Los Angeles: A mouthwatering duel between in-form goalscorers Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland will take centre stage at the World Cup on Friday as France face Norway in a crucial Group I decider. Real Madrid star Mbappe and Manchester City striker Haaland have started the tournament in blistering »»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The person detained in Russia's Dagestan conducted terrorist activities in Russia, the United States and Europe with the coordination of the right-wing radical from Ukraine, Kirill Makarenko, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Friday. Earlier in the day, the FSB s»»»

Arab Finance: Talaat Moustafa Group (TMG Holding) has entered into a strategic partnership with SOKNA to provide a comprehensive, organized, and dignified cemetery experience in Egypt, according to an emailed press release. This collaboration integrates the group’s extensive experience in real esta»»»

"The Movement for Rights and Freedom (MRF) strongly condemns the Government's intention to quietly shut down the communist-era secret police files committee [officially the Committee for Disclosing the Documents and Announcing Affiliation of Bulgarian Citizens to State Security and to the Intellige»»»

MANILA: A 6.7-magnitude earthquake struck off the southern Philippines on Friday, the United States Geological Survey said, less than three weeks after a major tremor in the same area left more than 80 people dead. The quake struck at 7:42 p.m. (1142 GMT) at a depth of 65.7 kilometers (41 miles) ab»»»

TUNIS: Prominent Tunisian rights activist Sihem Bensedrine told AFP on Friday that she had been sentenced to 25 years in prison on charges including falsifying part of a transitional justice commission’s final report. Tunisia emerged from the Arab Spring uprisings of 2011 as a beacon of democratic »»»

Russia’s rhythmic gymnastics team was right to pull out of the Challenge Cup in Romania’s Cluj-Napoca after the local mayor banned its athletes from competing under their national flag and anthem, legendary Soviet gymnast and sports commentator Lidiya Ivanova tells Sputnik. The International Gymnas»»»

View this post on Instagram A post shared by SF Animal Care & Control (@sfanimalcareandcontrol) June 24 (UPI) -- Animal control officers in San Francisco came to the rescue of a juvenile coyote trapped for several days in the walled backyard of a home situated atop a steep hill. Animal Care & Contr»»»

June 25 (UPI) -- An Australian snake catcher called to remove a large python from a resident's bedroom ended up rounding up a massive spider in the same room. Stuart McKenzie of Sunshine Coast Snake Catchers 24/7 was called out to a Queensland home on a report of a large snake in a resident's bedro»»»

June 25 (UPI) -- Authorities in California said an attempt to retrieve a pair of dropped sunglasses from a campground toilet led to a man having to be rescued from the sewage tank. The Fresno County Sheriff's Office said deputies responded Saturday alongside Cal Fire personnel when a man was report»»»

Manila: A 6.7-magnitude earthquake struck off the southern Philippines on Friday, the United States Geological Survey said, less than three weeks after a major tremor in the same area left more than 80 people dead. The quake struck at 7:42 pm (1142 GMT) at a depth of 65.7 kilometres about 21 kilome»»»

On June 23, 2026, the TOP WOMAN in Real Estate, Construction & Logistics Gala took place at the Focus Premium Hotel in Warsaw, bringing together professionals from the real estate, construction, logistics, finance, legal, and advisory sectors to celebrate excellence, leadership, and innovation. The»»»

DUBAI: Season five of the acclaimed kitchen-based dramedy “The Bear” arrives with great expectations attached, since it’s also the show’s final outing. Can creator Christopher Storer pull off the often-bungled trick of producing a satisfying ending to a beloved show? It picks up the morning after s»»»

Bulgaria has recorded the sharpest increase in the cost of building new homes among all European Union member states over the past decade, according to data cited from Eurostat and included in the 2026 edition of the report Key European Business Indicators. The figures show that between 2015 and 20»»»

An investigation linked to the “Baba Alino” case has led to the detention of 25 individuals, including five employees of Varna Municipality, as authorities expand inquiries into alleged illegal construction and related practices in the region. Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev said the operation i»»»

Denmark is considering a nationwide ban on the Islamic call to prayer. Immigration Minister Morten Bodskov has said it has “no place” in the country. The move comes amid a Danish government crackdown on “Islamization.” Speaking to local news outlet Ritzau on Wednesday, Bodskov, a senior figure in t»»»

