Palestinian Civil Defense teams continued search and rescue operations on Saturday. File Photo by Palestinian Civil Defense/UPI | License Photo Aug. 3 (UPI) -- The top envoy for President Donald Trump's Board of Peace lamented Sunday that Israeli forces continued attacking Gaza despite Iran-backed »»»

Starting August 3, 2026, the U.S. visa bond program for citizens of 50 countries, including Kyrgyzstan, will become permanent. The U.S. Department of State website says. For tourist and business visas, applicants will be required to post a refundable bond of up to $20,000 (previously, the amount wa»»»

In the first half of 2026, 6,278 new dwellings were built, 22% more than a year earlier. The number of dwellings to be built based on issued construction permits and simple declarations was 16,588, 29% more than in the same period of 2025. In the first half of 2026, 6,278 dwellings were put to use,»»»

Heavy rainfall continued across Kerala on Monday, with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) warning of more showers, strong winds and possible flash flood risks in parts of the state. The IMD has issued an orange alert for Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Idukki, Ernakulam, Malappuram, Koz»»»

The Strait of Hormuz crisis continues to dominate regional headlines on Monday as diplomatic efforts race against ongoing maritime incidents and travel issues. US President Donald Trump has announced that negotiations with Iran are set to resume Monday (August 3) afternoon, even as he emphasised a »»»

President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates, exchanged congratulatory messages on August 1 on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the countries. According to the presidenti»»»

US President Donald Trump has emphasised that a negotiated outcome in the Middle East would save lives and avoid widespread destruction. Trump emphasised preference for diplomacy with Iran: “I’d rather make a deal. I’m not looking to kill people,” as he spoke to reporters aboard Air Force One and a»»»

WASHINGTON, United States: World number three Jessica Pegula and rising star Alexandra Eala must wait until Monday to decide a Washington Open champion after thunderstorms postponed the completion of Sunday’s WTA final.After waiting through a three-hour thunderstorm delay to start, Pegula won the f»»»

CAIRO/JERUSALEM: Israeli airstrikes hit Gaza for a second straight day on Sunday, killing at least 18 Palestinians, medics said, despite US President Donald Trump’s announcement of a breakthrough in efforts to implement last year’s ceasefire agreement. From dawn, Israeli warplanes hit Gaza City in »»»

SURABAYA, Indonesia: An Indonesian ferry carrying 271 people caught fire in waters off the main island of Java on Sunday, leaving at least five people dead and dozens missing as rescuers and passing vessels evacuated hundreds from the burning ship, officials said.The Mutiara Sentosa 2 ferry was tra»»»

Dubai: The Perseids peak over the UAE on the night of 12 to 13 August, with up to 100 meteors an hour, and this year the peak falls on a new moon. No moonlight means the fainter streaks survive, which makes 2026 the best Perseid year since 2018. So the sky is on your side. Your phone is not, though»»»

U.S. President Donald Trump said Sunday night that negotiations with Iran concerning the war would resume Monday. Photo by Samuel Corum/UPI | License Photo Aug. 2 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump said Sunday night that negotiations with Iran toward ending the war will resume Monday, about a month af»»»

KYIV: Ukrainian attacks on Russia killed at least nine people on Sunday, while Russian attacks on Ukraine killed at least five, according to officials in both countries. The exchange comes amid signs both Moscow and Kyiv are escalating the scale and intensity of their strikes, nearly four-and-a-hal»»»

Share: The site of the explosion which killed at least 220 people , injured 7000 and left 300, 000 homeless after 2,750 Tons of Ammonium Nitrate that was illegally stored there exploded . President Michel Aoun and PM Diab knew about the Ammonium Nitrate 15 days before the explosion but did nothing »»»

TOKYO: The US dollar weakened sharply Monday against the Japanese yen after US President Donald Trump and Japan’s finance minister confirmed both sides had intervened in markets.Before late last week, the dollar was trading above 163 yen, touching 40-year highs. After regulators were suspected of s»»»

AL-BAHA: The rhythmic chants, sharp whistle calls and military-style marches of Al-Assah, the traditional village guards of Saudi Arabia’s southwest, are transporting visitors back in time at the ninth Al-Atawilah Heritage Festival in Al-Baha Region. Dressed in carefully recreated historical unifor»»»

