KOCHI, India: As the sun set over Kochi’s historic Jew Town neighborhood, Keith Hallegua donned a gray kippah and began a solitary walk to the synagogue at the end of his cobbled street. It was Shavuot, the Jewish holiday commemorating God giving the Torah to Moses. Hallegua reached the 458-year-ol»»»

Proposals for structural reforms will be presented for broad public discussion, Health Minister Katya Ivkova said, as quoted by the Ministry's press centre on Friday. These are not final decisions, but proposals for structural reforms aimed at creating an administration that is more accountable to »»»

BEIT EL, West Bank: Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich faces a fight for political survival in elections in October after angering his fellow West Bank settlers by voting not to ​punish ultra-Orthodox Jews who refuse to serve in the military. The political travails of Smotrich are»»»

Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook and her attorney, Abbe Lowell, leave the U.S. Supreme Court, which blocked President Donald Trump's attempt to remove her from the independent central bank. File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo Aug. 7 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump is once again trying t»»»

LONDON: The World Bank on Friday approved a $100 million grant to help the Syrian Arab Republic build a modern, secure and digitally enabled financial sector. The grant from the International Development Association will finance the Syria Financial Sector Modernization Project, which aims to make t»»»

LONDON: Sujood Faroun, 29, a mother of two young children, suffered cardiac arrest in late July as an ambulance rushed her toward a hospital in Ramallah. But at the edge of her hometown of Sinjil, the ambulance encountered a closed Israeli army gate guarded by soldiers. Her husband pleaded for help»»»

The UN's World Food Programme is finalizing a five-year renewal of its contract with US data software firm Palantir despite “key privacy concerns” raised in a leaked 2025 internal audit. The audit, seen by PassBlue and FRANCE 24, reveals UN misgivings about allowing Palantir to process data for the»»»

A federal appeals court on Friday ordered US President Donald Trump’s administration to stop construction of its $400 million ballroom on the site of the White House's demolished East Wing. The court added that a president cannot fundamentally reshape the White House without congressional»»»

Poland’s office development pipeline has fallen to historic lows, with less than 200,000 sq. m of new space expected annually in 2026-2027, compared with 700,000 sq. m completed in 2020. Despite the slowdown, the commercial real estate market remains active. Office investment reached EUR 549 mln in»»»

Przemysław Wieczorek has been appointed president of PURO Hotels and CEO of Puro Hotell Holding, effective from the beginning of August. The management change comes as the Polish hotel chain prepares for its first international openings. Wieczorek, who has been involved with PURO since its launch, »»»

Poland’s rental housing market is becoming more balanced as a steady supply of listings and weaker demand improve tenants’ negotiating position. According to a Morizon-Gratka survey, 56.4% of respondents consider the number of available rentals balanced or high, suggesting there is no major shortag»»»

Labor costs, economic uncertainty and rising energy prices remain the biggest obstacles facing Polish businesses, according to the Polish Economic Institute’s Monthly Business Climate Index. Labor costs have ranked as the leading barrier since late 2023, cited by about two-thirds of companies, whil»»»

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Iran uses a sprawling network of corporate entities to obscure the origin of the funds and launder money to benefit the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, leading to sanctions. File Photo by Graeme Sloan/UPI | License Photo Aug. 7 (UPI) -- The Trump administrat»»»

WASHINGTON: The US is ‌temporarily restricting travel for certain passengers who recently visited Uganda, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in an effort to reduce the risk of Ebola transmission. The measures are a part of US public health protocols for travelers arriving from a»»»

LONDON: The morning after Israeli settlers descended on Khirbet Al-Tuba, a small shepherding community in the Masafer Yatta area of the occupied West Bank, the silence was broken only by the crunch of ash underfoot. Three homes had been reduced to blackened shells and several defaced with Hebrew gr»»»

The Plovdiv District Court has left in custody five teenagers arrested in connection with the killing of a 37-year-old man in the city on August 4. The judges explained their decision by the particularly cruel nature of the crime. The hearing was held behind closed doors. A total of 10 teenagers ag»»»

NEW YORK CITY: Repeated rejections by Israeli authorities of requests to bring engine oil into Gaza threaten to shut down critical operations at hospitals, water-pumping stations and bakeries, the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs warned. Even though overall aid deliveries in»»»

