palestinian candidates also allegedly meddled in votes in New York City and Scotland and ran operations in Angola and Togo, officials in Paris have said. Last month, a Reuters report claimed that French au»»»

KUALA LUMPUR: Religious leaders must play a greater role in preventing conflict, promoting coexistence and engaging young people amid growing global tensions and rising extremism, speakers said at an international summit in Malaysia on Friday. The Third International Summit of Religious Leaders, he»»»

French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu hosted political representatives from across party lines on Thursday to discuss the issue of electoral interference ahead of the country’s 2027 presidential election. French authorities are sounding the alarm over the rapid advances in artificial intelligence»»»

The funeral of Bernadette Chirac, widow of former president Jacques Chirac, will take place on Friday at the Basilica of Sainte-Clotilde in Paris. Chirac died on June 5 at the age of 93. The funeral on Friday will be held at the Parisian Basilica of Sainte-Clotilde, in accordance with the wishes of»»»

Flags flew at half-mast at the town hall in Fleurance in southwestern France on Friday as hundreds of mourners gathered for the funeral of Lyhanna, an 11-year-old schoolgirl whose suspected murder sparked national outrage over the exposed failures in the judicial system. Several hundred people»»»

Just outside the French capital sprawls the world's largest antiques destination: the Paris Saint-Ouen Flea Market. It's a timeless escape, and one of the most visited sites in France. We take you on a tour in this edition of France in Focus. Whitney has flown in from Florida with one thi»»»

Nearly five years ago, the Taliban seized control of Kabul and imposed Sharia law in Afghanistan. The women's cycling team, which was due to take part in international competitions, found itself more threatened than ever before. An unprecedented plan was put in place to smuggle the professional cyc»»»

DUBAI: Extreme heat is becoming a defining challenge for global food production, with the Middle East among the most exposed regions. A joint report by the Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Meteorological Organization warns that rising temperatures are no longer a seasonal issue but a»»»

On June 23, 2016 the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union with 52 percent of "Leave" votes against 48 percent for "Remain". It was a political storm few had predicted. Ten years on, our Revisited show explores the social and political im»»»

The election of the Hungary's new centre-right prime minister, Peter Magyar, in April marked a particularly stinging defeat for Viktor Orban, whose government was widely regarded as one of the most anti-LGBTQ in the EU. Rights advocates expect legal changes but wonder about the timeline Magyar will»»»

In a week that began with President Trump pronouncing that a ceasefire extension was so close with Iran, two or three days max, and that would only take an hour to finalise. Hours later Tehran downed a US Apache helicopter off the Gulf of Oman with the crew rescued from the sea, the attack reported»»»

BRUSSELS: The European Union will resume membership talks with Ukraine on Monday, the bloc announced, after Hungary lifted the veto imposed by its previous pro-Russian leader. “All member states agreed to open the first accession negotiations cluster with Ukraine and Moldova,” European Council Pres»»»

Los Angeles, United States: A California policeman shot and wounded a colleague as the two officers horsed around with loaded guns in a parking garage, their boss said. The September 2025 incident was captured on dashcam video released by police in Pasadena on Thursday. The video shows one officer »»»

Some places are so good you hesitate to share them, worried they will no longer feel like a hidden discovery. Melted Butter Bakery is one of those places. Owned by a husband-and-wife team, this Riyadh bakery has quickly earned a loyal following thanks to its commitment to quality, fresh ingredients»»»

The National Testing Agency (NTA) is expected to release the admit card for the NEET UG 2026 re-examination shortly. The exam is scheduled for June 21, 2026, after the earlier test was cancelled due to alleged irregularities. Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had earlier stated that admit»»»

A 15-month-old died after being found unresponsive in a hot car in Bethlehem, Pa., marking the sixth hot car fatality in the United States this year. Emergency crews responded to a call shortly after 4 p.m. Thursday, where the toddler was found inside her father's vehicle, according to local news s»»»

1 of 3 | Pedestrians walk in Times Square with screens showing visuals of Elon Musk and SpaceX branding at the Nasdaq MarketSite Exchange in Times Square on Friday in New York City. Elon Musk celebrated the Nasdaq opening bell Friday as SpaceX prepared to start trading publicly and likely cementing»»»

NEW YORK: Ghana midfielder Thomas Partey will not take part in their World Cup game against Panama on Wednesday after his visa application to enter Canada was refused, FIFA said on ‌Friday. “FIFA can confirm ‌that player Thomas Partey ‌will ⁠be unable to ⁠travel from Ghana’s Team Base Camp in Bosto»»»

The publication of files pertaining to US overseas biolabs will have significant ramifications, former White House correspondent for Executive Intelligence Review William Jones tells Sputnik. It could prompt "a major debate and discussion internationally with regard to chemical and biological weapo»»»

1 of 4 | The Ultimate Fighting Championship Freedom 250 arena is seen from the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C., on Friday. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo June 12 (UPI) -- A federal judge in Washington, D.C., on Friday refused to halt a planned UFC fight on the White House's South »»»

Two Brazilian football players from Russian club CSKA Moscow have been targeted by the pro-Kiev Mirotvorets (‘Peacemaker’) website, which publishes personal details of individuals it deems ‘enemies’ of Ukraine. Matheus Reis de Lima, 31, and Joao Victor da Silva Marcelino, 27, as well as their Russi»»»