MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The West, feigning a willingness to negotiate on Ukraine, has moved on to open ultimatums to Russia, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Thursday. "We outlined our assessments of the current state of affairs around Ukraine, including the actions of the West, which, fei»»»

Los Angeles, United States: FIFA referees chief Pierluigi Collina has hit out at "unfounded allegations" against World Cup match officials in the wake of Argentina's controversial last 16 victory over Egypt. In comments posted on FIFA's official website, Collina defended officials who oversaw Argen»»»

Mexico's Attorney General's Office formally accused former U.S. Ambassador Ken Salazar of misleading Mexican authorities about the 2024 capture of alleged Sinaloa cartel co-founder Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada. File Photo by Andrew Harrer/UPI/Pool | License Photo July 9 (UPI) -- Mexico's Attorney Gener»»»

BELGRADE: ‌Serbian authorities have begun culling 11,000 pigs at a farm in the west of the country following an outbreak of African swine fever (ASF), the Tanjug news agency reported on ‌Wednesday, citing ‌Agriculture Minister Dragan Glamocic. The ‌cull ⁠at the farm ⁠in the village of Hrtkovci is e»»»

"Russian strikes are building a cumulative effect on Ukraine's energy infrastructure — with winter likely to see the most severe impact," says Stanislav Mitrakhovich, lead expert at the National Energy Security Foundation. Generators are brought in with Western help, running on petrol or diesel tha»»»

AMMAN — Jordan's Ram Pharmaceutical Industries and Saudi Arabia's Cigalah Healthcare on Thursday launched an investment partnership aimed at boosting value-added investment in Jordan and expanding Jordanian-Saudi economic cooperation.Minister of Investment Tareq Abu Ghazaleh s»»»

In Chad, intercommunal violence has dramatically risen, with authorities flagging five different incidents just last month, with over 300 killed in just two years. The UN has warned that violence is escalating across the entire Lake Chad basin, with 5,700 people killed since last November. Violence»»»

The Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc, following its periodic meeting, issued a statement in which it considered the million-strong funeral procession of the Imam and Martyr Sayyed Ali al-Husseini al-Khamenei (may his secret be sanctified) to be an unprecedented historic event. It affirmed the renewal»»»

The National Tax and Customs Administration of Hungary (NAV) has announced that it has found no evidence so far of criminal wrongdoing in the highly controversial investigation into the so-called Ukrainian “gold convoy” case, one of the most politically sensitive incidents of this year’s election c»»»

The US struck the Aq Tekeh-Khan railway bridge in Iran's northern Golestan province with cruise missiles, hitting a link on the rail corridor connecting Iran to China and Russia, state media reported on July 9. The strike marks one of the deepest US attacks inside Iranian territory since the confli»»»

Brussels: What does a world leader do with a gun and six bullets? That was the conundrum NATO leaders faced after the Turkish president offered them each a revolver after the Ankara summit. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was the first Wednesday to mention the highly unusual gift presented by P»»»

CAIRO: Gazans turned out in large numbers to ‌pay their respects to a senior Palestinian member of Egypt’s main aid organization who set up World Cup screenings in the shattered enclave and was killed by an Israeli air strike on a taxi he was in this ​week. The strike killed Mohammad Al-Waheidi on »»»

JEDDAH: Saudi artificial intelligence company Humain and Canada’s Cohere have announced a strategic partnership to build one of the region’s largest dedicated AI infrastructure deployments and develop enterprise and sovereign AI models. The strategic collaboration, announced on July 9 during Canadi»»»

China has accused Anthropic’s AI coding tool Claude Code of containing “security backdoor vulnerabilities” capable of transmitting sensitive user information without consent, warning the mechanism poses a “serious security risk.” Claude Code, developed by the US startup with close ties to the Penta»»»

LONDON: People gathered on Wednesday night in Beirut’s southern suburbs to mourn Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a joint US-Israeli attack on Iran in late February. In a speech broadcast by the group’s Al-Manar TV, Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem reaffir»»»

TEHRAN: The United States targeted the perimeter of Iran’s only civilian nuclear plant with a strike on Thursday, Iranian state media reported, citing the deputy governor of Bushehr province. “Several areas in Bushehr province were targeted today, including the perimeter of the nuclear power plant,»»»

Doha, Qatar: In charge of managing the QCAA, Mohamed bin Faleh Al-Hajri honoured a number of long-serving employees who have dedicated more than 20 years of service to the Authority during a ceremony held today at the Qatar Air Traffic Control Center. The recognition reflects the QCAA’s appreciatio»»»

Moscow-based Companies are strengthening cooperation with countries in Southeast Asia, says Moscow Deputy Mayor for Transport and Industry Maxim Liksutov. Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin lauded the presence of Moscow-based companies at the INNOPROM international industrial exhibition in Yekaterinburg.»»»

