RIYADH: Shipments of falcons have begun arriving in Saudi Arabia ahead of the International Falcon Breeders Auction, as organizers prepare for the annual event. The auction, organized by the National Center for Falcons, will run from Aug. 5- 25 at its headquarters in Malham, north of Riyadh, the Sa»»»

Washington, Aug. 2 (SANA) U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sunday that Iran has become more willing to negotiate over its nuclear program and maritime security following sustained U.S. pressure. In an interview with Fox News, Rubio said U.S. military strikes ordered by President Donald T»»»

LONDON: Israeli forces advanced on Sunday along the Al-Hiran–Al-Rafid road in the southern countryside of Quneitra province in southwest Syria, establishing a temporary checkpoint and stopping civilians, state media reported. The force, made up of three military vehicles, searched civilian pedestri»»»

New York: The history of American patriotic songs offers a lesson about the different ways you can say you love your country. Composers have celebrated endurance under fire ( “The Star-Spangled Banner” ) and invoked divine approval (“God Bless America”). While Toby Keith's “Made in America” dares a»»»

Doha, Qatar: Safari Group, one of Qatar’s most trusted retail brands, has announced the opening of its eighth outlet, Safari Shopping Center – GWC Logistics Village, tomorrow, August 3, 2026. With over two decades of excellence in Qatar’s retail sector, Safari has earned the trust of customers thro»»»

President Donald Trump backed off a plan to launch powerful new strikes against Iran citing a possible deal. Iranian sources have declined the claim. File Photo by Aaron Schwartz/Pool via CNP | License Photo Aug. 2 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump backed off a plan to launch powerful new strikes aga»»»

A renewed Iran war would test already-diminished US interceptor inventories, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) warned in a July 27 analysis by Mark F. Cancian and Chris H. Park, as combat operations since a ceasefire collapse have drawn further on stocks that were already st»»»

Russia has increased its use of its powerful FAB glide bombs to enable infantry advances in and around the key Donbas “fortress city” of Kostiantynivka, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said in its July 29 campaign assessment. Russian forces are making slow but steady progress in Ukraine's »»»

New York: The history of American patriotic songs offers a lesson about the different ways you can say you love your country. Composers have celebrated endurance under fire ( “The Star-Spangled Banner” ) and invoked divine approval (“God Bless America”). While Toby Keith's “Made in America” dares a»»»

Belgrade: A drought in Serbia which has brought the Danube river to its lowest-ever level is forcing the country to greatly reduce power generation from hydroelectric plants, the country's energy minister said Sunday. The two biggest plants, Djerdap I and Djerdap II, have been reduced to an output »»»

Washington: Three people were killed and seven others were injured in a shooting at a fast-food restaurant in the city of Twin Falls, in the US state of Idaho, local authorities said on Sunday. Joshua Palmer, the city's public information officer, said police found the suspected gunman's body near »»»

TEHRAN: Iran’s Mehr news agency on Sunday denied President Donald Trump’s claim that the Islamic republic asked the United States to refrain from conducting new strikes. Citing military officials, the agency said the allegation “was nothing but a new lie” and that the Iranian armed forces were “on »»»

DUBAI: Prada’s first-ever global beauty brand ambassador, supermodel Bella Hadid, has a new face joining her on the roster: Hollywood star Zendaya. Zendaya, 29, is in the middle of a stellar 2026; she’s currently wrapping up press for “Spider-Man: A Brand New Day” right off the back of a world tour»»»

DUBAI: The annual Arab Women in the Arts showcase returned to New York City and online for its sixth edition, celebrating the work of acclaimed Lebanese filmmaker Danielle Arbid while highlighting the growing influence of Arab women in global cinema. Presented annually by the Arab Film and Media In»»»

HAVANA: Power returned to Havana and other parts of western Cuba early Sunday after the latest in a string of widespread grid failures was fixed by the state-run electric company. Five of 15 provinces spent most of the night without electricity due to a “partial collapse” of the electricity grid, b»»»

CEUTA: Ceuta over the weekend no longer looked like a city on edge, but the events of the week were still on everyone’s minds. Most of the 60,000 migrants who swam, scrambled and later charged into the tiny Spanish exclave in North Africa this week had walked back to Morocco by Sunday, while others»»»

