RIYADH: Six national projects led by the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) have been honored at the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) 2026 for excellence in artificial intelligence and digital innovation, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on Friday. The award»»»

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump’s plans to build a skyline-altering arch in the nation’s capital won initial approval Thursday from a key federal commission, but its members put off a decision on whether a federal law that limits building heights should be applied to this project. Despite overwh»»»

COLUMBUS, Ohio: Eight men were indicted on murder and terrorism conspiracy charges Thursday for their alleged roles in a thwarted drone and sniper attack on the UFC cage-fighting show staged at the White House in June. The indictment, returned in Ohio, charges all eight in two separate conspiracies»»»

QNA Doha The Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MoEHE) on Thursday held an introductory workshop for top-performing Qatari high school graduates to present the 2026–2027 government scholarship programme and explain the academic opportunities and benefits available. Speaking at the event, A»»»

Foxborough: Kylian Mbappe recovered from having a first-half penalty saved to score a magnificent opener that set France on their way to a 2-0 win over Morocco in their World Cup quarter-final showdown on Thursday. Mbappe's weak spot-kick was easily saved by Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, but »»»

The Trump administration has proposed changing a Biden-era Environmental Protection Agency rule requiring heavy duty trucks to limit specific emissions, stating that it could save truckers up to $12 billion per year. File Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI | License Photo July 9 (UPI) -- The Trump admini»»»

WASHINGTON: An Afghan man awaiting trial for allegedly shooting two members of the National Guard near the White House has been hospitalized after refusing food, The Washington Post reported on Thursday. Rahmanullah Lakanwal pleaded not guilty in December to murder and firearms charges in the Novem»»»

UTAH, USA: The defendant in Charlie Kirk’s killing told his roommate “he wishes he hadn’t done it” the day after the conservative activist was shot in the neck while speaking to a crowd at Utah Valley University, according to a recording played in court Thursday. Lance Twiggs, who was also suspect »»»

WASHINGTON: An Afghan man awaiting trial for allegedly shooting two members of the National Guard near the White House has been hospitalized after refusing food, The Washington Post reported on Thursday. Rahmanullah Lakanwal pleaded not guilty in December to murder and firearms charges in the Novem»»»

COX’S BAZAR, Bangladesh: The UN refugee agency called on Thursday for additional land to ease overcrowding in Bangladesh’s Rohingya refugee camps after heavy rains triggered landslides that have killed at least 15 people. More than 1.2 million Rohingya refugees, many of whom fled Myanmar during a b»»»

Adjudicating Constitutional Case No. 6 of 2026, Bulgaria's Constitutional Court on Thursday declined a petition submitted by the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) to declare unconstitutional a provision of the Measures Against Money Laundering Act which obliges the Supreme Bar Council (SBC) to ado»»»

Miami: Erling Haaland said facing England, the land of his birth, in the World Cup quarter-finals was extra special as he aims to extend Norway's historic run into the last four. In his first major international tournament the Manchester City striker has propelled his country to the last eight by s»»»

WASHINGTON: Russian strikes ‌killed at least 265 civilians in Ukraine and injured 1,816 in June, the highest combined casualty count since the first months after Moscow’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, a top UN official told the Security Council on Thursday. UN political affairs chief Rosema»»»

A group of 17 news organizations that are suing OpenAI for its use of their content to train artificial intelligence models asked a federal court for sanctions because they allege the company lied about its ability to search its own datasets. File Photo by Adam Vaughan/EPA July 9 (UPI) -- More than»»»

Doha, Qatar: The Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MOEHE) held an introductory workshop on Thursday for top-performing Qatari high school graduates to present the 2026-2027 government scholarship program and explain the academic opportunities and benefits available. Speaking at the event,»»»

NAIROBI: The Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo is the “fastest growing” ever, African health authorities said Thursday, as the World Health Organization said it had killed 600 people. Updated numbers issued by the UN health agency showed there have been 1,759 confirmed cases in DR Cong»»»

MIAMI, USA: Erling Haaland said facing England, the land of his birth, in the World Cup quarter-finals was extra special as he aims to extend Norway’s historic run into the last four. In his first major international tournament the Manchester City striker has propelled his country to the last eight»»»