Oil prices fell sharply Monday morning, with US crude and Brent crude both losing nearly 5% as markets reacted to renewed hopes of a US-Iran diplomatic breakthrough and a possible reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. As of 10:17 am Tokyo time, West Texas Intermediate crude was trading at $80.52 a bar»»»

SAO PAULO: What is very likely to be the last reelection bid of Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was confirmed on Sunday by his Workers' Party as the 80-year-old leader faces increasing pressure from foreign leaders ahead of October's elections. It will be his seventh race for the top j»»»

Dubai: Temperatures across the UAE are forecast to climb to as high as 50°C today, while afternoon convective clouds could bring scattered rainfall to parts of the eastern and southern regions, the National Centre of Meteorology (NCM) said. The NCM said the weather would be fair to partly cloudy, w»»»

A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck northeast of the Egyptian city of Suez on Monday, the US Geological Survey (USGS) reported. The shallow quake, which occurred at 0000 GMT, was centred about 41 kilometres (25 miles) north-northeast of Suez. An AFP journalist in the capital Cairo felt the tremors. T»»»

You can't travel without a power bank. Yet, you need to be careful when you travel with it. No doubt, power banks are a travel lifeline. You need them during long-haul flights, airport delays and sightseeing days when charging points are nowhere to be found. For many passengers, they are as routine»»»

CAIRO: An earthquake measuring magnitude 5.4 struck off Egypt early on Monday, the German Research Center for Geosciences (GFZ) ‌said.The quake ‌hit ​at ‌a ⁠depth ​of 10 km (6 ⁠miles), according to GFZ.The Egyptian Red Crescent said it activated its emergency response plan ⁠in the governorates wher»»»

Tourists visit the Pathenon at the Acropolis archaeological site in Athens on July 8, 2015. Greek police announced Sunday they have arrested a suspect in connection with the death of British woman whose body was found stuffed into a suitcase. File Photo by Dimitris Michalakis/UPI | License Photo Au»»»

Dubai: Dubai's new law regulating shared housing, which carries fines of up to Dh1 million for repeat violations, will officially come into force this month, Dubai Municipality has exclusively confirmed to Gulf News. Law No. (4) of 2026, issued by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum,»»»

Israeli strikes on Gaza hit multiple residential buildings and killed at least 13 people, authorities said Sunday, despite Hamas saying it agreed to the latest stage of a deal to end the war. Hamas said Friday it had agreed to a plan championed by US President Donald Trump that includes provisions »»»

TOKYO/SINGAPORE: Oil prices tumbled $4 a barrel on Monday after US President Donald Trump held off on a fresh attack on Iran, seeking to reach a quick deal that would halt Tehran’s nuclear ambitions and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.Brent crude futures slid $4.08, or 4.64 percent, to $83.85 by 2352 G»»»

More of Germany's electricity came from wind and solar power than from fossil fuels for the first time ever in 2025, according to Carbon Brief's analysis of Energy Institute Statistical Review of World Energy data. Wind and solar together generated 225 terawatt hours (TWh) of electricity, 44% of th»»»

Ukraine is on track to record fewer births this year than Kyrgyzstan for the first time - a reversal from the end of the Soviet Union, when Ukraine's newborns outnumbered Kyrgyzstan's five to one, French demographic commentator Clement Molin in a post on social media on August 1. Ukraine’s demograp»»»

Russia has sent two Be-200 amphibious firefighting aircraft to Turkey following a request from Turkish authorities, as wildfires burn across the country, the Daily Turkic reported on July 30. The gesture is only possible because Turkey, a Nato member, has consistently declined to join Western sanct»»»

Russia has sent two Be-200 amphibious firefighting aircraft to Turkey following a request from Turkish authorities, as wildfires burn across the country, the Daily Turkic reported on July 30. The gesture is only possible because Turkey, a Nato member, has consistently declined to join Western sanct»»»

Russia has sent two Be-200 amphibious firefighting aircraft to Turkey following a request from Turkish authorities, as wildfires burn across the country, the Daily Turkic reported on July 30. The gesture is only possible because Turkey, a Nato member, has consistently declined to join Western sanct»»»

Muscat: The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported an explosion in close proximity to a tanker off the coast of Oman on Sunday. According to UKMTO, in an X post at 4.37am on Monday (August 3, 2026) the incident occurred approximately 20 nautical miles northeast of Khasab, Oman. I»»»

