The United States on Friday designated Iran a "state sponsor of wrongful detention," its first such move under a new blacklist that could eventually result in a travel ban. The step comes as the United States builds up its military near Iran and threatens to strike over concerns led by its disputed»»»

Washington welcomed a prisoner and detainee exchange between the Syrian government and armed factions in the predominantly Druze southern province of Sweidah, as Damascus pressed ahead with efforts to fold Kurdish security forces into the state apparatus. Syria’s Interior Ministry said the Internal»»»

Open AI CEO Sam Altman, pictured at the White House in January, said on Friday that new deals with Amazon, Nvidia and Softbank will allow it to continue to grow with enough computing power to develop its products and applications. Photo by Aaron Schwartz/UPI | License Photo Feb. 27 (UPI) -- Amazon,»»»

Despite cautious optimism over negotiations between Iran and the US and hopes for a new nuclear deal, Israel’s political leadership and most of its media have struck a starkly different tone: pessimism, and open preparation for failure and war. A growing conviction that a confrontation with Iran is»»»

Dubai: More than 15 countries have urged their citizens to leave Iran as tensions with the United States intensify, fuelling concern about a possible military confrontation and raising uncertainty across the region. In recent hours, governments including the United States, the United Kingdom, Germa»»»

Dubai: More UAE banks are eliminating SMS and email-based one-time passwords (OTPs), as new rules from the Central Bank of the UAE tighten digital security and fraud controls across the financial system. Sign up for our daily business newsletter, Cheques & Balances.By the end of next month, all lic»»»

GENEVA, Feb 27 (KUNA) -- The State of Kuwait expressed profound concern over the continued deterioration of the human rights situation in Rakhine State, west Myanmar.The Muslim Rohingya community undergo serious abuses, including forced deportation, denial of basic rights, physical violence and hat»»»

President Donald Trump told the US government Friday to "immediately" stop using Anthropic's technology after the AI startup rejected the Pentagon's demand that it agree to unconditional military use of its Claude models. Anthropic insists its technology should not be used for the mass surveillance»»»

Target has said it will stop selling breakfast cereals that are made with synthetic colours by the end of May, marking the latest response by a retailer to backlash against ultra-processed foods. The US retail giant's announcement on Friday follows commitments from several food companies to gradual»»»

The US wants to go to war with Iran and will attack once Washington is sure that its weapon stockpiles are sufficient, according to former US Marine Corps intelligence officer and RT contributor Scott Ritter. The US has now gathered the largest military force in the Middle East since before its 200»»»

American singer-songwriter Neil Sedaka, who wrote hits through the 1950's and 60's, including Oh! Carol, Breaking Up Is Hard To Do, Bad Blood, Laughter in the Rain and Calendar Girl, has died at the age of 86. "Our family is devastated by the sudden passing of our beloved husband, father and grandf»»»

For the first time in recent history, more Americans now sympathize more with the Palestinians than the Israelis, a Gallup poll has found. According to the survey, sympathy for the Israeli cause has fallen a record 10% in the last year. The poll, which was published on Friday, found that 41% of Ame»»»

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on Friday announced that the Department of Defense came to an agreement with Scouting America that it would continue to partner with the organization after changes to some of its policies. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo Feb. 27 (UPI) -- The Department of »»»

Doha: Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani received a phone call on Friday from Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran HE Dr. Abbas Araghchi. During the call, they discussed the results of the third round of negot»»»

JEDDAH, Feb 27 (KUNA) -- The State of Kuwait reaffirms commitment to working with the member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to deliver humanitarian and political support to the Palestinian people.In a speech on behalf of Kuwait to the emergency meeting of the OIC Executive Commit»»»

The proposed takeover of Warner Bros by Paramount Skydance could significantly reshape Hollywood and the wider media landscape. It's far from a done deal - Paramount still needs approval from regulators. But if it does go ahead, here's how it could shake up things for viewers. Paramount is expected»»»

The Danish government will stop issuing temporary residence permits to Ukrainians from regions relatively unaffected by the conflict with Russia. At the same time, Denmark will bolster Vladimir Zelensky’s conscript army by denying entry to draft-age men. Under the new rules, residence permits will »»»

