The 730-person agency will coordinate intelligence for the prime minister, while a separate foreign intelligence service is planned The photo shows the Prime Minister's Office (Kantei) in Japan. The Japanese government launched the National Intelligence Bureau on Friday as an organization reporting»»»

WASHINGTON: The State Department is making permanent a pilot program under which citizens from 50 countries, mainly in Africa, are required to post bonds to apply for a US visa, and it’s raising the cost as well, to as much as $20,000. A draft notice published Friday in the Federal Register says a »»»

President Donald Trump claimed the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, which cost nearly $15 million to renovate, had been damaged by vandals. But in a court filing Friday evening, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said the damage was caused by a "botched installation." Photo by Jemal Countess/UPI. | Licen»»»

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s royal reserve authorities marked World Ranger Day on Friday by paying tribute to field rangers safeguarding the Kingdom’s wildlife, natural habitats and biodiversity, while highlighting the growing use of technology and enforcement to strengthen environmental protection. Acco»»»

NEW YORK: A Turkish man was arrested Friday in the United Kingdom on charges alleging he conspired to funnel money and supplies to Hamas through his senior role in what prosecutors say was a sham global humanitarian organization. Mohammad Yousef Hasna, 45, of Istanbul, was ordered held pending extr»»»

MANCHESTER, England: Labour Party candidate Bev Craig was elected mayor of Greater Manchester on Friday, after a vote triggered by the departure of Andy Burnham to become Britain’s prime minister. Craig won 66.3% of the votes in a runoff with Sian Astley from the anti-immigration party Reform UK. “»»»

WASHINGTON: The Justice Department moved Friday to dismiss a criminal case charging a former Olympian with deliberately damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, saying evidence prosecutors had recently received refuted the idea that vandals were to blame. Government lawyers said in a 20-page »»»

SEOUL: North ‌Korea accused NATO on Saturday of preparing for war by expanding military ​fuel infrastructure across Europe, saying the alliance’s plans show it is becoming a more aggressive military bloc. In a commentary carried by state media KCNA, North Korea criticized NATO’s Fuel Supply ‌Chain »»»

FIFA President Gianni Infantino said on Friday that world soccer’s governing ​body had scrapped plans to sell a stake in the World Cup to private investors after widespread backlash. FIFA’s plan was to raise up to $4.2 billion by selling about a 20 percent stake in a new unit that would run FIFA ev»»»

Abu Dhabi: The UAE is set for another hot weekend, with temperatures climbing to 49C inland on Saturday before the weather becomes increasingly unsettled early next week, bringing the possibility of afternoon showers to eastern and southern parts of the country. The National Centre of Meteorology (»»»

The US military said it has redirected 30 commercial vessels since the start of its blockade of Iranian ports, while maintaining that the Strait of Hormuz remains open to international shipping. In an update posted on X on Friday, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said that, as of July 31, its forces ha»»»

NEW YORK: American oil and gas giants raked in massive spring profits while fighting between Iran and the US impeded petroleum shipments and consumers around the world paid more for fuel and confronted shortages. The conflict, now in its sixth month, halted most shipping through the Strait of Hormu»»»

Disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has prompted oil-producing countries in the Gulf to accelerate plans for alternative export routes, with a series of pipeline projects announced or revived. Here is a breakdown of the proposals. - Regional picture -A total of 14.95 million barrels»»»

President Donald Trump said the U.S. would be hitting Iran "very hard" with new airstrikes that could be launched as early as this weekend. Photo by Aaron Schwartz/UPI | License Photo July 31 (UPI) -- The United States military is preparing to launch a fresh wave of airstrikes on Iran as early as t»»»

WASHINGTON: The State Department is making permanent a pilot program under which citizens from 50 countries, mainly in Africa, are required to post bonds to apply for a US visa, and it’s raising the cost as well, to as much as $20,000. A draft notice published Friday in the Federal Register says a »»»

Dubai: Dubai residents will soon have more places to shop, eat, exercise and access everyday services, with nine new malls and community retail destinations planned across the city. Sign up for our daily business newsletter, Cheques & Balances.The pipeline stretches from Nad Al Sheba and Sobha Hart»»»

