POLISTENA: Italy’s southern Calabria region is the rare place in Europe where Cuba sends medical professionals under a long-running program that the United States wants to stamp out. Cuba’s doctors for decades have worked in developing nations such as Gambia and Venezuela, skilled in providing care»»»

BEIRUT, Lebanon: Lebanon demands Israel’s withdrawal from two “pilot zones” in the south as a condition for participating in the next round of direct negotiations in Rome next week, a diplomatic source familiar with the talks told AFP on Wednesday. The two sides had previously met for five rounds o»»»

DUBAI: Four years ago, Morocco smashed the glass ceiling for Arab teams at the World Cup. A sensational run to the semifinal, where they lost 2-0 to France, goes beyond the wildest dreams of even European and South American nations, never mind those from the region. Arab teams from North Africa hav»»»

PARIS: A wildfire in central France has endangered residents of the town of Morthomiers and threatens to reach a nearby industrial site where KNDS produces munitions, which would pose a risk for explosions and further fires, local officials said on Thursday. KNDS confirmed the munitions production »»»

Ankara, July 8 (SANA) US Presidential Special Envoy for Syria and Iraq Thomas Barrack said that his high-level meeting with President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Ankara on Wednesday, attended by a delegation of members of the US Congress, reflects Syria’s importance and underscores its pivotal role in shapi»»»

Europe faces an estimated €70bn annual bill to adapt to climate change, but as deadly heatwaves and wildfires intensify across the continent, questions remain over who should pay. The European Parliament approved €144.1m in aid to Spain, Romania and Cyprus this week to recover from wildfires, flood»»»

Lebanon demands Israel's withdrawal from two "pilot zones" in the south before participating in the next round of direct talks in Rome next week, a diplomatic source told AFP on Wednesday. The source, requesting anonymity, said "Lebanon is stipulating Israel's withdrawal from two pilot zones in ord»»»

LONDON: Ahmed Al-Sharaa, the president of the Syrian Arab Republic, has held talks on ties and regional development with American members of Congress and US Special Presidential Envoy for Syria and Iraq Tom Barrack. The officials met on Wednesday in Ankara, where Turkiye is hosting the 36th NATO Su»»»

July 7 (UPI) -- A group of students from Italy's University of Pisa constructed a paper plane with a wingspan of 65.75 feet and flew it a distance of 193.5 feet to break a Guinness World Record. The students, who dubbed their group Project Icarus, hand-constructed the airplane exclusively from pape»»»

European NATO countries, plus Canada, attending the alliance's annual summit in Turkey agreed Wednesday to spend $50 billion over the next 10 years to develep new ground-based "deep precision strike capabilities" as part of a drive to take over responsbility from the United States for their own def»»»

The Netherlands has run out of options for continued direct military assistance to Ukraine, Defense Minister Dilan Yesilgoz-Zegerius has said. The EU and NATO member has been an active supporter of Kiev in its conflict with Moscow, including by supplying US-made F-16 fighter jets as part of a schem»»»

LONDON - Serbia's top-ranked tennis player Novak Djokovic is through to the Wimbledon semi-finals after a (12-10), 3-6, 6-3, 6-7 (4-7), 7-6 (10-4) victory over Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime in the quarter-finals on Tuesday evening. Djokovic, who has seven career titles at Wimbledon, won after five»»»

In a 147-14 vote with one abstention on Wednesday, Parliament re-elected for a second term Antoan Gechev as head of the State Intelligence Agency. He will have a term of five years from June 17, 2026. He was backed by Progressive Bulgaria, GERB-UDF and Vazrazhdane. Democratic Bulgaria voted against»»»

ANKARA: President Donald Trump surprised NATO leaders he is meeting with in Turkiye by launching a series of strikes on Iran late Tuesday and revoking a license that allowed Tehran to sell its oil on the world market, a major twist for a summit that had been aimed at showcasing how alliance members»»»

LONDON: Along a stretch of desert where smugglers’ convoys often move as freely as state patrols, the borders separating Libya, Tunisia and Algeria have become the front line of a rapidly changing regional security crisis. Arms traffickers, extremist groups and migrant smuggling networks now operat»»»

CAIRO: As Egypt bowed out of the World Cup with a dramatic 3-2 defeat to a Lionel Messi-inspired Argentina in the last 16 on Tuesday, supporters in Cairo rose to applaud a team that had taken the country further than ever before. “We’re heartbroken because we believed we could go even further,” sai»»»