British intelligence agency MI5 unlawfully spied on Irish journalist Vincent Kearney for eight years, his lawyers have told a tribunal in London. MI5 agents allegedly monitored Kearney’s calls, contacts, and movements while he reported from Northern Ireland. Kearney was monitored by MI5, the Police»»»

The infection was declared eliminated in the United States in 2000. The United States has already seen more than half the number of measles cases it saw in all of 2025, with experts predicting a record year for cases in the country. File Photo by Annie Rice/EPA Feb. 27 (UPI) -- The United States ha»»»

The Central Election Commission (CEC) allocated seats to the multi-member constituencies for the parliamentary elections scheduled for April 19, 2026, during its session on Friday. The CEC changed its decision from February 20, which included a 32nd multi-member constituency for expatriate voters. »»»

Doha, Qatar: The Qatar Meteorology Department stated that chances of rain were expected for Monday in a weather update. The Department stated that “weather conditions are expected to be partly cloudy to cloudy starting Monday, March 2, 2026” with chances of scattered rain continuing throughout the »»»

Israel's High Court has temporarily halted a ban on international aid groups from working in the occupied Palestinian territories unless they meet strict new rules. The injunction came ahead of an Israeli deadline for 37 well-known organisations to stop work, something the groups warn will remove a»»»

Canada's oil-rich province of Alberta is forecasting a deficit of C$9.4bn ($6.9bn; £5.1bn), citing a "dramatic" increase in its population coupled with low oil prices. The once debt-free province called the deficit "a tough pill to swallow", saying it will have to break its own fiscal restraint law»»»

Hungary and Slovakia have agreed to establish a joint investigation to examine damage to the Druzhba oil pipeline supplying crude from Russia, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Friday. The two countries have accused Ukraine of halting crude flows from Russia for political reasons. The p»»»

A potential new American military strike on Iran would not drag the country into another prolonged foreign conflict, US Vice President J.D. Vance has said. Washington has amassed a military force in the Middle East unseen since before the 2003 invasion of Iraq and is demanding that Tehran make conc»»»

Riyadh: Vehicles registered in a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) country will not be allowed to remain in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for more than 90 days within any 365-day period, Saudi English language newspaper Saudi Gazette reported. This period, whether consecutive or non-consecutive, “is cal»»»

LONDON, Feb 27 (KUNA) -- The UK hosted a meeting of senior NATO officials to discuss the alliance's plans for nuclear deterrence, said the British government on Friday.According to a statement, the meeting "brought together NATO Ambassadors, the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), Supreme All»»»

Dubai: US President Donald Trump said on Friday he is “not happy” with the direction of nuclear talks with Iran, warning that while diplomacy remains ongoing, military force remains an option if Tehran refuses to abandon its nuclear ambitions. “We’re not exactly happy with the way they’re negotiati»»»

Dubai Miracle Garden, the world’s largest natural flower garden and home to multiple Guinness World Records, has announced a special seasonal promotion granting free entry to children aged 12 years and below from March 1 until the end of the current season on May 31st. The initiative is applicable »»»

Nasa is adding an extra mission to its Artemis programme before it attempts to land astronauts on the Moon for the first time in half a century. The original plan was to fly around the Moon for the Artemis II mission, which is currently scheduled for April, and then attempt a lunar landing with Art»»»

Dubai: The UAE Council for Fatwa has reaffirmed that deliberately breaking the fast during the daytime in Ramadan is prohibited under Islamic law, stressing that the act is considered a grave sin that requires repentance, compensation and expiation. In a series of its Ramadan fatwas, the council sa»»»

A day after the start of operations at Kronospan's medium-density fibreboard (MDF) panels in Veliko Tarnovo, the Veliko Tarnovo Regional Inspectorate of Environment and Water (RIEW) received 27 complaints about smells of sawdust and glue and about a bluish haze over several neighbourhoods of the ci»»»

BELGRADE - Serbian Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic met with Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto in Belgrade on Friday. Addressing a joint press conference at the Palace of Serbia, Djedovic Handanovic said the discussion - their second this week»»»

Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia's labor force participation rate stood at 70.8 percent in 2025, with the unemployment rate falling to 3 percent from 3.3 percent in 2024, official data showed Thursday. The Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) said in a statement on Thursday that the total number of jobs »»»

