RIYADH: Abundant winter rainfall followed by widespread spring showers has transformed large swaths of Saudi Arabia’s landscape, turning desert expanses green and reviving valleys, ravines, and open plains across the Kingdom. The seasonal rains have highlighted the country’s ecological diversity, w»»»

In a week that an interim peace agreement WAS signed between the US and Iran bringing a temporary end to the conflict and the beginning of a sixty day window to negotiate the many unresolved issues.  President Trump signed the Memorandum of Understanding over a dinner at the Palace of Versaill»»»

Poland's nationalist President Karol Nawrocki said Friday that he was revoking the country's highest award from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky after he infuriated Warsaw by naming a Ukrainian unit after a World War II insurgent militia that massacred Poles. Polish Prime Minister Donald»»»

Seattle: The United States advanced to the World Cup knockout rounds with a game to spare following an impressive 2-0 win over Australia Friday, stoking the hopes of an already hyped host nation. The US join fellow tournament co-hosts Mexico as the first teams to progress, and could be assured top »»»

Uzbekistan and South Korea have agreed to establish industrial clusters, expand infrastructure cooperation and elevate investment partnerships across multiple sectors based on a series of agreements and memoranda signed at the Uzbekistan-Korea Business Forum in Tashkent. The forum was held on »»»

Damascus, June 20 (SANA) The Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates announced that it has followed up the case of German national Eva Maria Michelmann since her identity and nationality were confirmed, in coordination with the relevant national authorities and the Embassy of the Federal»»»

Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire on Friday, a US official said, following the resurgence of strikes in Lebanon that are already testing Wednesday's interim deal between Tehran and Washington to end the war in the Middle East. Israeli strikes have killed 47 people since Thursday night,&nbs»»»

The deadly Ebola outbreak in DR Congo is rapidly spreading in spite of accelerating public health measures, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Friday. The outbreak, which began in mid-May, is caused by the Bundibugyo strain of the virus for which there is not yet a vaccine or specific tr»»»

Share: Lebanon’s Minister of Interior and Municipalities Ahmed Al-Hajjar Lebanon Minister of Interior stressed that there is no salvation for Lebanon except by rallying around the state and we have achieved tangible progress in combating drug smuggling by dismantling trafficking networks Minister o»»»

LEIPZIG, Germany: Two years after leaving the United States following a series of unsuccessful MLS tryouts, Yan Diomande is shining at the World Cup for Ivory Coast — and still grieving a family tragedy. Diomande, 19, made his Ivory Coast debut in October and scored in his first two matches. On Sat»»»

LONDON: When President Donald Trump withdrew the US from the Iran nuclear deal in May 2018, Barack Obama, who as his predecessor had forged the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, warned that doing so “without any Iranian violation of the deal is a serious mistake.” The US, Obama added, “could even»»»

MONTERREY, Mexico: ‌Tunisia will throw new coach Herve Renard straight into the deep end when they face Japan on Saturday in ​Monterrey, with the North Africans desperately needing points after their tournament got off to a nightmare start. The French coach has barely had time to settle into his ne»»»

CALIFORNIA, USA: As soon as Switzerland and Bosnia were off the pitch after their World Cup match on Thursday, another team were on it. But instead of tearing at the grass with studs this team were mowing, brushing, seeding, and repairing it. After being battered by some of the world’s best and mos»»»

Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Qassem delivers a televised speech during a gathering in Beirut, Lebanon, on Sept. 27, 2025. Analysts say southern Lebanon could remain a battlefield and a bargaining chip in regional negotiations despite a preliminary agreement between the United States and Iran. Photo»»»

Hezbollah Military Media published this video which shows footage from the Islamic Resistance’s operation targeting a Merkava tank belonging to the “Israeli” enemy army on the eastern outskirts of Yohmor Al-Shaqif town in southern Lebanon with an Ababil loitering glider [FPV]. This video shows foot»»»

When temperatures in Riyadh reach a whopping 45 C on the daily, nothing beats the heat better than a refreshing pool day. If you are new to Riyadh or living in an apartment, finding an affordable option to lounge around a pool can be a challenge — or even require a direct invitation if you are look»»»

People leave flowers and an Australian flag at a tribute at the Adass Israel Synagogue after a arson attack in Melbourne, Australia, in December 2024. A third suspected arsonist was arrested Friday. File Photo by Joel Carrett/EPA June 19 (UPI) -- The Victoria, Australia, Joint Counter Terrorism Tea»»»

