Israel’s ambassador to Washington, Yechiel Leiter, claimed Thursday that the Lebanese Army is sidelining Shiite troops and officers who are unwilling to confront Hezbollah, saying the move reflects a growing readiness in Beirut to act against the group under the new framework agreement with Israel.»»»

BEIRUT: Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam reassured critics that the US-brokered framework agreement with Israel does not prevent Lebanon from pursuing legal action over alleged Israeli war crimes, insisting the accord merely suspends such action while negotiations proceed in good faith. The clar»»»

WASHINGTON: As Norway prepare to face Brazil in the last 16 of the World Cup this Sunday — an opponent they have never lost to — managing player fatigue has become a central focus. Star striker Erling Haaland scored Norway’s 86th-minute winner in the 2-1 win against Ivory Coast on Tuesday, but said»»»

DUBAI: Dubai Basketball has extended the contract of McKinley Wright IV until 2029, securing the future of one of the team’s most influential players. Despite already being under contract for the 2026/27 season, both sides agreed to extend their partnership following an outstanding campaign. In his»»»

Tunis, July 2 (TAP)- Rain and localised hailstorms are expected on Thursday afternoon in the midland and some areas in the south, the National Institute of Meterology (INM) said in an update. Showers are forecast to range between 20mm and...»»»

Nine criminal proceedings have been launched following the Interior Ministry's operation in Varna and the Baba Alino illegal construction case, Bulgarian Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev said during a hearing before the National Assembly Committee on Internal Security and Public Order on Thursday»»»

Authorities are investigating the routes, financing and passengers of private flights taken by Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) leader Delyan Peevski, Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev told Parliament on Thursday, saying inquiries are under way in cooperation with several countries. Demerdzh»»»

Doha, Qatar: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defense Affairs HE Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman bin Hassan Al-Thani paid a visit to the Amiri Guard Camp "Barzan" on Thursday, where he was received by HE Commander of the Amiri Guard Major General Mohammed bin Sultan Al Suwaidi. Also pre»»»

A child eats a snow cone Monday at the Great American State Fair on the National Mall in Washington. As the nation moves into the holiday weekend, a record-setting heat wave has settled over parts of the Northeast, including Washington. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo July 2 (UPI) -- As th»»»

LONDON: Catherine, Britain’s Princess of Wales, mingled with the crowds at Wimbledon on Thursday and lent her support to ​the British hopefuls playing in the warm London sunshine. Dressed in a blue trouser suit, the 44-year-old wife of heir to the throne Prince William watched Arthur Fery, one of t»»»

TIRANA: Violent clashes erupted between police and demonstrators outside Albania’s parliament on Thursday, as protests against a controversial resort development linked to US President Donald Trump’s family threatened to escalate. Since late May, protests have been held against the construction of »»»

Dubai: The presence of mind of two nurses in Kerala helped save the life of a 43-year-old man who suffered a heart attack while trapped in a traffic jam, after they jumped off a KSRTC bus and performed CPR until he reached hospital. The dramatic rescue unfolded on Wednesday morning near the Kalady »»»

The Israeli army said Thursday that it eliminated a Hezbollah operative after he emerged from an underground infrastructure in the Ali al-Taher heights in the Nabatieh district The Israeli military said the militant exited an opening in an underground infrastructure within the so-called.security zo»»»

TAIF: Taif University has climbed 500 places from last year in the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings 2026 to rank among the world’s top 1,000 universities. The achievement reflects the university’s strong academic and research performance, as well as its commitment to advancing the UN sustaina»»»

Judging by Zelensky’s hysterical reaction, the damage done to the Flamingo ballistic missiles' assembly lines was serious, Alexander Mikhailov, head of the Bureau of Military-Political Analysis, tells Sputnik. Mikhailov highlighted that Russia's July 2 attack unleashed an array of cruise, supersoni»»»

The long-awaited Széchenyi Bath renovation could begin this autumn after the Budapest General Assembly approved the renovation programme for the more than 110-year-old thermal bath and swimming complex in City Park. The first phase of the project, worth more than net HUF 3 billion, or around EUR 8.»»»

