Pakistani-born Shabir Ahmed, a rape gang ringleader recently released in the UK after serving a prison term for dozens of child sex offenses, committed his crimes because of his upbringing in England, Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman Tahir Andrabi said on Thursday. The 73-year-old, who first en»»»

Artificial intelligence is no longer simply a technological race. It is becoming a question of how the world chooses to govern one of the most transformative innovations of the modern era, who benefits from it, and whether its advantages remain concentrated in the hands of a few companies or are sh»»»

China has rejected US President Donald Trump’s claim that Beijing masterminded the theft of 220 million American voter files to meddle in the 2020 election. Trump’s explosive remarks came ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s planned visit to Washington in late September and amid a tentative trad»»»

WASHINGTON: The US military said on Friday that it had destroyed the Chabahar Shahid Kalantari Port surveillance tower in Iran on Thursday. US Central Command said in a post on X that the tower was part of a maritime surveillance network along Iran’s Gulf of Oman coastline used by the Islamic Revol»»»

ANKARA: Turkish authorities on Friday detained 17 soccer club officials as part of a widening investigation into alleged illegal betting and match-fixing that has tainted Turkish soccer, officials and reports said. In the latest wave of detentions, suspects were taken into custody in simultaneous r»»»

MUNICH: A Moldovan man has been arrested on suspicion of espionage after a drone flew over a defense contractor’s facility in Munich and allegedly captured images of the site, prosecutors in Germany announced Friday. The 37-year-old man allegedly flew the drone over the facility on Wednesday and is»»»

MOSCOW: Russian authorities have detained a blogger who criticized President Vladimir Putin and the war in Ukraine and fined an anti-war politician, as Moscow sends a warning signal to critics of the Kremlin ahead of September’s parliamentary election. Although Putin maintains a near-total grip on »»»

KYIV: Just when Ukraine appeared to be gaining momentum on the battlefield, President Volodymyr Zelensky ordered a surprise government reshuffle that included the dismissal of his defense minister, triggering rare protests across the country. Parliament has approved a new prime minister — former he»»»

LONDON: West Ham United ‌captain Jarrod Bowen has pledged his future to the club as they prepare for life in the second-tier Championship following relegation from the Premier League, the England forward said in an interview published on Friday on the team’s website. The 29-year-old was part of the»»»

Russia’s international reserves edged up to $722.4bn in the week ending 10 July, according to the Central Bank of Russia, extending a recovery after a sharp fall in late June. (chart) The stockpile increased by $700mn, or about 0.1%, from $721.7bn a week earlier. It remains well below this yea»»»

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is set to appoint former interior minister Ihor Klymenko as secretary of the National Security and Defence Council, completing another stage of a contentious wartime government reshuffle. After making the controversial decision to sack Defence Minister Mykhai»»»

Ukraine’s lawmakers approved chairman of the national gas company Naftogaz’s board, Serhii Koretskyi as the new Ukrainian Prime Minister on July 16 in anticipation of intense winter attacks by Russia. Zelenskiy announced a surprise government reshuffle at the weekend, after asking Ukraine’s Prime M»»»

DOHA: His Highness the Amir of the State of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani received a phone call from President of the Republic of Uganda HE Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, who conveyed his condolences on the passing of HH the Father Amir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani. For his part, HH the Amir »»»

MAKKAH: Saudi artist Basher Al-Khamali has forged a name for himself in the world of mural art in the Kingdom, with his 1,000-square meter mural of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman adorning a wall in Tabuk. It was one of his biggest projects which took him just six days to complete. Speaking to Ara»»»

Nestlé will cease production at its Diósgyőr factory by the end of 2026 after a sustained decline in demand for seasonal chocolate products, the company has announced. The decision affects the plant that specialises exclusively in manufacturing hollow chocolate figures, including the familiar choco»»»

Nvidia slipped below Apple early Friday as the world's most valuable publicly traded company due to the latest selloff in semiconductor shares. Shares of Nvidia were down more than four percent as worries about the valuation of artificial intelligence equities dogged the market, giving the company »»»

Abu Dhabi: National Ambulance provided emergency medical care to 58,781 patients and responded to 73,624 emergency incidents during the first six months of 2026, highlighting the growing demand for emergency services across the UAE. According to operational figures released by National Ambulance, i»»»