President Donald Trump, pictured meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in May 2025, plans to end U.S. funding for HIV programs in South Africa over political differences, State Department officials said on Friday. File Photo by Jim Lo Scalzo/UPI | License Photo June 19 (UPI) -- The T»»»

BAKU: Azerbaijan and the Islamic Development Bank on Thursday signed two agreements aimed at enhancing water security and strengthening development cooperation during the 2026 IsDB Group Annual Meetings in Baku. The agreements were signed in the presence of Ilham Aliyev, the president of Azerbaijan»»»

CAIRO: A boat carrying dozens of migrant s bound for European shores capsized off the coast of Libya last week, leaving 51 people dead or missing, a monitoring group said on Friday. Ten migrants survived the shipwreck, which occurred on June 12 in the Mediterranean Sea, off the eastern part of the »»»

Geneva: HE Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar to the United Nations Office in Geneva, Dr. Hind Abdulrahman Al Muftah participated Friday in the high-level informal discussion marking the 20th anniversary of the Human Rights Council, under the theme: "Twenty Years, One Council: What Have»»»

President Miguel Díaz-Canel's package of 174 economic reforms were approved by Cuba's parliament in just one week. File Photo by Ariel Ley Royero/EPA June 19 (UPI) -- Cuba's parliament approved a package of 174 economic reforms in just one week, marking the most significant shift in government poli»»»

A major institutional crisis appears to have erupted within Hungary’s Constitutional Court after seven judges reportedly withdrew from a case initiated by President Tamás Sulyok, forcing the court to remove the matter from its agenda. According to HVG, Constitutional Court President Péter Polt had »»»

CARACAS: Venezuelan opposition leader Dinorah Figuera told AFP on Friday she is traveling to the United States for meetings, a day after returning from years in exile to initiate dialogue with Venezuela’s interim government. The former parliamentarian, who has Washington’s backing to promote a demo»»»

BEIRUT: Lebanese President Joseph Aoun told US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a call Friday that a comprehensive ceasefire must be secured in order for talks with Israel to progress. The State Department, meanwhile, announced the resumption of negotiations in Washington from June 23 to 25. These»»»

ATLANTA, USA: Lamine Yamal is not feeling 100 percent fit and is not likely to start for Spain in the match against Saudi Arabia on Sunday at the World Cup. Yamal came into the tournament nursing a left hamstring injury and was only a substitute in the team’s opener on Monday — a disappointing 0-0 »»»

KANSAS CITY, USA: Harry Kane says England's emotional "Wonderwall" singalong with fans after their opening World Cup win against Croatia was one of his top moments in the national shirt. Thomas Tuchel's side got off to a flying start in their first Group L game in Arlington, Texas, on Wednesday, wi»»»

LONDON: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Friday he would not walk away, ​vowing to fight any challenge from his leading party rival, Andy Burnham, and potentially ushering in a new bout of political instability. Burnham, the Greater Manchester mayor, won a decisive victory for Labour to »»»

Beirut, June 19 (SANA) Lebanese President Joseph Aoun held a phone call Friday with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to discuss the current situation in Lebanon and the region in light of recent developments, stressing the need for a comprehensive halt to Israeli attacks on Lebanese territory. Acc»»»

The US pharma industry "has literally gotten away with murder" during the COVID pandemic, Professor Alfred de Zayas, retired UN independent expert, tells Sputnik. "The courts in the US were activated and instrumentalized to bring frivolous and vexatious claims against China for responsibility in re»»»

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif spoke on the phone on Friday, the Saudi Press Agency reported. During the call, the crown prince welcomed the agreement between the United States and Iran to end military operations and commended Pa»»»

Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi is exploring the deployment of the Middle East and North Africa's first autonomous public transport bus trial as part of its efforts to accelerate the adoption of smart mobility technologies and self-driving transport systems across the emirate. The Integrated Transport Centre,»»»

Cairo, June 19 (SANA) The foreign ministers of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan will hold a meeting in Cairo on Sunday to discuss regional developments and enhance joint coordination, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry announced Friday. According to a ministry statement cited by AFP, the minis»»»

