PARIS: Algeria have lodged a complaint with FIFA over “refereeing injustice” in their opening World Cup loss to Argentina, particularly a tackle by Lionel Messi, an Algerian football federation source told AFP on Friday. Messi caught Algeria defender Aissa Mandi on the calf with a studs-up challeng»»»

LA PAZ: Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz declared a state of emergency across the Latin American country on Saturday after more than six weeks of road blockades and protests demanding his resignation, saying he had exhausted “all avenues of dialogue.” The decision came hours after Paz signed an agree»»»

A Hezbollah supporter waves a Hezbollah flag and a poster of Iran’s founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini at Qasmiyeh Bridge, southern Lebanon, Friday. Fighting between Israel and Hezbollah continues, angering Iran. Photo by Wael Hamzeh/EPA June 20 (UPI) -- Iran said it has closed the Strait of Hormu»»»

Activists and campaign groups on Saturday paid tribute to Lebanese environmentalist Mona Khalil who died from injuries sustained in an Israeli strike in the country's south, where she dedicated her life to turtle conservation for decades. A medical source had previously told AFP that Khalil, aged i»»»

Abu Dhabi: The UAE recorded its highest temperature of the day at 49.4°C in Sweihan, Al Ain, on Saturday, as the country prepared for the start of astronomical summer amid forecasts of continued intense heat and the possibility of temperatures exceeding 50°C in the coming weeks. According to the Na»»»

MOSCOW: ‌Russian air defenses repelled a drone attack on an oil refinery in the Western Siberian region of Tyumen, the regional governor said on Saturday. “A drone attack on the Tyumen oil refinery ‌has been repelled. ‌Emergency services are ‌working ⁠at the site ⁠where the debris fell. According t»»»

US President Donald Trump turned up the heat on a diplomatic row with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Saturday, accusing her of repeatedly seeking a photograph with him at the G7 summit and blaming the clash between the two heads of state on tensions over Iran and NATO. US President Donald»»»

MANILA: Filipino hoteliers and businesses gathered on Saturday for the Philippines’ first halal and Muslim-friendly tourism forum in Manila, as they seek to capture the growing Muslim travel market. Tourism is a key sector for the Philippines, contributing more than 8 percent to its gross domestic »»»

LOS ANGELES: High-scoring Germany face a powerful Ivory Coast side at the World Cup on Saturday with the winner guaranteed a place in the last 32, while Sweden can also book their ticket. Those three nations can join co-hosts the United States and Mexico who are already through. Germany thrashed de»»»

MADRID: A Spanish court has ordered the wife of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Begona Gomez, to stand trial by jury for corruption and banned her from leaving the country, according to a court order released Saturday. The case is one of several corruption affairs that have embroiled the Socialist le»»»

KYIV: The International Atomic Energy ​Agency said on Saturday Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant lost off-site power ‌for ‌the ​20th ‌time ⁠during ​the conflict ⁠with Russia due to an issue with the site’s ⁠internal power ‌lines ‌affecting its ​only ‌remaining 330 ‌kV connection, Ferosplav»»»

Iran said it was once again closing the vital Strait of Hormuz shipping lane on Saturday over Israel's attacks in Lebanon, calling them a violation of its deal with the United States to end the Middle East war. Israeli troops battled Hezbollah fighters while its warplanes conducted deadly strikes i»»»

Abu Dhabi: The UAE Cabinet has issued a decision prohibiting children under the age of 15 from using social media platforms altogether, as part of efforts to protect them from digital risks and harmful online content. The key provisions of the decision include: Restrictions: Children within this ag»»»

TEHRAN (Sputnik) - Iran will close the Strait of Hormuz to shipping in response to continued Israeli attacks on Lebanon and US violations of the memorandum of understanding regarding a ceasefire on all fronts, including in Lebanon, according to a statement from the operational headquarters of the I»»»

French police on Friday issued a last-minute ban on a rally by an Iranian opposition group planned for Saturday, citing a risk of violence. The National Resistance Council of Iran said its planned demonstration in Paris against executions by the Iranian regime was cancelled "after business hours" a»»»

Russia’s long-range attacks on Ukraine usually involve a combination of drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles. The drones, mostly based on the Iranian ‘Shahed’ design, are getting faster, more sophisticated, and more numerous – but since last summer Ukraine has been deploying a powerful ne»»»

