The European Union is transforming into a military-political-economic bloc, and a military identity is taking shape within it, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said. "The fact is that a military identity is generally taking shape in the European Union, and the EU itself is transforming into a mil»»»

Russia remains one of the leading gas exporters to the EU—primarily through seaborne LNG shipments—even as its pipeline gas volumes have plummeted since 2022, according to a new analysis by the Bruegel think tank in Brussels. However, overall LNG imports to the EU have recently declined due to lowe»»»

Dubai :Dubai Police have warned parents and children against a dangerous social media trend involving heating “slime” in microwave ovens, following the circulation of viral videos showing children and teenagers attempting the practice. The warning comes as summer holidays begin, a period during whi»»»

A 70-year-old former official from Varna’s Primorski District has been charged in connection with issuing allegedly falsified construction tolerance certificates in the Baba Alino area, according to the District Prosecutor’s Office. Authorities have placed him in 72-hour detention while a court con»»»

African startups raised $1.44bn during the first half of this year, marginally surpassing the $1.42bn secured in H1 2025, as investors concentrated capital in fewer but significantly larger funding rounds despite a subdued global venture capital market. H1 2026 funding data show startups completed »»»

The IRGC warned that any miscalculation by Iran’s adversaries would be met with a “decisive and crushing response,” as it called for massive public participation in the farewell and funeral ceremonies of the martyred Leader of the Islamic Revolution Imam Sayyed Ali Khamenei. In a statement released»»»

Countries are lining up to reach agreements with Central Asian states for access to the region’s abundant critical minerals. The minerals are there, and continued surveying turns up new deposits all the time.  One of the problems for the Central Asian countries most often cited is that they do»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Russian armed forces have liberated the village of Alexandrovka in the Dnepropetrovsk region, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Friday. "During the week, the units of the Vostok battlegroup continued their active offensive operations ... Over the past day, the village of A»»»

Incheon, South Korea: Thirty seconds before kick-off, humanoid robot footballers in red and blue jerseys await the referee's signal in the South Korean port city of Incheon. The match setting is RoboCup, branded as the world's largest robotics competition, where engineers are betting on a fully aut»»»

An Indian-founded global payments company has chosen Hungary as the base for its European expansion after receiving a key financial licence from the Hungarian National Bank (MNB). PAY TEN EU Kft., the Hungarian subsidiary of Pay10, has been granted an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) licence, all»»»

An individual Hezbollah fighter operating inside an area in southern Lebanon occupied by Israeli enemy forces opened fire on a patrol in Bint Jbeil, wounding one soldier seriously and injuring two others before disappearing, according to Israeli Army Radio. The report said troops from the 679th Bri»»»

Sydney: New dawn-to-dusk drone patrols of Sydney's beaches spotted sharks 73 times in the first two days, forcing multiple closures, data obtained by AFP showed on Friday. Authorities launched the expanded drone programme on Wednesday to protect beachgoers after a spate of shark attacks in Sydney a»»»

RIYADH: The net profit of listed banks operating in the Gulf Cooperation Council region rebounded in the first quarter of 2026, posting a solid recovery after a decline in the previous three months, an analysis showed. According to the latest report by Kamco Invest, aggregate net profits for listed»»»

No single political party will be able to completely control Hungary’s public-service media, only part of Fidesz’s media empire will survive, and serious challenges await independent newsrooms. An earthquake – that is how the new media law, approved by parliament on 23 June, is being described in H»»»

The school term is ending, the temperatures are rising and the airport is full. Peak summer has finally arrived. I’m still getting used to these sweltering weeks, despite growing up in Saudi Arabia (the UK has softened me up). I’m currently in the ‘how does it get even hotter than this?’ stage as w»»»

State Border Service of Kyrgyzstan reported the seizure of a large shipment of narcotics at the Kyrgyz-Tajik border. According to the agency, border guards from Leilek border detachment, acting on received information, observed an unidentified individual on the territory of Tajikistan throwing a la»»»

State-owned Asman Airlines, together with tour operator Malva Tour (Uzbekistan), will launch a new seasonal direct route Tashkent — Tamchy (Issyk-Kul International Airport) from July 8. Flights will be operated once a week on Wednesdays. According to Airports of Kyrgyzstan OJSC, the new flight is d»»»

