KANO, Nigeria: An influential traditional ruler in northwestern Nigeria’s Kebbi state Friday urged residents to pool funds and buy weapons to defend themselves against attacks by criminal gangs. Parts of Kebbi state have seen sporadic attacks from jihadists and criminal gangs in recent years, with »»»

by Maye Kabil: The National Bank of Egypt is to launch a new investment fund aimed at attracting the savings of Egyptians working in the Gulf states that are not already invested in the market there. Attracting the savings of Egyptians working abroad has been a repeated target for governments and b»»»

David Ellison, head of Paramount Skydance, has said that when his company completes its $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, it will likely look to make about $6 billion in cuts to the combined company. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo June 5 (UPI) -- The attorneys ge»»»

The cash-in-the-sofa saga that just won't go away for South Africa's president 11 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleKhanyisile NgcoboJohannesburg Getty ImagesPresident Cyril Ramaphosa faces renewed scrutiny over a theft at his private farm in 2020 Just like Watergate in the US, South Af»»»

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and several agencies in the department on Friday asked financial institutions, including banks and casinos, to monitor for red flags that a business employs fraudulently employs people who are not authorized to work in the United States. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | L»»»

Imposing additional sanctions on Russia will not help resolve the Ukraine conflict, American Chamber of Commerce in Russia (AmCham Russia) President and CEO Robert Agee has said. Speaking on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum 2026 (SPIEF 2026) on Thursday, he argued th»»»

NEW YORK: The United Nations said ‌on Friday it is deeply concerned by violent protests outside its offices in Libya this week and blamed social media for ​fueling disinformation about the world body’s work in the country. Hundreds of Libyan demonstrators blocked off the office of the UN refugee ag»»»

NEW YORK CITY: The UN Security Council on Friday condemned in the strongest terms the continuing detention of scores of humanitarian workers, UN personnel and civil society representatives by the Houthi rebels in Yemen. It came as the second anniversary of mass arrests in June 2024 approaches with »»»

NEW YORK CITY: The head of UN peacekeeping used his final International Day of UN Peacekeepers address to issue an urgent call for the violence in Lebanon to end, as the organization mourned the death of yet another soldier killed while serving with the UN Interim Force in Lebanon. Jean-Pierre Lacr»»»

Tunis, June 5 (TAP) - Nearly 70% of Tunisia’s population and a large number of its industrial zones are concentrated along the country’s coastline, placing continuous environmental pressure on coastal areas and underscoring the need to pursue...»»»

NEW YORK CITY: The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has issued one of its strongest condemnations yet of Taliban policies toward girls in Afghanistan, warning that a newly adopted decree effectively legalizes child marriage and violates numerous international human rights obligations. At the»»»

WASHINGTON: A US federal judge on Friday threw out a series of restrictions placed by President Donald Trump’s administration on legal immigration following last year’s shooting of members of the National Guard by an Afghan immigrant. District Judge John McConnell said the restrictions on processin»»»

Anthropic warned that AI will need a way to stop it. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo June 5 (UPI) -- Artificial intelligence company Anthropic issued a warning about systems that can improve themselves and said that humans need a way to intervene when necessary. AI systems will soon be abl»»»

DAKAR: The World Health Organization chief announced a $518 million, six-month joint plan to fight Ebola on Friday, calling for funding and political commitment to halt the spread of an outbreak that is already the fourth-largest on record. The strategy aims to help the Democratic Republic of Congo»»»

The State of Qatar has reiterated its strong condemnation of the attack targeting the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant in the UAE, describing it as a violation of international law, international humanitarian law, and the fundamental principles of nuclear safety and security, Qatar News Agency reported.»»»