Manila is finally beginning to reshape its automotive policy for the 21st century. The government's decisions on local car-production incentives in 2026 signal a broader shift in Philippine industrial strategy — away from simply protecting conventional vehicle assembly and toward attracting the nex»»»

Federal officials said drought conditions over the past 25 years have dwindled the water capacity available to the seven states that rely on the Colorado River. File Photo by NASA/UPI | License Photo July 31 (UPI) -- Federal officials on Friday released an updated framework for the Colorado River, »»»

Argentina and South Korea are set to deepen their cooperation in the critical minerals industry, the Argentine foreign ministry announced Friday. The deal comes one day after Seoul entered a similar partnership with Chile, during a visit to South America by President Lee Jae Myung. The agreement wi»»»

The US and Israel are preparing a major bombing campaign against Iran’s energy infrastructure that could begin as early as this weekend, according to multiple media reports. The proposed operation would target power plants, oil refineries and other energy-related facilities in what CBS News describ»»»

DOHA: Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani and Chairman of the Political Bureau of Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), Dr Khalil Al Hayya held a telephone conversation on Friday. At the outset of the call, the Prime Minister and Mini»»»

Elon Musk's xAI sued Minnesota seeking to block the state's law banning nudification technology. File photo by Francis Chung/UPI | License Photo July 31 (UPI) -- A federal judge on Friday turned down a request by Elon Musk's artificial intelligence company, xAI, to block a Minnesota law banning nud»»»

HOUSTON: A cargo of flagship US light sweet crude loaded in Texas ​was headed to Israel on Friday, the first shipment to the country in nearly three years, ship tracking data showed. Here are the details: Malta-flagged Aframax vessel Captain John loaded ‌US West Texas ‌Intermediate crude at ​Enbrid»»»

Manufaktura in Łódź, managed by Apsys, ended 2025 with 100% retail occupancy and a 2.3% y/y increase in sales. The mixed-use shopping and cultural complex attracts up to 21 mln visitors annually, demonstrating how long-term management can strengthen a property’s value. Since opening in 2006, it has»»»

Hotel Gołębiewski in Pobierowo began the summer season with 100% occupancy across more than 500 rooms, exceeding expectations despite highly critical online reviews. Management said the media controversy contributed to a several-percent increase in sales as guests sought to judge the property thems»»»

Poland’s annual inflation rate reached 3.0% in July, in line with market expectations, according to preliminary data from Statistics Poland. Consumer prices rose 0.8% m/m, mainly due to the end of the government’s fuel price support program. Fuel prices increased 15.8% y/y and 13.9% m/m after the s»»»

As nearly 50,000 North African migrants surged into the Spanish exclave of Ceuta overnight, one group responded with mockery and glee: Israeli politicians and their Zionist supporters, who celebrated the slap in Spanish President Pedro Sanchez’ face. An estimated 49,000 migrants, predominantly youn»»»

The disastrous heatwave and drought across Europe have pushed the Rhine and Danube rivers to historic water lows, forcing two EU countries into atomic energy power-downs while disrupting industrial output and major trade routes. The Rhine and Danube serve as vital commercial corridors, historic bor»»»

WASHINGTON: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has pitched President Donald Trump and other American officials on helping Ukraine win permission from tech titan Elon Musk to use his Starlink satellite communications system to guide strikes inside Russia. The push for expanded use of Starlink co»»»

Up to 60,000 migrants crossed from Morocco into Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta in roughly 24 hours, overwhelming border forces and increasing the territory’s population by as much as 70%. The unprecedented influx has triggered a political crisis, raised questions over the true nature of the»»»

UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned on Friday that a strengthening El Niño is intensifying an already worsening climate crisis, saying the weather phenomenon is "adding fuel to a planet already on fire" and could drive record-breaking global temperatures. A strengthening El Nino that could»»»

CAMP DAVID, Maryland/DETROIT: U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters at Camp David on Friday that he does not think Iran is behind a cyberattack on Minnesota water systems, despite U.S. officials reportedly suspecting otherwise. "We heard in Minnesota there was a cyberattack, and they blame it »»»

US President Donald Trump and other far-right leaders on Friday seized on Spain's migration crisis to bolster their political messaging on immigration, while over half of the migrants who had crossed the border made their way back to Morocco voluntarily the same day.  US President Donald Trump»»»