A parcel bomb exploded in Monaco on June 30 seriously injuring three people. On Tuesday, police in Ukraine announced they found the suspect dead and arrested two other people. Photo by Sebastien Nogier/EPA July 7 (UPI) -- The main suspect in a Monaco bombing was found dead Tuesday in Ukraine. The p»»»

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that the United States is not obliged to pay for European security, adding that all US troops may be removed from the region. "We don't have to spend any money, we could remove all of our soldiers out of Europe," Trump told reporters »»»

Wizz Air has introduced two new direct routes from Sofia to Palermo in Italy and Tirana in Albania, expanding its network from Bulgaria. The first flights on the new connections took off on July 4, 2026, with tickets available through the airline’s website and mobile application starting at €19.99 »»»

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said that Turkiye's ownership of Russian S-400 air defense systems are not a source of concern amid renewed interest in the potential sale of US-made F-35 fighter jets to Ankara. Earlier in the day, the US president said that selling the f»»»

The body of the Ukrainian woman suspected of planting a parcel bomb in Monaco last week was found near Kyiv, the local newspaper Ukrainska Pravda reported Tuesday. Ukraine's prosecutor general's ‌office later confirmed the body was found and said they also detained an employee of ​Ukraine»»»

BELGRADE - Serbian Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure Aleksandra Sofronijevic met with Italian Deputy PM and Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Matteo Salvini in Belgrade on Tuesday. Sofronijevic said Serbia and Italy would be working together on a project of reinstating a»»»

Ankara: US President Donald Trump and his Nato counterparts are gathering in Turkey on Tuesday for a two-day summit that comes at a turning point in the organisation’s history as the United States steps back from its traditional security role in Europe. Ahead of the meeting in Ankara, Trump has ins»»»

Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors are due to hold direct talks in Rome this month, Italy's foreign ministry said Tuesday, after several rounds of discussions in Washington aimed at de-escalation. "We welcome with pleasure the announcement that the next round of talks between Israel and Lebanon media»»»

JERUSALEM: Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar confirmed on Tuesday that the next round of talks with Lebanon will take place in Rome, as the two countries work to build on a framework agreement reached last month with US backing. “Less than two weeks ago, Israel, Lebanon and the United States rea»»»

Imagine a Hollywood movie. It’s a thriller about a big bad secret. One of those that have far-reaching, even earth-shaking political stakes attached to them; the sort of ‘this-changes-everything’ information that, if revealed, can topple governments, break up alliances, and redefine friends and ene»»»

BELGRADE - The Serbia men's national basketball team beat Bosnia and Herzegovina 94-81 (27-15, 27-20, 21-24, 19-22) at home in the last FIBA World Cup 2027 European Qualifiers Group C game on Monday evening. At the Aleksandar Nikolic Hall in Belgrade, Nikola Jovic led Serbia to victory with 32 poin»»»

BELGRADE - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic received Italian PM and Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Matteo Salvini in Belgrade on Monday to discuss further advancement of bilateral cooperation in road, railway and water transport, connectivity and implementation of joint projects. Vucic »»»

On the eve of a key NATO summit, Donald Trump reignited his feud with Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni by sharing a doctored image on Truth Social, captioned “restraining order needed.” The altered image is based on genuine G7 footage but changes Meloni's facial expression to make her appear e»»»

Mine-clearing operations are among the most dangerous tasks at sea. Now, despite the 60-day ceasefire under the US-Iran memorandum, a British- and French-led naval mission to clear sea mines from the Strait of Hormuz has drawn an immediate warning from Iran. This exposing the fragility of a ceasefi»»»

ARLINGTON, TEXAS: Mikel Merino netted in stoppage time to send Spain into the World Cup quarter-finals with a cagey 1-0 win over Portugal on Monday as Cristiano Ronaldo likely said goodbye to the World Cup. Merino expertly finished off fellow substitute Ferran Torres' through-ball a minute after th»»»

ROME: Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council Jasem Albudaiwi and Antonio Tajani, Italy’s deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs and international cooperation, signed a memorandum of understanding in Rome on Monday to expand cooperation in political dialogue, knowledge exch»»»

US President Donald Trump has suggested that he may need a restraining order against Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, reviving a public feud between the two leaders. The Italian prime minister last month dismissed Trump’s claim that she had desperately been seeking a photo opportunity with hi»»»