Dubai: Dubai's food sector continued its rapid expansion in the first half of the year, with 1,898 new food establishments opening across the emirate, equivalent to around 316 new businesses a month or 10.5 every day, according to Dubai Municipality. The latest figures bring the total number of foo»»»

Dubai: A moderate 4.9-magnitude earthquake struck the Arabian Sea off the coast of Oman on Friday afternoon, according to the Earthquake Monitoring Center at Sultan Qaboos University. The centre said the tremor occurred at 4:01pm local time at a depth of 10 kilometres, with its epicentre located ap»»»

A cyberattack has prompted Fairlife to pause U.S. production on its milk products on Thursday, citing unauthorized third party access to its systems. File Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI | License Photo July 17 (UPI) -- A cyberattack has prompted Fairlife to pause U.S. production on its milk products »»»

The number of drones delivered to the Russian army has more than doubled compared to 2025, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexei Krivoruchko said on Friday. "To ensure superiority over the enemy, the number of drones delivered to the troops has more than doubled compared to 2025," Krivoruchko stre»»»

Iran’s March drone and missile attacks disabled numerous critical US radars and forced it to “expend a significant portion of their air and missile defense stockpiles,” military expert and CAST security think tank senior research fellow Yuri Lyamin told Sputnik. Lyamin pointed out, for example, tha»»»

François Picard is pleased to welcome Daria Kaleniuk, Executive Director of the Anti-Corruption Action Center. Ukraine's latest defense leadership shake-up, as interpreted by Kaleniuk, is not as a routine personnel change but rather a struggle over the future direction of wartime governance. H»»»

The Labour party in the UK has a new leader. Andy Burnham is succeeding to outgoing prime minister Keir Starmer, and will be officially confirmed as prime minister on July 20. In his speech to Labour members at a special conference, he vowed to bring hope back to the UK. He is seen as the party's m»»»

TUNIS, July 17 (TAP) – The National Union of Tunisian Journalists (SNJT) urged the protection of photojournalists during summer festivals and the improvement of their working conditions, while safeguarding their professional rights. In a statement...»»»

WASHINGTON - Ahead of the launch of US-Serbia strategic dialogue, Serbian FM Marko Djuric said in Washington Serbia and the US would on Friday also sign MoUs on cooperation the energy sector and education. "Today's discussions will focus on a series of topics - besides the ceremonial and formal ope»»»

A massive public rally was held today, Friday, in Saada Governorate, Yemen, as part of the “Friday of Mobilization” campaign, in response to a call from Ansarullah leader Sayyed Abdul-Malik al-Houthi. Participants chanted slogans such as “Aggression for aggression, siege for siege” and “With our un»»»

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have said that shredded iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms served in Taco Bell have cause many of the cyclosporiasis illnesses. File Photo by Erik S. Lesser/EPA July 17 (UPI) -- Federal officials said they have traced the cyclosporiasis outbreak th»»»

Japan's Parliament voted Friday to revise the law regarding the royal succession that has been in place since 1947, expanding the number of eligible heirs to distant male relatives but did not relax the ban preventing Princess Aiko (pictured), or any other female royal, from ascending the Chrysanth»»»

Abu Dhabi: e& has completed the sale of its entire stake in Vodafone Group, securing total consideration of Dh21.9 billion, equivalent to $5.95 billion. Sign up for our daily business newsletter, Cheques & Balances.The group transferred 3,944,743,685 Vodafone shares to BNP Paribas Financial Markets»»»

Abu Dhabi: The UAE marks Union Pledge Day on 18th July each year, commemorating the historic signing of the Declaration of the Union and the UAE Constitution by the Founding Fathers in 1971, marking the beginning of a 55-year journey of development, progress and global leadership. Union Pledge Day,»»»

The crisis around the Strait of Hormuz, which appears to be dragging on, is increasing the importance of the North-South international transport corridor, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Friday. "The topic is indeed very important, especially in a situation where the crisis in the St»»»

Israeli occupying forces opened machine gun fire overnight, trapping a number of residents in the southern town of Harees, who appealed to the Lebanese Army to evacuate them. Meanwhile, enemy drones carried out airstrikes last night targeting the southern town of Mansouri, killing several people, w»»»