Georgian Dream's repeated invocation of Georgia's strategic transit importance to fend off Western criticism is built on a temporary advantage tied to Russia's war in Ukraine that could evaporate once the conflict ends, Kornely Kakachia, director of the Tbilisi-based Georgian Institute of Politics,»»»

LUXEMBOURG - Serbia is among the central, eastern and southeast European states with particularly robust and highly profitable banking sectors, according to an European Investment Bank (EIB) CESEE Bank Lending Survey for the first half of 2026. "The banking sector in Central, Eastern and South-East»»»

Hungary’s new government has confirmed its ambition to join the eurozone by around 2030, with Prime Minister Péter Magyar arguing that adopting the euro would bring greater economic stability and prevent future governments from repeating what he described as the fiscal mistakes of Viktor Orbán’s ad»»»

TUNIS, June 26, 2026 (TAP) - Revenues from Tunisian date exports rose slightly by 4.8% during the first eight months of the 2025/2026 season, reaching TND 770.7 million.This increase is attributed to a 5.3% improvement in export volumes, amounting...»»»

Defence Minister Dimitar Stoyanov visited TEREM-Ivaylo Ltd. in Veliko Tarnovo on Friday to inspect progress on the final assembly of Stryker combat vehicles for the Bulgarian Army. The plant is currently assembling five vehicles, which are expected to be completed within the next few months. During»»»

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kyrgyzstan clarified the procedure for voluntary departure for foreign citizens who have violated migration laws. According to the ministry, within the framework of the presidential decree, foreign nationals will be issued exit visas free of charge, and administra»»»

Director of the State Civil Aviation Agency of Kyrgyzstan Daniyar Bostоnov and U.S. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Bishkek Lesslie Viguerie discussed the possibility of launching cargo flights. The sides reviewed prospects for developing Kyrgyzstan — USA cooperation in civil aviati»»»

King Charles III salutes members of the Brtish armed forces at the annual Trooping the Color at Horseguards Parade in London on June 13. On Thursday he became the first ever monarch to reveal how much tax he pays. Photo by Hugo Philpott/UPI | License Photo June 26 (UPI) -- Britain's King Charles II»»»

Rainbow flags are expected to flutter across Seattle's stadium on Friday when Iran meets Egypt in the World Cup Group G match as the city marks its annual Pride parade. The two countries last year asked for Pride-themed celebrations to be cancelled, a request FIFA denied. Players and officials of b»»»

As negociations are underway to end the war launched by Israel and the United Stated against Iran, talks have lagged over the subject of Iran's nuclear programme. The UN's nuclear chief emphasized Friday the need for a "very strong verification system" to ensure the country does not develop nuclear»»»

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday Washington would not accept any Iran deal allowing Tehran to impose fees on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, warning it would cause "total chaos". His remarks came after an attack on a vessel forced the United Nations to suspend mariner evacu»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - In a major reciprocal swap, Russia and Ukraine traded 160 prisoners of war each on Friday, the Russian Defense Ministry announced. "On June 26, 160 Russian servicemen were returned from territory controlled by the Kiev regime. In exchange, 160 Ukrainian prisoners of war were hand»»»

In tonight's edition, hundreds of people are arrested and crowds are teargassed as Kenyans march on the anniversary of the 2024 violence. Also, Bafana Bafana shuts down its detractors with its big win over South Korea that takes the team to the knockout round of the World Cup for the first time. An»»»

The Nigerian Senate on June 24 approved a bill to allow states to create their own police forces, concerns over the country's myriad conflicts were brought back into the spotlight recently after a mass school abduction in the typically safer southwest. But experts warn that putting Nigeria's 36 sta»»»

French authorities said hospitals in and around Paris were overwhelmed amid a record-breaking heatwave, adding that consumption and sales of alcohol would be banned from June 26. Paris police also told organisers to cancel several public events including the pride march to avoid overwhelming respon»»»

As Europe bakes under a relentless heatwave, human-caused climate change is "unequivocally" responsible for its intensity, scientists say. A similar heatwave would have been 3.5C cooler during the day in June 1976. Even compared to 2003 -- when tens of thousands of people died in a major European h»»»

Three quarters of mainland France is under a “red alert” for the heat. And it may seem odd that the southeastern Mediterranean coast is not under that highest level of warning. So why doesn't the mercury climb as high on the Côte d'Azur in the middle of a heatwave? The Mediterranean Sea allows the »»»

