TEHRAN (Sputnik) - Iran controls the Strait of Hormuz, and no maritime movement is possible without the permission of the country's military, Iranian Army Chief of Staff Habibollah Sayyari said on Wednesday. "No movements in the Strait of Hormuz will be carried out without the permission of the Ira»»»

LONDON: Syrian Civil Defense teams extinguished a large forest fire on Tuesday in Latakia province after more than 10 hours of work in what firefighters described as extremely hazardous conditions. The blaze began in the village of Kabineh during a mine-clearing operation by Syrian Defense Ministry»»»

Telegram fouinder and CEO Pavel Durov was the target of a international warrant issued by Moscow which wants him on charges the app was used to organize terror attacks in Russia. File Photo by Nick Lubushko/Wikipedia Commons July 29 (UPI) -- Russia issued an international arrest warrant Wednesday f»»»

Dubai: Some of the UAE's most important stories live quietly in family homes, passed down through conversations, photographs, and memories, until someone decides to preserve them. For 20-year-old Emirati filmmaker Noor Al Qasimi, that someone was her. As a third-year film student in Sharjah, she ha»»»

Doha: Qatar Toy Festival 2026, organised by Qatar Calendar in collaboration with Spacetoon Group, has been extended until 4 August, giving families more time to enjoy the festival. Taking place at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center (DECC), the festival continues to offer an immersive experie»»»

The Hungarian government led by Peter Magyar has alleged that the previous administration under Viktor Orban committed more than HUF70bn (€175mn) in state-funded infrastructure investment and an undisclosed direct subsidy worth billions of forints to Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD for its flags»»»

Amid the climate crisis and glacier melt, mountainous Kyrgyzstan recorded 348 mudflows in the first half of 2026, the highest total in 30-40 years. Eight people lost their lives in the local disasters. The number of mudslides is also nearly five times the roughly 70 recorded in the same period of 2»»»

Private bank Lombard Odier has been fined 3mn Swiss francs ($3.7mn) for failing to prevent money laundering in relation to criminal activities of Gulnara Karimova, the 54-year-old disgraced daughter of former Uzbek president Islam Karimov. In a July 27 ruling, the Swiss Federal Criminal Court said »»»

Ukraine's scam call-centre industry generates as much as $1bn a month, according to a new report by the Geneva-based Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC), which estimates that around 60,000 Ukrainians — roughly two-thirds the headcount of the country's legal banking sect»»»

Ukraine has relied heavily on Starlink since the beginning of the conflict, prompting Russian forces to begin testing electronic warfare (EW) methods to disrupt the network almost immediately, military expert and editor of Arsenal of the Fatherland magazine Alexey Leonkov tells Sputnik. "Battlefiel»»»

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia will on Thursday observe World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, which aims to raise awareness of human exploitation and protect victims’ rights. This year’s theme, “Trapped Behind the Scam,” seeks to highlight the plight of those deceived into working, often under the threat»»»

1 of 2 | Anthony Fauci is facing the Senate Homeland Security Committee in a hearing discussing COVID-19 on Wednesday and he has invoked the Fifth Amendment for Chairman Sen. Rand Paul’s questions. File Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo July 29 (UPI) -- Anthony Fauci is facing the Senate Home»»»

The deadlines for processing applications in the Commercial Register and the Register of Non-Profit Legal Entities were on the agenda of a meeting between the new management of the Registry Agency (RA), represented by Executive Director Eliana Ilieva and her deputy Nikolay Minev, and the nationally»»»

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia is expected to account for the largest share of fixed-income maturities in the Gulf Cooperation Council over the next five years, with $167.4 billion of bonds and sukuk due between 2026 and 2030, a new analysis showed. In its latest report, Kamco Invest said the Kingdom will le»»»

JEDDAH: The third edition of the International Nuclear Science Olympiad, featuring 120 students and experts from 19 countries, gets underway in Jeddah on Sunday. Established by the International Atomic Energy Agency in 2024, the weeklong event promotes the peaceful use of nuclear science and techno»»»

Justice Minister Nikolay Naydenov said on Wednesday that a priority should be to elect a new Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), which should assess the conduct of those responsible for what he described as serious abuses and failures within the judicial system, before any personnel decisions are made.»»»

