WASHINGTON/DUBAI: US President Donald Trump said Iran was not ready to make the “right deal,” as Washington prepared to unveil what it described as unprecedented economic sanctions aimed at increasing pressure on Tehran nearly six months into the war. “It just means that we’re seeing what happens,”»»»

CEUTA, Spain: In front of ‌a dozen reporters and a handful of local people, a crew of gravediggers in disposable protective overalls and facemasks on Friday started burying ​some of the scores of migrants who died in a mass crossing into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in North Africa three weeks ago.»»»

Rome, Aug. 21 (SANA) Lebanese President Joseph Aoun met on Friday with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Rome to discuss the latest regional developments, particularly in Lebanon, amid continued Israeli attacks on Lebanese territory, the Lebanese presidency said. Aoun stressed the need to pr»»»

TUNIS, Aug. 21 (TAP) – A new high-voltage electrical substation, worth TND 47 million, was commissioned Friday in the Hached industrial zone in Bouargoub, Nabeul, the Tunisian Electricity and Gas Company (STEG) announced. Inaugurated by Nabeul...»»»

CEUTA, Spain: In front of ‌a dozen reporters and a handful of local people, a crew of gravediggers in disposable protective overalls and facemasks on Friday started burying ​some of the scores of migrants who died in a mass crossing into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in North Africa three weeks ago.»»»

Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia will seek a solution to the transboundary haze issue through ASEAN diplomatic channels, Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan said on Friday. ASEAN remains the most appropriate platform for addressing issues involving countries in the region, Mohamad told a press briefing. "We belie»»»

Capitals, Aug. 21 (SANA) Eight Arab and Muslim countries, along with Spain and Sweden, on Friday condemned Israel’s E1 settlement plan in occupied East Jerusalem, warning that the project threatens to divide the West Bank and undermine the two-state solution. In a joint statement published by Qatar»»»

More than half of the 2,500-plus deaths from DR Congo's Ebola outbreak have occurred within the past 20 days alone, as the virus spreads faster than any recorded outbreak, according to the UN's senior Ebola coordinator. Julien Harneis is urging a rapid scale-up of resources to prevent the epidemic »»»

DAMASCUS: Syria on Friday said it had requested to join the International Partnership Against Impunity for the Use of Chemical Weapons on the anniversary of a 2013 chemical attack on a suburb of the capital Damascus. In a joint statement with France, Syria announced its bid to join the partnership »»»

TUNIS, Tunisia: A summer of extreme heat has left many Tunisians short of water and electricity — and full of anger at the country’s leadership. Protesters rallied in the capital Tunis on Thursday, many calling on President Kais Saied to leave power. Mobilized by a new opposition collective, the de»»»

CHICAGO: It is a great start, but the US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee will have to do more than simply tell settler extremists not to take Palestinian Americans’ land in the West Bank. Israeli settlers, often with the backing of the Israel Defense Forces, have accelerated the annexation of la»»»

Alfalfa sprouts under the brand names Calco and Everything Sprouts have sickened 55 people across 15 states, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned Friday. Photo courtesy Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Aug. 21 (UPI) -- Dozens of people across 15 states have been sickened »»»

Washington: The World Bank expects Lebanon's economy to contract by 6.4 percent in 2026, saying the latest war launched by Israel against the country has dealt a setback to efforts to revive the economy. In a recent report, the World Bank said the recovery recorded in 2025 had suffered a "sharp" se»»»

STOCKHOLM: One person died and three were wounded after a sword-wielding attacker entered a high school in the town of Fagersta in central Sweden Friday, police said, adding the suspect had been arrested. Local police chief Tommy Alriksson told journalists that one person had been found dead after »»»

Bordeaux: Six-time French champions stepped closer to extinction on Friday when a Paris court upheld the decision to bar them from playing in the fourth tier in the coming season. They have instead been relegated to the sixth tier. The Paris administrative court, the last possible legal avenue for »»»

By UPI StaffThe Israeli government has announced its plans to build housing units near the E1 area, between the Arab neighborhood of Al-Eizariya and the Israeli settlement of Ma'ale Adumim on Thursday. The Israeli government has refrained from building in the E1 area due to concerns about its impac»»»

