DUBAI: Iraq bowed out of the 2026 World Cup on Friday with a 5-0 loss to Senegal at Toronto Stadium that left them bottom of Group I with no points from their campaign. The result rounded off three heavy defeats in which Iraq conceded 12 goals and scored only one. Senegal now sit on three points in»»»

The rise of AI chatbots has triggered a technological gold rush unlike anything the internet has seen in decades. Companies are racing to build smarter models, faster assistants, and more human-like conversational systems. Behind that race sits one uncomfortable truth: these systems were built on a»»»

The US and Iran exchanged strikes for the first time since signing an interim peace framework on June 17. On Friday, US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that American forces had struck missile, drone and radar sites in Iran in response to a drone attack on the Singaporean-flagged cargo ship Ever»»»

LONDON: European allies need to ‌overhaul their war-fighting capabilities for a new era of combat, senior military officials from the region said, while warning of the potential threat Russia poses. Speaking at a defense conference ​in London this week, NATO’s deputy supreme allied commander in Eur»»»

ABIDJAN: Burkina Faso’s ruling junta on Friday severed diplomatic ties with former colonial ruler France, accusing Paris of persistently acting against its interests. The military regime led by Captain Ibrahim Traore, in power since a coup in September 2022, is pursuing a policy repressive toward c»»»

Below is the full text of the Israel-Lebanon framework agreement brokered by the Trump administration as published by Axios journalist Barak Ravid: TRILATERAL FRAMEWORK BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, THE STATE OF ISRAEL, AND THE REPUBLIC OF LEBANON The Government of Israel and the Government»»»

The death toll from the twin earthquakes in Venezuela continued to rise on Friday, with at least 920 dead and more than 51,000 missing, as distress grew among Venezuelans. The 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude quakes that struck late Wednesday left a landscape of devastation, with countless collapsed buildings»»»

BOSTON, Massachusetts: Germany may not ‌be too worried by their 2-1 loss to Ecuador on Thursday as they had secured top spot in Group E beforehand, but it was a timely wake-up call ​ahead of the World Cup knockout stage for the four-time world champions. Germany made it out of their group for the f»»»

KANSAS CITY, Missouri: Netherlands coach Ronald ‌Koeman was taking nothing for granted after his side sealed top spot in Group F with a 3-1 win over Tunisia on Thursday, warning that next opponents Morocco would provide a formidable ​test in the World Cup round of 32. The Dutch finished the group s»»»

Toronto: Senegal kept their hopes of reaching the World Cup last 32 alive with a 5-0 victory over Iraq in their final Group Nine match. Habib Diallo, Ismaila Sarr, Pape Gueye, who scored twice, and Iliman Ndiaye were all on target as Senegal finished third in the group with three points and remaine»»»

June 26 (UPI) -- The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday increased its response level to the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda. In an update to reporters, Satish Pillai, the Ebola response incidence manager at the CDC, said public health officia»»»

Foxborough, United States: Ousmane Dembele scored one of the earliest hat-tricks in World Cup history on Friday as the Ballon d'Or winner starred in France's 4-1 win over a second-string Norway, while Erling Haaland watched on from the bench. Paris Saint-Germain forward Dembele opened the scoring i»»»

NEW YORK CITY: Saudi Arabia’s envoy to the UN, Abdulaziz Alwasil, told the Security Council on Friday that there can be no military solution to the civil war in Sudan. He warned that the continued fighting in the country and arms support provided to the warring factions by other countries were wors»»»

The District of Columbia and ACLU on Friday settled a lawsuit brought by a man who was arrested in September 2025 for protesting the presence of National Guard troops deployed to Washington, D.C., by playing Darth Vader's theme near them. File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo June 26 (UPI) »»»

While France confirmed its first case of Ebola, reports of people successfully treated for the condition are also emerging from Mongbwalu, the epicentre of the epidemic in the eastern part of the DRC. Although successful treatments are sparking hope among teams on the ground, health professionals r»»»

The unprecedented heatwave that has been hitting Europe since the beginning of the week is spreading east and south across the continent, leading to the cancellation of events as temperatures exceed 35C and hospitals are becoming overwhelmed with demand. Health authorities across Europe were on hig»»»

PHILADELPHIA, USA: Ghana star Antoine Semenyo says his team needs ‌to “gang around the referee” more often after his side’s potential penalty shot against England on Tuesday went unreviewed. The Black Stars earned a historic 0-0 draw against the Three Lions in Group L. With a win or draw against Cr»»»

BEIRUT: Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said a deal signed with Israel on Friday was a first step toward fully restoring his country’s sovereignty after the latest war between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah. “The framework agreement signed today is a first step” that will enable Lebanese “to r»»»

NEW YORK CITY: The escalating conflict in Sudan’s North Kordofan state risks triggering a humanitarian catastrophe on the scale of last year’s siege of El-Fasher. The warning from UN officials to the Security Council on Friday came as drone strikes intensified around the city of El-Obeid, putting a»»»

Washington, June 26 (SANA) Syrian Consul Ahmad al-Malati met with officials from the U.S. State Department‘s Bureau of Consular Affairs and Office of the Legal Adviser to discuss the legal and procedural arrangements for resuming consular services, including the authentication and verification of o»»»

Dust in the Caribbean on visible satellite Friday morning. (NOAA/CIRA) It's Saharan dust season in the Atlantic, the time of year when massive clouds of dust from Africa's Sahara Desert are carried westward by winds, sometimes traveling thousands of miles to the United States. Where is the dust now»»»

As Europe confronts increasingly frequent and intense heatwaves, the conversation around climate adaptation is shifting from environmental policy to public health, education, and social infrastructure. Haxie Meyers-Belkin is pleased to welcome Caradee Wright, Chief Specialist Scientist at the »»»

The TSA said on Friday that it expects roughly 18.7 million people to be screened at U.S. airports during the July 4 holiday week, with more than 3 million people expected to travel on July 2 alone. File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo June 26 (UPI) -- The Transportation Security Administr»»»

Dubai: More than 25 million illicit and controlled pills and 1.1 tonnes of narcotic substances were intercepted by Saudi customs authorities over the past year, Okaz newspaper reported. The Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA) said customs officers seized 25,112,378 narcotic and prohibited pill»»»

MAKKAH: As Saudi Arabia expands saffron cultivation across regions including AlUla, Tabuk and Al-Baha, scientists are exploring ways to improve the productivity and quality of one of the world’s most valuable crops. Prof. Salim Al-Babili, associate vice president for research for plant science at K»»»