DHAKA: When Alimul Islam learned he had been accepted to study in Madinah, he could hardly believe his luck. Among the many Saudi universities offering scholarships to Bangladeshi students, he was selected by the one he had hoped to join for years. After the news arrived last month, he has been cel»»»

London: Britain's new Prime Minister Andy Burnham has signalled his support for a written constitution for the UK, which unlike most countries, does not have one authoritative document. Since entering office just two weeks ago, the former mayor of Greater Manchester has made devolution of power to »»»

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index rose on Sunday, gaining 116.15 points, or 1.10 percent, to close at 10,705.87. The total trading turnover of the benchmark index reached SR3.71 billion ($991 million), with 200 stocks advancing and 59 declining. Similarly, the Kingdom’s parallel market»»»

Havana: Power returned to Havana and other parts of western Cuba early Sunday after the latest in a string of widespread grid failures was fixed by the state-run electric company. Five of 15 provinces spent most of the night without electricity due to a "partial collapse" of the electricity grid, b»»»

Dubai: Kuwait's Ministry of Interior has introduced a smart home vehicle impoundment system allowing motorists to keep impounded vehicles at their homes instead of designated traffic facilities, under an electronically monitored scheme. Under the new mechanism, a tracking device approved by the Gen»»»

US President Donald Trump’s announcement that the US and Israel would pause planned strikes on Iran has eased fears of an immediate escalation, but uncertainty remains after Tehran rejected key claims about a proposed deal. Meanwhile, OPEC+ has agreed to increase oil production by 188,000 barrels a»»»

US President Donald Trump's posts on his Truth Social platform can move markets with a few keystrokes. Starting Saturday, for a fee of $100,000 a month, Wall Street traders can access his "Truth API" service to have high-speed access to the president's announcements about economic policy and g»»»

Colombia’s government has blamed rebel groups for a truck bomb that wounded 14 people near the border with Venezuela. The attack came less than a week before President-elect Abelardo de la Espriella is due to take office. He has said he plans to end the current administration’s peace negotiations w»»»

Israeli strikes on Gaza overnight killed at least nine people after hitting several residential buildings, local authorities said on Sunday. Seven people were also killed in Israeli strikes on Saturday, a day after Hamas said it had agreed to the latest deal on ending the war. Gaza civil defence of»»»

US President Donald Trump said Saturday that the United States and Israel had agreed to hold off on new strikes on Iran – provided a deal to end the months-long conflict is "rapidly" reached. Iran's acting defence minister said his country would "neither ‌be caught off ​guard nor remain passive" in»»»

Dubai: Emirates NBD has agreed to acquire the retail banking business of HSBC Egypt, expanding its presence in one of the group's core regional markets and strengthening its position in Egypt's consumer banking sector. Get updated faster and for FREE: Download the Gulf News app now - simply click h»»»

Almost all of the migrants who entered Spain’s enclave of Ceuta had left by Saturday, according to officials. An estimated 60,000 migrants entered Ceuta from neighbouring Morocco over just a few days, with at least 67 people losing their lives in the attempt. Spain has announced plans to install a »»»

At least three people have been killed and 21 wounded after a homemade explosive device was detonated at a restaurant in Moscow, Russian officials said late Saturday. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin called the attack a “brutal terrorist act” but did not say who he thought was responsible.  An exp»»»

Spain has installed a 500-metre-long sea barrier between its North African enclave of Ceuta and neighbouring Morocco. It comes after tens of thousands of migrants breached the border earlier this week, with at least 67 people dying in the attempt. While most of those who crossed quickly returned to»»»

RIYADH: OPEC+ agreed on Sunday to raise oil production quotas by 188,000 barrels per day in September as the group continues to adjust output while supporting market stability. The decision was taken during a virtual meeting of the seven OPEC+ countries that had previously announced additional volu»»»

TEHRAN (Sputnik) - There is no agreement between Iran and the United States to resume shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, it will remain closed as long as US military action against the Islamic Republic continues, the Fars news agency reported on Sunday, citing sources familiar with the matter. »»»

Croatian police have arrested a 36-year-old Hungarian man on suspicion of causing major disruption at Split Airport by allegedly flying a drone without authorisation near the runway. Air traffic suspended over safety concerns The incident, which took place on Friday evening, temporarily brought air»»»

Ceuta: At least 72 people died during the mass influx in recent days of migrants into Spain’s Ceuta enclave, when tens of thousands of people mostly swam around the border post from Morocco, local officials said on Sunday. Most of the estimated 60,000 people who rushed into Spain’s north African te»»»