Comprehensive work is needed on the regulation on motorway crash barriers, because mechanical replacement, without delving into the problem in depth, may have no effect, said Regional Development and Public Works Minister Ivan Shishkov during Friday's question time in Parliament. Shishkov was respo»»»

Hristo Emilov Dikanski was appointed deputy foreign minister, the Council of Ministers press service said on Friday. The appointment was made by order of Prime Minister Rumen Radev. Deputy Foreign Minister Ivanka Tasheva was appointed in May. The other holder of the post is Deputy Foreign Minister »»»

Abu Dhabi: The UAE has expressed its solidarity with the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria over the victims of a fire at an orphanage east of the capital, Algiers, which resulted in a number of deaths and injuries. In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) conveyed its sincere co»»»

Abu Dhabi: Parents and students in Abu Dhabi can now obtain an attested certificate detailing private school tuition fees in as little as six minutes through the emirate's TAMM government services platform, streamlining a process often required for official transactions and financial assistance app»»»

From 18 August 2026, digital service providers within the European Union will face new obligations regarding electronic evidence in criminal proceedings. The new rules will change the way in which companies respond to requests from judicial authorities concerning the disclosure or preservation of d»»»

Dubai: Brent crude may need a prolonged disruption through the Strait of Hormuz or clear evidence of tightening global inventories to break above $90 a barrel, despite heading for its biggest weekly gain since April. Sign up for our daily business newsletter, Cheques & Balances.The global benchmark»»»

MEXICO CITY: Mexico on Thursday arrested a former state governor identified as one of the leaders of a billion-dollar smuggling ring, authorities said. Trafficking of stolen fuel is one of the most lucrative criminal activities in Mexico, alongside the drug trade. Ernesto Ruffo, a former governor o»»»

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani security forces raided multiple militant hideouts in the country’s northwest region, killing Pakistani Taliban and seizing a cache of weapons, the military and local officials said. The military said Friday it used intelligence sources to target militants in operations carried »»»

TUNIS, July 17, 2026 (TAP) – The Finance and Budget Committee of the Assembly of People's Representatives (ARP) met on July 16 to examine three draft laws submitted under an expedited procedure, all linked to the phosphate and chemical sectors.The...»»»

TUNIS, July 17, 2026 (TAP) – The Tunisian General Labour Union (UGTT) on Friday stressed the need to be involved in drafting legislative reforms, particularly the revision of the Labour Code to regulate work through digital platforms.In a statement,...»»»

Closer international cooperation is needed to counter terrorism and organized crime, Bulgarian Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev said, as quoted by the Ministry of Interior, at an international forum titled “The Resurgence of Political Terrorism”, organized by the U.S. Department of State. "The wo»»»

Andy Burnham was on Friday elected leader of the Labour party clearing the way for him to become the UK Prime Minister next week following the departure of Keir Starmer. Burnham has risen to leadership on a pledge to thwart the rise ‌of the populist Reform UK and said he would "give hope back"»»»

Andy Burnham vowed on July 17 to "give hope" back to the British people as he was confirmed as the ruling Labour party's new leader, set to be the next UK prime minister. 'The King of the North' was elected in a snap election by a landslide in Makerfield, a constituency near Manchester. He will bec»»»

BELGRADE - Serbian Minister of European Integration Nemanja Starovic said Friday's launch of US-Serbia strategic dialogue was an important milestone in the relations between the two countries, and noted that the strategic dialogue would pave the way for US investments in Serbia worth up to 20 bln d»»»

A day at Lake Balaton is becoming increasingly expensive for many families, with beach admission fees often overtaking accommodation costs as the biggest holiday expense. For a family of four, a full day at a paid beach can easily cost HUF 10,000–15,000, prompting many visitors to seek out the lake»»»

KAMPALA: An elementary school bus carrying pupils back from an educational tour to a scenic waterfall in Uganda veered off the road and overturned, killing at least 20 children and one adult, police said Friday. The bus crashed Thursday night in the Kapchorwa District in eastern Uganda while return»»»

KATACHI: Pakistani spinner Mohammad Nawaz has been banned for three months over a doping violation, the International Cricket Council said Friday, backdating the punishment from May this year. The ICC said Nawaz tested positive during the men’s T20 World Cup in Sri Lanka on February 7. “Nawaz had t»»»