RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s sovereign AI strategy has been highlighted in an international report, with the Kingdom cited as an example of how governments are building national AI capabilities. The report, “Securing Nations in the Intelligent Economy: Turning AI and Quantum Disruption into Strategic Adv»»»

DHAKA: The Bangladesh government is working on a partnership with Saudi Arabia on strategic projects, officials have said, following a meeting of the Kingdom’s Deputy Minister of Transport Rumaih Al-Rumaih with Prime Minister Tarique Rahman in Dhaka. Al-Rumaih and his delegation met with the prime »»»

RABAT: France ​and Morocco are seeking expressions of ‌interest ‌for ​an ‌electricity ⁠interconnection project ​between the ⁠two countries as part ⁠of ‌broader ‌efforts ​to strengthen energy ‌connections ‌between Europe and ‌North Africa, French Prime Minister ⁠Sébastien ⁠Lecornu said in Rabat.»»»

NEW DELHI: India’s maritime regulator has barred ship owners, managers and recruitment agencies from sending Indian nationals to work on vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz following a rise in deadly attacks by US and Iranian forces. Ten civilian ships staffed by Indian seafarers — MT Settebell»»»

MOSCOW: The Kremlin said on Thursday that there is no immediate prospect of resuming peace talks with Ukraine, though it said that Russia remains open to the idea of negotiations. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia was appreciative of Turkiye’s willingness to help peace efforts, but no new»»»

The fate of Ukraine’s Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov hangs in the balance. Less than a year on the job he has already won a reputation as a radical reformer and cracked down on corruption in the notoriously venal procurement process but is also despised by the bulk of Ukraine’s military elite as»»»

RIYADH: The King Salman Royal Reserve has announced a new scientific breakthrough after researchers documented the behavior of a rare Arabian toad, marking what is believed to be the first observation of its kind in the wild. The discovery was made by a team of environmental specialists during a fi»»»

President Donald Trump fires a U.S. attorney in Seattle less than an hour after being sworn in. File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo July 16 (UPI) -- A federal prosecutor in Seattle was fired by President Donald Trump less than one hour after being sworn in. Roger Rogoff, a longtime prosec»»»

Ukrainians protested in their thousand central Kyiv and other cities across the country on Thursday calling for the reinstatement of sacked Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov (pictured) ahead of a vote in parliament to replace him with Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko. Photo by Olivier Matthys/EPA Ju»»»

Doha, Qatar: The Amir His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani received a phone call on Thursday from His Majesty King Mohammed VI of the sisterly Kingdom of Morocco, during which His Majesty expressed his sincere condolences on the passing of His Highness the late Father Amir Sheikh Hamad bin »»»

Washington, United States: The United States has announced a new 25 percent tariff on various imports from Brazil, accusing the Latin American giant of unfair trade practices and policies. The levy is set to come into effect on July 22 and is shaping up as a major campaign flashpoint three months b»»»

Damascus, July 16 (SANA) Head of the Syrian General Authority for Civil Aviation and Air Transport Omar Hosari said the newly signed air transport agreement with Germany establishes the legal framework for restoring direct air links between the two countries after years of suspension. In a post on »»»

RIYADH: The world will witness one of the longest total solar eclipses of the 21st century, on Aug. 2. It will be a rare astronomical event not seen in Saudi Arabia for more than 75 years that will temporarily turn daylight into darkness. The path of totality will cross large parts of western and s»»»

Madrid: Spain's nuclear safety regulator on Thursday backed extending the operating life of the country's largest atomic power plant to 2030, beyond the government's planned 2028 shutdown. The Almaraz plant, which contributes around seven percent of Spain's electricity production, is slated to clos»»»

Al Ain: The Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority (ADAFSA) has temporarily closed Take Restaurant in Al Ain after inspectors identified repeated food safety violations that posed a risk to public health. The establishment, which operates under commercial licence CN-2554094, was ordered to»»»

Wizz Air is marking two decades of operations in Romania with an expanded fleet, a 50 percent market share, and plans to offer approximately 18 million seats on the local market in 2026. The airline is now prioritising higher frequencies and greater network resilience, while preparing additional ro»»»

Dubai: The United States appears to be shifting from trying to degrade Iran’s military capabilities to considering operations that could fundamentally weaken Tehran’s ability to control the Strait of Hormuz, marking what could be a new phase in the conflict. As President Donald Trump weighs broader»»»

