DUBAI: A report from Axios said that US and Iran are close to signing a memorandum of understanding, which particularly calls for the immediate reopening of the Strait of Hormuz without tolls. The MoU also states Iran will receive sanctions relief based on compliance, Axios said, quoting a diplomat»»»

MOSCOW: Three civilians died in Russian and Ukrainian border regions, officials said on Friday, as the two sides lobbed overnight strikes at each other in the latest exchange of fire in the grinding war. In Russia, two civilians were killed and two wounded in the border region of Bryansk after Kyiv»»»

Dubai: Dubai gold prices climbed back above the Dh500 mark on Friday morning, recovering from a sharp midweek slide that briefly pulled 24-karat gold below Dh500 per gram and gave shoppers a short buying window. (Check latest UAE gold prices here, alongside prices in Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Bahr»»»

Washington: US Park Police opened an investigation on Thursday into giant markings of the numbers "8647" - which have been associated with opposition to President Donald Trump - on the grass of the National Mall. A spokesperson for the Department of the Interior, which manages the National Mall in »»»

More than half of Romanians are confident that they can distinguish between genuine and false information when news about security or war emerges, however, most respondents are skeptical about the public's ability to identify false information on the same subject, according to an Informat.ro - INSC»»»

Electrica concluded, on Wednesday, in Washington, a five-year strategic partnership with the Atlantic Council, one of the most important public policy organizations in the United States of America.According to a company press release, the agreement was signed by Alexandru Chirita, CEO of Electrica,»»»

Polewali Mandar, Indonesia: On the balcony of his house in Indonesia, Muhammad Yusuf swayed to blaring music and waved a replica of the World Cup trophy as hundreds paraded past, many decked out in Argentina's colours. The 54-year-old fisherman from a small village in Polewali Mandar, West Sulawesi»»»

Hungary is unlikely to meet its previously discussed 2030 target for adopting the euro, as a number of economic requirements could push back the timeline for joining the eurozone. According to a report by Portfolio, analysts at MBH Bank believe Hungary may need more time than previously expected be»»»

Doha, Qatar: Hamad Port has advanced three places in the 2025 Container Port Performance Index (CPPI), securing the eighth position globally and second place in the Gulf region, according to the latest rankings by the World Bank and S&P Global Market Intelligence. In a post on its X platform yester»»»

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump said on Thursday he wants to take over Kharg Island, Iran’s oil infrastructure hub. Analysts say the US military could seize the island quickly, but the move could leave US troops in great peril and prolong rather than shorten the war. WHERE IS KHARG ISLAND AND WH»»»

VINNYTSIA: The two burly men stare straight ahead, hands intertwined on a pottery wheel, fingers buried in the clay. They sense each other’s presence through touch alone. One is a veteran who lost his sight in combat and now teaches other blind veterans. Slowly, a piece resembling a cup takes form.»»»

A computed tomography (CT) scanner has been purchased for the General Medical Practice Center in Kyzyl-Kiya, Batken region, using the institution’s own funds. The Ministry of Health recalled that a CT scanner had previously been installed at the General Medical Practice Center in Kadamdzhai distric»»»

JERUSALEM: Israel’s cabinet on Thursday referred a plan to allocate 1 billion shekels ($339.7 million) for the establishment of new settlements in the occupied West Bank to the security cabinet, deferring a vote on the funds, Israeli anti-settlement group Peace Now said. The plan was promoted by fa»»»

Dubai: The 2026 FIFA World Cup is set to give the Arab world its biggest stage yet, with a record eight teams from the region qualifying for the tournament across the US, Canada and Mexico. World Cup 2026 wall chart: Download it free with fixtures and full scheduleSaudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, Moroc»»»

Washington: Tehran said Friday it had not reached a final decision on a deal to end the Middle East war, despite US President Donald Trump claiming an agreement could be signed in days and cancelling threatened strikes on Iran. Trump's statements fuelled a stock market rally and tanked oil prices, »»»

Deputy Foreign Minister of Kyrgyzstan Meder Abakirov and State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of Slovakia Marek Eshtok held interagency consultations and discussed the current state and prospects for the development of Kyrgyzstan — Slovakia relations, trade, economic, inv»»»

Doha, Qatar: Four years ago, Qatar’s World Cup debut never truly got going. A nervy opening defeat to Ecuador set the tone for a difficult campaign that ended without a point and with hopes fading before the knockout rounds even came into view. As Al Annabi prepare to begin their FIFA World Cup 202»»»

