Syria and Russia have agreed to end Moscow’s use of two strategic Mediterranean bases as military outposts, Syria's foreign ministry said Sunday. Under the deal, Damascus will take control of the Hmeimem air base and part of Tartous port, while the remaining military facilities will be converted in»»»

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump signaled Sunday he is prepared to let economic pressure mount against Iran, apparently backing away from ordering more military strikes even as Tehran issues tough demands. “We are low-keying it,” Trump said, according to the news outlet Axios, which said it sp»»»

The sun sets behind the Statue of Liberty in July in New York City. On Saturday evening, a recreational boat capsized in New York Harbor killing a mother and baby near Liberty Island. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo Aug. 9 (UPI) -- A recreational boat capsized in New York Harbor, k»»»

The Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) has issued the first regulatory framework governing the establishment and operation of hedge funds in Egypt, marking a significant step in expanding the country’s capital market and broadening investment opportunities. Under a decision issued by the FRA’s Bo»»»

Russia has carried out one of its largest attacks on Ukraine's state-owned energy sector in recent months, striking seven oil and gas production facilities operated by Ukrnafta, part of the Naftogaz Group, in the latest effort to disrupt domestic energy supplies ahead of winter, the company said in»»»

Mongolia's next election cycle begins in less than a year with the presidential poll. The parliamentary elections will follow in 2028. Even before campaigning has officially begun, politicians are already jockeying for position in the race to succeed President Ukhnaa Khurelsukh.  The growing f»»»

LONDON: Israeli ministers, members of the Knesset and other officials on Sunday laid the cornerstone for a new settlement, Emek Dotan, on land belonging to the Palestinian town of Arraba, southwest of Jenin in the occupied West Bank, local media reported. Tareq Eghbariyeh, the Jenin Governorate’s s»»»

People hold placards calling for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to stop the war with Iran and stop Jewish settler violence against Palestinians at a protest near his residence in Jerusalem in March. Netanyahu said Sunday that Israel will not withdraw from Gaza until Hamas is fully disarm»»»

Syria said on Sunday that it reached a deal with Moscow on the fate of Russia's two bases in the country, which it once used to provide military support to ousted leader Bashar Al Assad during the Syrian civil war. Syria's official SANA news agency quoted the foreign ministry as saying that Hmeimim»»»

Abu Dhabi: The cheers may have barely faded from Etihad Arena, but SB Girls are already looking ahead to their next UAE stage. After thousands of fans turned out for the Filipino girl group’s “Get Get Aw” concert in Abu Dhabi, they have one more promise for UAE audiences, Dubai will not simply be a»»»

An ambulance crew was attacked with stones, sticks and axes in a Transylvanian village after residents reportedly mistook the emergency vehicle for one allegedly linked to an online kidnapping rumour. Angry Transylvanian villagers attack emergency vehicle with stones, sticks and axes The incident t»»»

No driver in the cab. No one is pressing buttons at every stop. Just a train that thinks for itself. Moscow is now testing the Lastochka with Level 4 automation – the highest grade. That means the train:Drives itselfOpens and closes doorsBrakes automaticallyDetects obstacles on the tracksA human op»»»

Lebanese authorities detained a former Syrian army officer following an arrest warrant from Damascus accusing him of "killing and crimes against humanity," a judicial official told AFP. Adel Issa, a 67-year-old former officer in the Syrian army's 17th brigade under ousted leader Bashar al-Assad, he»»»

BEDMINSTER: Joaquin Niemann’s dominant week hit its first speed bump, but he remains well positioned to secure his second LIV Golf title of the season. The LIV Golf New York 2026 36-hole leader opened Saturday with a double bogey on the par-4 first, the first blemish on his card all week, but he ba»»»

FIFA on Saturday issued a statement defending its president, Gianni Infantino, against what it called a “concerted and ongoing effort” to undermine his leadership of the organisation. It came a day after a British newspaper accused the FIFA boss of paying off a fomer lover while at UEFA, alleg»»»

Total solar eclipse (1/4). A total solar eclipse will sweep across northern Spain on August 12 in one of Europe's most anticipated astronomical events of the decade. For Singaporean family Janet Tay, Koh Joo Beng and their son Jared, it will be the latest stop in a journey that has taken them aroun»»»