LONDON: Catherine, Britain’s Princess of Wales, mingled with the crowds at Wimbledon on Thursday and lent her support to ​the British hopefuls playing in the warm London sunshine. Dressed in a blue trouser suit, the 44-year-old wife of heir to the throne Prince William watched Arthur Fery, one of t»»»

New York, USA: Millions of Americans sweltered in stifling heat and humidity Thursday with dangerous temperatures expected to hit swaths of densely populated areas through the Fourth of July holiday weekend. The heat wave that has been broiling the Midwest began intensifying in the Northeast, with »»»

The European Union’s in-house pollsters have concluded that their citizens overwhelmingly support the decisions made in Brussels, and want more of what the EU is giving them. It doesn’t take much digging to discover that someone is cooking the books. The topline results from the latest Eurobaromete»»»

Dubai: The UAE has doubled the size of its first Sovereign Retail T-Sukuk issuance to Dh100 million after receiving Dh445 million in subscription requests, as the government opened a new route for individual investors to buy government-backed Islamic investment products. Get updated faster and for »»»

An explosion in a cafe in central Damascus killed five people on Thursday and injured 10, Syrian authorities said. Syrian state television said the blast was caused by an explosive device. An explosion in a central Damascus cafe on Thursday that killed five people and wounded 11 was caused by »»»

Geneva: The trial of two potential treatments for the rare Bundibugyo species of Ebola behind the deadly outbreak in the DR Congo began in the country on Thursday, the WHO said. "Today, the clinical trial of two therapeutics began, with the enrolment of the first patient," with the trial evaluating»»»

Police were called to supermarkets in the Paris area on Thursday as huge crowds descended on discount stores hoping to get hold of affordable air-cooling units before the third heatwave of the year engulfs the French capital this weekend. Hundreds of people were besieging Lidl supermarkets in and a»»»

SANAA/ADEN: Thousands of miles from North America, where the World Cup is bringing together soccer fans from countries that are otherwise at odds, one of football’s least heralded nations is experiencing its own moment of unity. In a stadium in the ancient city of Sanaa, hundreds have turned out to»»»

Manila: Travelers from the six countries will continue to enjoy lower travel costs when visiting South Korea after the government extended its Group Tourist (C-3-2) visa application fee waiver for organised tour groups through December 31, 2026. Under the extension announced by South Korea's Minist»»»

A devastating wave of overnight attacks has left parts of the Ukrainian capital in ruins. Kyiv officials report multiple casualties following an attack which stuck residential areas. Russia said it would be ramping up the "pressure" on Ukraine after launching its largest ever attack on Kyiv overni»»»

During a parliamentary hearing, Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev outlined ongoing checks related to the air travel of Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS) leader Delyan Peevski, who is under U.S. sanctions. The focus of the investigation, he said, is to establish who accompanied the politician »»»

The National Assembly’s Committee on European Affairs and Oversight of European Funds adopted the rules governing the organization and activities of its Public Council. At Thursday’s meeting, committee members decided to establish an honorary board within the Public Council, comprising individuals »»»

LONDON - The Serbian-Kazakh duo of Aleksandra Krunic and Anna Danilina is through to the second round of the women's doubles event at the Wimbledon tennis tournament after a 6-2, 1-6, 6-3 victory over the Canadian-Kazakh pair of Leylah Fernandez and Yulia Putintseva in the opening round on Thursday»»»

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani told Lebanon's president on Thursday that Damascus had no intention of intervening militarily in his country, despite U.S. pressure to do so, according to the Lebanese presidency. Shaibani, who also invited President Joseph Aoun to Syria, is visiting Beirut»»»

MANILA: The Philippines has been reclassified by the World Bank as an upper-middle income country — a target it has been trying to achieve since the 1980s — after posting a record gross national income per capita of $4,850. The upper-middle income, or UMIC, rank is the World Bank’s category for eco»»»

BERLIN: German prosecutors said Thursday that the Ukrainian state ordered a 2022 bomb attack on the Nord Stream gas pipelines, complicating relations between Kyiv and its key military backer Berlin. The sabotage, never claimed by any actor, destroyed three of the four Baltic seafloor pipelines of t»»»

LONDON: The Organization of Islamic Cooperation denounced on Thursday the Israeli Knesset’s preliminary approval of a bill that seeks to restrict the Muslim call to prayer through mosques across the country. The OIC described the proposed law as a “discriminatory and racist legislative measure that»»»

Beirut, July 2 (SANA) Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said on Thursday that Syrian Foreign Minister and Expatriates Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani’s visit to Beirut reflected a shared commitment to building healthy bilateral relations based on mutual respect, non-interference in each other’s internal affa»»»

Tunis, July 2 (TAP)- Rain and localised hailstorms are expected on Thursday afternoon in the midland and some areas in the south, the National Institute of Meterology (INM) said in an update. Showers are forecast to range between 20mm and...»»»

