The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have said that shredded iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms served in Taco Bell have cause many of the cyclosporiasis illnesses. File Photo by Erik S. Lesser/EPA July 17 (UPI) -- Federal officials said they have traced the cyclosporiasis outbreak th»»»

Japan's Parliament voted Friday to revise the law regarding the royal succession that has been in place since 1947, expanding the number of eligible heirs to distant male relatives but did not relax the ban preventing Princess Aiko (pictured), or any other female royal, from ascending the Chrysanth»»»

Abu Dhabi: The UAE marks Union Pledge Day on 18th July each year, commemorating the historic signing of the Declaration of the Union and the UAE Constitution by the Founding Fathers in 1971, marking the beginning of a 55-year journey of development, progress and global leadership. Union Pledge Day,»»»

The crisis around the Strait of Hormuz, which appears to be dragging on, is increasing the importance of the North-South international transport corridor, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Friday. "The topic is indeed very important, especially in a situation where the crisis in the St»»»

Comprehensive work is needed on the regulation on motorway crash barriers, because mechanical replacement, without delving into the problem in depth, may have no effect, said Regional Development and Public Works Minister Ivan Shishkov during Friday's question time in Parliament. Shishkov was respo»»»

Hristo Emilov Dikanski was appointed deputy foreign minister, the Council of Ministers press service said on Friday. The appointment was made by order of Prime Minister Rumen Radev. Deputy Foreign Minister Ivanka Tasheva was appointed in May. The other holder of the post is Deputy Foreign Minister »»»

Abu Dhabi: Parents and students in Abu Dhabi can now obtain an attested certificate detailing private school tuition fees in as little as six minutes through the emirate's TAMM government services platform, streamlining a process often required for official transactions and financial assistance app»»»

From 18 August 2026, digital service providers within the European Union will face new obligations regarding electronic evidence in criminal proceedings. The new rules will change the way in which companies respond to requests from judicial authorities concerning the disclosure or preservation of d»»»

Dubai: Brent crude may need a prolonged disruption through the Strait of Hormuz or clear evidence of tightening global inventories to break above $90 a barrel, despite heading for its biggest weekly gain since April. Sign up for our daily business newsletter, Cheques & Balances.The global benchmark»»»

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani security forces raided multiple militant hideouts in the country’s northwest region, killing Pakistani Taliban and seizing a cache of weapons, the military and local officials said. The military said Friday it used intelligence sources to target militants in operations carried »»»

Andy Burnham was on Friday elected leader of the Labour party clearing the way for him to become the UK Prime Minister next week following the departure of Keir Starmer. Burnham has risen to leadership on a pledge to thwart the rise ‌of the populist Reform UK and said he would "give hope back"»»»

Andy Burnham vowed on July 17 to "give hope" back to the British people as he was confirmed as the ruling Labour party's new leader, set to be the next UK prime minister. 'The King of the North' was elected in a snap election by a landslide in Makerfield, a constituency near Manchester. He will bec»»»

Rewatch Andy Burnham's address to Labour as he officially becomes the new party leader, and is a few days awat from becoming the new British prime minister.»»»

BELGRADE - Serbian Minister of European Integration Nemanja Starovic said Friday's launch of US-Serbia strategic dialogue was an important milestone in the relations between the two countries, and noted that the strategic dialogue would pave the way for US investments in Serbia worth up to 20 bln d»»»

A day at Lake Balaton is becoming increasingly expensive for many families, with beach admission fees often overtaking accommodation costs as the biggest holiday expense. For a family of four, a full day at a paid beach can easily cost HUF 10,000–15,000, prompting many visitors to seek out the lake»»»

KATACHI: Pakistani spinner Mohammad Nawaz has been banned for three months over a doping violation, the International Cricket Council said Friday, backdating the punishment from May this year. The ICC said Nawaz tested positive during the men’s T20 World Cup in Sri Lanka on February 7. “Nawaz had t»»»

Dubai: Moving to a new country often begins with excitement to new opportunities, new surroundings, and the promise of a different future. But behind many expatriate stories is a challenge of building a life from the beginning. For Egyptian expat Ahmed Youssef, that challenge came at a time when th»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has been officially declared the leader of the Labour Party and will now be able to become the UK's prime minister, Home Secretary and Chair of the Labour Party's National Executive Committee Shabana Mahmood said on Friday. Mahmood confirmed at a par»»»

