Washington, July 31 (SANA) U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that a new agreement had been reached to advance his plan for ending the war in Gaza, including the disarmament of Hamas and other armed groups and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the territory. Agreement details Trump said»»»

DUBAI: US actress Zendaya turned to an Arab label yet again at this week’s premiere of “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” in London, showing off jewels by Lebanese brand Mouawad. The star wore the Mouawad Majestic earrings and ring. “Together, the creations showcase 46.55 carats of D–F color, FL–VS2 clari»»»

RETHYMNO, Greece: Greek firefighters continued on Friday to battle a wildfire ravaging parts of the tourist island of Crete, although conditions had improved, authorities said. “The situation around Rethymno is better,” a fire department spokesperson told AFP. But the blaze “has not yet been contai»»»

Dubai: Property buyers, sellers, landlords and tenants in Abu Dhabi Global Market will have a new way to identify high-performing brokers after the financial centre activated its Broker Classification Framework. Get updated faster and for FREE: Download the Gulf News app now - simply click here.The»»»

Wars often end not because one side wins decisively, but because both sides discover they have more to gain from stability than perpetual escalation. If there is one place where that logic applies today, it is the Strait of Hormuz — the narrow waterway between Iran and Oman through which one-fifth »»»

Six cities in Kyrgyzstan and Azerbaijan have established sister-city relations. Memorandums of Cooperation were signed on July 31 as part of the meeting between the presidents of the two countries. The agreements were signed between Shusha in Azerbaijan and Cholpon-Ata in Kyrgyzstan, Gabala and Kar»»»

Kyrgyzstan and Azerbaijan signed a memorandum on the supply of petroleum products. Energy Minister Altynbek Rysbekov told reporters. According to him, Azerbaijan has expressed its willingness to supply fuel to Kyrgyzstan. The parties are currently developing cooperation mechanisms. «A roadmap is be»»»

Doha, Qatar: The Gulf Football Federation has unveiled a new visual identity and officially adopted the name Gulf Football Federation, replacing its previous title, the Arabian Gulf Cup Football Federation. The federation said the rebranding reflects its core values of trust, dynamism and modernity»»»

Hungary’s governing Tisza Party has maintained its commanding lead over Fidesz despite several weeks of heated political debates, according to the latest opinion poll by the Republikon Institute. The survey suggests that recent domestic political controversies have had little impact on voter prefer»»»

US President Donald Trump has said that his Board of Peace has reached an agreement to disarm Hamas and all other armed groups in Gaza. Meanwhile, mediator Pakistan insists that negotiations between Iran and the United States are ongoing, even as Washington carried out a "h»»»

TradeGermanyBMW to Volkswagen: How deep is Germany's auto industry cull?Nik MartinBMW joins VW, Porsche and Mercedes-Benz in cutting thousands of jobs, as Chinese rivals erode their market share. DW recaps the major reforms German automakers are pursuing to safeguard their future. https://p.dw.com/»»»

A boy has fallen into a coma after being electrocuted on a street in Bishkek. He is currently in the intensive care unit of the City Children’s Emergency Hospital. The medical facility told 24.kg news agency that the 9-year-old child was admitted on July 26. «He was brought in unconscious and not b»»»

Doha: Saudi Arabia has been confirmed as the host of the next three editions of the AFC Champions League Elite (ACL) finals after the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Executive Committee approved the country’s provisional hosting rights yesterday. Saudi Arabia has staged the first two editions of»»»

Doha, Qatar: Qatar were handed challenging groups in the men’s and women’s 3×3 basketball competitions following the draw for the 20th Asian Games Aichi–Nagoya 2026, with the men’s team set for a Gulf derby against Bahrain. The Asian Games will take place from September 19 to October 4. In the men’»»»

Doha, Qatar: Bahrain completed a perfect campaign with four consecutive victories to emerge champions of the Gulf U-18 qualifiers in Doha, while Qatar came second in the five-team competition. Both Qatar and Bahrain earned qualification for the FIBA U-18 Asia Cup which will be held in Ahmedabad, In»»»

DUBAI: With the 2026 Esports World Cup halfway through, the next few days will see four champions crowned, with the OWCS Midseason Championship, Call of Duty: Warzone Resurgence Series Championship, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang’s Mid Season Cup, and Street Fighter 6 concluding in week four. With 10 to»»»