European authorities on Thursday said cases such as that of Gisele Pelicot (C) are not rare, with an international operation disrupting four online networks of men sharing videos, photos and information about during and sexually assaulting women, often their own partners. File Photo by Guillaume Ho»»»

JALUD: Palestinian Mohammad Salameh was building a home for his family in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where his recently ​engaged son was meant to start married life. Instead, before construction was complete, a group of Israeli settlers seized the property. Video filmed earlier in the week and»»»

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, who announced Thursday the creation of a high-level committee tasked with developing economic partnerships and security agreements with Syria, said Friday that the cooperation aims at "strengthening bilateral relations" to achieve the common interests of the two countrie»»»

La Guaira, Venezuela: In the Venezuelan resort town of La Guaira, a group of rescuers watched as sensors that once detected life under the rubble now showed nothing, as silence gave way to resignation. Friday -- the ninth day since the devastating double earthquakes that killed nearly 2,600 people »»»

Pilot night bus routes will begin operating in Bishkek today, July 3, the municipality announced. The buses will run daily from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. Fares have been set at 70 soms for cashless payments, including bank cards, transport cards, and QR code payments, and 90 soms for cash payments. Accordi»»»

After meeting Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Shaibani for the first time, Hezbollah ally and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said Lebanon has no choice but to engage with Syria. "Lebanon cannot cooperate with Israel, and if it refuses to deal with Syria, the Lebanese will be left with no choice but t»»»

A 26-year-old woman was found dead in a hotel room in Hyderabad in the early hours of Friday after allegedly dying by suicide while on a video call with a friend, according to media reports. The woman, identified as Renuka from Alwal, was found inside a room at Hotel Grand Lodge near MD Lines. Acco»»»

Dubai: The UAE has reaffirmed that delivery riders cannot be compelled to work during the country's midday summer work ban, while expanding a nationwide network of more than 12,000 air-conditioned rest areas to protect workers from extreme heat. The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (Mo»»»

Gold bar and dollars Andrew Naylor, Head of Middle East and Public Policy at the World Gold Council, stated that the direction of gold in the coming period will be determined by several factors, most notably global interest rate expectations—particularly the Federal Reserve’s decision expected next»»»

Air quality in Sofia remains within the legal limits following the fire at a waste treatment facility that caused a strong smell of burnt plastic across several parts of the city, the Environment Ministry said here Friday. The Regional Inspectorate of Environment and Water (RIEW) explained that whi»»»

Abu Dhabi: Zayed International Airport welcomed more than 93,000 passengers a day during the five-day period from June 26 to June 30, as travel demand continued to accelerate, with daily passenger numbers and flight movements exceeding levels recorded during the same period last year. According to »»»

Peshawar, Pakistan: A bus veered off a road and fell more than 20 metres into a ravine in western Pakistan on Friday, killing at least 40 people, officials said. "A passenger bus travelling from Quetta to Peshawar plunged into a deep ravine in the mountainous Dana Sar area... 40 people have been co»»»

Hungary has revoked the political asylum previously granted to Polish opposition politicians Zbigniew Ziobro and Marcin Romanowski, as well as to Ziobro’s wife, according to an announcement by Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski. Writing on X on Thursday, Sikorski said Poland had received wri»»»

Dubai: Dubai's property market opened trading on Friday with transactions worth nearly Dh900 million, driven by the sale of four land plots and a luxury villa, highlighting continued demand for premium real estate. According to the Dubai REST app, four land plots in City of Arabia were sold for a c»»»

During parliamentary scrutiny, Prime Minister Rumen Radev defended the government’s draft budget, arguing that the current fiscal deficit is the consequence of policy decisions made in previous years rather than recent actions by his cabinet. He said the administration is attempting to reduce the g»»»

Damascus, July 3 (SANA) Chinese Ambassador to Syria Shi Hongwei said China stands ready to create new opportunities for the world, including Syria, through its development strategy, according to an article published in the Syrian state-owned daily Al-Thawra Al-Souria. The article, titled “After 105»»»

