Egyptian authorities said Thursday that a drone attack set two gas ships ablaze at the Mediterranean port of Damietta on Wednesday. File Photo by Olivier Hoslet/EPA July 30 (UPI) -- Egyptian authorities said Thursday that a drone attack set two gas ships ablaze at the Mediterranean port of Damietta»»»

The US Senate has unanimously urged President Donald Trump not to pardon Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted sex trafficker who helped Jeffrey Epstein recruit and abuse underage girls. Maxwell, the daughter of disgraced British newspaper tycoon and former MP Robert Maxwell, who had suspected ties to I»»»

Citizens staged a protest outside the Regional Administration building in Yambol on Thursday against the deployment of US military aircraft at Bezmer Air Base. They called for the reversal of the decision adopted by the Government and approved by Parliament. Participants included representatives of»»»

Riyadh: Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi, on Thursday strongly condemned the drone attack targeting Egypt's Port of Damietta. In a statement, Albudaiwi stated that such terrorist acts and attacks are aimed at undermining regional security and stability»»»

Doha: The State of Qatar welcomed the Republic of Ireland's enactment of a law banning the import of goods from Israeli settlements, describing it an important step that supports efforts to deter the occupation's settlement policies, which constitute a flagrant violation of international law, parti»»»

For the first time in the Paks nuclear power station’s 42-year history, production is expected to shut down completely within 24 to 72 hours because of the Danube’s record-low water level, Péter Magyar, the prime minister, said on his Facebook page on Thursday afternoon. Paks NPP shutdown date reve»»»

Lawyers for the US state of Tennessee argued that the company ignored its own research linking Instagram to compulsive use, eating disorders, depression and self-harm among teenagers, while keeping features such as autoplay, notifications and infinite scroll to maximise time spent on the platform a»»»

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia on Thursday hosted an international meeting to discuss establishing a maritime defense coalition.»»»

LONDON: The Royal Jordanian Air Force assisted a UN mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo with a rescue and medical evacuation after a small passenger plane crashed on Thursday. A Black Hawk helicopter operated by the force conducted the action as part of the UN Organization Stabilization Mis»»»

AMSTERDAM: The Rhine has dropped to its lowest recorded level at the point where it flows into the Netherlands and is due to drop further due to drought, officials said Thursday. Human-caused climate change has intensified a drought across Europe — with extreme heat, rather than low rainfall, drivi»»»

Doha: The State of Qatar strongly condemned the targeting of two liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers off the Port of Damietta in the sisterly Arab Republic of Egypt, considering it a direct threat to global energy supplies, a clear and flagrant violation of international law, and an irresponsible »»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Ukraine's overnight attack with UAVs on ships at the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) marine terminal is of terrorist nature, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday. Earlier in the day, the CPC said that the Niffos Sifnos tanker flying the flag of »»»

President of the Republic, Joseph Aoun, said his visit to Turkey reflected the longstanding ties between Lebanon and Turkey and a shared determination to expand cooperation in ways that serve both peoples and contribute to regional stability. Speaking after talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip»»»

AMSTERDAM: The Rhine has dropped to its lowest recorded level at the point where it flows into the Netherlands and is due to drop further due to drought, officials said Thursday. Human-caused climate change has intensified a drought across Europe — with extreme heat, rather than low rainfall, drivi»»»

PARIS, France: European football’s governing body UEFA said Thursday it would boycott the World Cup should FIFA press ahead with its private investor plan. “No UEFA national teams will participate in any FIFA competition for so long as these proposals remain alive, unless this proposal has been aba»»»

Dubai- Seventeen people were injured after a car driven by an Egyptian woman crashed into an open-air café at the Lasirena Resort in Ain Sokhna, authorities said on Thursday, in an accident that eyewitnesses said turned a quiet afternoon into panic. Preliminary investigations indicated that the wom»»»

Royal Grenada Police are searching for Liz Waddell of Cary, N.C. They don't believe there was foul play in her disappearance. Photo courtesy of FindLiz.com July 30 (UPI) -- The husband of a missing Cary, N.C., woman in Granada said he believes there is no foul play in her disappearance. Elizabeth "»»»

