Police escorts on The Mall are usually reserved for the visits of high-profile heads of state. But when two families of Greylag Geese made a trip to St James's Palace, they, too, were awarded a special guard of honor by officers helping them back home, according to the Daily Mail. The 11 goslings a»»»

Ukraine sought to attack one of Russia's biggest oil refineries on Tuesday, sparking a fire in an industrial area of the Russian town of Kirishi in the Leningrad region, Governor Alexander ‌Drozdenko said. "The ‌enemy’s main target ‌was ⁠the (Kirishinefteorgsintez) oil refinery," Drozdenko ⁠said, a»»»

Doha, Qatar: Qatar is advancing its inclusive education agenda by planning to launch specialised university programmes for deaf students, while expanding nationwide efforts to support deaf and hard-of-hearing learners across all educational stages. Minister of Education and Higher Education H E Lol»»»

Bogotá: Nine miners died Monday in an explosion inside a coal mine in central Colombia caused by a buildup of gases, according to a final toll released by the mining authority. Mining accidents in Colombia are frequent and often fatal, especially in illegal or makeshift mines. Monday's incident too»»»

Doha: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defense Affairs H E Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman bin Hassan Al-Thani received a phone call yesterday from Minister for Defence and Coordinating Minister for Public Services of the Republic of Singapore Chan Chun Sing. During the call, the two si»»»

NEW DELHI: India condemned a drone strike on an energy facility in Fujairah in which three Indians were injured, urging uninterrupted access to the Strait of Hormuz, the foreign ministry said Tuesday. The United Arab Emirates blamed Iran for the drone attack on an energy installation on Monday. Ira»»»

WASHINGTON: The US military said it launched another strike on a boat accused of ferrying drugs in the Caribbean Sea, killing two people Monday. The Trump administration’s campaign of blowing up alleged drug-trafficking vessels in Latin American waters has persisted since early September and killed»»»

BOGOTA: A coal mine explosion in Colombia’s ​Cundinamarca province killed nine workers and left six others injured, the national mining agency said on Monday, several weeks after it issued risk control recommendations for the site. The blast occurred at the ‌La Ciscuda ‌mine, operated by Carbonera »»»

SEOUL: South Korea said Tuesday it will “review its position” on joining US operations in the Strait of Hormuz after President Donald Trump urged Seoul to take part following an apparent Iranian attack on one of its ships. An explosion and fire were reported on a South Korean cargo vessel on Monday»»»

DUBAI/ NEW YORK: The brightest stars in Hollywood, music, sports and style — led by Beyonce, Madonna and Nicole Kidman — hit the red carpet Monday for the Met Gala, the Manhattan charity ball that doubles as fashion's biggest night. The A-listers were asked to dress for the theme "Fashion is Art," »»»

HONG KONG: A blast at a fireworks factory in China’s Hunan province has killed 21 people and injured 61, prompting a call from President Xi Jinping for a thorough investigation, state media reported on Tuesday. The explosion in Liuyang, under the administration of Hunan’s capital city of Changsha a»»»

Gold prices edged higher on Tuesday from a five-week low hit in the previous session, although gains were limited as elevated crude oil prices kept inflation fears alive and clouded the US interest rate outlook. Spot gold rose 0.3% to $4,533.40 per ounce by 0417 GMT, after a more than 2% drop on Mo»»»

Iraqi parties are holding intense negotiations with Prime Minister-designate Ali al-Zaidi over the formation of a new government to ensure that they reap their share in the cabinet, reportedly based on their representation in parliament. Appointments are based on points, meaning the president, parl»»»

Dubai: EDGE Group has signed a global air carrier services agreement with Etihad Airways, consolidating its airfreight operations under the UAE’s national carrier as it expands its advanced industrial and defence operations. Get updated faster and for FREE: Download the Gulf News app now - simply c»»»

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday pressed China to ramp up diplomatic pressure on Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz to international shipping, adding that the subject will be discussed when President Donald Trump meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping next week. “China, let's see them »»»

The parliamentary group of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms will table a motion to set up a parliamentary committee to examine information and circumstances surrounding alleged undue influence on political, economic, and public processes by the so-called Capital circle, led by Ivo Prokopiev, th»»»