AI company 1001 has raised $30 million in a Series A funding round to expand its sovereign artificial intelligence platform designed for critical infrastructure across the GCC. The investment round was led by Lux Capital, with participation from PIF-owned Sanabil Investments, Hanabi and 9Yards. Exi»»»

Doha, Qatar: The State of Qatar participated in the Extraordinary Meeting of Their Excellencies the Members of the Ministerial Committee for Agricultural Cooperation and Food Security of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), held yesterday via videoconference. The State of Qatar was represented by a »»»

US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth's proposals for additional reductions to the American military presence in Europe were rejected by the administration of President Donald Trump, US media reported, citing sources. Hegseth had intended to announce the additional reductions in June at a meeting with N»»»

Russia and Ukraine exchanged one of the largest waves of long-range attacks of the war overnight, with Moscow launching a combined missile and drone assault on Kyiv while Russian authorities said they had intercepted hundreds of Ukrainian drones targeting Moscow and other regions, reported the Kyiv»»»

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy privately asked former commander-in-chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi whether he intended to run in a future presidential election and urged him to avoid a potentially divisive contest, the Ukrainska Pravda news outlet reported, citing sources familiar with the meeting»»»

Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev said on Friday that he would formally oppose the European Union's proposed 21st package of sanctions against Russia, arguing that his decision was driven by Bulgaria's national interest. Responding to a question from Yordan Ivanov of the Democratic Bulgaria parl»»»

Doha, Qatar: Assets under management (AuM) in the GCC grew by 10% in 2025, reaching $2.7 trillion and marking one of the strongest annual performances in over a decade, according to a new report from Boston Consulting Group (BCG). The findings, released as part of BCG’s Global Asset Management Repo»»»

Doha: The Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) index closed this week down 0.690 percent, losing 70.650 points compared to last week’s close, to settle at 10,211 points under pressure from five sectors. QSE figures for this week indicate that the transportation sector suffered the largest losses, declining b»»»

RIYADH: The UAE’s non-oil private sector continued to expand in June, despite recording its weakest growth in more than five years, as the S&P Global Purchasing Managers’ Index fell to 50.8. The slowdown, from 52.6 in May. came as geopolitical disruptions, cautious client spending and intense compe»»»

There are currently no chances for a full-fledged dialogue in the OSCE, Russia's permanent representative to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Dmitry Polyansky told Sputnik. "That is hard to imagine at this point. What is needed is an understanding that at least all OS»»»

Ankara, July 3 (SANA) Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Israel was a “reckless gang” undermining the international order, according to Anadolu Agency on Thursday. Speaking to CNN Türk, Fidan said Israel was, in his view, a state that commits massacres and injustice, adding that it was gover»»»

Dubai: Emirates expects more than 3,500 children to travel independently over the next two weeks, in one of the busiest summer periods for its Unaccompanied Minors Service. Sign up for our daily business newsletter, Cheques & Balances.The surge comes as families begin their summer holidays before t»»»

Doha, Qatar: Qatar produced a strong second-half comeback to defeat hosts India 65-56 in the opening game of the third window of the FIBA Basketball World Cup Qatar 2027 Asian Qualifiers in Ahmedabad yesterday. The victory gave Qatar a valuable start in Group D, which also features Lebanon and Saud»»»

PARIS: France endured a rise of nearly 30 percent in the number of deaths recorded during the week of June 22, the peak of a record-breaking heatwave that battered the country, the public health authority said Friday. Public Health France said in a new report there had been “an increase of 29.1 per»»»

Damascus, July 3 (SANA) Syria is advancing development of its silica sector as part of a national strategy to strengthen industrial production, increase the value of its mineral resources and support economic recovery through value-added manufacturing. Geological surveys to assess reserves and ore »»»

Dubai: Etihad Airways is marking 20 years of flying to France, two decades after launching its first service between Abu Dhabi and Paris in June 2006. Sign up for our daily business newsletter, Cheques & Balances.The route started with six flights a week when Etihad was still a young airline, opera»»»

Dubai: Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, said the Emirati Supplier Programme awarded Dh1.78 billion in contracts to Emirati small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in 2025, marking a 38 per cent increase compare»»»