Buenos Aires: On a recent Sunday, a Buenos Aires plaza transformed into a makeshift wilderness for an unusual group of teenagers. Sofía, wearing a lifelike beagle mask, ran across the grass on all fours. Nearby, 15-year-old Aguara leapt through the air, clearing an obstacle course while imitating t»»»

BELGRADE - Serbian Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic met with Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto in Belgrade on Friday. Addressing a joint press conference at the Palace of Serbia, Djedovic Handanovic said the discussion - their second this week»»»

The EU is desperately attempting to engineer “regime change” against Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in next month’s parliamentary election, employing tactics such as poll manipulation and energy blackmail, German opposition leader Alice Weidel has claimed. In a post on X on Wednesday, the co»»»

On February 27, Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif declared that his country had entered a state of “open war” with Afghanistan. Pakistani Minister of Information Attaullah Tarar reported strikes on Kabul and Kandahar, which Afghan authorities have confirmed. Asif claimed that the Taliban has »»»

Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrives before President Donald Trump delivers his State of the Union address Tuesday. The State Department announced Friday that Rubio will travel to Israel to discuss Iran next week. Pool photo by Kenny Holston/UPI | License Photo Feb. 27 (UPI) -- Secretary of State»»»

Across Iranian cities, many are living through sleepless nights and anxious days amid the continued speculation that the United States could be about to carry out military strikes. Some young people in particular are obsessively checking plane- and ship-tracking platforms - some fearful of external»»»

A sizeable exhibit in the Museum of the Revolution in Havana is dedicated to conditions in Cuba before the revolution took power in 1959. Inside the ornate former presidential palace, photographs and oral testimony detail the grinding poverty and ingrained corruption of the dictatorship of Cuba's t»»»

Members of the National Institute of Forensic Sciences organize packages of confiscated cocaine in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, on February 26 before incinerating 5,038 pounds of the drug after seizures made under the U.S.-led Operation Southern Spear, an international initiative to combat dr»»»

Abu Dhabi: Parents in the UAE have been urged to register their children in government schools for the 2026-2027 academic year before the deadline next week, as education authorities warned that applications will not be accepted after the registration window closes. The Ministry of Education said e»»»

One person was killed and around 40 injured, including one in a critical condition, when a tram derailed in central Milan on Friday, a spokesperson for local ‌firefighters said. The ‌tram, one of ‌the ⁠newest models in ⁠operation in Milan, came off the tracks in Vittorio Veneto street, one of the c»»»

Artificial intelligence company Anthropic faces a 5 p.m. EST deadline to comply with the Pentagon or lose a $200 million contract and face blackilisting. Photo by Annabelle Gordon/UPI | License Photo Feb. 27 (UPI) -- Anthropic faces a 5 p.m. EST deadline to comply with the Pentagon and allow it to »»»

Dubai: “With the Quran, the mind expands to embrace everything” - an inspiring principle shaped by Kuwaiti contestant Abdullah Faisal Al Buti, serving as a constant guide throughout his journey since early childhood. The Holy Quran has been his driving force, multiplying his energy and motivating h»»»

Five people have been arrested in Turkey and charged with membership of a migrant-smuggling ring allegedly involved in this month’s shipwreck off Chios that killed 15 Afghan migrants, Greek authorities said Friday. A Coast Guard statement said the crackdown in the coastal city of Izmir followed an »»»

BUDAPEST - Serbian Parliament Speaker Ana Brnabic said on Friday Serbia was on the European path and that EU membership was its strategic priority, as well as that the country was committed to reforms, especially in rule of law, and noted that the EU should have equal standards for all membership c»»»

The UK has temporarily withdrawn staff from its embassy in Tehran, as the threat of US strikes against Iran prompts warnings from a number of countries to their citizens in the Middle East. The UK Foreign Office said it was a "precautionary measure" and that its embassy in Iran's capital continued »»»

Nyon: The draw for the Round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League was held on Friday at the UEFA headquarters in the Swiss city of Nyon, producing several high-profile matchups among Europe's elite clubs in a stage expected to witness open tactical and physical battles. The draw pitted defending cham»»»