Sharjah has further cemented its reputation as a global destination for the jewellery industry after the 57th Watch & Jewellery Middle East Show concluded with record business activity, strong international participation and a significant rise in buyer spending. The five-day exhibition, organised b»»»

North Korea's new ambassador to Austria has assumed the post, Pyongyang's state media reported Monday. This September 2023 photo shows a North Korean flag at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China. File Photo by Yonhap North Korea's new ambassador to Austria has assumed the post, as he presented his cr»»»

Istanbul, Turkiye: Ankara hopes its hosting of an upcoming NATO summit will cement its rise as a key European security partner, building on the rapid growth of its defence industry despite resistance from some allies. The two-day summit opens on Tuesday with the Defence Industry Forum -- once a sid»»»

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump on Sunday posted a falsified image of former President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle Obama, waving before boarding an Air Force One that had been spray-painted with graffiti. It came months after another racist post by the president that showed the couple as»»»

Dubai: Every day, people across the UAE pack up their lives. Many are arriving to start a new job. Others are moving into a bigger apartment. Some are leaving the country after years of calling it home. Amid the boxes and moving trucks, one thing often gets left behind, belongings that still have y»»»

Doha: Qatar Stars League champions Al Sadd have appointed Romanian Razvan Lucescu as their new head coach on a two-year contract until 2028, the club announced on Sunday. Lucescu replaces Roberto Mancini, who left the club after one season and is widely expected to return to the Italy national team»»»

Ivan Ivanov received the 2025 International Tennis Federation junior world champion award at the World Tennis Champions Awards ceremony at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London on Sunday. Ivanov is the first Bulgarian tennis player to receive the prestigious International Tennis Federation award»»»

ATHENS: Hundreds of firefighters battled wildfires in Portugal and Greece Sunday, with Spain and Italy sending reinforcements to Portugal to help battle a massive blaze burning for more than three days. In Greece, authorities on Sunday urged residents of parts of Thessaloniki, the second-largest Gr»»»

Barcelona: Hundreds of firefighters battled forest infernos in France, Spain and Portugal on Sunday as temperatures rose again in heatwave-scarred Europe. The latest wildfires have already devastated more than 17,000 hectares (42,000 acres) of land -- twice the size of Manhattan -- across the three»»»

Bulgaria is among the European countries benefiting from the continued expansion of the short-term rental market, as bookings through platforms such as Airbnb, Booking, and Expedia maintained strong growth across the European Union during the first quarter of 2026. According to the latest figures, »»»

LONDON: Two gaping holes were blasted into the women’s draw at Wimbledon on Saturday as defending champion Iga Swiatek was outplayed by Filipino crowd-pleaser Alexandra Eala and second seed Elena Rybakina was sent packing by Belgian Elize Mertens. Disgruntled Polish third seed Swiatek lost a titani»»»

Agencies Small business owners in US tourist destinations say they’re seeing more Americans sticking closer to home this summer, trading overseas travel for road trips, choosing daylong sojourns over extended beach stays, and cooking instead of eating out while on vacation to save money. The report»»»

TORRE BERETTI, Italy: Summer came too early to Europe’s most important rice growing region and weeds are taking over Sharon Angoli’s parched paddies in Italy’s Pavia province. “That one is done for, no matter what happens,” the 22-year-old said as she surveyed one desolate field that has been baked»»»

Pope Leo XIV greets migrants at the Favaloro Pier to bless a plaque dedicating the pier to late Pope Francis during his pastoral visit to the island of Lampedusa, Italy, Saturday. Photo by Ciro Fusco/EPA July 4 (UPI) -- Pope Leo XIV, the first American pope, spent his second Fourth of July as the p»»»

BEIRUT: Shortly after Egypt made history by reaching a World Cup 16th round for first time by beating Australia, their coach celebrated the victory by waving a Palestinian flag. Hossam Hassan’s players had just won their Round of 32 match against Australia in a penalty shootout at Dallas Stadium on»»»

Lampedusa, Italy: Pope Leo XIV on Saturday pressed Europe to do more to protect and integrate migrants as he visited Italy's Lampedusa island, a major port of call for those risking the perilous crossing from Africa. His trip to the migration frontline was a stark message to both EU and US leaders »»»

Pope Leo XIV arrived on Saturday on Italy's Lampedusa island, a major port of call for migrants who risked the perilous crossing from North Africa, in a symbolic rebuke to the anti-immigrant rhetoric coming from US and EU political factions. Pope Leo XIV on Saturday visited Italy's Lampedusa island»»»