GENEVA: Getting humanitarian aid through Israel into Gaza is layered with “delay after delay,” the World Health Organization said Friday, as it decried “chronic shortages” of medical supplies. Reinhilde Van de Weerdt, the WHO’s representative in the Palestinian territories, said the health situatio»»»

NEW YORK: UN Deputy Special Envoy for Syria Claudio Cordone has urged the international community to translate its political support for Syria into practical assistance and funding to help rebuild the country’s economy and institutions, while warning that Israeli military operations are threatening»»»

HAMBURG/PARIS: Tunisia’s state grains agency is believed to have purchased about 100,000 tonnes of durum wheat in an international tender on Friday, European traders said. It was said to have been bought in four 25,000 tonne consignments. Two were purchased from trading house Casillo at an estimate»»»

JAKARTA: Indonesian President ‌Prabowo Subianto named a new advisory council on Friday that includes tycoons, politicians and influential former Islamic leaders, the latest ​in a slew of personnel changes as he grapples with a declining approval rating. * Among the 24 new members appointed are loca»»»

HAMBURG: Tunisia’s state grains agency has issued an international tender to purchase about 100,000 metric tons of durum wheat, European traders said on Thursday. The origin is optional and the deadline for submission of price offers is Friday, October 2. The durum is ⁠sought in four ⁠25,000-ton co»»»

Brazil is seeking to investigate allegations of US government funding for activities aimed at interfering in its elections and undermining the legitimacy of its Supreme Federal Court, public news agency Agencia Brasil reported Thursday. Earlier this week, The Guardian cited a source familiar with t»»»

The US is pressuring France and Germany to tap emergency diesel reserves to help bring down soaring global prices, and has threatened not to export the fuel if they refuse, Reuters has reported. Washington wants the EU to release 120 million barrels over the next six months as US President Donald T»»»

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has rewarded her personal communications adviser with a permanent job in the commission’s media department, in a move that reveals how the EU bureaucracy really works, and how von der Leyen has created a royal court in Brussels. Von der Leyen’s Col»»»

Toyohashi, Japan: Taekwondo dates back more than 2,000 years, but on Friday at the Asian Games the Korean martial art stepped into a not-so-brave future where nobody gets hurt: virtual taekwondo. At a gymnasium about a 90-minute drive from the main Games host city of Nagoya, a modest number of spec»»»

LONDON: Ethiopia on Thursday closed its embassy in the Eritrean capital, Asmara, and ordered 10 Eritrean diplomats to leave within 48 hours. Addis Ababa accused Eritrea of “direct and indirect acts of hostility and belligerence” that pose “a direct threat to Ethiopia’s national security.” Eritrea’s»»»

LONDON: Two Iranian men have been charged with plotting a terror attack on the Jewish community in Manchester, UK police said Friday. The arrests come nearly a year after a deadly knife and gun attack on the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in northern Manchester where worshippers had gath»»»

New York: Tesla's stock jumped Friday after the electric car maker said its global sales dipped in the third quarter but were higher than expected. Elon Musk's company sold 486,532 vehicles in the July-September quarter, two percent lower than the year-ago period but above most leading estimates. A»»»

American forces are completing their withdrawal from Iraq, yet the country that Washington once promised to turn into a model of democratic transformation in the Middle East is still facing questions that years of military presence never managed to answer. For Iraq, this is a long-awaited political»»»

RIYADH: “You are never alone in the mountains.” That is the promise that greets readers in the opening pages of “A Wild Companion: Sarawat and Hijaz,” a bilingual exploration of the wildlife, plants, stories and cultural memory of western Saudi Arabia’s highlands. Conceived as a “friendly sage” rat»»»

Ex-German leader Schroeder appointed to Russian retail chain's supervisory board Germany's ex-chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, known for his ties to Russia's Vladimir Putin, has been appointed to the supervisory board of Hyperglobus, a Russian supermarket chain previously owned by the German Globus gr»»»

LONDON: An online fundraiser to support the UK Supreme Court challenge to the ban on Palestine Action has been blocked due to US sanctions against the group. UK company CrowdJustice declined to host the crowdfunding campaign because it uses US company Stripe as a payment processor, The Guardian rep»»»

Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar said on Friday that the government should consider phasing out the country’s food retail margin caps, arguing that the measure is increasingly damaging farmers and small shops. Speaking during a stop in Kisvárda as part of his nationwide tour, Magyar said the m»»»

RAMALLAH: Israeli settlers or troops shot dead a young Palestinian on Friday, West Bank authorities said, the second such death in as many days. The violence comes as Israel faces mounting international criticism over the rise in settler violence, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has downpla»»»

Buenos Aires, Argentina: Argentine President Javier Milei's government said Friday that the country would offer citizenship to foreigners who invest at least $350,000 in the country. South America's second-largest economy attracted the lowest level of foreign direct investment of any major Latin Am»»»

New York, Oct. 2 (SANA) A Central Bank of Syria delegation headed by Governor Safwat Raslan took part Friday in a roundtable on Syria hosted by the U.S. Department of the Treasury in New York to discuss steps to rehabilitate the Syrian banking sector and strengthen its links with the global financi»»»

Twenty rescue dogs and 24 handlers from across Bulgaria are taking part in disaster and emergency response training in the Bansko area, the Bansko municipality's press office said Friday. The dogs and handlers are from the dog rescue group of the Bulgarian Red Cross's Mountain Rescue Service. Train»»»

The Hungarian forint strengthened against both the euro and the US dollar on Friday, supported by falling oil prices and weaker-than-expected US labour market data. The Hungarian forint has enjoyed a stronger period since Hungary’s parliamentary election earlier this year, helped by improving inves»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The European Union has lost significant influence in international affairs as a result of its policy toward Russia, Fernand Kartheiser, a European Parliament lawmaker from Luxembourg, said in a statement obtained by RIA Novosti. Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday t»»»

Microsoft report highlights UAE's global ranking in cyber activity impact Dubai: Marking Cyber Security month, Microsoft released its 2026 Digital Defence Report, highlighting how artificial intelligence, identity-based attacks and increasingly interconnected digital ecosystems are reshaping the gl»»»

Damascus, Oct. 2 (SANA) Representatives of local companies participating in the “360 Food Syria” exhibition at the Damascus Fairgrounds said the event provides an opportunity to open new channels for Syrian products to reach foreign markets by showcasing local products and industries and establishi»»»

GABORONE: Botswana's government authorized the killing of 23 elephants for its independence day celebrations this week, drawing criticism from conservationists and one of its former presidents. The licenses to hunt the elephants were issued in districts across the country, with each receiving a por»»»

The Council of Ministers approved on October 2, 2026, a draft law proposing the creation of an independent Fiscal Council that would report directly to Parliament. The proposed institution is intended to strengthen fiscal discipline, transparency and the sustainability of public finances, in line w»»»

CHELYABINSK (Sputnik) - The Russian air defense systems shot down 209 Ukrainian drones in the past 12 hours, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Friday. "During the day, from 08:00 [05:00 GMT] to 20:00 Moscow time, air defense alert systems intercepted, and Russia is open to dialogue on ensuring s»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The UK Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) proposed reducing armed security on trains transporting nuclear waste in order to save funds, i Paper reported on Friday. The NDA considers some of the security requirements excessively strict, while reducing security poses no risks »»»

KHARTOUM: Drone attacks on a university dormitory and a centre sheltering displaced families in Sudan’s central city of El-Obeid killed at least 10 people this week, a Sudanese rights group and a medical source said on Friday. The attacks came as fighting intensified in North Kordofan, a strategica»»»

Presidential candidate and Vazrazhdane leader Kostadin Kostadinov met protesters in Sofia's Lyulin borough on Friday over complaints about residents of a dormitory in the borough. The protest was organized by local residents. The protesters said they faced daily harassment from residents of Block 4»»»

The Central Election Commission (CEC) adopted a decision determining the locations and number of polling stations to be opened abroad for the presidential election on October 25. The largest number of polling stations will be in the United Kingdom, with 82, followed by Turkiye with 78. Germany will»»»

BUENOS AIRES: Argentine President Javier Milei’s government said Friday that the country would offer citizenship to foreigners who invest at least $350,000 in the country. South America’s second-largest economy attracted the lowest level of foreign direct investment of any major Latin American econ»»»