Bulgaria will continue operating its MiG-29 fighter jets to protect its airspace and meet its NATO obligations until the new F-16 Block 70 aircraft become fully operational, Defense Minister Dimitar Stoyanov said in a written response to a parliamentary question. The response, published on the Nati»»»

Parliament has approved the final amendments to Bulgaria's Electoral Code, restoring mandatory machine voting in larger polling stations and introducing a series of other changes that will apply ahead of the country's upcoming elections. Under the new rules, polling stations with more than 300 regi»»»

Abu Dhabi: 2PointZero Group reported net profit of Dh7.7 billion for the first half of 2026, supported by Dh2.2 billion from its operating businesses and one-off gains across its investment portfolio, including SpaceX and Anthropic. Get updated faster and for FREE: Download the Gulf News app now - »»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Russian armed forces continued to strike at the port infrastructure of Ukraine and naval vessels used in the interests of the armed forces of Ukraine, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Friday. "On the evening of July 30, the armed forces of Russia continued to launch attac»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - European countries are constantly demanding a seat at the negotiating table on the Ukraine conflict, but Europe refuses to listen to Russia's position, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said. "I think everyone has heard these statements. Statements from [EU for»»»

A few months ago, we launched our series in which we provided weekly summaries of the news from Hungary’s election campaign. The series continues so that we can report on developments following the historic election and on the steps taken by the new Tisza government. This week, we cover the followi»»»

Since the 1970s, Robert Einhorn has played a prominent role on arms control and nuclear non-proliferation in the United States, either as a federal employee or as a think tank expert. Now a senior fellow at Brookings, he was previously a State Department Assistant Secretary for Non-Proliferation an»»»

Dubai: When temperatures rise and many UAE residents pack their bags for summer holidays, some businesses prepare for quieter days. But for a growing number of small business owners, summer is not simply a slow season, it is a test of strategy, resilience, and creativity. Across various sectors, en»»»

Israeli forces carried out a series of detonations overnight near the UNESCO-listed Beaufort castle in southern Lebanon, Lebanese state media reported Friday, with Israel saying it had destroyed tunnels used by the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group. "Israeli forces triggered very powerful explos»»»

Israeli occupation forces carried out heavy bombardment in southern Lebanon at midnight on Thursday, triggering a series of powerful explosions that reverberated across the area, Al-Manar correspondent reported. The strikes targeted the Shaqif area, where massive explosions were reported, with thei»»»

Doha, Qatar: The Qatar Central Bank’s Real Time Gross Settlement System (RTGS) settled around 497 million large value electronic transactions worth QR10.26 trillion on a gross basis in last year, QCB revealed in its latest Financial Stability Review 2025. In addition, RTGS settled batches of net in»»»

Doha: The Group 1 Qatar Nassau Stakes featured a competitive field of high-quality fillies, combining proven older runners with rapidly improving three-year-olds over the 1m2f distance. The race lived up to expectations as these talented contenders battled for victory in one of the festival’s most »»»

Doha, Qatar: The Youth Committee of Al Arabi Sports Club, in cooperation with the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, organised a public awareness lecture titled “Avoiding Gloating” as part of its 2026 summer activities aimed at strengthening moral values and promoting positive behaviour among y»»»

Doha, Qatar: The Katara Cultural Village Foundation concluded its 2026 summer camps after weeks of cultural, artistic, and scientific activities that witnessed significant engagement from participants and their parents. Parents praised the camps’ organisation and high-quality content, as well as th»»»

One of the Trump administration’s more measured hands in national security and foreign policy, US Ambassador to the United Nations Michael Waltz was rushed out in front of the cameras last week to extinguish a diplomatic fire. In live interviews with Face the Nation and Meet the Press, he was asked»»»

Kyrgyzstan’s election to a two-year term on the United Nations Security Council came after a diligent campaign to gain support for its candidacy. It means a Central Asian state will have a seat on the UN’s most powerful body for the second time since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Attention now »»»

Wildberries warehouse in Ryzan was hit by Ukrainian drones on July 29 and burnt to the ground.  A Ukrainian drone strike hit a Wildberries logistics warehouse in Ryazan overnight on July 28-29, forcing the company to evacuate the site and halt deliveries. The destruction of Russia’s biggest re»»»

Chasiv Yar, one of the longest and most fought-over battles in the Donbas of the Ukraine war, has fallen to Russian forces, with the last Ukrainian holdouts withdrawing from the southwestern part of the city in the past week, the open-source tracker AMK Mapping reported on July 29. The city, reduce»»»

