Beirut: The death toll from the Israeli aggression on Lebanon since March 2 has risen to 4,297, with 12,196 others wounded, according to Lebanon's Ministry of Public Health. In a statement issued on Wednesday, the ministry's Emergency Operations Center said the cumulative toll from the Israeli offe»»»

KYIV: Ukrainian forces struck Russia’s major Ufa oil refinery for the second time in a week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday. Almost daily long-range attacks on Russian oil facilities have created a fuel crisis and heaped political pressure on the Kremlin as its all-out invasi»»»

Dubai: The UAE's new social media ban for children under 15 will make it much harder for kids to create underage accounts. Simply entering a false date of birth won't work, platforms are now required to use strict age-verification systems, including government IDs and AI models, to estimate a user'»»»

Manila: Filipinos in the capital could soon go from San Jose Del Monte in Bulacan to Cavite — all by rail. That's the hope kicked up by Manila government approval of the long-delayed Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT-1) Common Station project, removing a key hurdle to the construction of the Unified G»»»

BELGRADE - Serbian Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic said on Wednesday that, even though a US licence for the completion of talks on an acquisition of a Russian-majority stake in the Serbian oil company NIS by Hungary's MOL had been extended for 30 more days, all parties we»»»

LONDON: Israeli police shot and killed a man in his twenties in the city of Lod, southeast of Tel Aviv, after an alleged attempted stabbing on Wednesday. The man was identified as Sami Ahmed Jasous, the sixth Palestinian citizen of Israel to be killed by Israeli police since January, according to t»»»

KYIV: Russia fired fewer drones and missiles at Ukraine in June compared to a month before, an AFP analysis of Ukrainian air force data showed Wednesday, as Kyiv stepped up its own retaliatory attacks on Russia. Moscow launched 5,749 drones and 180 missiles against Ukraine in June — down 29 percent»»»

Doha: Visit Qatar and Qatar Airways announced Wednesday a partnership with Fanatics to present Qatar's hospitality at Fanatics Fest NYC through an exclusive invitation-only lounge experience. Taking place July 16-19 at the Javits Center in New York City, Fanatics Fest NYC will feature an invitation»»»

LONDON: Serena ‌Williams will do everything to be ready for her Wimbledon doubles campaign alongside older sister Venus after sustaining a knee injury during her opening singles defeat on Tuesday, the American’s agent said. The 44-year-old’s highly anticipated comeback to competitive action after f»»»

FRANKFURT: Investigators raided Germany’s football association headquarters and other locations across the country Wednesday as part of a probe into corruption linked to the Euro 2024 tournament. The case centers on allegations that employees of cities in Germany, which hosted the competition, were»»»

A fresh survey by Medián indicates that the Tisza movement faces virtually no meaningful opposition, while Fidesz has shrunk to the status of a mid-sized party and the far-right Mi Hazánk may only just scrape into parliament. The question now confronting Hungary’s political landscape is where any g»»»

United Nations High Commission for Refugees and other international organizations warned that Venezuela's humanitarian crisis is deteriorating rapidly following the twin earthquakes that struck the country on June 24. Photo by Miguel Gutierrez/EPA July 1 (UPI) -- United Nations High Commission for »»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Vladimir Zelensky seeks to provoke escalation of the Ukraine conflict through terrorist attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday. "Behind all the demagoguery about supposedly resolving the conflict, »»»

Russia has hit at least 25 filling stations and several fuel tankers across eastern and central Ukraine, the Russian Ministry of Defense said. The Ukrainian army’s supply routes use civilian rather than military equipment, making filling stations legitimate targets, military analyst and Arsenal Ote»»»

Tunis, July 1, 2026 (TAP) - The 2026-2030 Strategic Plan of the COMESA Federation of National Associations of Women in Business (COMFWB) was launched on Wednesday at the opening of the 7th COMESA Federation Regional Trade Fair and Business Summit...»»»