Secretary's SpeechLebanon PalestineZionist EntityRegional and International International More Video Language Ar En Fr EsSubscribe for Weekly Updates Subscribe Iranian Forces Retaliate US Attacks on Infrastructure 17-07-2026 15:29 PM The IRGC and army of the Islamci Republic of Iran have retaliated»»»

Abu Dhabi: The Department of Municipalities and Transport (DMT) has launched a comprehensive infrastructure development and road expansion project is underway on the E20 highway to improve traffic flow and accommodate rising mobility demands. Among the key improvements are the widening of its lanes»»»

The India government on Friday approached the Supreme Court against the Delhi High Court's decision to cancel the technical evaluation process for outsourcing Consular, Passport and Visa (CPV) services at Indian missions in UAE, Kuwait, Singapore and Canberra. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta mention»»»

RIYADH: Tuwaiq Academy has announced the launch of a new set of “Tuwaiq Executives” programs, set to run at its headquarters in Riyadh from July to December. The programs aim to develop leaders and decision-makers and equip them to keep pace with emerging technologies through partnerships with lead»»»

In the Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Bulgaria (part of the 2026 Rule of Law Report, released on Friday), the European Commission found that one recommendation in the 2025 Rule of Law Report is fully implemented, some progress has been achieved on two recommendations, limited progr»»»

In the US, smoke from wildfires in Canada has resulted in a drop in air quality in cities including New York and Chicago. According to government data, around 5.9 million acres have burned during this wildfire season in Canada. Officials in parts of both Canada and the US are urging residents to st»»»

First, a bit of recent history. In 2015, after the Maidan coup in Kiev and the beginning of the confrontation between Russia and the West, the EU created the East StratCom Task Force to fight foreign disinformation campaigns supposedly orchestrated by Russia. This agency is a part of the European E»»»

The Polish authorities have accused Russian intelligence of orchestrating the desecration of World War II memorials after charging an 18-year-old Ukrainian with vandalizing monuments commemorating Poles massacred by Ukrainian nationalists. Poland’s Internal Security Agency (ABW) said on Tuesday tha»»»

This week in Reporters: a special report by FRANCE 24's The Observers. After a leak of confidential documents revealed how Russian agents have been planting hundreds of articles in French-speaking media outlets in West and Central Africa, FRANCE 24 travelled to Dakar, Senegal, to investigate this s»»»

LONDON: Andy Burnham vowed Friday to “give hope” back to the British people as he was confirmed as the ruling Labour party’s new leader, set to be the next UK prime minister. “People and places … have been waiting too long for politics to let them hope again ... We’re going to give them hope back,”»»»

NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the country’s first hydrogen-powered train on Friday, making the country one of just a handful which have adopted the zero-emissions, clean fuel technology. Developed by state-owned Indian Railways, the blue trainset uses hydrogen fuel cells t»»»

An electronic Lebanese-Israeli-U.S. meeting scheduled for Friday has been postponed with the aim of preparing the necessary files, LBCI television reported on Friday. The meeting was supposed to put the final touches on the results of the Rome meeting regarding the technicalities related to the so-»»»

RIYADH: A Saudi security guard who became the target of online mockery has sparked a wider conversation about the dignity of work, with many Saudis rejecting attempts to belittle the profession and describing it as an honorable role that serves both people and the country. Mousa Al-Saad, who has wo»»»

Ukraine's ousted defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov was just six months in the role before his ambitious drive to reform the military led to unreconciliable clashes with the country's top general He increasingly battled with a top command he cast as out of date, not flexible and bogged down with bur»»»

Chancellor Friedrich Merz is hosting President Emmanuel Macron this evening on the eve of a Franco-German cabinet meeting. One of the goals is to bounce back with new joint projects involving the defence industry of both countries following the failure of a common fighter jet project. Here is a sum»»»

PRESS REVIEW – Friday, July 17: China reacts after the UK nationalises its last remaining virgin steel factory, expropriating Chinese Jingye Group. In other news, low rainfall in May followed by three intense heatwaves have 100 French departments under water restrictions. Also, »»»