Singapore, July 31 (SANA) Twenty-five vessels carrying commodities passed through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait on Thursday, while traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remained sharply reduced, according to data from shipping analytics firm Kpler.Reuters, citing Kpler data, reported that 18 vessels ente»»»

The Vazrazhdane party is calling for a meeting of the Security Council under the Council of Ministers and a meeting of Parliament's Deputy Chairpersons and the Floor Leaders over the phone conversation between the foreign ministers of Bulgaria and Iran on Thursday. "We will demand that Bulgaria, th»»»

Turkey is interested in participating in a new security initiative for Lebanon when the 7,500-member U.N. peacekeeping mission in the south of the country expires at the end of the year, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said during a joint press statement with his Lebanese counterpart on Thur»»»

Houthi rebels in Yemen said they attacked Saudi oil facilities. The Saudis blamed militias in Iraq and joined the United States in bombing them. Iran fired missiles at Jordan. Drones set ships ablaze in Egypt. But it's not actually as complicated as it sounds, and it's all related to the broader wa»»»

Doha, Qatar: Qatar’s General Directorate of Civil Defense has intensified fire prevention efforts during the summer season, focusing on public awareness campaigns and compliance with safety requirements to reduce risks to lives and property. Despite increased awareness, officials said some unsafe p»»»

Doha, Qatar: Al Khor Cultural Center, affiliated with the Ministry of Culture (MoC), held a training session on the traditional dance Al-Ardha at Al Khor Sports Club in cooperation with Nomas Center. Presented by Omran Al Kuwari, the session aimed to instill pride in national identity at a young ag»»»

A Russian man apprehended in the Nizhny Novgorod region was collecting intelligence on Russian military-industrial enterprises for the Ukrainian special services, Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said in a statement. The detainee is a member of the Artpodgotovka terrorist organization banned»»»

Rome: Italian defender Franco Baresi, the captain of AC Milan in the 1980s and 1990s when they won three European Cups and six Italian league titles, has died at the age of 66, the club announced on Friday. "Milan is in tears following the passing of Franco Baresi. His example and integrity will be»»»

On July 31, 1974, Watergate figure John Ehrlichman was sentenced to prison for his role in the break-in at the office of Daniel Ellsberg's psychiatrist. 1 of 4 | On July 31, 1974, Watergate figure John Ehrlichman was sentenced to prison for his role in the break-in at the office of Daniel Ellsberg'»»»

July 31 (UPI) -- Rescue crews searching for 10 missing mountaineers following an avalanche on Pakistan's Broad Peak mountain found four bodies, officials said Friday. The expedition was led by renowned mountaineer Nirmal Pruja and included American climber and wellness entrepreneur Mallory Geis. Ma»»»

More than 31% of public procurement contracts awarded over the past five years, with a total value exceeding EUR 17 billion, were awarded following procedures with only one bidder, Innovation and Digital Transformation Minister Ivan Vasilev said in an interview with the Bulgarian National Televisio»»»

PARIS: World football’s governing body FIFA vowed on Friday to press ahead with an “open and democratic” consultation on a proposed private investment plan despite widespread opposition to the proposal. That opposition included a pledge by Europe’s governing body UEFA to boycott the World Cup if FI»»»

RIYADH: The Esports Foundation and adidas have announced a landmark partnership that will outfit every national team at the inaugural Esports Nations Cup, the sport’s first country-based event, taking place from Nov. 2 in Riyadh. As Official Kit Partner and a Global Partner of the ENC, adidas will »»»

ATHR Gallery at Art Basel Muhannad Shono, Art Basel. (Supplied) Saudi art gallery ATHR presented two new projects by Saudi artists at Art Basel Unlimited this year. Zahrah Alghamdi’s “Streams Move Oceans” (pictured TKTK) is a 15-meter suspended knotted-textile installation. “Alghamdi anchors her sp»»»

DUBAI: Most Valuable Promotions and the Professional Fighters League have announced a landmark merger, creating a new home of combat sports under the MVP banner. The transaction accelerates MVP’s expansion into mixed martial arts following the success of MVP MMA 1. The merger creates a global sport»»»

A specialised national forest firefighting module will be deployed to Greece from 1 August to 15 September under the pre-positioning programme organised by the Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG ECHO), with the aim of supporting the Greek authoriti»»»