Operations Room officers aid stranded tourist and donate blood to save a mother Dubai: A stranded European tourist who had run out of money and faced spending the night without a hotel room received unexpected help from Dubai Police officers, while three officers later rushed to a hospital to donat»»»

LONDON: As children in the Gaza Strip return to school after nearly three years of disruption, they are also turning up at artist Maysa Yousef’s door with their plain, light-blue backpacks, distributed by aid agencies, and specific requests for decoration: a rocket ship, perhaps, or a princess, a h»»»

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye will convene the top committee of their joint defense pact in Riyadh next week to review a surge in Houthi attacks on the Kingdom, Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said on Friday. The meeting of the Strategic Political Def»»»

On October 25, people will decide what kind of Bulgaria they want, presidential candidate Andrey Gurov said at a meeting with citizens in Gabrovo on Friday. He said he would always identify problems and their cost, work for an independent and secure Bulgaria, serve as president of all citizens and »»»

MUMBAI/DELHI: Hundreds of supporters of the Gen Z-led Cockroach Janta Party protested in India’s financial capital Mumbai on Friday, kicking off a new nationwide campaign against changes to voter rolls they say benefit Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s governing party. The demonstration marks the late»»»

A US drone company linked to President Donald Trump’s sons wants to bring Ukrainian military technology to America, Reuters has reported, as Kiev pursues billions in arms exports despite multiple corruption scandals in its procurement programs. Powerus is negotiating with Ukrainian defense firms an»»»

Times Higher Education ranks UAEU among top universities globally in 2027 Sharjah: United Arab Emirates University (UAEU) has ranked joint first in the United Arab Emirates with Khalifa University and 235th globally in the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2027, an achievement »»»

THE HAGUE: King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands said Friday he was personally affected by the “explicit” conclusions of a study that said the royal family reaped huge profits from colonialism and slavery. The five volume Leiden University study, that Willem-Alexander commissioned in 2022, concl»»»

Washington is sending more warships and troops to the Middle East as US President Donald Trump is considering the resumption of large-scale strikes against Iran after the midterms, AP has reported. Trump told reporters on Thursday that he has “to make a decision: either Iran signs a very fair deal,»»»

BELGRADE - Aleksandar Vucic, who heads the United Serbia electoral list for the October 25 early parliamentary polls in the country, said on Friday he had pursued a pro-Serbian policy and was fighting only for Serbia. He said Russian President Vladimir Putin had been right in saying that Vucic had »»»

SWEIDA: Young people in Syria’s Sweida province are unable to progress through school and university due to a deepening rift between the post-Assad Islamist government and the Israel-aligned Druze leaders of the last area outside central control. Their dilemma reflects deep trauma and lingering ins»»»

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye will convene the top committee of their joint defense pact in Riyadh next week to review a surge in Houthi attacks on the Kingdom, Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said on Friday. The meeting of the Strategic Political Def»»»

Investigation into cockpit incident underway as GCAA highlights heroic efforts Abu Dhabi: The General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) commended the remarkable courage and speed of response of the Indian pilot, Captain Machchhar Smit, and the crew of flydubai flight FZ1073, along with the passengers»»»

KHARTOUM: Sudan’s former president Omar Al-Bashir is seeking permission to travel abroad for medical treatment, his lawyer told AFP on Friday, saying the jailed ex-ruler requires tests unavailable in war-ravaged Sudan. Bashir, 82, was recently transferred from a hospital in the northern city of Mer»»»

Russian President Vladimir Putin observed a stage of the Center-2026 strategic command-and-staff exercise at the Chebarkul training ground in Russia’s Chelyabinsk Region. At the site, Putin met Chelyabinsk Region Governor Alexey Teksler, spoke with military attachés from several countries, inspecte»»»

MK 82 Penetrator tested to defeat reinforced concrete over one meter thick Abu Dhabi: EDGE has completed development of the MK 82 Penetrator aircraft munition, a hardened target weapon designed and manufactured in the UAE by LAHAB, EDGE’s medium- to large-calibre ammunition manufacturer. The develo»»»

AMMAN: Jordan’s King Abdullah II called for a comprehensive regional ceasefire and urged greater US support for de-escalation efforts during a phone call with Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday. The king stressed the need for an agreement that guarantees the security and sovereignty of Arab s»»»