The sinking of the ARA San Juan in 2017 killed all 44 crew members. A woman visits the a makeshift tribute made with flags and notes to the 44 crew members of the missing submarine ARA San Juan at the Argentina Navy base at Mar del Plata in November 2017. File Photo by Mauricio Arduin/EPA July 9 (U»»»

DOHA: The State of Qatar ranked 12th globally among the top 15 countries in the mid-2026 Quality of Life Index issued by the Numbeo Global Database, moving up six positions in the global ranking. The Numbeo Quality of Life Index is a comprehensive measure that evaluates the factors influencing peop»»»

Doha: The State of Qatar ranked 12th globally among the top 15 countries in the mid-2026 Quality of Life Index issued by the Numbeo Global Database, moving up six positions in the global ranking. The Numbeo Quality of Life Index is a comprehensive measure that evaluates the factors influencing peop»»»

The European Parliament has taken a major step towards introducing the digital euro, approving its negotiating position on the legislation that could pave the way for the EU’s first central bank digital currency. If the remaining negotiations proceed as planned, Europeans could begin using the new »»»

BAGHDAD: The United States has resumed cash shipments to Iraq after a delay, signalling its support for Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi’s administration, with the premier expected in Washington later this month, a government spokesperson said Thursday. Iraq’s revenues from oil exports are largely held »»»

SpaceX and xAI CEO Elon Musk speaks during a panel discussion during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in January. The trillionaire just settled with the SEC for $1.5 million for his purchase of Twitter. File Photo by Gian Ehrenzeller/EPA July 9 (UPI) -- A federal judge approved a $1.»»»

BEIRUT: A deal between Lebanon and Israel was billed as paving the way for peace. But in Lebanon, it is deepening longtime divisions and raising fears of political paralysis or even a return to civil war. The US-brokered deal envisions an Israeli troop withdrawal from Lebanon and an eventual peace »»»

LONDON: There’s also an American angle to the French-born British player who grew up five minutes from the All England Club and has reached the semifinals as a wild card at Wimbledon. Arthur Fery honed his game by playing three years of college tennis for Stanford University, where he was a two-tim»»»

ISTANBUL: Turkiye and Iraq are set to sign, within days, a ​one-year agreement to keep open the crude oil pipeline between the two countries, Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said on Thursday.Their decades-old pipeline agreement, which governs exports through the pipeline, is due to expi»»»

Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev met with the management of Polish state-owned aircraft maintenance company WZL-2 in Sofia. He thanked them for their long-standing partnership and professionalism in overhauling and maintaining Bulgaria's MiG-29 fighter jets. Radev said the company's contributio»»»

Mexico's Attorney General's Office formally accused former U.S. Ambassador Ken Salazar of misleading Mexican authorities about the 2024 capture of alleged Sinaloa cartel co-founder Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada. File Photo by Andrew Harrer/UPI/Pool | License Photo July 9 (UPI) -- Mexico's Attorney Gener»»»

BELGRADE - Serbian PM Djuro Macut on Thursday continued consultations with the ministers of the interior, culture, education, information and telecommunications, public administration, justice and local self-government on the departments' plans for the coming period. "At a meeting with Deputy Prime»»»

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects growth in sub-Saharan Africa to remain broadly stable at 4.3% in 2026 before edging up to 4.5% in 2027, but warned that the regional headline masks widening divergence between countries exposed to higher food and energy prices and those benefiting from »»»

Brussels: What does a world leader do with a gun and six bullets? That was the conundrum NATO leaders faced after the Turkish president offered them each a revolver after the Ankara summit. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was the first Wednesday to mention the highly unusual gift presented by P»»»

PRAIA: Thousands of flag-waving fans gathered in Cape Verde’s capital to welcome the returning national soccer team after their stunning debut World Cup performance, mobbing the players as they left the airport. In downtown Praia, at one of the country’s most prestigious training academies, student»»»

BELGRADE - Serbian Minister of European Integration Nemanja Starovic met with German Ambassador to Belgrade Anke Konrad on Thursday to discuss the EU integration process, the significance of German development aid to Serbia and bilateral cooperation. Starovic noted that Germany, as one of Serbia's »»»