Abu Dhabi: The Embassy of India in Abu Dhabi on Friday announced that Al Hind Tours and Travel LLC will take over as the new service provider for passport, visa and attestation services in the UAE from July 1, 2026. As part of the transition, the current providers — BLS International, which handles»»»

NEW YORK: People living in Gaza deserve to regain their “dignity” rather than merely survive, the UN aid chief said on Thursday, as he criticized Israeli obstructions to the distribution of humanitarian assistance. Tom Fletcher, addressing the UN Security Council, acknowledged the flow of aid has i»»»

Share: Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem affirmed that the party is confronting what he described as the “most dangerous scheme” targeting the Resistance in Lebanon . He argued that the ongoing political, economic, and security pressures aim to dismantle the Resistance and completely r»»»

OSLO: The Norwegian government said on Friday it planned to ban all trade with Israeli settlements in the illegally occupied Palestinian territories. “Norwegian people and Norwegian companies should not contribute to sustaining illegal settlements. “The policy of colonization undermines the possibi»»»

BERLIN: A German court on Friday handed a three-year jail term to a man who published online "death sentences" with calls to kill politicians, said to include former chancellors Angela Merkel and Olaf Scholz. The 50-year-old German-Polish man, partially named as Martin S., admitted to operating an »»»

LONDON: A fixture of London’s Arab cultural scene for decades, Lebanese restaurant group Maroush, has entered administration. The business, opened in 1981 by Lebanese couple Marouf and Houda Abouzaki, operates restaurants in London neighborhoods popular among Arabs. The administration notice, publi»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said at a closed-door meeting at the EU summit that it was high time to consider providing a mandate for EU negotiations with Russia, Euronews reported on Friday, citing sources. Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedl»»»

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - US intelligence agencies are warning that Israel is likely to try derailing the final peace deal between the United States and Iran, The Washington Post reported on Friday, citing current and former officials. On June 14, Iran and the United States confirmed that work on a me»»»

Air Force One arrives at the Yokota Air Base in Tokyo, Japan, on in 2022. One of the two planes being actively used as Air Force One is retiring. Photo by Keizo Mori/UPI | License Photo June 19 (UPI) -- A Boeing 747-200 made its last flight as Air Force One after it brought President Donald Trump h»»»

A National Muslim Conference, at which a new Chief Mufti and new leadership of the Muslim denomination in Bulgaria will be elected, will take place at 10 am on June 21 at the National Palace of Culture, the Office of the Chief Mufti said. More than 1,000 delegates, elected by local Muslim communiti»»»

TEHRAN (Sputnik) - Russia and Iran are placing special emphasis on developing financial mechanisms that are independent of restrictive measures and aimed at facilitating trade, Iranian Central Bank Governor Abdolnaser Hemmati said on Friday. This week, the official visited Moscow on a trip focused »»»

EU leaders have cautiously welcomed Donald Trump's signing of an interim agreement with Iran, after nearly four months of war in the Middle East. But it is only a Memorandum of Understanding, and Europeans know the US president too well to celebrate prematurely. The conflict has led to the most sev»»»

Hezbollah Secretary General, His Eminence Sheikh Naim Qassem, affirmed in his speech at the central Ashura council that “Al-Hussein is our approach, a standard of victory, rejection of injustice, and jihad for defense, a standard of victory. We do not fear death and there are no limits to sacrifice»»»

DAKAR: The gunfire and explosions that ripped through Niger’s main international airport are the latest sign of armed groups increasingly targeting cities and urban centers in Africa’s Sahel region, where they are competing for influence and territories, analysts say. The Al-Qaeda-linked JNIM milit»»»

Damascus, June 19 (SANA) The head of the Foreign Relations Committee and member of the Union of Syrian Chambers of Commerce, Anas al-Bou, met on Friday with Aziz Alper Biten, director general of external relations and the European Union at the Turkish Health Ministry, and his accompanying delegatio»»»

The Obama museum and civic center has been inaugurated in Chicago. It tells the story and cements the legacy of the former president, championning the principles of democracy. All former US presidents attended the event, as well as several celebrities. The nearly 20-acre (8-hectare) campus includes»»»

Share: Smoke billows from southern Lebanon following an Israeli strike, as seen from Nabatieh, southern Lebanon, June 19, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer WASHINGTON, BEIRUT- – Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire in Lebanon on Friday after an escalation in fighting there jeopardized the chances of an »»»