Brussels: Restrictions on children’s use of social media in the European Union could come as early as this summer, as a long-awaited expert report next week is expected to recommend limiting minors’ access to online platforms. After Australia became the first country in the world to ban under-16s f»»»

A fire broke out in a Chinese shoe factory Thursday. It's not yet known how many have died or been injured. Image courtesy of UPI July 9 (UPI) -- A shoe factory caught fire Thursday morning in China, and it's unknown how many people are dead or injured. Chinese President Xi Jinping said there were »»»

Bulgaria's Parliament approved an increase in the cost of the country's contract for Stryker armored combat vehicles, backing amendments to the investment project for equipping battalion battle groups within a mechanized brigade. The decision passed with 156 votes in favor, while the 11 MPs from th»»»

GERB and Democratic Bulgaria (DB) accused Prime Minister Rumen Radev's government of putting Bulgaria's planned partnership with German defense company Rheinmetall at risk after Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister Alexander Pulev said the state currently lacks the funding needed to move the »»»

The British Council has signed a new agreement with the Research, Development and Innovation Authority (RDIA), awarding funding for nine new joint research projects in the areas of healthcare, clean energy and environmental protection, delivered through the UK–KSA Research Collaboration Programme o»»»

AMMAN: The Jordanian military said it intercepted eight missiles fired from Iran on Thursday, while the Islamic republic said it targeted a US base there amid a new exchange of strikes between Tehran and Washington. “Jordanian air defense systems intercepted and shot down, today, Thursday, eight mi»»»

LONDON: Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, declared Nov. 28, which falls on a Saturday, as the date for the long-expected Palestinian legislative elections. The vote will take place across the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and East»»»

South Africa’s largest municipalities are sliding deeper into financial distress after years of underspending on infrastructure and maintenance, raising the risk of broader municipal failure with serious economic and social consequences, according to a report by independent governance rat»»»

Sharjah: Sharjah Police have arrested two motorists for committing serious traffic violations that endangered the lives of road users, authorities announced on Thursday. The drivers were found to have engaged in reckless and dangerous driving, prompting an investigation that led to their identifica»»»

The US struck the Aq Tekeh-Khan railway bridge in Iran's northern Golestan province with cruise missiles, hitting a link on the rail corridor connecting Iran to China and Russia, state media reported on July 9. The strike marks one of the deepest US attacks inside Iranian territory since the confli»»»

Artificial intelligence (AI) should serve the interests of all countries, not a narrow circle of states and corporations, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Alimov told Sputnik. Speaking on the sidelines of the UN Global Dialogue on AI Governance, Alimov noted that Russia sees significant po»»»

Dubai: Christopher Nolan's upcoming epic The Odyssey hasn't even reached cinemas yet, but it's already become the centre of a heated online debate. At the heart of the controversy is Oscar-winning actress Lupita Nyong'o, who has been cast as Helen of Troy, the legendary beauty from Greek mythology »»»

GENEVA: The United Nations called Thursday for an immediate end to fighting in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo between the armed forces and the M23 militia. The Rwanda-backed M23 armed group has seized vast swathes of territory since it re-emerged in 2021 in mineral-rich eastern DR Congo, »»»

British lawmakers have triggered a by-election Thursday to replace Reform U.K. leader Nigel Farage in Parliament following his abrupt resignation. File Photo by Will Oliver/UPI | License Photo July 9 (UPI) -- British lawmakers have triggered a by-election Thursday to replace Reform U.K. leader Nige»»»

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says the production of Patriot missile interceptors in Ukraine would constitute another sign of unacceptable encroachment by NATO. But Zelensky’s lack of enthusiasm with the idea signifies it may not be as urgent a threat as may first seem, the former senior DoD anal»»»