RAMALLAH: Palestinian finance minister Estaphan Salameh on Wednesday floated a slate of proposals to deal with a severe fuel crisis in the occupied West Bank, including the creation of a public petrol company. For nearly two weeks, scenes of cars lined up at petrol stations have become ubiquitous t»»»

DUBAI: Stefano Domenicali, the president and CEO of Formula One, has said that the 2026 races in Abu Dhabi and Qatar are “confirmed,” despite ongoing speculation due to the political situation in the region. Domenicali revealed the news during a media interview on F1’s official website. He added th»»»

Doha: Minister of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs HE Dr. Mohammed bin Abdulaziz bin Saleh Al Khulaifi held a telephone conversation on Thursday with Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana HE Hugh Hilton Todd. During the call, they di»»»

BELGRADE - At Thursday's meeting with UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Belgrade, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic presented Serbia's vision for the specialised EXPO 2027. "I presented Serbia's vision for the EXPO 2027 and plans for the largest-ever international event to be hosted by »»»

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The US Department of War (DOW) plans to actively involve technology start-ups to refill weapon stockpiles shrunk by the conflict with Iran, The Washington Post reported on Thursday, citing acting Pentagon Press Secretary Joel Valdez. In late June, Secretary of War Pete Hegset»»»

Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson speaks to the media at the scene after a fatal shooting during the Bite of Seattle food festival at Seattle Center in Seattle on Sunday. Photo by Genna Martin/EPA July 30 (UPI) -- Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson has fired Seattle Police Department Chief Shon Barnes, local news»»»

LONDON: Syria said on Thursday it has cut the price of industrial fuel oil to $400 per tonne from $475 in a bid to lower production costs, support manufacturers and boost the competitiveness of domestic industries. Energy Minister Mohammed Al-Bashir told the state-run SANA news agency the move is i»»»

Madrid: Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced today that Spain has lifted the national state of emergency imposed in response to major wildfires near Madrid, following significant progress in containing the blazes. Speaking during a visit to an emergency operations centre in the town of Na»»»

Doha: The Gulf Football Federation today unveiled its new visual identity and announced the adoption of its new official name, Gulf Football Federation, replacing its previous title, the Arabian Gulf Cup Football Federation. In a statement, the federation said the new identity reflects the core val»»»

The National Assembly on Thursday passed on second reading Election Code amendments removing the cap on voting sections in non-EU countries, abolishing the Abroad constituency, introducing mandatory machine voting in most voting sections, and introducing special features for voters with visual impa»»»

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Acting Director General of Passports Maj. Gen. Saleh bin Saad Al-Murabba has participated in the 41st meeting of the Directors General of Passports of the Gulf Cooperation Council, which was held in Riyadh in the presence of delegations from member states. The meeting looked »»»

AMMAN — Global passenger demand for air travel declined by 1.7 per cent in June 2026 compared with the same period last year, as weaker domestic markets in China, the United States and Japan offset growth across several international regions, according to new figures released by the International A»»»

TOKYO — Japan will temporarily slash consumption tax on food from eight percent to just one percent starting next April, the prime minister said on Thursday, as her administration seeks to tackle rising inflation.It will be the first such reduction since the tax was introduced in 1989, and the rate»»»

LONDON — Global stock markets diverged Thursday as traders tracked major earnings and central bank updates, while oil prices steadied after recent volatility caused by the Middle East war.The US Federal Reserve held interest rates steady Wednesday, weighing on the dollar, though three policymakers »»»

SEOUL — South Korean technology giant Samsung Electronics posted on Thursday a massive 19-fold jump in second-quarter operating profit from last year, buoyed by sustained AI-driven demand for memory chips.Samsung and other leading memory chipmakers have seen profits skyrocket in 2026, but their sha»»»

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange at the NYSE Options Market on Wall Street on Wednesday. The GDP only rose 1.5% in the second quarter, well below expectations. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo July 30 (UPI) -- The U.S. economy slowed in the second quarter of this »»»

LONDON: The United ‌Kingdom’s Supreme Court has said it will hear an appeal against a lower court ruling that ​Britain’s decision to ban campaign group Palestine Action as a terrorist organization was lawful. London’s Court of Appeal ruled in June that proscribing Palestine Action under terrorism l»»»