HONG KONG: A wondergoal from Luis Diaz powered a youthful Bayern Munich to a 2-1 win over Aston Villa in a pre-season friendly in Hong Kong on Friday. Diaz starred in Colombia’s run to the World Cup last-16 and the winger lit up a sometimes scrappy game between last season’s German double-winners a»»»

KIGALI: Rwanda and some European nations are holding migration talks, Kigali’s spokesperson said Friday, a week after dramatic scenes of thousands crossing the Morocco-Spain border reignited the migration debate in Europe. In June European lawmakers approved tougher migration rules, notably enablin»»»

Joan’s Bakery in Al Shatea has a relaxed atmosphere that is ideal for a quiet coffee break or catching up with friends. Located just a short drive from the Jeddah Corniche, the place offers a range of freshly baked goods, specialty coffee, smoothies and other cold drinks. The bakery built its name »»»

US President Donald Trump should curb his “theater diplomacy” as it will not work with Iran, Tehran’s top negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, has said. Trump announced on Saturday that he had called off a planned attack on Iran, which, according to him, would have been on a scale “not seen since »»»

In his Lagos studio, Nigerian artist Emmanuel Olatunde is transforming the way portraits are painted, using clay sourced from the earth beneath his feet. The 39-year-old artist has developed a unique technique that turns natural clay into paint, using his background in science and his passion for a»»»

Chinese automakers are rapidly expanding in Poland, accounting for a record 15.5% of new passenger car registrations in July 2026, up from 14.9% in June. BYD nearly tripled registrations in the first seven months of the year to 6,600, while MG and Omoda remained the largest Chinese brands by volume»»»

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Winegrowers in France are harvesting their grapes unusually early this season because of the effects of climate change. While the rising global temperatures offer a new chance for winemakers in northern and Scandinavian countries, experts say it’s too early to expect a drastic shift in the viticult»»»

Water levels on the Danube River, the second longest in Europe, have dropped so low due to drought and extreme heat over the summer that the hulls of dozens of German warships from World War II are emerging into view and the remains of an ancient mammoth were uncovered in Romania. In Germany, fishi»»»

A passenger was arrested after allegedly trying to open the emergency exit door of a Batik Air flight from Kuala Lumpur to Kochi while the aircraft was in the air, police said. The incident took place on Batik Air flight OD231 on Wednesday night. The aircraft landed safely at Cochin International A»»»

BERLIN: Chancellor Friedrich Merz convened Germany’s national security council Friday to discuss an explosive-laden drone found near a Ukrainian cargo plane and the mid-air collision of another aircraft with an unidentified object this week. While Germany has not blamed anyone for the incident at L»»»

GENEVA: WHO vaccine experts on Friday recommended a full-scale human trial of the only existing approved Ebola vaccine to see if it offers cross-protection against the strain spreading in the DR Congo. The Ervebo vaccine has proven safe and efficacious against the more common Zaire strain of Ebola »»»

One of our quirkier rituals is to write every year about why Russians view August as some sort of cursed month and to highlight what could happen this year. Or, to paraphrase (ex US Secretary of Defence) Donald Rumsfeld, the “known knowns” and, possibly, the “known unknowns”. But, of course, it is »»»

Russia's Sber is launching crypto trading infrastructure against the backdrop of tightening Western sanctions. Meanwhile, a recently enacted crypto bill is making crypto settlements legal for Russian companies involved in export and import transactions, while making it more difficult for regular ci»»»

Russia has destroyed more than half of the Kyiv region's pre-war warehouse capacity since its full-scale invasion began, after strikes overnight on August 5 hit 10 warehouse facilities totalling about 100,000 square metres, according to Ukrainian real estate analysts cited by Ukraine Business News.»»»