Paris police has asked several organisers to cancel several public events meant to be held on the weekend of June 27, including the pride march and the Solidays music festival. The police have said that if organisers did not comply, they would be banned. This comes as French emergency services and »»»

Sharjah: The UAE has moved its Electronic Invoicing System (EIS) from planning into practical testing, with the Ministry of Finance launching the pilot phase of the system’s five-corner model. Sign up for our daily business newsletter, Cheques & Balances.The pilot phase, announced during an awarene»»»

Israeli forces dropped ​leaflets over a town in southern Lebanon on Friday ‌ordering residents ‌to ​leave, Lebanese ‌state ⁠media ​reported, in ⁠a first such order issued since the ⁠ceasefire between ‌Israel ‌and ​Hezbollah ‌took ‌effect. The town lies near the boundary ‌of the area occupied by Isr»»»

Organisers of the Paris Pride March on Friday postponed the annual event scheduled for Saturday after police ordered them to change the date to avoid overwhelming response services already under pressure due to extreme heat. The death toll from heatwave-related drownings in France rose to 55, accor»»»

Europe’s record heatwave in the month of June would have been "virtually impossible" 50 years ago, scientists said Friday, proof that human-caused climate change is "unequivocally" responsible for the intensity of the latest scorcher. Half-a-century ago, a similar heatwave would have been 3.5°C coo»»»

PRESS REVIEW – Friday, June 26: Papers discuss the scientific and political aspects of the earthquakes in Venezuela. Next: a new study sheds light on who makes the most money after university in the UK. Finally, we look at a heatwave headline that will make you giggle. International media discuss w»»»

Kyiv is seeking retribution and one of its targets is Crimea. The peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014 now threatens to become Moscow's Achilles' heel, as Ukraine steps up its attacks targeting bridges, ferries and oil storage facilities. The strategy appears to be working: fuel and power shortages »»»

PP-DB MP Stoyu Stoev has argued that the latest amendments to Bulgaria’s Judiciary Act do not amount to genuine judicial reform, claiming instead that they preserve existing political influence over the composition of the Supreme Judicial Council. Speaking on BNT, Stoev said that proposals aimed at»»»

The United States and Iran have entered a new phase of negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear program, but the most difficult questions have only been postponed. High-level delegations from the two countries have been meeting in Switzerland, with Pakistan and Qatar acting as mediators, after the signin»»»

A 21-year-old driver with only five months of driving experience caused a fatal collision near Mezdra that killed two teenagers riding a moped, according to police and eyewitness accounts cited in multiple reports. The accident occurred between Mezdra and the village of Bodenets, when a BMW reporte»»»

The United States is considering moving some of its Gulf bases to the Zionist entity, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, noting that damage at some bases is far more extensive than Washington has publicly acknowledged. The report said the US is considering refurnishing the base in Bahrai»»»

Doha, Qatar: Minister of Interior and Commander of the Internal Security Force (Lekhwiya) HE Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani met in Washington, D.C. with HE Todd Blanche, Acting Attorney General of the United States of America. During the meeting, the two sides reviewed the cooperativ»»»

Prime Minister Rumen Radev told reporters on Friday in response to a question about criticism of the 2026 draft budget, which was published by the Ministry of Finance on Wednesday that the government had consulted leading economists who say there’s no way the deficit could drop sharply from 7.5% to»»»

Iran’s top military command issued a stark warning on Friday against Israeli military aircraft approaching its airspace through neighboring countries, declaring such maneuvers a “dangerous act” and asserting Tehran’s unequivocal right to retaliate against any perceived hostile threat. The Khatam al»»»

DUBAI/LONDON: Iran reasserted its right on Friday to control shipping in the Strait of Hormuz ​and warned Gulf states against siding with the US, a day after an attack on a ship near Oman highlighted the fragility of a preliminary deal to end the Iran war. Tehran was responding to what it called an»»»

MPs would be limited to serving a maximum of 12 years in parliament. A key pillar of Orbán’s political system would be dismantled. Not everyone agrees with the planned removal of the president. Arrests follow the distribution of public money in the cultural sector. Magyar presents the Visegrád summ»»»

Sepang, Malaysia: Malaysian authorities foiled an attempt to smuggle advanced artificial intelligence chips through the country's main airport, customs officials said on Friday, in a case worth nearly $13 million. A team raided Kuala Lumpur airport's free trade zone on June 5 and seized 72 servers »»»