President Sadyr Japarov signed amendments to the constitutional law «On the Elections of the President and Deputies of the Zhogorku Kenesh of the Kyrgyz Republic.» According to the document, elections in Kyrgyzstan will be held on Wednesdays, rather than Sundays, as was previously the case. Specifi»»»

BELGRADE - The Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade has appealed a ruling handed down by the Higher Court in Belgrade to the parents of a teenage boy who killed nine pupils and a security staff member and wounded six other people in a shooting spree in his primary school in central Belgrad»»»

SOLNECHNOGORSK, Russia (Sputnik) - The West uses Ukraine as a battering ram to try to destroy Russia and is not even hiding this fact, Russian Deputy Security Council Chairman Dmitry Medvedev said on Wednesday. "[Western countries are] using all means, and now they are using Ukraine as a battering »»»

ROME: Saudi Arabia and Italy on Wednesday called for the protection of commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, Bab Al-Mandab and the Red Sea following a series of attacks and threats against vessels in waterways vital to global trade and energy supplies. In a joint declaration following t»»»

London: Just over half of England has been declared in drought after “record-low rain and exceptionally high temperatures”, the UK government said Wednesday. It follows what is set to be the driest July on record, with just seven percent of expected rainfall nationwide and some parts of southern En»»»

LONDON: Israeli forces demolished a Palestinian-owned artesian water well on Wednesday in the Tubas Governorate in the northeastern area of the West Bank, according to local officials. The well, in the Ras Al-Ahmar and Atouf area, belonged to Saleh Naji Bani Odeh, said Mutaz Bisharat, a Tubas offic»»»

Asked whether Bulgaria was negotiating the acquisition of MiG-29 aircraft, the Defence Ministry told BTA it had sent inquiries to several countries, including Poland and Hungary, about available aircraft and spare parts. It added that, in parallel, it was exploring options for acquiring used F-16 a»»»

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump on Wednesday said the US military will hit Iran “hard” after a missile attack against US bases in Jordan, Fox News reported.“We’ll be hitting them hard. They’re going to get a beating,” Fox’s correspondent quoted Trump as saying, adding that the US president used »»»

New Delhi: The award-winning architects behind the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza will design India’s first startup museum in Bengaluru, the country’s leading tech and IT hub. Set to open in 2028, the Museum of Innovation and Startup Technology is a public-private partnership project between the Kar»»»

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index fell 134.01 points, or 1.25 percent, to close Wednesday at 10,544.10. Total trading turnover reached SR5.29 billion ($1.41 billion), with 305.45 million shares changing hands. Market breadth was negative, with 199 stocks declining and 55 advancing. The»»»

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday the United States will launch a powerful strike against Iran in response to the recent Iranian attack on an airbase in Jordan. In the early hours of Wednesday, IRNA reported that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps fired several b»»»

RIYADH: Al-Lith’s waterfront overlooking the Red Sea has become one of the Makkah Region’s leading tourism and leisure destinations, serving as a year-round attraction for residents and visitors. The waterfront features seating areas, walking paths and open recreational spaces, while hosting nation»»»

Chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture Rep. David Scott, D-Ga., speaks during a hearing with Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack in 2021. Scott died in April, and the race to replace him for the rest of this year has just advanced to a runoff. File Photo by Sarah Silbiger/UPI | License Pho»»»

Mumbai: Malabar Gold & Diamonds, the world's fourth-largest jewellery retailer and a responsible jeweller, today announced MS Dhoni as its Brand Ambassador, marking the beginning of a long-term association centred around The Responsible Jeweller, the brand's philosophy of taking responsibility beyo»»»

MAKKAH: Among Saudi Arabia’s volcanic landscapes, few are as striking as Al-Wahbah Crater, a vast natural formation whose dramatic cliffs and sweeping views preserve a geological history stretching back hundreds of thousands of years. As nature tourism expands under Vision 2030, the crater has beco»»»

SPA Jeddah The Makkah Development Authority and the Ministry of Tourism signed a memorandum of understanding to strengthen cooperation, support tourism development in the region, and improve the planning and implementation of joint initiatives and projects. The agreement includes cooperation on stu»»»

Paris, France: AFP photo editor Maximilien Lamy was on holiday with his partner and daughter last week when he took a series of snapshots of vacationers in fire-struck southwest France with his smartphone. His instinct was to photograph, but he did not expect one of his lakeside snapshots to go aro»»»

Washington, United States: President Donald Trump on Wednesday said the US military will be hitting Iran "hard" after a missile attack against US bases in Jordan, Fox News reported. "We'll be hitting them hard. They're going to get a beating," Fox's correspondent quoted Trump as saying, adding that»»»

Dubai: Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank reported an 8% increase in first-half net profit after tax to Dh3.8 billion, supported by strong customer financing growth, higher revenue and continued expansion across its retail and wholesale businesses. Sign up for our daily business newsletter, Cheques & Balances.»»»