Weeks of anti-government protests in Albania, initially sparked by opposition to a luxury tourism development near protected wetlands, have evolved into the most significant grassroots challenge to Prime Minister Edi Rama in years, exposing broader anger over corruption, environmental degradation a»»»

At a time when Washington is brandishing the sword of trade protectionism, China is moving in the opposite direction, expanding customs exemptions for exports from developing and least developed countries worldwide. Its new tariff waiver, set to run until 30 April 2028, grants full duty-free access»»»

In the first 29 minutes of the World Cup semi-final between Germany and Brazil on 8 July 2014, Germany scored five unanswered goals. The Brazilian crowd, hosting the tournament on home soil, was plunged into a state of collective disbelief. Some were in tears, others frozen in shock. Many just star»»»

Donald Trump lauds himself on his dealmaking. “Deals are my art form,” he writes in his appropriately named 1987 book, The Art of the Deal. “Other people paint beautifully on canvas or write wonderful poetry. I like making deals, preferably big deals. That’s how I get my kicks.” Since taking up off»»»

Dubai: The fourth meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Committee in Abu Dhabi (ACAD), held on July 1, has brought together senior diplomats and officials from the UAE and ASEAN member states to review ongoing cooperation and set priorities for the next phase of engagement. »»»

The EU’s border force agency Frontex is set to have its power expanded so that it can deport people between non-EU countries, based on international agreements – raising the possibility of a future role for it in EU-backed return hubs. The idea was confirmed on Thursday (2 July) by the deputy-direc»»»

Catia La Mar, Venezuela: An international rescue team pulled a survivor of Venezuela's twin earthquakes from the rubble on Thursday, after surviving eight days underground, AFP journalists witnessed. Hernan Gil, a 43-year-old security guard, had been buried in the booth of the seven-story building »»»

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer formally apologized Thursday to women and their children caught up in an historic forced adoptions scandal in England and Wales over almost three-decade long period between the 1950s and 1970s. File Photo Betty Laura Zapata/EPA July 2 (UPI) -- Outgoing British Pr»»»

Pope Leo XIV meets faithful during his visit to Madrid on June 6. On Thursday, Leo and the Vatican excommunicated members of the St. Pius X Society. Photo by Ciro Fusco/EPA July 2 (UPI) -- Pope Leo XIV excommunicated members of the Society of St. Pius X after they consecrated four bishops against t»»»

BELGRADE - Compared to Pope Leo XIV, Pope Francis had more understanding for Serbia regarding Kosovo-Metohija and was more open to hearing Serbia's positions on the matter, says Jovan Palalic, head of a Serbia-Holy See friendship group in the Serbian parliament. Even though it might still be too ea»»»

LONDON: Syria and Lebanon agreed on Thursday to establish a joint ministerial committee aimed at strengthening security coordination, expanding economic cooperation and advancing bilateral ties. The agreement was signed in the Lebanese capital Beirut by Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shaibani and»»»

DURBAN: Ethiopian refugee Helana Wolde locked his home and watched on television as thousands of angry demonstrators marched through South Africa this week calling for foreigners like him to leave. His wife and their three South African-born children were terrified, he said in the shop in downtown »»»

WARSAW: A Warsaw court has upheld criminal charges against Poland’s former justice minister, opening up the potential for his extradition from the United States, prosecutors confirmed to AFP Thursday. Zbigniew Ziobro — who served as justice minister and public prosecutor general between 2015 and 20»»»

MOSCOW: A ‌Ukrainian drone attack injured two people traveling aboard a tourist bus from the Belarusian capital Minsk to the Russian Black Sea resort town of Anapa on Thursday, Russian state media reported. The government in Russia’s Bryansk region, on the borders of Ukraine and Belarus, told Sputn»»»

Budapest has moved a major step closer to creating a greener Danube-side promenade on the Pest lower embankment after the Managing Authority approved funding for two long-planned riverfront projects, the Budapest Transport Centre, BKK, announced. The decision means the capital may receive more than»»»