Opinion polls suggest that the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) are on course to win the next German election with around 27 to 29 percent of the vote. Its lead over the second-placed Christian Democratic Union (CDU/CSU), led by current chancellor Friedrich Merz, is growing significantly. Ge»»»

TARTOUS: Syrian security forces have foiled an attempt to smuggle a shipment of weapons and ammunition from the coastal province of Tartous to Lebanon, the Interior Ministry said Saturday. In a statement carried by SANA, the ministry said the operation by Internal Security Forces, in coordination w»»»

The Russian missile strikes recently “caused massive damage” to the Ukrainian military-related infrastructure in the Kiev region and beyond, Die Welt reports. The strikes weaken the position of Volodymyr Zelensky, who is in hot water over domestic problems, including those pertaining to him firing »»»

BEIRUT: Lebanese authorities detained a former senior Syrian military officer who commanded an army division under ousted President Bashar Assad and might hand him over to Damascus on alleged crimes that he committed, Lebanese judicial and security officials said Saturday. After the fall of Assad’s»»»

Dubai: Iran has laid out sweeping demands that the United States must meet before the Strait of Hormuz can fully reopen, complicating hopes that an emerging Iran-Oman agreement could quickly restore normal shipping through the critical waterway. Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, secretary of Iran’s Supreme»»»

Declining political consensus in the United States regarding support for Israel is creating mounting pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and raising deep concerns among Israeli officials about the long-term sustainability of the alliance. Critics argue that Netanyahu’s intense foc»»»

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche speeks during a press conference on the department's efforts to investigate the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion, a cartel based in Mexico, at the Department of Justice headquarters on Wednesday. On Saturday, Blanche was confirmed as attorney general by the Senat»»»

Buenos Aires, Argentina: Jorge Messi, the father and agent of Lionel Messi, has died aged 68, the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner's childhood club Newell's Old Boys announced on Saturday. Argentinian media reported Jorge Messi had passed away on Friday in a hospital in Rosario. "His constant companio»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - US reconnaissance aircraft Bombardier ARTEMIS II has been circling over Latvia and Estonia for nearly three hours, according to flight data analyzed by Sputnik. The aircraft took off from Constanta Airport in Romania at around 05:42 GMT and headed north in a wide arc, flying over»»»

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is confronting mounting internal party pressure and speculation of an early replacement ahead of critical September regional elections, reflecting an unprecedented state of political turmoil in a country long considered a pillar of European stability, according to P»»»

Georgian Dream officials have offered supporters the same message for the better part of a year: a reset with Washington is close at hand. George Melashvili, chairman of the Europe-Georgia Institute, a Tbilisi based think-tank that follows Georgia's foreign policy and its relations with the West, a»»»

CAIRO/WASHINGTON/RIYADH: Iran said on Saturday that a deal with Oman on control of the Strait of Hormuz was close but would not be enough to free up ​the waterway. A US official, who declined to be identified, said on Friday that Washington anticipated an agreement soon between Iran and Oman, which»»»

BEIRUT: Satellite images reviewed by The Associated Press show that a sanctioned tanker carrying nearly a million barrels of oil appears to be increasingly submerged in water off the coast of Oman, where it has been grounded for weeks, while leaking ever more oil into the surrounding sea. Crude oil»»»

Syria's Health Ministry said Friday that 14 people were wounded, three of them critically, but that there were no fatalities in the explosion of a minivan taxi a day earlier in a Damascus suburb. The Health Ministry had said Thursday night that two people were killed in the blast. In a statement Fr»»»

BEDMINSTER, NEW JERSEY: Joaquin Niemann’s dominant start to LIV Golf New York 2026 shows no signs of slowing down. The Chilean fired a 6-under 65 on Friday to reach 13-under through 36 holes, extending his lead to five shots without a single bogey on his card through two rounds at a Trump National »»»

Dubai: There was a time when hunger dictated Jenifer Segalowitz’s life. One afternoon after returning home from school in the Philippines, she discovered there was nothing left to eat. Hungry and exhausted, she accepted a piece of fried chicken that had already been thrown into the trash after her »»»

Elon Musk has refused to allow Ukraine to use his Starlink satellite internet service to guide drone strikes deep inside Russian territory, The Atlantic reported on Friday, citing two close allies of former Ukrainian Defense Minister Mikhail Fedorov. According to the publication, Fedorov, a tech-sa»»»

