A five-year roadmap for trade and economic cooperation between Pakistan and Uzbekistan is expected to be signed next week in Islamabad, according to media reports. The sides have set an ambitious target of increasing bilateral trade from $450 million to $2 billion within five years. Reliance on Afg»»»

July 17 (UPI) -- Italy returned to Mexico a collection of 27 pre-Columbian archaeological artifacts and fossils recovered during separate investigations into the illicit trafficking of cultural property, authorities from both countries said. The handover occurred Thursday at the Mexican Embassy in »»»

Jakarta: Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto said Friday that the government aims to complete a nationwide sugarcane replanting program within two years after plantations went more than a decade without large-scale rejuvenation. Speaking during a sugarcane harvest in Malang, East Java province, P»»»

Tunis: The Arab Interior Ministers Council has condemned Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks targeting Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan. The General Secretariat released a statement on Friday, slamming the attacks as a "flagrant violation" of international law and the principles of good ne»»»

GENEVA: The humanitarian situation in the Sudanese city of El-Obeid is worsening rapidly, the United Nations said Friday, as displacement camps swelled with new arrivals. The UN has been warning for weeks that atrocities similar to those committed during the paramilitary assault on the Darfur city »»»

Author: Caro Claire Burke Every so often I pick up a novel expecting a fun escape, only to end up questioning my own assumptions. Caro Claire Burke’s “Yesteryear” did exactly that. What initially seemed like a light historical mystery quickly became a thoughtful reflection on nostalgia, identity an»»»

Former Italian Prime Minister Aldo Moro is shown in 1978 after he was kidnapped by far-left Brigade Rosse (Red Brigades) movement. ANSA files/EPA July 17 (UPI) -- Nicaragua has severed diplomatic relations with Italy after Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani renewed calls for the extradition of»»»

TAPACHULA, México: A strong earthquake struck the southern Mexican Pacific coast on Friday, right on the border with Guatemala, and was felt from Mexico City to El Salvador. Authorities have not immediately reported any severe damage or casualties in any country. The US Geological Survey (USGS) rep»»»

VENICE: The billionaire US ambassador to Italy faced protests when he arrived in Venice on Friday aboard his luxury yacht as part of a coastal diplomacy tour marking the 250th anniversary of American independence. Activists described hospitality mogul Tilman Fertitta’s arrival as an unwelcome displ»»»

London: The mother of a British Sikh man imprisoned for fatally stabbing a white student was jailed by a court Friday for trying to hide the ceremonial knife used in the killing. Henry Nowak was handcuffed by police in December as he lay dying, after his attacker, Vickrum Digwa, falsely claimed tha»»»

The U.S. Navy Blue Angels performance team practiced over Fort Lauderdale beach in 2025. File Photo By Gary I Rothstein/UPI | License Photo July 17 (UPI) -- The U.S. Navy Acting Secretary Hung Cao blew off criticism of an unusually low-altitude flyover at Pensacola Beach this week. "No reprimands. »»»

Copenhagen: One person was killed and a policeman was wounded in Denmark on Friday when a gunman opened fire on officers responding to a call of a blaze in a building, police said. The shooter was badly wounded when police returned fire and was taken to hospital. His motive for the ambush was not k»»»

Two South African soldiers died on Friday after falling down a mine shaft during an operation targeting illicit mining, a police spokeswoman said. The deaths are the first military fatalities since President Cyril Ramaphosa deployed troops in March to bolster police operations against crime and ill»»»

Tunis, July 17, 2026 (TAP) - The stock market delivered a near-flawless performance over the past week, from July 13 to 17, 2026. Driven by a significant influx of liquidity into the stock exchange, the benchmark index recorded a marked...»»»

Abu Dhabi: The UAE has condemned in the strongest terms the hostile Iranian attack targeting the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) affirmed that this hostile attack constitutes a flagrant violation of the sovereignty of the Republic of Iraq and the Kur»»»

New York: US officials on Friday pinned the source of a diarrhea-causing foodborne parasite as shredded iceberg lettuce used by the fast food chain Taco Bell. A federal investigation by the Food and Drug Administration traced the contamination back to a single supplier of iceberg lettuce from Mexic»»»

NEW YORK: Saudi Arabia has established an advanced model for sustainable urban development, progressing from planning and policymaking to implementation and measurable impact, Minister of Municipalities and Housing Majed Al-Hogail has said. Guided by the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030, the Kingdom»»»