The Pentagon is planning to transfer leadership of the Germany-based NATO command coordinating military aid to Ukraine to another member of the military bloc as Washington continues to scale back its military presence in Europe, Politico reported on Friday, citing an unnamed NATO official. Ukraine »»»

TAIF: Mamoun Amr Al-Kabbani became the 2026 Saudi Toyota Championship Hill Climb champion on Saturday after the third and final round concluded at the Aqabat Al-Muhammadiyah in Al-Shafa, Taif. Organized by the Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation, and managed by Bakhashab Motorsport in partne»»»

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s banking sector continued to expand in June, with total bank credit rising 7.3 percent year on year to SR3.42 trillion ($912 billion) and overall bank deposits increasing 8.9 percent to SR3.13 trillion, official data showed. According to the latest data from the Saudi Central »»»

JEDDAH: If traditional Egyptian home-cooked dishes are what you’re after, Tante at Jeddah Vibes Mall on Prince Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Street is the place to go. Tante, which means “aunt,” was established by the well-known Egyptian comedian Ashraf Abdel Baky. The first impression of the trending spo»»»

New York: Recent cyberattacks carried out autonomously by two rogue OpenAI artificial intelligence models raises an untested legal question: who is responsible when AI acts on its own? On Friday, Clement Delangue, head of the Hugging Face platform targeted by the intrusions, said there should be a »»»

Dubai: The UAE accounts for around 57 per cent of Boeing's aircraft order backlog in the Middle East, underlining its position as one of the US planemaker's most important global markets as the country's airlines continue to expand their fleets. According to Boeing's latest 2026 data, the UAE has m»»»

Dubai: Russian tourist arrivals to the UAE are expected to exceed one million by the end of the summer season, driven by expanding direct air links and sustained demand for the Gulf destination, according to the Russian Union of Travel Industry. The industry body said the UAE continues to rank amon»»»

Dubai: Visitors from the UAE remained the largest source of international arrivals to Oman during the first half of 2026, highlighting the continued strength of regional travel to the sultanate, official data showed. Statistics released by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI) s»»»

TEHRAN (Sputnik) - Iran will use threats from the United States as a ground to increase the country's combat readiness, Iranian Defense Minister Majid Ebn-e-Reza said on Sunday. "Although the enemy's recent statements are part of a psychological and cognitive warfare campaign, we consider every thr»»»

China: The roar of engines fills the night air in China's Chongqing city as tourists awkwardly clamber onto gleaming motorbikes and cling to muscular drivers to star in personalised videos. Teams of sellers hawk their filming services to passersby, many of whom have been drawn to the city and its c»»»

RIYADH: With the World Cup dominating the summer, many transfers went under the radar from across the world. But one done deal tells the story of where the Saudi Pro League is heading next. Al-Hilal beat several European clubs to the signature of West Ham’s winger Crysencio Summerville in a deal wo»»»

Nazca, Peru: A small plane carrying foreign tourists to view Peru's famed Nazca Lines archaeological site crashed Saturday, killing all 13 people on board, police said. Seven Italians, two Germans and two Spaniards were killed, along with two crew members, a spokesman for the transport ministry sai»»»

Ceuta, Spain: At least 72 people died during last week's mass influx of migrants into Spain's Ceuta enclave, when tens of thousands of people mostly swam around the border post from Morocco, local officials said on Sunday. Most of the estimated 60,000 people who rushed into Spain's north African te»»»

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Music Commission has announced a strategic partnership with the Jazz in Jeddah platform, an initiative organized by Call of Culture to boost private-sector collaboration and accelerate the growth of the Kingdom’s music sector. The partnership builds on a previously signed mem»»»

Surabaya, Indonesia: An Indonesian ferry caught fire at sea on Sunday, killing five people and leaving another 41 missing after some jumped overboard, search and rescue officials said. A total of 225 people on the vessel were rescued, said the regional Surabaya Search and Rescue Agency, which provi»»»

RIYADH: Teams working on Saudi Arabia’s Masam project removed 1,448 explosive devices from various regions of Yemen last week. The devices included 1,310 unexploded ordnances, 83 anti-tank mines, 38 improvised explosive devices, and 17 anti-personnel mines, according to a recent report. The explosi»»»