Oil prices edged higher in Asian trading on Friday as renewed fighting in the Middle East kept geopolitical risks firmly in focus, even as a senior US Federal Reserve official said he expects energy prices to ease over the coming year despite the latest escalation. As of 1:27 pm Tokyo time, Brent c»»»

JERUSALEM: With the Israeli parliament set to dissolve in the coming days, just four months before national elections, the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is racing to pass a series of bills, drawing fierce criticism from opposition. Seven pieces of legislation are currently on the »»»

Uzbekistan and Belarus agreed on July 9 to double their bilateral trade to $2bn, as Uzbekistan's President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko concluded two days of talks in Minsk with the kind of substantive commercial package that gives the Belarusian leader's r»»»

SYDNEY: Scientists have detected the highly contagious H5 bird flu in an Australian seabird for the first time, the government said Friday. Australia was for years the only continental landmass to be free of the H5 strain, which has caused severe disease and high death rates in poultry and wild bir»»»

Dubai: Friday morning traffic is lighter than on weekdays, although motorists are encountering pockets of congestion on several key roads across Dubai and on routes from Sharjah into the emirate, according to Google Maps. Traffic is flowing steadily on most major highways, with delays largely limit»»»

Manila: Taiwan’s Foxconn, the world’s largest contract electronics manufacturer and a key Apple supplier, is poised to anchor a landmark US-backed tech cluster project in the Philippines, signaling deepening integration of the country into secure Western supply chains. Get updated faster and for FR»»»

Parliament will debate at first reading the Bill on the 2026 Public Social Insurance (PSI) Budget and the Bill on the 2026 National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) Budget, according to the agenda adopted for Friday’s plenary sitting. On Tuesday, the two draft budgets were approved at first reading by »»»

The Justice Department under acting Attorney General Todd Blanche filed a lawsuit Thursday challenging Maryland's so-called sanctuary policies. File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo July 10 (UPI) -- The Justice Department filed a lawsuit against Maryland on Thursday challenging the state's »»»

Uzbekistan and Belarus agreed on July 9 to double their bilateral trade to $2bn, as Uzbekistan's President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko concluded two days of talks in Minsk with the kind of substantive commercial package that gives the Belarusian leader's r»»»

Twelve people were killed in a wildfire in Almeria in ​southern Spain, with 150 firefighters working to put out the blaze, the Emergency Agency of Andalucía said early on Friday. Minister of the Presidency, Health, and Emergencies Antonio Sanz called the fire “the most devastating fire to date ‌in »»»

Vladimir Zelensky tried to blackmail NATO countries with the prospect of Ukraine having nuclear weapons in order to boost support for Kiev, but his approach was ignored, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said. In a comment on the ministry's website, Zakharova said the recent NATO»»»

North Korea has decided to strengthen its nuclear forces both qualitatively and quantitatively, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported, citing a decision made at a meeting of the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea. The meeting was chaired by the party's general secre»»»

The death toll from the devastating earthquakes in Venezuela has risen to 3,889, while 16,740 people have been injured, Venezuelan National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez said. "3,889 people have died, 16,740 have been injured, and 6,462 have been rescued," Rodriguez said on Telegram. According»»»

FOXBOROUGH: Morocco coach Mohamed Ouahbi promised that his team will bounce back from their World Cup quarter-final exit against France on Thursday and keep building as they prepare to co-host the next tournament in 2030. The Atlas Lions were hoping to at least match their historic run to the semif»»»

Tehran: A condolence ceremony will be held on Saturday following the passing of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who lost his life during military strikes on February 28, according to a report by Iran's semi-official Tasnim News Agency. The news agency reported that the ceremony will»»»

RIYADH: Six national projects led by the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) have been honored at the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) 2026 for excellence in artificial intelligence and digital innovation, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on Friday. The award»»»

Dubai: The UAE's Federal Tax Authority (FTA) has published its most comprehensive summary yet of Corporate Tax private clarifications, consolidating dozens of questions submitted by taxpayers into a single reference guide. The document, which compiles private clarifications issued up to May 2026, d»»»

Angelina Jolie is back on the big screen, with perhaps her most vulnerable and delicate performances to date, in “Couture.” It sauntered into cinemas across the Kingdom in early July, coinciding with Paris Haute Couture Week, after premiering last year at the Toronto International Film Festival and»»»

COLUMBUS, Ohio: Eight men were indicted on murder and terrorism conspiracy charges Thursday for their alleged roles in a thwarted drone and sniper attack on the UFC cage-fighting show staged at the White House in June. The indictment, returned in Ohio, charges all eight in two separate conspiracies»»»

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump’s plans to build a skyline-altering arch in the nation’s capital won initial approval Thursday from a key federal commission, but its members put off a decision on whether a federal law that limits building heights should be applied to this project. Despite overwh»»»

WEST PALM BEACH, Florida: An airport in Florida state was renamed after Donald Trump on Thursday, accelerating a push by the US president and supporters to plaster his name and image on everything from national landmarks to banknotes. “This will soon be one of the Greatest and Most Spectacular Airp»»»

NEW YORK: FIFA’s handling ‌of two World Cup red-card cases came under renewed scrutiny on Thursday after England defender Jarell Quansah got a two-match suspension while US striker Folarin Balogun avoided an immediate ban for a similar ​challenge. That has left former international referees unable »»»

Iran on Friday laid to rest its former supreme leader Ali Khamenei over four months after his killing in an airstrike, as two days of US and Iranian attacks raised fears of a return to all-out war. Khamenei's flag-covered coffin was carried aloft into the shrine of Imam Reza in his home city of Mas»»»

The U.S. Capitol is seen along with a model of President Donald Trump's Triumphal Arch as visitors attend the fifth day of the Great American State Fair on the National Mall on June 29, 2026. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo July 9 (UPI) -- A federal Washington, D.C., planning agency advanc»»»

Tehran: Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi discussed the latest regional developments with his Omani and Turkish counterparts as well as Pakistan's army chief in separate phone calls following renewed US strikes on Iran, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said. Get updated faster and for FREE:»»»