A major migrant smuggling network operating along the route from the Greek-Turkish border to other European Union countries has been dismantled in an international operation involving Greece, Bulgaria, Romania and the Netherlands, with support from Europol and the South East European Law Enforcemen»»»

ISLAMABAD/KABUL: Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has rejected allegations of Islamabad opposing Afghanistan’s bid for full membership on the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, following reports that Kabul’s participation was stalled by a member of the region’s most powerful bloc. Founded in »»»

LONDON: TikTok said it is rolling out new artificial intelligence literacy resources and testing enhanced spam-detection systems across the Middle East and North Africa as platforms face growing pressure to police synthetic content. The latest updates unveiled this week include AI literacy resource»»»

Prime Minister Rumen Radev said Bulgaria has proposed a mutually beneficial arrangement with Turkiye as part of the efforts to suspend certain obligations under the gas supply agreement between Bulgargaz and the Turkish company BOTAS. Speaking to journalists, Radev said the specific details of the »»»

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said the two-decade-long campaign to restrict weapons solely to state authorities and bolster national sovereignty has yielded significant milestones. In an interview published Friday in the Saudi daily Okaz, Geagea lauded the Lebanese Cabinet, arguing that its p»»»

The European Union's renewed drive to expand eastwards could face its biggest political obstacle yet if French far-right leader Marine Le Pen wins the 2027 presidential election, potentially derailing accession hopes for Ukraine and the Western Balkans at one of the most critical moments in the blo»»»

Arab Finance: Telecom Egypt's (ETEL) board of directors has decided not to proceed with a proposed transaction to sell a 75% to 80% stake in a subsidiary that would own its Regional Data Center Hub (RDH) to Helios Investments after certain conditions required to complete the deal were not met, as p»»»

Traffic police in Sofia issued a fine or administrative citation to every electric scooter rider inspected during a one-day enforcement operation, authorities said. Speaking at a press briefing, Martin Tsurinski, Deputy Head of the Traffic Police Department at the Sofia Directorate of the Interior,»»»

President Iliana Iotova said on Friday she was reassured of the readiness of the Bulgarian Navy after observing the national naval exercise "Breeze 2026" aboard the frigate Drazki. "I am extremely pleased with what I have seen so far. I feel reassured about the sovereignty of our maritime border an»»»

An IndiGo flight bound for Ahmedabad was delayed by more than five hours after a hoax bomb threat was discovered on board the aircraft at Bengaluru airport on Thursday evening. Flight 6E 6423 had been scheduled to depart Bengaluru for Ahmedabad at 8pm but was immediately grounded after a threatenin»»»

Dubai: Oman's Islamic banking sector could be headed for one of its biggest shake-ups in years after Bank Nizwa proposed acquiring Alizz Islamic Bank and merging it into its operations, while bringing Ominvest on board as a strategic shareholder. Sign up for our daily business newsletter, Cheques &»»»

Israeli occupation forces intensified attacks on southern Lebanon on Friday, with drone strikes targeting areas in Tyre and Nabatieh districts, amid demolition operations and continued Israeli aircraft reconnaissance activity over Bekaa. An Israeli drone targeted a motorcycle on the Bayada–Naqoura »»»

A humanitarian aid flight carrying 100 tonnes of relief supplies departed Ras Al Khaimah International Airport on Friday for the Gaza Strip under Operation Chivalrous Knight 3. The aid flight, organised in cooperation between the Emirates Red Crescent (ERC), the Emirati-Palestinian Friendship Club »»»

Brussels, Belgium: The European Union on Friday proposed easing its carbon trading scheme for companies, as it unveiled reforms to one of its flagship climate policies under pressure to shore up industry. The overhaul of the two-decade-old Emissions Trading System (ETS) has been subject to fierce w»»»

DUBAI: More airlines are restoring flights ‌to parts of the Middle East after the conflict that followed US and Israeli strikes on Iran, but some carriers have kept suspensions in place. Below is an update on the status of airlines’ flights, in alphabetical order: AEGEAN AIRLINES Greece’s largest c»»»

The US and Iran exchanged fresh strikes on Friday, with attacks reported across the Gulf region, including Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and Jordan. UAE residents are advised to follow official updates, check travel notices and avoid sharing unverified information. Get updated faster and for FREE: Downloa»»»