Athens: The mayor of Athens on Thursday said construction of a new line for the city's subway network had been halted for safety tests after dozens of residents reported damage to their flats. Haris Doukas told reporters that "the tunnel boring machine has stopped" in the central district of Kypsel»»»

Malabar Gold & Diamonds, the 4th largest jewellery retailer globally with over 445 showrooms across 14 countries, had the privilege of being one of the first importers of jewellery under the India-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which came into force on 15 July 2026. The shipment of the inaugural co»»»

DOHA: His Highness the Amir of the State of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani received a phone call on Thursday from Minister of Defense of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia HRH Prince Khalid bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, who expressed his deepest condolences on the passing of HH the Father Amir »»»

DOHA: The State of Qatar strongly condemned the repeated Iranian attacks on the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the Kingdom of Bahrain, and the State of Kuwait, considering them a blatant violation of the sovereignty of these countries and a flagrant breach of international law. In a statement issued »»»

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have been ordered to pause most traffic stops in the wake of two fatal shootings. Donald Trump's so-called border tsar Tom Homan has described the move as a "temporary pause", denying it was a "policy change". Then on July 15, Trump seemingly undermined»»»

French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday vowed to replant Fontainebleau forest after devastating wildfires blazed through at least 10% of the 20,000 hectare demain and forced hundreds of residents to flee. The historic forest, just south of Paris, draws hikers, climbers and nature lovers from a»»»

Approaching 2,000 hectares of the iconic and fragile Fontainebleau forest have burned out with around 950 firefighters supported by aerial teams still continuing to battle the flames. While the fire has been contained, it has yet to be extinguished four days after it broke out. French President Emm»»»

Economic reports on Wednesday found that Chinese growth has sunk to the slowest pace in over three years. Despite benefitting from the global AI boom, the country has not managed to offset the slump due to a struggling property sector, drop in domestic spending and trade disruptions caused by the w»»»

Dubai: The emirate's flagship biennial business aviation exhibition will return in December, bringing together aircraft manufacturers, private jet operators and aviation service providers. Sign up for our daily business newsletter, Cheques & Balances.The 11th edition of the MEBAA Show will take pla»»»

In this edition, British photographer Mark Neville, who is based in Kyiv, talks about his passion for the future of Ukraine and his belief that the country will win the war with Russia that started after Moscow’s full-scale invasion in 2022. He has spoken with FRANCE 24 multiple times to share some»»»

Russian missiles targeted the Ukrainian capital early on July 16, but it hasn't deterred protesters who are out in the streets opposing the dismissal of the popular defence minister, Mykhailo Fedorov. During his tenure, Federov oversaw a series of successful Ukrainian operations, including strikes »»»

Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev met with Ahmed Majdalani, the special envoy of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, to discuss the security situation in the Middle East and ongoing efforts to achieve a lasting peace. During the meeting, Radev said Bulgaria remains deeply concerned about develo»»»

Bulgaria’s parliament has approved at first reading a series of amendments to the Election Code that would bring back widespread machine voting, remove the planned electoral district for Bulgarians abroad, and lift restrictions on the number of polling stations in countries outside the European Uni»»»

The head of Albania's Socialist Party parliamentary group, Taulant Balla, accused Democratic Party leader Sali Berisha of personally signing a master plan for the development of the Zvërnec area, escalating political tensions during a parliamentary debate. Balla made the remarks in Parliament while»»»

A 51-year-old man has received an effective prison sentence from the District Court in Lovech after being found guilty of possessing a large amount of counterfeit currency with a total value exceeding 200,000 euros. The investigation into the case began in February this year after police received o»»»

Serbian authorities have dismantled an organized migrant smuggling network operating along the Balkan route during a joint law enforcement operation targeting cross-border trafficking. The investigation was carried out by Serbia’s anti-migration and organized crime service within Europol’s Operatio»»»

SHANGHAI (Sputnik) - Russia, China and more than 25 other countries have signed an agreement on the establishment of a world organization for cooperation in the field of AI, a Sputnik correspondent reported on Thursday. The signing ceremony took place in Shanghai ahead of the World Artificial Intel»»»