BAGHDAD (Sputnik) - Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Faleh Al-Zaidi will convene an emergency meeting of the National Security Council on Wednesday in response to airstrikes launched by the United States and Saudi Arabia on Shiite militia facilities, the Iraqi government's Security Media Cell said. "Prime »»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Italian company Fincantieri, Europe’s largest shipbuilding group, posted record profits and orders amid the accelerated militarization of European countries, Sputnik found on Wednesday after reviewing the company's industrial plans. Fincantieri, which works closely with the defen»»»

Travelling by taxi in Budapest will become more expensive from Saturday, when the latest amendment to the city’s taxi fare regulation takes effect. Higher base fare, distance and time charges approved by the city Under the new pricing, the base fare will increase from HUF 1,100 to HUF 1,300, while »»»

The UAE Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE) announced that it completed nearly 16 million digital transactions during the first half of this year through an intelligent, AI-powered service ecosystem, underscoring the ministry’s transformation from simply digitising procedures to b»»»

MPs passed at first and second reading on Wednesday the bill tabled by Progressive Bulgaria (PB) to amend the Act on Administrative Regulation of Economic Activities Associated with Oil and Petroleum Products. The amendment follows the Constitutional Court’s ruling of July 21, which declared provis»»»

Dubai: Travellers flying between the UAE and Egypt could see more flight options in the coming years after the two countries agreed to gradually expand bilateral air traffic rights over the next five years. Sign up for our daily business newsletter, Cheques & Balances.The understanding was signed o»»»

JEDDAH: Located in Jeddah’s Al-Shatea district, Wildflower offers a health-conscious dining concept centered on generous sharing plates, contemporary presentation and flavors inspired by Saudi, Arab and Mediterranean cuisine. The interior has a contemporary, London-inspired feel, with floor-to-ceil»»»

President Joseph Aoun on Wednesday stressed that wars lead to no positive outcome and only bring “destruction to countries and poverty to their people.” "Hence our emphasis on the necessity of adopting diplomacy. Wars end in only two ways: either both sides realize their inability to end the confli»»»

Arab Finance: Misr El-Gedida has secured Gold Certification under the Green Pyramid Rating System (GPRS) for the first phase of its Jadinah development in New Heliopolis, making it the first sustainable residential project in Egypt to receive the certification, as per a disclosure. The certificatio»»»

MPs passed at first reading on Wednesday the bill tabled by Progressive Bulgaria (PB) to amend the Act on Administrative Regulation of Economic Activities Associated with Oil and Petroleum Products. The amendment follows the Constitutional Court’s ruling of July 21, which declared provisions relati»»»

President Donald Trump on Wednesday said the U.S. military will be hitting Iran "hard" after a missile attack against U.S. bases in Jordan, Fox News reported. "We'll be hitting them hard. They're going to get a beating," Fox's correspondent quoted Trump as saying, adding that the U.S. president use»»»

Washington: Qatar's Internal Security Force (Lekhwiya) participated as an observer in the 20th edition of the Raven's Challenge explosives disposal drill in the United States. Lekhwiya's Explosives Group joined the exercise at Fort Devens, Massachusetts, to gain international expertise, exchange be»»»

Tokyo: The number of Japanese people living in the country has fallen below 120 million for the first time in 42 years, government data showed Wednesday, as the nation confronts a low birth rate and an ageing society. As of January 1, the population of Japanese residents in Japan stood at 119.74 mi»»»

BELGRADE - In the past seven and a half years, Serbia Zijin Copper has delivered 17 t of gold, or 1,356 gold ingots, to the National Bank of Serbia, the central bank said on Tuesday. In the period, the company has sold to the NBS the equivalent of Serbia's total gold reserves ten years ago, it said»»»

Peru's newly inaugurated President Keiko Fujimori – the ninth in just a decade – pledged to deploy the armed forces to crime-ridden areas and adopt a hardline security strategy as Peru grapples with its worst wave of gang violence, extortion and illegal mining in decades.  Peru's conservative »»»