Washington: HE Minister of Finance Ali bin Ahmed Al Kuwari met with a number of leading global economic and financial figures on the sidelines of his participation in the Milken Institute Global Conference 2026, held in Los Angeles, United States. His Excellency held separate meetings with Chairman»»»

Jakarta: Indonesia's economy grew 5.6 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026, the national statistics agency said Tuesday, topping the government's own forecast despite pressures of the Middle East war. The reading exceeded the 5.4 percent recorded in the final three months of 2025, Stat»»»

Sydney: Australia's central bank hiked its key interest rate Tuesday, citing soaring fuel prices that are stoking inflation. The Reserve Bank of Australia said it had lifted its cash rate 25 basis points to 4.35 percent, pointing to economic pressure stemming from turmoil in the Middle East. "As ex»»»

Doha, Qatar: Qatar Tourism has announced that the Hayya platform has been awarded the Silver Stevie Award in the Innovation in Public Administration category at the 2026 Middle East & North Africa Stevie® Awards, recognising its role in transforming travel, tourism and event management through adva»»»

Dubai: Dubai gold prices edged slightly higher on Tuesday morning, offering a small rebound for shoppers after rates pulled back from the highs seen at the start of the month. (Check latest UAE gold prices here, alongside prices in Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, and India.) Sign up for»»»

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew arrived in Athens on Monday, meeting with Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens before receiving an “Environmental Heritage Protection” honor from the city. On Tuesday, 27 years after his first address to Greece’s Parliament in 1999, Bartholomew will speak before a Special»»»

The Egyptian Exchange (EGX) closed last Thursday’s trading sessions on a strong note, buoyed by significant buying activity from Arab and foreign investment funds, counterbalancing the sell-off pressure from local institutions and some Arab investors. The day’s performance saw the market capital su»»»

WASHINGTON: US intelligence assessments indicate that the time Iran would need to build a nuclear weapon has not changed since last summer, when analysts estimated that a US-Israeli attack had pushed back the timeline to up to a year, according to three sources familiar with the matter. The assessm»»»

Abu Dhabi: Abdulaziz Al Ghurair, Chairman of Abdulla Al Ghurair Group, warned business owners and investors against selling assets during a crisis, saying panic decisions can destroy long-term value at the exact moment when opportunities begin to appear. Get updated faster and for FREE: Download th»»»

India has issued a strong response after the attack in Fujairah that injured three Indian nationals, calling the incident “unacceptable” and urging an immediate end to violence targeting civilians and infrastructure. The statement comes amid rising tensions between the United States and Iran in the»»»

In an interview with 24.kg news agency, Omurbek Tekebayev, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Kyrgyzstan to Germany, noted the importance of public holidays, singling out August 31, Independence Day, and May 5, Constitution Day of the Kyrgyz Republic. «Dear compatriots! I congratulate »»»

Law enforcement authorities have disrupted the activities of a criminal group involved in the large-scale distribution of drugs of Afghan origin, the Interior Ministry’s Service for Combating Illicit Drug Trafficking reported. According to the agency, two suspects — identified as K.A.A. (40) and A.»»»

AMMAN — Chief Executive Officer of the Amman Stock Exchange (ASE) Mazen Wathaifi, said Sunday that net profits after tax attributable to shareholders of listed companies rose to JD620.7 million in the first quarter of 2026, compared with JD564.8 million in the same period of 2025The ASE net profit »»»

AMMAN — President Jordan Chamber of Commerce (JCC) Khalil Haj Tawfiq, held discussions in Cairo with Egypt’s Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade, Mohamed Saleh, on ways to enhance economic, investment and trade cooperation, and to expand ties between the two countries’ business communities.Acc»»»

AMMAN — The Securities Depository Centre (SDC) has introduced a new digital feature within the "Sanad" application, enabling Jordanian individuals to directly view their securities ownership, as part of its ongoing efforts to implement digital transformation and enhance access to financial dataThis»»»

AMMAN — The Aqaba company for transport and logistic recorded an unprecedented figure of 416,000 commuters in the first quarter of 2026, compared with 277,000 in the same period of 2025, with a growth rate of 51 per cent.The company also reported 202,000 commuters in April, the highest monthly figu»»»

BEIRUT: Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Monday said a security deal and an end to Israeli attacks were needed before any meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, sought by Washington. Aoun’s office said in a statement that the president “reiterated his view that the timing is not a»»»

NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Hindu nationalist party has wrested control of the opposition stronghold of West Bengal in a key state election. The Election Commission of India released partial results Monday showing the Bharatiya Janata Party won at least 124 seats in the »»»

The Pentagon says it has reached agreements with eight AI companies to use their technology in classified defence settings. The military will have access to resources provided by Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Nvidia, Oracle, OpenAI, SpaceX, and the startup Reflection. Absent from the list is Anthropic»»»

Roughly two million people filled Rio's Copacabana beach Saturday night for a free mega-concert thrown by Colombian pop queen Shakira. Latin pop queen Shakira kicked off her free mega-concert on Rio's famed Copacabana beach under a full moon Saturday, with drones forming the image of a she-wolf&nbs»»»

Many Cubans who lived through the Special Period of the 1990s, when Soviet support collapsed, say the current crisis is even worse. Cuba is facing a deep economic and energy emergency, with daily life becoming increasingly difficult across the island. Because Cuba imports up to 80% of the food it c»»»

Shakira gave a free concert on Saturday night at Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, drawing an estimated two million people, according to the city’s mayor, to one of the world’s most iconic waterfronts. Camille Corcoran reports.»»»

US carriers are stepping in after Spirit Airlines announced on Saturday that it had cancelled all flights and was winding down operations. The budget airline said soaring fuel costs were a major factor, after a last-minute White House rescue package failed to materialise. American Airlines, Delta A»»»

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani has been hospitalised and is in “critical but stable condition”, his spokesperson Ted Goodman said Sunday, without providing further details. Giuliani, 81, rose to prominence after the September 11 attacks and later served as an attorney for Donald Trump dur»»»

Three people have died aboard a cruise ship crossing the Atlantic after an outbreak that includes a confirmed case of hantavirus, the World Health Organization said Sunday, raising concerns about a rare but potentially severe infection at sea. Three people have died on a cruise ship in the Atlantic»»»

A Dutch cruise ship carrying 149 people of 23 nationalities is awaiting urgent assistance off Cape Verde after a suspected hantavirus outbreak left three passengers dead and others seriously ill. Health authorities and the World Health Organization are investigating as the vessel remains under stri»»»

He's spent more than two decades documenting the realities of war, including years working alongside US soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. But photographer Peter van Agtmael's work goes beyond the battlefield. He's equally interested in how those wars echo back home, and that's the focus of his»»»

Monday the Met Gala is happening in New York. This year, the star-studded event is being sponsored and co-chaired by the billionaire Jeff Bezos and his wife, Lauren Sanchez Bezos. That has prompted a series of unique protests against the affair, including a proposed boycott. FRANCE 24's Monte Franc»»»

Three people have died and three others are ill ⁠after a Netherlands-based cruise ship in the Atlantic was hit by a suspected outbreak of hantavirus. The virus is transmitted to humans through infected wild rodents, such as mice or rats, which shed the virus in their saliva, urine and droppings. In»»»

TOKYO: Japan has taken delivery of its first stockpile of oil from Russia since global supplies were choked off by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz at the start of the Iran war, reports said. A tanker carrying crude that was produced as part of a Sakhalin-2 natural gas development project reache»»»

TAIWAN: Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te said on Tuesday the democratic island has the “right to engage with the world,” after he returned from a trip to Eswatini, Taipei’s only African ally. “Taiwanese people are people of the world; Taiwanese people have the right to engage with the world,” Lai t»»»

Dubai: UAE non-oil companies raised selling prices at the fastest pace in nearly 15 years in April, after higher oil and transport costs, shipping disruption and weaker customer demand put fresh pressure on business margins. Get updated faster and for FREE: Download the Gulf News app now - simply c»»»

Israel on Saturday said it had brought two Gaza flotilla activists in for questioning after having intercepted the aid operation in international waters Thursday. Spain slammed the detention of one of its nationals as “illegal”.   Two activists from a Gaza-bound flotilla, arrested off the»»»

Israel carried out air strikes in southern Lebanon on Sunday, killing one person and wounding eight others, including four rescue workers, the Lebanese Ministry of Health said. The attack took place beyond the Israel-controlled area designated as a “security zone” and despite the ceasefire between »»»