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday rejected a proposal by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for a face-to-face meeting on the 4-year-old conflict, saying he sees "no point" in it. Thursday's letter, the first public message Zelenskyy has written directly to Putin since Russia sent tro»»»

ROME: Italy has appealed ‌for the release of two Italian pro-Palestinian campaigners detained in eastern Libya who, along with eight other ​activists, had been refusing food and water for four days. Israeli forces arrested 430 people on board 50 ships in international waters in May, to halt a floti»»»

DUBLIN: Ireland on Friday announced that it has banned Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich from entering the country, slamming their behavior toward pro-Palestinian activists. Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan “has instructed immigration officers »»»

GAZA: In a Gaza workshop, a group of men patches up pleasure dinghies with reclaimed fiberglass, wood, and door frames pulled from the rubble, racing to get the boats ready for a tougher line of work. The small vessels, which were used by families and swimmers before the war, have become a lifeline»»»

Head over to Sellfish to indulge in this quintessential British comfort food. The restaurant opened recently and has been packed ever since. We visited twice and managed to get a table on our second visit at around 11 p.m. The menu is small and crisp with fish and chips, of course, salads, fries, c»»»

Washington, United States: Astronauts working on the International Space Station briefly sheltered in a docked capsule Friday as Russian colleagues assessed leak repairs, NASA said. Five astronauts had briefly entered the docked Dragon spacecraft as a precautionary measure -- the capsule functions »»»

President Donald Trump said Friday he wants his new acting director of national intelligence, Bill Pulte, to further reduce the size of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), an agency that has already undergone major cuts during his second term. Trump said the office has been »»»

Experts discussed trends in childhood obesity during the Second National Congress on Obesity with international participation which took place in Sofia. The three-day forum is organized by the Bulgarian Association for the Study of Obesity and Associated Diseases (BASORD) with the support of the Eu»»»

Baghdad: The World Bank announced today its approval of a USD 900 million project to improve road infrastructure in Iraq. In a statement, the World Bank said the project will support Iraq's economic transport corridors, which are a cornerstone of domestic transport, regional integration, and long-t»»»

TEHRAN: Iran’s football squad, whose participation in the World Cup remains uncertain, have handed their passports to the US embassy in Turkiye for visas, the head of their Football Federation said on Friday. Mehdi Taj said Iran were following instructions from world football’s governing body. Thei»»»

RIYADH: Seed banks are emerging as a cornerstone of Saudi Arabia’s ecological restoration efforts, safeguarding native plant species and supplying locally adapted seedlings for rehabilitation projects across the Kingdom. The success of these restoration ambitions depends on processes that begin lon»»»

Jean Arnault, Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for the Middle East Conflict and its Consequences, expressed optimism regarding the broad consensus that has begun to take shape in the region about the need for a swift and decisive end to the current conflict, and the importance of working »»»

Vienna: The State of Qatar has reiterated its strong condemnation of the attack targeting the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant in the United Arab Emirates, describing it as a violation of international law, international humanitarian law, and the fundamental principles of nuclear safety and security. Th»»»

The risk of nuclear confrontation was said to have diminished in the post-Cold War period. But today, the logic of nuclear deterrence seems to be making a comeback. This phenomenon deserves our readers’ attention, which is why Al Majalla chose the topic as this week’s cover story. Titled The escala»»»

Special Presidential Envoy to Lebanon Jean-Yves Le Drian (C), flanked by French Ambassador to Lebanon Herve Magro (L), attends a meeting with Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam at the Government Palace in Beirut, Lebanon, on Thursday. The meeting was part of a French push to lock in three prioriti»»»

June 5 (UPI) -- An Idaho man kept five balloons in the air for over a minute by himself to break a world record he described as more difficult than juggling. David Rush, who holds the most concurrent Guinness World Records titles, took on the record for the longest duration to keep five balloons in»»»

JEDDAH: The Azka Farmers Market has returned for a three-day summer edition at Hayy Jameel, bringing together farmers, producers and visitors from across Saudi Arabia in a celebration of seasonal produce, sustainability and community exchange. Held under Art Jameel’s community programs as part of t»»»

Astronauts working on the International Space Station briefly sheltered in a docked capsule Friday as Russian colleagues assessed leak repairs, NASA said. Five astronauts had briefly entered the docked Dragon spacecraft as a precautionary measure - the capsule functions as a lifeboat of sorts in th»»»

Tunis, June 5 (TAP) - Local storm cells with scattered showers are expected on Friday night over west-central region, according to forecasts from the National Institute of Meteorology (INM).The weather will be clear to partly cloudy nationwide.The...»»»