A New Mexico judge has declared Meta a “public nuisance,” comparing the social media giant to a polluting factory. The ruling orders the company to establish an abatement fund and overhaul key features of its platforms over alleged harm to children. Judge Bryan Biedscheid on Thursday ordered the pa»»»

Canberra: The number of H5N1 bird flu cases in Australia on Saturday surpassed 200 as the southeastern state of Victoria introduced new measures to stop the deadly strain from spreading to poultry. The federal Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) said in an update that there had»»»

Spain announced Friday that it would introduce border controls for travellers arriving from Italy in retaliation for Rome imposing similar measures. The rare spat between the EU nations came after tens of thousands of people crossed from Morocco to Spain's North African territory Ceuta&nb»»»

The Trump administration is once again trying to limit who can become an American, with a pair of executive orders issued this week that attempt to place restrictions on birthright citizenship and on foreigners who give birth in the US. A Supreme Court decision in June struck down a previous attemp»»»

Recent statements by the Japanese government violate the three non-nuclear principles and reveal the right-wing influence on its politics, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said. The Japanese authorities must stop "gambling with the future of more than 100 million Japanese people" and lis»»»

WASHINGTON: Debate over the price of a burrito is causing indigestion for President Donald Trump’s Republican Party, which fears being punished for the high cost of living in November’s midterm elections. The Mexican specialty — rice, beans, meat and other toppings wrapped in a tortilla — is belove»»»

Dubai: There was a time when hunger dictated Jenifer Segalowitz’s life. One afternoon after returning home from school in the Philippines, she discovered there was nothing left to eat. Hungry and exhausted, she accepted a piece of fried chicken that had already been thrown into the trash after her »»»

Hidden accounts, secretive messages or covert contacts are usually discovered by accident, not design. An unlocked phone or an unexpected notification may reveal a second profile, showing a child’s alter-ego unknown to their parent. This does not reflect poor parenting. Instead, it shows that secre»»»

Authorities in Illinois have charged a 15-year-old boy with the random knife slaying of a man waiting for a bus while dressed in a clown costume. File Photo by Justin Lane/EPA-EFE Aug. 7 (UPI) -- A 15-year-old boy has been charged with randomly stabbing a man to death at a southern Illinois bus sto»»»

BOGOTA, Colombia: Conservative Abelardo de la Espriella was sworn in as Colombia’s president Friday, not in the capital as is the tradition, but in the volatile southwestern city of Cali in a move meant to signal his hard-line approach to illegal armed groups operating in the region. De la Espriell»»»

CALI, Colombia: FIFA president Gianni Infantino on Friday received support from several leading South American football figures as he visited Colombia amidst the crisis engulfing world football’s governing body. Infantino arrived early on Friday in the Colombian city of Cali to attend hard-right pr»»»

Dubai: The warmth of your mother's hands as she kneads the dough. The aroma of bread baking before sunrise. The crackle of spices blooming in hot Emirati ghee. Long before recipes are written down or traditions are spoken about, this is where a cuisine truly begins. For Chef Nabhan Al Ali, Executiv»»»

LONDON: The World Bank on Friday approved a $100 million grant to help the Syrian Arab Republic build a modern, secure and digitally enabled financial sector. The grant from the International Development Association will finance the Syria Financial Sector Modernization Project, which aims to make t»»»

The UN's World Food Programme is finalizing a five-year renewal of its contract with US data software firm Palantir despite “key privacy concerns” raised in a leaked 2025 internal audit. The audit, seen by PassBlue and FRANCE 24, reveals UN misgivings about allowing Palantir to process data for the»»»

A federal appeals court on Friday ordered US President Donald Trump’s administration to stop construction of its $400 million ballroom on the site of the White House's demolished East Wing. The court added that a president cannot fundamentally reshape the White House without congressional»»»

A passenger was arrested after allegedly trying to open the emergency exit door of a Batik Air flight from Kuala Lumpur to Kochi while the aircraft was in the air, police said. The incident took place on Batik Air flight OD231 on Wednesday night. The aircraft landed safely at Cochin International A»»»

One of our quirkier rituals is to write every year about why Russians view August as some sort of cursed month and to highlight what could happen this year. Or, to paraphrase (ex US Secretary of Defence) Donald Rumsfeld, the “known knowns” and, possibly, the “known unknowns”. But, of course, it is »»»