Online grocery shopping has become a regular part of everyday life for a growing number of Bulgarians, moving beyond the temporary boom during the Covid-19 pandemic and turning into a firmly established consumer habit. The sector is no longer expanding only in terms of sales, but is also undergoing»»»

Egypt is finalising procedures for four state-owned companies under its stock-market offering programme as it seeks to accelerate privatisation and reduce the government’s role in the economy. Twenty of the 30 companies covered by the programme have already secured temporary listings on the Egyptia»»»

PARIS: France’s government plans to sharply restrain most public spending growth in 2027 as rising defense outlays and borrowing costs consume an increasing share of the budget, spending ceilings published on Thursday showed. The ceilings set the stage for a potentially rocky parliamentary budget b»»»

TAIF, Saudi Arabia: The 2026 Saudi Toyota Hill Climb Championship returns to Aqabat Al-Muhammadiyah in Al-Shafa, Taif, for its second round on July 17-18, following a strong opening round that set the tone for the season. The championship is held under the supervision of the Saudi Automobile and Mo»»»

GENOA, Italy: An Italian court has begun delivering verdicts for 57 defendants charged in the collapse of Genoa’s Morandi highway bridge that killed 43 people nearly eight years ago. The defendants include former executives of highway operator Autostrade per L’Italia, experts from its engineering c»»»

DUBAI: Christopher Nolan’s gargantuan full-IMAX retelling of Homer’s “The Odyssey” is an elemental and testosterone-fuelled undertaking, chock-full of gorgeous set-pieces and metaphysical ruminations that are typical for the auteur; but unfortunately, the sum of its parts do not make for a transfor»»»

Russian President Vladimir Putin has publicly called for lower interest rates again, increasing the pressure on the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) as the Kremlin struggles to reconcile a slowing wartime economy with a fresh surge in inflation driven by the country's deepening fuel crisis. (chart»»»

Ipswich City Big Band Music Director Matt Chambers and Ipswich Mayor Teresa Harding lead an ensemble of more than 600 trombone players in an attempt to break a Guinness World Record. Photo courtesy of Ipswich City Council July 14 (UPI) -- An Australian city gathered more than 600 musicians to play »»»

July 15 (UPI) -- A Houston woman said she is done practicing pole dancing at home after a mishap led to two apartments being flooded. Asha Gilbert was filming her pole dancing practice July 6 at her west Houston apartment when the pole came loose from the ceiling and struck a fire sprinkler. The vi»»»

Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) will auction 150 premium three-, four- and five-digit number plates for private vehicles, classic vehicles and motorcycles in its 83rd online auction. The plates carry the codes A, H, I, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y and Z. Get updated faste»»»

Israeli warplanes targeted Nabatieh al-Fawqa and the outskirts of Baraashit and Beit Yahoun in southern Lebanon on Thursday, while artillery shelled Rshaf. The National News Agency said two strikes targeted Nabatieh al-Fawqa and a third strike targeted Ali al-Taher hill on the outskirts of the town»»»

MP Hussein al-Hajj Hassan of Hezbollah stressed Thursday that Hezbollah “will not hand over the weapons.” “They will not be able to remove them,” he told Al-Jadeed television. “The villages located within the pilot zone are not occupied except for one village, and the Lebanese state's achievement i»»»

Algiers: A fire burning at an orphanage in Algeria's capital has killed at least 11 people including children, authorities said Thursday, amid a heatwave that has sparked hundreds of blazes in the country's north. Firefighters had been battling to extinguish the flames since before dawn in the Moha»»»

A black-furred monkey with striking orange-pink lips that has remained hidden for years in the rainforests of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been confirmed as a new species, marking one of Africa’s most significant primate discoveries in decades. The monkey, officially named Colobus con»»»

In a declaration read out in Parliament on Thursday, the Vazrazhdane parliamentary group calls on the Culture Ministry not to permit piecemeal sales and liquidation of Nu Boyana Film Studios. The group argues that a new overpopulated housing estate will not be in Sofia citizens’ favour and added th»»»

Seoul: Republic of Korea's central bank delivered a quarter-percentage-point interest rate hike Thursday, as widely expected, to tackle high inflation amid lingering Middle East uncertainties. The Bank of Korea (BOK) convened a Monetary Policy Board meeting and lifted the benchmark rate from 2.5 % »»»