Zunyi, China: Qatar's artistic gymnastics team continued to make its mark on the continental stage as athletes Rakan Al Harith and Mehrdad Qadimi delivered impressive performances at the 2026 Asian Artistic Gymnastics Championships, currently underway in Zunyi, China. Competing against some of Asia»»»

Prime Minister Péter Magyar and Transport and Infrastructure Minister Dávid Vitézy jointly opened a new temporary exhibition at the Hungarian Technical and Transportation Museum on Saturday, marking the institution’s return after a one-year break. Transportation Museum reopens after a year The exhi»»»

WARSAW: A decision by the Polish president to strip Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky of Poland’s highest state honor was beneficial to Moscow, which has an interest in seeing Kyiv in conflict with its allies, Ukrainian officials said. President Karol Nawrocki announced Friday he will strip Zelen»»»

The Italian government closed ranks on Friday to slam US President Donald Trump over his claim that Premier Giorgia Meloni had “begged” for a photo with him during the recent G7 summit, a pushback that suggested America’s longtime European ally had had enough of Trump’s boasting and criticism. Ital»»»

The Nord Stream saga has taken a turn for the absurd, with a new book claiming that the star saboteur who blew up the gas pipelines was a Ukrainian erotic model-turned-deep sea diver. This detail is the latest addition to an ever-shifting story – while one key coincidence has completely flown under»»»

MADRID: A Spanish court has ordered the wife of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Begona Gomez, to stand trial by jury for corruption and banned her from leaving the country, according to a court order released Saturday. The case is one of several corruption affairs that have embroiled the Socialist le»»»

Madrid: A Spanish court has ordered the wife of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Begona Gomez, to stand trial by jury for corruption and banned her from leaving the country, according to a court order released Saturday. Judge Juan Carlos Peinado ordered Gomez to hand in her passport and to appear befo»»»

DUBAI: After a wait that felt far longer than it should have, two years and three months to be exact, “X-Men ’97” returns with a second season on Disney+ that immediately reminds viewers why it became one of Marvel’s rare consensus hits. Based on the first four episodes provided for review, the ani»»»

Riyadh: The National Center for Palms and Dates has launched the early date harvest season campaign, coinciding with the start of the first fresh harvest in Saudi Arabia. The initiative highlights the seasonal calendar of early and mid-season dates across regions, supports marketing, enhances econo»»»

GENEVA: The UN rights chief said on Saturday he deeply regretted the European Union’s new migration rules, which allow much broader detention powers and the creation of deportation centers outside the bloc. The rules, approved on Wednesday, enable the 27 EU nations to open “return hubs” outside the»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russian troops liberated 94 buildings in the city of Konstantinovka in the Donetsk People's Republic in the past 24 hours, eliminating up to 95 Ukrainian troops, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Saturday. "In Konstantinovka (Donetsk People's Republic), the assault groups of t»»»

by Maye Sadek Continuing its effort to diversify its sources of armament, Egypt signed an agreement with France to purchase two Mistral helicopter carriers for 950 million Euros ($1.06 billion). The ships should be handed over in early March after the training of about 400 Egyptians in France, whic»»»

Wearing a yellow scarf showing her son killed fighting for Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, Iman Dilbani wept during a religious sermon in the battered southern city of Tyre during the Islamic holy month of Muharram. Tyre, Lebanon's fourth largest city, has been devastated by the Israel-Hezbollah war»»»

Dubai: The UAE's two biggest airlines have launched beefed up travel insurance packages in an effort to lure back holidaymakers scared away by the Middle East war. The war, launched when the United States and Israel began striking Iran on February 28, severely affected air traffic in the region and»»»

Israel carried out deadly strikes in south Lebanon on Saturday and Hezbollah maintained it had the right to respond, hours after the United States announced a renewed ceasefire in fighting that had strained a fledgling deal with Iran. U.S. President Donald Trump and his Iranian counterpart Masoud P»»»

A coordinated UK media campaign surrounding a Ukraine-linked arson plot cannot hide the obvious holes in the story Britain wants you to believe. After over a year of mounting mystery, fevered speculation, and strange media silence, a UK court has finally reached a verdict in the bizarre case of ‘Ar»»»