Former Hungarian National Bank (MNB) governor György Matolcsy received a gross departure package of more than HUF 170.8 million (approximately EUR 483,000) when he left office after 12 years at the helm of Hungary’s central bank, according to information obtained through a public data request. The »»»

Arab Finance: Construction has officially begun on the first phase of Citystars Park St., a large-scale mixed-use development in New Cairo with planned investments exceeding EGP 100 billion, as per an emailed press release. The project is being developed by Sky Innovo Developments, a subsidiary of »»»

Washington: President Donald Trump has long been looking for this weekend to be a big one for his presidency. The World Cup returns to the US on Friday for the first time in 32 years after Trump threw himself into winning the bid to co-host the soccer tourney during his first term. He'll be feted S»»»

A newborn Asian elephant calf at UK's Whipsnade Zoo has captured public attention after being seen playfully kicking and chasing a large red ball shortly after making his public debut. The endangered calf was born to mother Donna at the UK's largest zoo and quickly became a favorite among visitors »»»

President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov signed a law ratifying the agreement between Kyrgyzstan and Japan on the elimination of double taxation on income taxes. The document was signed on December 19, 2025, in Tokyo. Previously, the Zhogorku Kenesh adopted a law on its ratification, which is necessar»»»

PARIS : Israeli and Palestinian civil society groups will meet in France on Friday to urge the international community not to abandon a two-state solution, as Paris seeks to keep the issue alive amid the Middle East war.The meeting, attended by foreign ministers and senior officials from dozens of »»»

JESSORE: Rice farmer Mohammad Ismail Hossain fears violence could blight his quiet fields in southwestern Bangladesh, on the front line of a growing Indian push to expel undocumented migrants. The countries share a porous 4,096-kilometer (2,500-mile) border, with communities on either side often so»»»

The government decided at its Wednesday meeting to extend the student loan interest freeze and the repayment moratorium on the baby-expecting loan scheme, while also approving a HUF 3.6 billion hospital cooling reconstruction programme. Budapest was granted a postponement until October 15 to meet i»»»

Chinese ports once again topped the World Bank and S&P Global Container Port Performance Index (CPPI) for 2025, with seven of the world's ten most efficient trade hubs located in China, according to the annual report. The port of Fuzhou in southeastern Fujian province claimed the top spot globally,»»»

TYRE, Lebanon: A strike wounded 10 staff members of a hospital in the Lebanese city of Tyre on Thursday, the facility’s director told AFP, as Israeli raids continue in the country’s south. All three of the historic city’s hospitals have been hit since the start of the latest war between Iran-backed»»»

BANGKOK: Thailand’s Princess Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol, a lawyer and the eldest of King Maha Vajiralongkorn’s children, has died at 47, the Bureau of the Royal Household said. She died Thursday evening at a Bangkok hospital where she had been cared for since falling unconscious due to illness three ye»»»

Skyliner II, the latest office project rising beside Warsaw's Rondo Daszyńskiego, has reached its full structural height of 130 meters. Developed by Karimpol Group, the tower forms the second phase of the Skyliner complex and will add around 24,000 sqm of office space to one of the capital's most s»»»

Oil prices rose on Thursday as markets reacted to another exchange of fire between the United States and Iran and renewed uncertainty over shipping near the Strait of Hormuz. Money.pl reported that WTI crude for July delivery traded at USD 91.12 per barrel, up 1.21 percent, while Brent for August d»»»

Dubai: Uniquely You Mental Health Center, the UAE’s first publicly neurodivergent-owned and operated mental health clinic, has officially launched in Dubai. Founded by Elaine Maichin, an American neurodivergent, CDA-licensed psychologist, a US-Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), and a licensed t»»»

US President Donald Trump said Thursday he had halted plans for new military strikes on Iran, claiming negotiators were close to extending a fragile ceasefire, just hours after threatening to intensify the conflict by targeting Iran’s oil industry. US President Donald Trump said Thursday he had cal»»»

RIYADH: Al-Qadsiah winger Julian Quinones got FIFA World Cup scoring off the mark as he netted the tournament’s first goal and helped co-host Mexico defeat South Africa on Thursday. The 29-year-old attacker’s powerful low strike on the 9th minute helped the home side to a 2-0 victory at a packed Me»»»