UN: The UN Security Council began the process of selecting the UN’s next secretary-general, holding a first “straw poll” to gauge the seven candidates’ support for the high-profile global statesman role. Four women and three men are so far in the running to succeed Antonio Guterres, who will comple»»»

In this edition of French Connections, Genie Godula and Florence Villeminot continue their tour of Paris with a stop in the 3rd arrondissement. This is the quieter, more local side of the Marais and one of the oldest neighbourhoods in the French capital. It's a place where medieval history rubs sho»»»

Dubai: Dubai Financial Market (DFM) on Thursday reported a net profit before tax of Dh443.2 million for the first six months of 2026, supported by strong trading activity and increased investor participation. The DFM said that trading activity grew significantly during the first half of the year, w»»»

The assault on a checkpoint in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa comes days after another deadly clash in the volatile border province, where authorities have blamed a growing wave of attacks on militants operating from neighbouring Afghanistan.   An attack late Wednesday on a checkpoint in northern Pak»»»

Cairo: The League of Arab States on Thursday expressed strong condemnation of the targeting of two ships in the Egyptian port of Damietta, which -according to the Egyptian Cabinet's findings- was carried out by a drone. In a statement, Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Fahmy stressed that this ta»»»

United Nations, United States: The UN Security Council began the process of selecting the UN's next secretary-general, holding a first "straw poll" to gauge the seven candidates' support for the high-profile global statesman role. Four women and three men are so far in the running to succeed Antoni»»»

More than €3.7 million was spent on salaries and other remuneration for a special unit at Bulgaria’s Ministry of Interior that former Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev ordered to be closed, describing it as a “parasitic” structure. According to information provided by the ministry under the Access»»»

"Revival" MP Angel Yanchev launched a strong attack against Prime Minister Rumen Radev and the ruling Progressive Bulgaria party, accusing them of abandoning key commitments made during the election campaign. Speaking from the parliamentary tribune, Yanchev compared Radev’s alleged change of positi»»»

Bulgaria's Air Force spent this week at the center of an unusually candid public admission: the country's Soviet-era MiG-29s are running out of spare parts, the American F-16s meant to replace them are years behind schedule and Defense Minister Dimitar Stoyanov has sent letters to four different co»»»

The Bulgarian Parliament approved amendments to the Electoral Code that remove restrictions on opening polling stations in countries outside the European Union, with the changes passing their second reading in the plenary hall with 151 votes in favor, 36 against and one abstention. The adopted amen»»»

Bulgarian Foreign Minister Velislava Petrova assured her Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, that no direct military operations connected to the conflict in the Middle East will be conducted from Bulgarian territory, despite the deployment of US military aircraft in the country. During a telephone»»»

Vast cosmic collisions over tens of billions of years have shaped our galaxy into the Milky Way that we see in the night sky today. Galactic archaeologist Amina Helma has dedicated her life to unearthing the "cosmic fossils" that help us decipher our galaxy's violent birth – and give us glimps»»»

The president of Spain's north African exclave Ceuta on Thursday warned of a "total humanitarian and social emergency" after hundreds of migrants entered the territory by swimming across from neighbouring Morocco in recent days.  Hundreds of migrants have entered the Spanish north African excl»»»

Just days before the parliamentary election, on 30 March, Levente Magyar, the deputy foreign minister, was still praising the scheduled flights relaunching from Pécs-Pogány after an 18-year break, under the German airline operator SkyHub Airlines. It took only a few months for the company to all bu»»»

Albania’s ruling Socialist majority has unveiled its proposal for the Administrative-Territorial Reform 2.0, which would reduce the number of municipalities from 61 to 46 by merging 28 existing municipalities into 13 new administrative units. According to the proposal, the reform is based on an ass»»»

The National Assembly on Thursday voted 151-36, with one abstention, to scrap the limit of up to 20 voting sections outside Bulgaria's diplomatic missions and consular posts in non-EU countries. The change was adopted at second reading as part of amendments to the Election Code. Progressive Bulgari»»»