Damascus, Aug. 21 (SANA) Syria condemned the bombing that occurred in the vicinity of an educational center in the Afghan capital, Kabul, which left dozens of people injured. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates said in a statement Friday that Syria stands in full solidarity with Afghani»»»

Turkey said Friday it is seeking an international arrest warrant from Interpol for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as part of a domestic criminal case over Israel's interception and detention of dozens of activists attempting to deliver humanitarian aid to the besieged Gaza Strip in May. »»»

EDINGBURG: The State of Qatar is participating in the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo 2026, hosted in the Scottish capital from August 7 to 29. The festival was attended by Ambassador of the State of Qatar to the United Kingdom HE Sheikh Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Saud Al Thani, and Legal Adviser to»»»

In order to create an image of Russian President Vladimir Putin as a leader beloved by his people, pro-Russia social media users have been claiming that he travels without a security team, unlike other heads of state. To illustrate this claim, they shared a video of his latest trip to Siberia. The »»»

Abu Dhabi: The UAE is expanding its integrated supply chain infrastructure in 2026, consolidating maritime, land, air, rail, and free zone operations to maintain global trade flows and enhance transit adaptability. Transitioning from a traditional import-export hub into an end-to-end logistics plat»»»

Islamabad: The Pakistani army announced today the killing of 49 militants in security operations in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces in the north and southwest of the country. In a statement, the army said that during the security operations, large quantities of explosives, remote-c»»»

Construction on the White House ballroom was ongoing on the South Lawn of the White House on Wednesday. The Supreme Court blocked a lower court injunction seeking a halt to continued work on the project on Friday. Photo by Al Drago/UPI | License Photo Aug. 21 (UPI) -- The Supreme Court on Friday te»»»

Paris: Europe saw at least 30,000 excess deaths across a blistering summer of back-to-back heatwaves and drought which scientists have blamed on man-made climate change, according to provisional figures. Between mid-July and mid-August, the continent's EuroMomo monitoring platform estimates that Eu»»»

BEIRUT: The World Bank on Friday projected that Lebanon’s economy would contract by 6.4 percent this year, as the latest Israel-Hezbollah war derailed the country’s efforts at recovery. Lebanon has been dealing with an unprecedented financial crisis since 2019 and was still reeling from the 2024 Is»»»

Russian drones struck a shopping center in the city of Kryvyi Rih in central Ukraine on Friday, killing 14 people and wounding scores of others, authorities said. The city is the hometown of President Volodymyr Zelensky, who described the attack as a double-tap strike, in which an initial wave of d»»»

DOHA: With 100 days to go until the Formula 1 Qatar Airways Qatar Grand Prix 2026, Lusail International Circuit (LIC) has unveiled this year’s key visual reflecting a side of Qatar that is ambitious, fast paced, and globally current, to mark the milestone, building anticipation ahead of the penulti»»»

RIYADH: The Buraidah International Dates Carnival has launched a daily tourist bus tour that allows visitors to explore Buraidah’s history and cultural, heritage and economic landmarks, as well as the carnival itself. After leaving the Palm Center, the event’s main venue, the tour visits several pr»»»

RIYADH: Saudi Foreign Affairs Vice Minister Waleed El-Khereiji received Chen Weiqing, director-general of the Department of West Asian and North African Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China in Riyadh on Friday. During the meeting, they reviewed bilateral relations between the two cou»»»

RIYADH: A Slovenian falcon breeding farm made a strong debut at this year’s International Falcon Breeders Auction by selling all 23 of its falcons on the first day of its participation. The Slovenian farm’s representative, Abdullah Al-Buainain, said the falcons were pure gyrfalcons and gyrfalcon hy»»»

RIYADH: A series of community and field initiatives has been launched by the Jazan Municipality ahead of the new academic year starting next week. This includes distributing more than 50,000 gifts to students and more than 500 “Welcome back” signs being constructed at various locations in the city.»»»