A federal judge in Rhode Island ruled that a batch of Trump's immigration policies are illegal. Photo by Angelina Katsanis/UPI | License Photo June 5 (UPI) -- A federal judge on Friday canceled a batch of President Donald Trump's immigration policies, forcing the administration to begin processing »»»

Illegal gold mining in Egypt threatens “investment opportunities and the ability to benefit from the country’s reserves,” as “clashes among illegal prospectors” continue to recur. Businessman Naguib Sawiris said Egypt’s mineral wealth was being continuously wasted because of random and illegal mini»»»

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has extended the deadline for submission of applications for verification and re-evaluation of answers for Class 12 board examinations, giving students additional time to complete the process. In a statement, CBSE said the move has been taken “in the »»»

Over the past two years, the number of employed Argentines age 65 and older increased 12.7%, said sociologist Candelaria Rueda, a researcher at the Argentina Grande Institute.. Photo by pasja1000/Pixabay BUENOS AIRES, June 5 (UPI) -- Argentine retirees have become one of the groups hardest hit by P»»»

The president’s address at the plenary session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum has garnered the attention of economists, financial and geopolitics analysts the world over. Sputnik queried four of them regarding some of its main points. "The central thesis was the irreversible shi»»»

An aviation dispute has broken out between Wizz Air and Serbian authorities, with the Hungarian low-cost carrier warning that it may be forced to close its Belgrade base from November 2026 if proposed regulatory changes are implemented. The airline claims that Serbia’s revised route approval proced»»»

The United States has imposed new sanctions on a network of individuals, companies and vessels accused of facilitating the shipment of hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of Iranian-origin liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to South and East Asia by disguising its origin as Omani fuel. The US Departm»»»

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday rejected a proposal by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for a face-to-face meeting on the 4-year-old conflict, saying he sees “no point” in it. Thursday's letter, the first public message Zelenskyy has written directly to Putin since Russia sent tro»»»

LONDON: Two Romanian men ‌whom British prosecutors said were acting as proxies for the Iranian government were on Friday found guilty of stabbing a journalist working for ​a Persian-language media organization in London. Pouria Zaratifoukolaei, known as Pouria Zeraati, a British journalist of Irani»»»

The EU is preparing a €50 million ($58 million) support package for Armenia as Brussels moves to shore up Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan days before a critical parliamentary election, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said. The figure, however, accounts for roughly 1% of Armeni»»»

TIVAT - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Friday a discussion he had attended at the EU-Western Balkans Summit in Tivat, Montenegro, had been very good, open and sincere, and noted that Serbia was absolutely in favour of a proposal made by French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chance»»»

The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) in Dubai has introduced new traffic diversions in the Za’abeel area as part of ongoing development works at Trade Centre Roundabout, aimed at improving traffic flow and enhancing road safety. The changes will come into effect on Saturday, June 6, and motorist»»»

One week after the Iranian Revolution declared victory on February 11, 1979, two photographs emerged from Tehran that, in retrospect, help explain many of the storms that would later sweep the Middle East, from Iran’s expanding regional influence to what the author calls “Sinwar’s Flood." In the fi»»»

WASHINGTON: An Iranian-American journalist sentenced to 10 years in a notorious Tehran prison called on Washington to provide medical help for him and other US detainees, CBS News reported Friday. Reza Valizadeh, who holds both Iranian and US citizenship and worked for US-funded Persian-language Ra»»»

Dubai: Under the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, Dubai Humanitarian has airlifted 20 metric tonnes of critical medical supplies from the World Health Organization’s (WHO) prepositioned stocks to support efforts to »»»

Lebanon's leaders issued pointed calls for Iran to stop interfering in their country's affairs on Friday, as Israel and the Tehran-backed Hezbollah traded attacks after a new truce deal collapsed before it even began. Lebanese state media reported fresh Israeli strikes on around 40 locations in sou»»»