On 14 July 2016, Nice was hit by the deadliest attack in its history, claimed by the Islamic State group. A truck ploughed into the Promenade des Anglais, striking crowds of spectators who had gathered to watch the Bastille Day fireworks. The attacker killed 86 people and injured hundreds more. Ten»»»

A fire broke out in a Chinese shoe factory Thursday. It's not yet known how many have died or been injured. Image courtesy of UPI July 9 (UPI) -- A shoe factory caught fire Thursday morning in China, and it's unknown how many people are dead or injured. Chinese President Xi Jinping said there were »»»

A Serbian court has approved the extradition of former Bulgarian Development Bank (BDB) governor Stoyan Mavrodiev to Bulgaria, his lawyer Emanuil Yordanov confirmed. The decision was taken in a closed session after Mavrodiev himself submitted a request expressing consent to be returned to Bulgaria.»»»

LONDON: Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, declared Nov. 28, which falls on a Saturday, as the date for the long-expected Palestinian legislative elections. The vote will take place across the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and East»»»

Sharjah: Sharjah Police have arrested two motorists for committing serious traffic violations that endangered the lives of road users, authorities announced on Thursday. The drivers were found to have engaged in reckless and dangerous driving, prompting an investigation that led to their identifica»»»

More than nine months ago, we launched our Hungary Votes series, in which we provided weekly summaries of the latest developments in Hungary’s election campaign. The series continues as we report on the developments following the historic election and the measures taken by the Tisza government. Thi»»»

British lawmakers have triggered a by-election Thursday to replace Reform U.K. leader Nigel Farage in Parliament following his abrupt resignation. File Photo by Will Oliver/UPI | License Photo July 9 (UPI) -- British lawmakers have triggered a by-election Thursday to replace Reform U.K. leader Nige»»»

PARIS: Two thirds of the European Union’s population may have been exposed to harmful levels of ozone pollution during last month’s record-breaking heatwave, a report exclusively shared with AFP warned Thursday. Nearly 300 million people, including 100 million children and elderly people, faced hig»»»

Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar has released documents and fresh allegations concerning a 2018 trip to the United States by former President János Áder, claiming that the HUF 55 million journey, funded by public money, included several days of what he described as family holiday activities ra»»»

In tonight's edition, Nigeria is investigating how a fictitious agency wielding forged appointment letters from the president accessed government funds. Meanwhile the country’s 36 states are about to ratify a major police reform that would allow them to set up their own forces. And in Mauritania, c»»»

The number of confirmed deaths in the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has risen to 600, figures published by the UN health agency showed Thursday. The WHO's figures show the worsening haemorrhagic fever outbreak has a case fatality rate of 34 percent. The Ebola outbreak in the De»»»

The 36 states of the Federation have yet to ratify the establishment of a State Police force under their responsibility. For several decades, Nigeria has been struggling to restructure the architecture of its internal security: But with a national police force and a local police force, this would b»»»

A deal between Lebanon and Israel was billed as paving the way for peace. But in Lebanon, it is deepening longtime divisions and raising fears of political paralysis or even a return to civil war. The U.S.-brokered deal envisions an Israeli troop withdrawal from Lebanon and an eventual peace agreem»»»

N’DJAMENA, Sudan: ِِA “breakthrough” has been made in the investigation into crimes committed during Sudan’s war in the Darfur region allowing prosecutors to link them to leadership, a senior International Criminal Court official told Reuters. The ICC is investigating attacks on the cities of Al-Ge»»»

He is the grandson of an influential Shiite cleric, born in Qom — the heart of religious studies in Iran — and raised in a traditional family that embraced the theocracy. But by his late 20s, he had stopped praying and given up on clerical rule. Now, he can barely discuss politics or religion with »»»

LONDON: Oil tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz was at a near standstill on Thursday, according to data and sources, as shipping risks escalated after the US renewed airstrikes on Iran, triggering retaliation by Tehran in the Gulf. Just two tankers had so far sailed through the strait in th»»»

Serbia has approved the extradition of former Bulgarian Development Bank (BDB) executive director Stoyan Mavrodiev, his lawyer, Emanuel Yordanov, told BTA on Thursday. Yordanov added that while the procedure has not yet been fully completed, the extradition is expected to take place within the next»»»