The Motherland Monument is illuminated in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday. Ukraine celebrates its independence day on Aug. 24. On Friday, 14 people were killed by Russian drones in a shopping center. Photo by Sergey Dolzhenko/EPA Aug. 21 (UPI) -- Russia launched a daytime drone attack on a shopping center »»»

DOHA: The foreign ministers of the State of Qatar, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, the Republic of Indonesia, the Republic of Lebanon Republic, Malaysia, the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the State of Palestine, the K»»»

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva rejected the U.S. justifications for imposing new tariffs, calling them "unfounded" in a phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday. Photo by Andre Borges/EPA Aug. 21 (UPI) -- Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said he spoke by pho»»»

Inflation predicted to rise to 17.5%. Bank customers, largely locked out of their foreign-currency accounts ater the financial crisis of 2019, gather at Martyrs' Square in late July before marching toward the Sin el-Fil suburb east of Beirut, where several bank facades were vandalized. Photo by Abb»»»

Egypt's foreign reserves have never been higher. Nor has the tension been clearer between its stronger external buffer and the central bank's rising exposure to a government the IMF wants to rely less heavily on domestic financial institutions for financing. Net international reserves reached $56.2»»»

The interim leadership of Hungary's public media has published a 482-page dossier documenting what its authors describe as more than a decade of political interference in the work of the Hungarian News Agency (MTI), including orders to suppress, alter, delay or produce reports for political reasons»»»

Edinburgh: The State of Qatar is participating in the activities of the “Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo 2026,” hosted by the Scottish capital, from August 7 to 29. The festival was attended by H.E. Sheikh Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Saud Al Thani, Ambassador of the State of Qatar to the United Kingd»»»

Mumbai: A collection of notes written by Indian independence hero Mahatma Gandhi has sold for $1.7 million in Mumbai, the highest ever price paid for an Indian historical document. Mumbai-based auction house Saffronart said the collection was preserved by the family of Gandhi's close associate and »»»

Declining water levels due to climate change and 20 years of ongoing drought have reshaped Lake Mead's shorelines as seen in this file photo from Nov. 16, 2022. The Department of the Interior on Friday published a new framework under which three Lower Basin states will face reduced water deliveries»»»

Police and rescue services on site at Brinellskolan high school after a man with a sword injured several people in Fagersta, Sweden, Friday. Photo by Fredrik Sandberg/EPA Aug. 21 (UPI) -- A man wielding a sword entered a Swedish high school and injured three people Friday before being shot and arre»»»

London: A UK zoo on Friday hailed curing a cancer-stricken python named after Hollywood star Jodie Foster, who became the first snake to receive an innovative treatment combining surgery and electrochemotherapy (ECT). Chester Zoo, in northwest England, said the 4.5 metre (15-foot) reticulated pytho»»»

A meeting in Kalofer (Central Bulgaria) on Friday aimed to raise awareness among pasture users of the threat poison baits pose to wildlife, particularly protected species like vultures and other birds of pray. The event was organized at the initiative of the Environment and Water Ministry and the C»»»

GENEVA: More than 200 health and nutritional facilities have been forced to close across drought-hit Somalia due to deep international aid cuts, leaving more children facing life-threatening malnutrition, the UN said on Friday. The UN children’s agency warned that Somalia’s children were “paying th»»»

Ramallah: The Palestinian Presidency warned on Friday of the serious consequences of continued Israeli violations against Al Aqsa Mosque and Islamic holy sites, including incursions and religious rituals. In a statement marking the 57th anniversary of the Al Aqsa Mosque fire, it called for firm int»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Friday that US sanctions against Iran had repeatedly failed, recalling threats made by former US President Barack Obama. Araghchi commented on Obama's October 2012 social media post in which the former president cited then-US Vice P»»»

Hungary is experiencing a striking weather divide on Friday, with temperatures varying by more than 10°C between the country’s coolest and hottest regions. A wavy frontal system is bringing heavy showers and thunderstorms to western and northern Hungary, while the southeast is sweltering in tempera»»»

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer met with Canadian counterpart Dominic LeBlanc Friday in Washington as a midnight deadline for the imposition of 50% American tariffs on many Canadian goods loomed. File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo Aug. 21 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump's threat»»»

Annette Young is pleased to welcome Dr. Aaron Y. Zelin, Senior Fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. He sees Israel’s recent actions in the West Bank and Syria as part of a broader shift in its strategic posture. Since October 7, the Israeli government has become markedly less co»»»

Members of the Ecuadorian Army began to deploy in Guayaquil in June to four of Ecuador’s most violent provinces to bolster operations against organized crime after President Daniel Noboa declared a new state of emergency in nearly half the country, File Photo by Jonathan Miranda/EPA Aug. 21 (UPI) -»»»