New York: United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called today for an end to the fighting across the Middle East and urged the full restoration of international navigational rights and freedoms in and around the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. "The fighting must stop everyw»»»

Twisted metal and chunks of concrete crushing vehicles are all that is left of the Amazon Hub in Edwardsville, Ill., on December 11, 2021. Illinois has led the country in number of tornadoes both in 2026 and 2025. File Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI | License Photo Illinois continues to lead the nati»»»

HARLINGEN, Texas: Advocates warn that tens of thousands of migrant children who came to the United States alone could lose legal representation in immigration court and increase their risk of deportation as the Trump administration allows a contract with legal services providers to expire. Friday m»»»

WASHINGTON: The ​US and Israel are planning a bombing campaign against energy infrastructure targets in Iran, with strikes ‌possible throughout ‌the weekend, ​CBS ‌News ⁠reported ​on Friday, ⁠citing sources. US President Donald Trump has yet to give the final go-ahead ⁠for the strikes, ‌according ‌»»»

Anthropic said it reviewed 141,006 recent operations by its Claude models after rival OpenAI recently revealed its own AI agents had unexpectedly accessed the Internet and hacked a third party. File Photo by Adam Vaughan/EPA July 31 (UPI) -- Anthropic said some of its artificial intelligence models»»»

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has renewed his criticism of New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who has said the Israeli leader could be arrested on war-crimes charges if he visits the city. The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu in 2024 over Israel’s mi»»»

Warsaw’s office market is shifting in landlords’ favor as strong demand meets historically low supply. Companies leased more than 416,000 sqm of office space in the first half of 2026, up over 38% y/y, with nearly 283,000 sqm signed in the second quarter alone. Meanwhile, only 45,000 sqm of new off»»»

WASHINGTON: Google rolled back Friday a new feature allowing Google Earth users to generate AI visualizations on top of the service’s satellite imagery, following a furious backlash from researchers and open-source intelligence experts about the potential for disinformation. “We’ve seen geospatial »»»

COX’S BAZAR, Bangladesh: At least nine Rohingya were missing after a boat carrying them capsized in the Naf, a shared waterway between Bangladesh and Myanmar, police said Friday. The Rohingya were believed to be fleeing ongoing fighting in Myanmar's Rakhine state between the military and the Arakan»»»

Budapest: Hungary is preparing to shut down its only nuclear power plant for the first time in its 44-year history as record-low water levels in the Danube River disrupt cooling operations, authorities said today. The country's Prime Minister Peter Magyar told a press conference that the Paks Nucle»»»

Residents in several Albanian municipalities staged protests on Friday against a proposed territorial reform that would significantly reduce the number of local governments, arguing the plan would weaken local representation and erase community identities. The governing Socialist Party has proposed»»»

Organisations across the UAE now have until August 14 to apply for the fourth cycle of the Parent-friendly Label, the Abu Dhabi Early Childhood Authority (ECA) has announced. The deadline was extended following strong interest from semi-government, private and third-sector organisations since appli»»»

GENEVA: The Sudanese flashpoint of El-Obeid and surrounding areas are experiencing a spike in malnutrition, gender-based violence and other issues, the United Nations’ children’s agency said on Friday. It said the conflict was “a massive disaster that keeps getting worse.” Now in Khartoum after vis»»»

GAZA/CAIRO: Standing on the roof of ​a war-damaged building overlooking the ruins of Gaza City, beekeeper Ibrahim Al-Dabba gently lifts a honeycomb frame as bees buzz around him. “Bees require trees, we are raising bees among rubble,” he said. For Gaza’s beekeepers, the struggle to rebuild their li»»»

Tokyo: Japan's unemployment rate stayed unchanged at 2.5 percent in June for the third straight month, government data showed Friday. The number of people with jobs in June was down 0.5 percent at a seasonally adjusted 68.46 million, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said. Of thos»»»

Dubai: Emirates ranked among the world’s most operationally reliable airlines in June, recording one of the lowest flight cancellation rates globally despite continued disruption to air travel in parts of the region. According to operational performance data from aviation analytics firm OAG, just 0»»»

Several of Budapest’s best-known landmarks will temporarily go dark as Hungary introduces further energy-saving measures in response to the country’s critical electricity situation. Officials announced on Friday that the decorative lighting of the Hungarian Parliament will be switched off, while th»»»