PARIS: More than half of civilian deaths caused by explosive weapons in 2025 were attributed to the Israeli military, according to a new Explosive Weapons Monitor report, which warned of a growing “normalization” of civilian harm in global conflicts. The report released on Wednesday said over 22,60»»»

OTTAWA, Ontario: A Toronto police officer was shot and killed Thursday by a suspect in the investigation into a shooting attack that damaged the facade of the US Consulate in the Canadian city in March, police said. One 19-year-old suspect was in custody at a hospital in critical condition while of»»»

WASHINGTON American pop star Ariana Grande told President Donald Trump’s administration on ​Thursday to stop using her music to promote its policies. The comment came after the White House shared a video on TikTok earlier this week highlighting its immigration policy. The video, which depicts feder»»»

SEOUL: South Korea’s ex-president Yoon Suk Yeol was sentenced to 30 years in prison on Friday for sending drones into North Korea, a move prosecutors argued was aimed at creating a pretext for his disastrous martial law declaration in 2024.Special prosecutors said back in April that Yoon’s effort t»»»

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil: Europe’s technology chief warned Thursday about the risks of relying too heavily on US tech companies in sensitive areas such as cybersecurity and defense. EU tech sovereignty chief Henna Virkkunen was speaking in Brazil at Web Summit Rio — the Americas’ largest tech summit,»»»

Bir Duino-Kyrgyzstan human rights movement has issued an appeal to the country’s authorities in connection with Kyrgyzstan’s election as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council. The authors of the appeal noted that membership in the UN Security Council is a great responsibility and called»»»

Dubai: The UAE will see generally fair weather on Friday, with low cloud cover developing over eastern areas and temperatures climbing to as high as 47°C inland, according to the National Centre of Meteorology forecast. Humidity is expected to increase overnight and into Saturday morning across som»»»

GENEVA: Extreme heat has claimed more than 200,000 lives across Europe over the past four years, according to the UN World Health Organisation (WHO). The agency warned that heatwaves are becoming an increasingly frequent and deadly public health emergency driven by climate change. “We need a coordi»»»

BANGKOK: Thailand’s Princess Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol, a lawyer and the eldest of King Maha Vajiralongkorn’s children, has died at 47, the Bureau of the Royal Household said. She died Thursday evening at a Bangkok hospital where she had been cared for since falling unconscious due to illness three ye»»»

The stage is set for a dazzling celebration of leadership, innovation and inclusion as Excellence Awards 2026 honours inspiring women and organisations at Dubai’s Museum of the Future today evening. Organised by Gulf News and BeingShe, the sixth edition of the awards will recognise 35 exceptional w»»»

First Sermon (Khutbah One) All praise is due to Allah, the Protecting Friend, the Praiseworthy, who by His grace has allowed us to witness the beginning of a new Hijri year. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and I bear witness that our master and prophet Muhammad is the Messenger of Al»»»

Dubai-based Jennifer Blandos, an entrepreneur building health tech, never really thought about leaving the UAE. She is self-sufficient, built her own business and bought her own home in 2015, and then acquired the Golden Visa in 2024, after the 1 Billion Followers Summit. As a single mother, it mad»»»

RIYADH: The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) has launched its first office dedicated to cybersecurity, establishing a new global hub in Riyadh to support efforts to strengthen cyber resilience through training, research, policy development and knowledge exchange. The Riya»»»

OTTAWA, Ontario: A Toronto police officer was shot and killed Thursday by a suspect in the investigation into a shooting attack that damaged the facade of the US Consulate in the Canadian city in March, police said. Police officer Marc Pinizotto, who was 43 and had been on the force for 18 years, d»»»

Dubai: Koshy Joseph still remembers what unsettled him most when he first arrived in Dubai in 1994. It was not the heat, the unfamiliar city, or even the pressure of starting life over in another country. It was the uncertainty, the feeling that everything could change overnight, and that surviving»»»

BY: Sherif Abdel Ghaffar “They don’t represent Islam!” It is not acceptable, anymore On July 26, 2017 Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El Sisi decreed the formation of The Supreme Council for Combating Radicalism and Terrorism. An action that some might look at with skepticism while others might hold»»»

TOLEDO, Spain: Saudi Arabia and France signed a joint action program on Thursday to strengthen tourism cooperation, focusing on investment, innovation, sustainability, skills development and destination marketing. The agreement was signed during a meeting between Saudi Minister of Tourism Ahmed Al-»»»