BELGRADE - The head of the Serbian government Office for Kosovo-Metohija Petar Petkovic said a group of Serbs who had been arrested on St Vitus's Day, June 28, at the Gazimestan memorial complex near Pristina, Kosovo-Metohija, had gone "through hell" before finally being released on Wednesday. The »»»

TORONTO: Portugal and Croatia’s World Cup last-32 clash on Thursday could be Cristiano Ronaldo or Luka Modric’s final game on soccer’s biggest stage, and the massive moment will unfold at the tournament’s smallest venue. If there was any skepticism about how the 43,036-seat Toronto Stadium would ho»»»

MOSCOW: Kazakhstan has ‌agreed to supply 50,000 metric tons of gasoline to Russia in July and August as humanitarian aid, four industry sources said on Wednesday. Russia has been beset by fuel shortages, long queues at the filling stations, surging gasoline and diesel prices in the past weeks as Uk»»»

Tunis, July 1, 2026 (TAP) - The National Union of Tunisian Journalists (SNJT) on Wednesday called the Assembly of People's Representatives (ARP) to incorporate a strategic and coherent vision for developing the press and media sector into the...»»»

Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani has discussed with U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner the latest developments in the negotiations with Iran and the current situation in Lebanon. Qatar's ruler emphasized to Witkoff and Kushner "the importance of consolidating the ceasefire in »»»

Two workers have died within the space of just a few months at the construction site of BYD’s new factory in Szeged, raising serious concerns over safety standards. While construction is widely regarded as one of the most hazardous industries, professional bodies say two fatalities in such a short »»»

Senior officials and leaders from around 40 countries are expected to attend the funeral ceremonies for the slain leader of the Islamic Revolution, Grand Ayatollah Imam Sayyed Ali Khamenei, according to the spokesperson for the farewell and funeral committee. Speaking on July 1, 2026, committee spo»»»

A country is strong and secure when it possesses the necessary information in advance. This reduces risks of institutional errors during times of regional and global crises, President Iliana Iotova said at the opening of the Conference of Heads of Military Attache Services Abroad, the President's p»»»

NEW JERSEY, USA: France’s fearsome foursome of Kylian Mbappé, Ousmane Dembélé, Michael Olize and Bradley Barcola leaves opponents exclaiming: Sacré bleu! “Their four up front is the best in the competition by far,” Norway coach Ståle Solbakken said. France became the first nation to score three or »»»

RIYADH: Nine-year-old Ghasaq Alqahtani discovered fencing by watching her older sister train at home, sparking a passion that has taken the young Saudi Arabia athlete to competitions in Europe and the Gulf. “I started when I was 5 years old ... My mom used to train my sister and I used to watch the»»»

MIAMI: Uthy spent seven years in medical school training to become a doctor in Haiti. On the cusp of graduation, she fled the country three years ago to the US with her husband, young child and a dream to return when it was safe. Uthy, who holds Temporary Protected Status, now lives in fear that sh»»»

BERLIN: Germany is hoping to expand defense industry ties with the United States and produce more US-designed weaponry at factories in the country, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said Wednesday. The pitch comes just ahead of a major NATO summit scheduled for July 7-8 in Turkiye, where European mi»»»

Abu Dhabi: Etihad Airways is increasing flights across five international routes, adding more capacity to Brussels, Dhaka, Kraków, Palma de Mallorca and Zanzibar as demand for travel continues to grow. Sign up for our daily business newsletter, Cheques & Balances.The Abu Dhabi-based airline said it»»»

AI-driven cyberoffensive tools can be compared to “digital nuclear weapons,” CIA Director John Ratcliffe has said, warning that they could fuel rivalries among global powers. Ratcliffe made the comparison on Tuesday in a speech at the Amazon Web Services summit in Washington, where he discussed the»»»

Italy is stalling a NATO aid commitment to Ukraine for 2027 after the bloc signed off on a €70 billion ($80 billion) military package to Kiev this year, Germany’s Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) reported on Tuesday. While NATO envoys agreed on the terms of this year’s assistance on Tuesday in »»»

European Union climate scientists issued warnings that weather patterns, global climate, and marine ecosystems could be impacted in unexpected ways -- none of them positive -- after the temperature of world's oceans spiked in June to levels that eclipsed all previous records. File photo by Miguel T»»»

Dubai: Why did the UAE decide to restrict social media access for children under 15 rather than setting the age at 13 or 16? According Sana bint Mohammed Suhail, Minister of Family and Chairperson of the Child Digital Safety Council, the age threshold was chosen after extensive research into childr»»»

Russian citizens have donated 17 off-road vehicles in support of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Gennadiy Vorobyov of the Bessarabian Front told journalists in Sofia on Wednesday. The vehicles, bearing Ukrainian flags on their windscreens, were parked in the morning near the St. Alexander Nevsky Cathe»»»

BELGRADE - A new operating licence issued to Serbia's Russian-majority owned oil company NIS by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) will put Russia under additional pressure to bring talks with Hungary's MOL on selling its stake in the firm to a conclusion or give up on them, says Serbia»»»