Fernando Jorge (L) and Serguey Torres of Cuba, and teams of Russia and Poland compete during semifinal men's canoe double (C2) 1000m semifinal at the Lagoa Stadium during the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in August 2016. File Photo by Orlando Barria/EPA July 17 (UPI) -- Nine mem»»»

The new Hungarian government “has engaged in intense reforms to restore the rule of law”, the European Commission said in its 2026 rule of law report published on Friday. “Following continued dialogue with the Commission under the Recovery and Resilience Plan and the general regime of conditionalit»»»

BEIRUT: A planned virtual meeting between Lebanese, Israeli and US military representatives to discuss the implementation of pilot zones in southern Lebanon was postponed on Friday, sources told Arab News. The meeting had been expected to focus on finalizing the pilot zones, setting a timetable for»»»

NEW YORK: Mikel Merino can smell and see the smoke from the Canadian wildfires that are making for hazy conditions across large parts of the US, including northern New Jersey where he and Spain are set to face Argentina in the World Cup final on Sunday. Merino is trying not to focus on it. It remai»»»

ATLANTA: Federal health officials have identified lettuce from Mexico served by Taco Bell locations across five US states as a source of the widespread outbreak of diarrhea-causing parasite cyclospora. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention late Thursday confirmed the source and warned cons»»»

RAFHA: The hottest period of summer in Saudi Arabia has begun, with several weeks of peak annual temperatures expected in most regions of the Kingdom. Barjas Al-Fulaih, of the Afaq Society for Astronomy, said this part of the season, which runs from mid-July until early August, is traditionally kno»»»

GAZA: An Israeli airstrike killed at least eight Palestinians and wounded 20 attending a funeral in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip on Friday for a person killed by another Israeli strike on the area earlier in the day, Gaza health officials said. Those deaths, along with at least three Palestin»»»

MOSCOW: Kazakhstan exported its ​first gasoline cargo to Russia in July, supplying about 1,000 ‌metric tons ‌to ​one ‌of ⁠the ​regions in ⁠Central Russia, industry sources said. Russia is facing gasoline ⁠shortages after ‌increased Ukrainian ‌drone ​attacks ‌on oil ‌refineries across the country, p»»»

BARCELONA: Almost two decades ago, photographer Joan Monfort didn’t think much of his photo shoot of a teenage Lionel Messi bathing a cute baby boy in a plastic bathtub. Not until the remarkable twist of fate became clear years later, when that infant blossomed into Lamine Yamal. Now those images o»»»

MADRID: Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez plans to attend Sunday’s World Cup final against Argentina, his office said Friday. Spanish King Felipe VI is also expected to watch the game in East Rutherford, New Jersey. US President Donald Trump will also be at the final. Sánchez and Trump have repe»»»

Tuxtla Gutiirrez: Southern Mexico and parts of Central America were hit by a 7.3 magnitude earthquake on Friday, according to the US Geological Service (USGS), with a tsunami alert issued for a stretch of the Pacific coast. Residents felt intense tremors in the Mexican states of Chiapas and Oaxaca »»»

Doha, Qatar: The State of Qatar strongly condemned the renewed attacks launched by the Islamic Republic of Iran against its territory, as well as against the territories of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the Kingdom of Bahrain, and the State of Kuwait, saying that it considers these attacks a fla»»»

BELGRADE - According to the results of a Ninamedia survey, short-term inflation expectations of the Serbian financial sector decreased from 4.0 pct in May to 3.6 pct in June and continued to move within a National Bank of Serbia (NBS) target band. "The sector’s medium-term expectations stayed almos»»»

France's ​main ​gambling sector regulator said ⁠on Friday it had ‌instructed the ‌country's ​internet service providers to ​block access ​to ​the Polymarket ​website, one of a number of online prediction markets that allow people to bet on the outcome of future events. The move aims to enforce»»»

The Israeli parliament, the Knesset, voted to dissolve Friday ahead of the October 27 election. File Photo by Debbie Hill/ UPI | License Photo July 17 (UPI) -- Israel's parliament, the Knesset, voted to dissolve on Friday after pushing through controversial legislation favorable to Prime Minister B»»»

First the storms, now the fires. President Emmanuel Macron has described the blazes in the Fontainebleau Forest as some of the worst since the end of World War II. The president visited the scene to show his support for the 950 firefighters still working to extinguish the flare-ups. Meanwhile, the »»»