Dubai: The UAE has cemented its position among the world's leading economies after ranking 10th globally in the 2026 Best Countries report, becoming the only Arab nation to secure a place in the top 10 and the highest-ranked country in the Middle East. The ranking, published by the Wharton School o»»»

ROME: The head of Latin America’s top development bank made a pitch to Pope Leo XIV this week in the face of the Vatican’s call to divest from the mining industry: that the mistakes of the past can be avoided in extracting rare earth minerals to supply a global tech boom. Ilan Goldfajn, head of the»»»

TEHRAN: Iran’s top engineering university has expelled six students over their alleged involvement in anti-government protests earlier this year, local media reported. What began in December as cost-of-living protests escalated into anti-establishment demonstrations across the country that peaked i»»»

DUBAI: Dutch-Moroccan-Egyptian model Imaan Hammam showed her support for Morocco’s national football team on Friday as the Atlas Lions secured a 1-0 victory over Scotland in their FIFA World Cup 2026 Group C match in Boston. Hammam attended the fixture at Boston Stadium, sharing a series of updates»»»

Los Angeles, United States: High-scoring Germany face a powerful Ivory Coast side at the World Cup on Saturday with the winner guaranteed a place in the last 32, while Sweden can also book their ticket. Those three nations can join co-hosts the United States and Mexico who are already through. Germ»»»

Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Raza Syed Naqvi arrived in Tehran on Saturday for high-level talks with Iranian officials, as Islamabad intensifies its diplomatic push to solidify a lasting peace between Iran and the United States, according to a report by IRNA news agency. The visit, confirmed»»»

Share: Smoke billows from southern Lebanon following an Israeli strike, as seen from Nabatieh, Lebanon, June 20, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer WASHINGTON/ BEIRUT – U.S. President Donald Trump’s personal envoy and Iran’s foreign minister were headed to Switzerland for talks, Axios said, although deadly str»»»

Israel carried out deadly strikes in south Lebanon on Saturday and Hezbollah maintained it had the right to respond, hours after the United States announced a renewed ceasefire in fighting that had strained a fledgling deal with Iran. US President Donald Trump and his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pez»»»

After two decades of delays, the colossal trans-Saharan gas megaproject to export Nigerian gas to Europe via Niger and Algeria is back in the spotlight with this month's announcement that construction of the Algerian section had rebegun. The pipeline, once completed, could fundamentally reshap»»»

Dubai: His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, has approved the restructuring of the Board of Directors of Etihad Credit Insurance (ECI), appointing Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, as chairman. The mo»»»

Dubai: Dubai Police have dismantled an organised criminal network involved in pirating encrypted international satellite television channels and illegally rebroadcasting copyrighted content to the public through receiver devices, online links and unauthorised websites. The operation was carried out»»»

Dubai: His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, has approved the restructuring of the Board of Directors ofEtihad Credit Insurance (ECI), appointing Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, as chairman. The mov»»»

La Paz: Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz declared a state of emergency across the Latin American country on Saturday after more than six weeks of road blockades and protests demanding his resignation, saying he had exhausted "all avenues of dialogue." The decision came hours after Paz signed an agree»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The conflict in the Middle East poses inflationary risks to the Russian economy, and these risks would subside if the conflict ends, Central Bank of Russia (CBR) Governor Elvira Nabiullina said. "We have said that the longer the conflict drags on, the greater the pro-inflationary»»»

Human Rights Watch has accused Bulgarian authorities of approving exports of surveillance technologies to countries with documented human rights concerns, raising new questions about the effectiveness of EU export controls on dual-use equipment. The claims are based on an analysis published by HRW,»»»

Anthony Fauci used his position as the leading Covid-19 adviser under two US administrations to steer scrutiny away from the so-called lab leak theory and protect himself from possible accountability, outgoing US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has alleged. She claimed the effort in»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The United States is working with Qatar on a plan to grant Iran access to $6 billion in frozen assets for humanitarian spending, The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday, citing informed sources. The initiative is being considered as an incentive for Iran to conclude a compre»»»

Miami, United States: Tori Penso has refereed a Women's World Cup final, worked in Major League Soccer, and now taken charge of a match at the men's World Cup. The American is one of six women officiating at the tournament in Canada, Mexico and the United States, where female officials are taking o»»»