DUBAI: ​A vessel reported being approached by multiple small craft with several people on board bearing small ‌arms, 76 ‌nautical ​miles ‌south ⁠of ​the Yemeni ⁠port of Balhaf on Wednesday, United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said. The crew ⁠was reported to ‌be ‌safe, UKMTO ​added. In ‌a separ»»»

BEIRUT: Heavyweight boxing is entering a new era after Oleksandr Usyk’s decided to stand down as unified champion and sent his belts to different parts of the world. That’s given a bunch of globally unheralded fighters the chance to emerge from the shadows in the sport’s glamor division. Usyk recen»»»

Sofia Municipality has been named a finalist in the Digital Innovation & Governance category of The Innovation in Politics Awards 2026, the Sofia Municipality said on Tuesday. The Municipality was selected from more than 300 entries from 35 countries with its Sofia Decides project, submitted by the»»»

JEDDAH: An initiative to rehabilitate and redevelop its fish farm facility in Obhur, north of Jeddah, has been launched by King Abdulaziz University in partnership with the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture. The scheme, implemented through the ministry’s National Livestock and Fisherie»»»

JOINT BASE ANDREWS, United States: President Donald Trump hailed the progress on Wednesday of indirect talks between Iran and the United States, saying there had been "very good meetings" in Doha. "As far as things are going, the denuclearization of Iran is moving along well. They've had very good »»»

KYIV: Ukrainian officials on ​Wednesday reported a new locust outbreak, this time in the southern Kherson ‌region. Outbreaks ​of ‌locust ⁠development ​had been ⁠detected in Ukraine’s eastern Dnipropetrovsk region, the Ukrainian ⁠state service on food ‌safety ‌and ​consumer ‌protection said ‌last mo»»»

LONDON: Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Falih Al-Zaidi on Wednesday met Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Secretary-General Jassem Mohammed Albudaiwi, as both sides discussed strengthening relations and expanding cooperation between Iraq and Gulf states. Albudaiwi conveyed congratulations from Gulf leaders t»»»

The United States on Wednesday signed an agreement to build a new embassy compound in Jerusalem, in a move that Israel said reflected the "unbreakable alliance" between the countries. During his first term, U.S. President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital in December 2017 and or»»»

Israel's former army chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot on Tuesday announced the start of his electoral campaign as he bids to take over the seat of prime minister from veteran leader Benjamin Netanyahu. Four months ahead of the planned polls, Eisenkot held his first electoral meeting, where he declared »»»

Doha, Qatar: The Amir HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani received on Wednesday the U.S. envoys HE Steve Witkoff and HE Jared Kushner at his office at Lusail Palace. During the meeting, they reviewed the latest developments in the region, particularly recent progress in the negotiation track between»»»

Iran and U.S. negotiators will meet with intermediaries Wednesday to discuss the cease-fire agreement. Photo by Abedin Taherkenareh/EPA July 1 (UPI) -- Envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner and their Iranian counterparts are planning to meet with Qatari negotiators Wednesday for ongoing peace talk»»»

Israel has reportedly asked Somaliland, South Sudan, Sudan, Somalia and Libya to take in Palestinian refugees from Gaza – but all have either rejected the idea or denied any deal. “That is the kind of an Israeli policy to continue to expand the territories that it controls in the region that is set»»»

DUBAI: Dutch Moroccan Egyptian model Imaan Hammam took to the runway at Jacquemus’ highly anticipated “Le Bonheur” fashion show, staged on the rocky Ile de la Pietra in Corsica. The exclusive co-ed presentation saw Hammam walk a dramatic runway built into the slopes of the islet, leading to the ico»»»

MEDORA, North Dakota: President Donald Trump is traveling to North Dakota on Wednesday to dedicate a museum honoring Theodore Roosevelt, invoking the Republican president’s legacy as he promotes a message of American greatness ahead of the Fourth of July holiday. The visit comes as Trump has embrac»»»

JERUSALEM: The United States on Wednesday signed an agreement to build a new embassy compound in Jerusalem, in a move that Israel said reflected the “unbreakable alliance” between the countries. During his first term, US President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in December 20»»»

Abu Dhabi: Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday announced new consular service rules for Indian expats in the UAE. In a press release dated June 29, Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi said that due to administrative reasons, both the Embassy and the Consulate in Dubai will start providing consular ser»»»