Get updated faster and for FREE: Download the Gulf News app now - simply click here The US military has redirected 38 commercial vessels as part of the renewed naval blockade of Iranian ports, according to the latest figures reported by the command amid continued enforcement operations in the regio»»»

Capital One Financial on Friday defended its decision to close more than 300 Trump-affiliated bank accounts back in 2021, stating that it did so after a money-laundering review. The ‌disclosure marks the first time a bank has formally tied money-laundering concerns to US President Donald Trump»»»

AMMAN — The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has disbursed $188 million to Jordan following the successful completion of the fifth review of the Kingdom's economic reform programme under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and the second review of the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF).The »»»

AMMAN — The Social Security Investment Fund (SSIF) has reaffirmed that its investment decisions are made independently and without interference, under a governance framework established by the Social Security Law and applicable regulations.In a statement to The Jordan Times, the fund said that its »»»

AMMAN — Dar Al Dawa Development and Investment Company, a leading Jordanian pharmaceutical manufacturer, reported a 49 per cent increase in net profit, interim financial results showed.Owned by shareholders of the parent company, these revenues were achieved during the first half of 2026, reaching »»»

AMMAN — Listed companies on Amman Stock Exchange (ASE) on Sunday reported a "strong" financial performance for the first half of 2026, driven by broad-based sector expansion, surging trading volumes and robust foreign investment.Net profits attributable to shareholders for listed companies rose by »»»

US President Donald Trump has pulled back from plans for major new strikes on Iran, in his latest climbdown after weeks of threatening to hit Tehran hard. The president said late Saturday that the US would hold off, provided a deal can be reached quickly. It follows a phone call with Saudi Crown Pr»»»

The 24-year-old suspect in a mass shooting at an Idaho restaurant in which three people were killed and seven others injured died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, police confirmed Sunday. File Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo Aug. 2 (UPI) -- The suspect in a deadly mass shooting at an I»»»

DUBAI: The master of a tanker off the coast of Oman has reported hearing an explosion near the vessel, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) Center reported Sunday.“The vessel and crew are all reported as safe,” said the UKMTO. The master is the highest-ranking person on an oil tanke»»»

WASHINGTON, United States: Pop star Ariana Grande has dropped out of what would have been her debut appearance in London’s West End, the show’s producers said Sunday, as a representative for the singer said she wants to take a “step back” from the public eye. The 33-year-old Grande had been slated »»»

WASHINGTON, United States: President Donald Trump on Sunday confirmed that the United States had intervened to support the Japanese yen, calling the move a “signal of friendship” that would financially benefit the US and world economy. The Financial Times reported on Friday that the US Treasury had»»»

The Sudanese army on Sunday struck a traditional court in western Darfur with drones, killing 35 people and wounding others, a rights group said. The Emergency Lawyers, which has documented abuses by both the army and its rival paramilitaries throughout the three-year conflict, said the strike hit »»»

SAO PAULO: What is very likely to be the last reelection bid of Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was confirmed on Sunday by his Workers’ Party as the 80-year-old leader faces increasing pressure from foreign leaders ahead of October’s elections. It will be his seventh race for the top j»»»

KHARTOUM: Hundreds of Ethiopians from the northern Tigray region have crossed into neighboring Sudan over the past two days, fleeing fighting near the border, Sudanese security and medical sources told AFP. The influx comes as Sudan itself remains engulfed in a brutal war between the army and the p»»»

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said that negotiations with Iran will begin Monday after he decided to hold off on new “disastrous” strikes against the Islamic republic to pursue a deal.“Obviously, they don’t want to be attacked. They knew the extent of the attack because they saw it forming,»»»

President Donald Trump said late Saturday that he would halt new planned attacks on Iran pending renewed talks to wind down the war and revive stalled cargo traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. It was the latest in a pattern of announcements the US president has made to first threaten massive stri»»»

US President Donald Trump said that negotiations with Iran will begin Monday after he decided to hold off on new "disastrous" strikes against the Islamic republic to pursue a deal. "Obviously, they don't want to be attacked. They knew the extent of the attack because they saw it forming," Trump tol»»»

RABAT: The Vatican has appointed an administrator to provisionally govern the Archdiocese of Rabat while it investigates Archbishop Cristobal Lopez Romero, who stepped aside after AFP revealed allegations of sexual assault. According to a statement from the 74-year-old cardinal, seen by AFP, Vatica»»»