BusinessGermanyWhy Volkswagen's huge workforce became a costly burdenNik MartinThe struggling German carmaker plans to cut up to 100,000 jobs from its 630,000-strong workforce. How did VW's headcount get so bloated, and will the cuts be enough to survive the Chinese EV onslaught? https://p.dw.com/p»»»

GENEVA: Moderna said ‌on Thursday it has secured a European Commission contract to supply its respiratory syncytial virus vaccine to six countries in the region. The agreement gives the participating countries — Austria, Denmark, Ireland, Luxembourg, Norway and Portugal — ‌access to ‌up to 24 milli»»»

The Hague: The Executive Council of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has adopted a draft resolution submitted by the State of Qatar to restore the rights and privileges of the Syrian Arab Republic within the organization. The resolution was adopted during the 112th se»»»

Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar has released documents and fresh allegations concerning a 2018 trip to the United States by former President János Áder, claiming that the HUF 55 million journey, funded by public money, included several days of what he described as family holiday activities ra»»»

Jordan's state news agency said Thursday the country had intercepted eight missiles launched into its airspace from Iran. Tehran earlier targeted Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar after US military officials said they had struck approximately 90 Iranian military targets overnight. Follow our liveblog »»»

US has launched a second salve of strikes on Iran on July 8 after US President Donald Trump announced that the ceasefire with Tehran was over at the NATO summit. Iran says that the strikes targeted civilian infrastructure including railway bridges, calling them a "gross war crime". FRANCE 24's Phil»»»

The United States and Iran traded strikes on July 9 for the second day running as Washington and Tehran battled over the strategic Strait of Hormuz. Explosions were also heard in Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait, two US allies in the Gulf, following fresh attacks on Iran overnight. But although Trump says»»»

Dubai: Just three weeks after declaring he had secured a breakthrough with Iran, President Donald Trump once again finds himself weighing military escalation against diplomacy as the Strait of Hormuz crisis threatens to spiral. Iran’s renewed attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, »»»

BusinessGermanyHow Volkswagen ended up with a huge workforceNik MartinThe struggling German carmaker plans to cut up to 100,000 jobs from its 630,000-strong workforce. How did VW's headcount get so bloated, and will the cuts be enough to survive the Chinese EV onslaught? https://p.dw.com/p/5GIWoVW »»»

Dubai: Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Commerce has recalled 22 baby feeding products after identifying a potential choking hazard linked to a silicone baby bottle sold in the Kingdom. The recall covers the Boon NURSH 8 oz. Silicone Baby Bottle 3-Pack (Product No. B11654). Get updated faster and for FRE»»»

A deal between Lebanon and Israel was billed as paving the way for peace. But in Lebanon, it is deepening longtime divisions and raising fears of political paralysis or even a return to civil war. The U.S.-brokered deal envisions an Israeli troop withdrawal from Lebanon and an eventual peace agreem»»»

London, United Kingdom: Minister of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, HE Dr. Mohammed bin Abdulaziz bin Saleh Al Khulaifi affirmed that the State of Qatar views mediation not merely as a foreign policy tool, but as a reflection of a deeply rooted constitutional principle. Speaking at the Ro»»»

The entrance to Samsung Electronics’ campus in Suwon, South Korea. The memory chipmaker posted record operating profit during the second quarter of this year. Photo by Hyojoon Jeon / UPI July 9 (UPI) -- South Korea's Samsung Electronics has become one of the world's most profitable companies after »»»

A man was killed in Memphis after DEA agents shot him. File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo July 9 (UPI) -- Federal agents in Memphis shot and killed a man while delivering an arrest warrant Wednesday morning. The agents are there as part of the Memphis Safe Task Force sent by President Do»»»

N’DJAMENA, Sudan: ِِA “breakthrough” has been made in the investigation into crimes committed during Sudan’s war in the Darfur region allowing prosecutors to link them to leadership, a senior International Criminal Court official told Reuters. The ICC is investigating attacks on the cities of Al-Ge»»»

The global chemical weapons watchdog on Thursday reinstated Syria's voting rights at the body, rewarding Damascus for "constructive engagement" with the organization and a willingness to destroy previously hidden stockpiles of toxic munitions. The decision by the executive council of the Organizati»»»

He is the grandson of an influential Shiite cleric, born in Qom — the heart of religious studies in Iran — and raised in a traditional family that embraced the theocracy. But by his late 20s, he had stopped praying and given up on clerical rule. Now, he can barely discuss politics or religion with »»»