The Grand Mosque of Paris, built in 1926 in the Latin Quarter as a tribute to Muslim soldiers who died for France during World War I, marks its 100th anniversary this year. French historian Benjamin Stora traces its little-known role as a geopolitical bridge – not only between France and Alger»»»

Dubai: The General Secretariat of the Council of Arab Interior Ministers has condemned Iran's latest attacks on Jordan, Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait, describing the missile and drone strikes as a flagrant violation of international law and the principles of good neighbourliness. In a statement issued »»»

After over a year and a half of the ongoing conflict, Russia has handed over more than 18,500 bodies of fallen Ukrainian soldiers, while Ukraine has returned just 569 in exchange, according to data from the Russian Ministry of Defense. Russia's peak transfers - up to 1,200–1,245 bodies at a time - »»»

Tunis, July 17 (TAP) - The progress made in the programme to regenerate historic town centres was discussed at a steering committee meeting held Friday and chaired by Infrastructure and Public Works Minister Salah Zouari and representatives of the...»»»

Tunis, July 17 (TAP) - Tunindex closed Friday's session up 1.47% to 21,552.73 points, taking its yearly performance to 60.2% with a high traded volume of TND 23.8 million, said broker Tunisie Valeurs. ASSURANCES MAGHREBIA shares were the best...»»»

The strengthening of parliamentary contacts and economic cooperation was the focus of talks between Parliament Chair Mihaela Dotsova and the President of the Landtag of the German federal state of Baden-Württemberg, Thomas Strobl, Parliament's press centre said on Friday. Germany is an important pa»»»

Bulgarian leaders denied any split in the country’s position on Ukraine on Friday as the government and opposition parties clashed over the Kyiv Declaration and Bulgaria’s relationship with the Coalition of the Willing. Prime Minister Rumen Radev and President Iliana Iotova said the document requir»»»

JEDDAH: Muslim World League Secretary-General and Chairman of the Organization of Muslim Scholars Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa opened Al-Rahman Mosque in Auckland, New Zealand, and delivered its first Friday sermon. Al-Issa also led worshippers in prayer following the mosque’s official in»»»

Tunis, July 17 (TAP) – The Tunisian Confederation of Citizen Enterprises (CONECT) has expressed concern over the impact of scheduled power outages on businesses across various sectors and regions, citing the direct and indirect losses resulting from...»»»

Doha: The Amir HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani received a phone call today from HE President of the Republic of Uganda, who conveyed his condolences on the passing of HH the Father Amir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani. For his part, HH the Amir expressed his appreciation for the sentiment and »»»

Doha: The Amir HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani received a phone call on Thursday from HE Prime Minister of the Hellenic Republic Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who conveyed his condolences on the passing of HH the Father Amir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani. For his part, HH the Amir expressed his thank»»»

WASHINGTON: The World Cup final between Argentina and Spain on Sunday will be refereed by Slavko Vinčić of Slovenia, two years after he was in charge of a Champions League final. FIFA announced the pick late Thursday. It’s the second straight World Cup final where Argentina, now the defending champ»»»

The education system in areas under Houthi control is facing a fresh wave of criticism as the group launched the new academic year during the summer. The Houthis are accused of limiting the distribution of school supplies and cash assistance to their supporters and to the families of fighters kille»»»

The Guadalupe River rises to the top of a bridge near Boerne, Texas, Thursday. Severe flooding affected parts of south-central Texas and the Texas Hill Country, with a dangerous flood wave moving down the Guadalupe River. Photo by Dustin Safranek/EPA July 17 (UPI) -- Two people are dead in flooding»»»

Sharjah Police have released dramatic surveillance footage of a serious road accident caused by a sudden lane change, warning motorists that a split-second decision behind the wheel can have devastating consequences. The video, captured by the force's advanced traffic monitoring system, shows a sil»»»

Doha: The Amir HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani sent a cable of condolences to his brother HE President of the People's Republic of Algeria Abdelmadjid Tebboune on the victims of a fire at an orphanage in the capital Algiers, wishing the injured a speedy recovery.»»»

DUBAI: More airlines are restoring flights to parts ‌of the Middle East after the conflict that followed US and Israeli strikes on Iran, but some carriers have kept suspensions in place. Below is an update on the status of airlines’ flights, in alphabetical order: AEGEAN AIRLINES Greece’s largest c»»»