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The US would be shooting itself in the foot with its new bill on secondary sanctions against Russia, Republican Senator Rand Paul said in an article published on Friday. Earlier in the day, the Senate voted 86-11 to pass the bill spearheaded by the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (w»»»

1 of 2 | Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif sign a trilateral defense agreement in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, on Friday. Photo by Turkish Presidency/UPI | License Photo Aug. 7 (UPI) -- Officials from Turkey, Saudi Ara»»»

Author: Mara van der Lugt The climate debate is rife with calls for optimism. While temperatures rise and disasters intensify, we are asked to maintain optimism and hope, as if the real threat is pessimism and despair. In this erudite and engaging book, Mara van der Lugt argues that this is a mista»»»

TUNIS, Aug. 7, 2026 (TAP) – Local thunderstorms, accompanied by occasionally heavy rainfall, are expected in central regions and locally in the south late Friday afternoon and at the beginning of the night, before partly cloudy conditions prevail...»»»

Dubai Police have launched Horizon X, a new initiative designed to transform future opportunities into innovative projects that strengthen institutional readiness and accelerate the development of next-generation policing solutions. Led by the Future Foresight Centre, the initiative supports Dubai »»»

Damascus, Aug. 7 (SANA) The “Four Seas” initiative is emerging as a major pathway for to restore its regional economic role by leveraging its geographic position to connect the Gulf, Iraq and Central Asia with Türkiye and Europe through the Mediterranean, while opening opportunities in trade, energ»»»

1 of 2 | Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., is projected to win the Republican primary for governor of Tennessee on Friday. File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo Aug. 7 (UPI) -- A candidate endorsed by President Donald Trump lost his primary in Tennessee while longtime Sen. Marsha Blackburn's »»»

Damascus, Aug. 7 (SANA) Finance Minister Mohammed Yisr Barnieh expressed his gratitude to the World Bank Board of Executive Directors for approving a $100 million grant to support financial sector reforms in Syria, particularly the development of financial infrastructure and strengthening the capac»»»

The Senate overwhelmingly approved a punishing Russian sanctions package Friday, the result of a year-long campaign by the late Sen. Lindsey Graham to reinforce US support for Ukraine and try to force President Vladimir Putin's hand as the grinding war drags on. The bipartisan legislation, which pa»»»

SILVERSTONE, UK: McLaren boss Andrea Stella is proud of the way Formula One world champion Lando Norris and teammate Oscar Piastri have conducted themselves following last season’s battle for the drivers’ championship. British driver Norris eventually overcame the Australian in a three-way fight, a»»»

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said those sanctioned facilitated the purchase, import, maintenance and modernization of weapons and military equipment primarily from Russia and China. File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo Aug. 7 (UPI) -- The U.S. State Department imposed a new package of re»»»

BEIRUT: Lebanon and Israel have agreed a shortlist of countries that could send troops to verify the disarmament of Hezbollah under a US-brokered agreement, a Lebanese official said on Friday, with the United States due to pick countries from the list. The official declined to identify any of the c»»»

Bulgaria insists that Iva Mihailova, a Bulgarian in North Macedonia who is charged with a serious traffic offence and was among those injured in the relevant road accident in October 2025, should be granted access to timely and appropriate medical care, the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry said in a stat»»»

Abu Dhabi: Rain fell along the Abu Dhabi–Razin road in the Al Dhafra region on Friday as the UAE entered a period of unsettled weather expected to continue for four days, with the National Centre of Meteorology (NCM) forecasting showers of varying intensity, thunderstorms and strong winds across pa»»»

Heavy rain brought Delhi-NCR to a standstill on Friday, with flooded roads, waterlogging and long traffic queues disrupting daily travel across the region. According to media reports, commuters faced severe delays as vehicles struggled through waterlogged stretches, with slow traffic movement repor»»»

1 of 2 | Among 32 states that share data on votes cast by mail, about one-third of voters used mail-in voting in the 2024 election. About two-thirds of voters either voted early or cast ballots by mail, the U.S. Census Bureau reported. File Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo Aug. 7 (UPI) --»»»

CASABLANCA, Morocco: Seven Moroccan taxi drivers were sentenced to up to six months in prison and fined $1,070 each for aiding irregular migration by driving people to the Spanish border in Ceuta. It marked the first ruling in Morocco tied to the surge of more than 70,000 people crossing into the t»»»

WASHINGTON: A federal judge on Friday cleared the way for US ​President Donald Trump’s administration to end temporary protections from deportation that had allowed hundreds of South Sudanese nationals to live and work in the United States. US District Judge Patti Saris in Boston rejected a last-di»»»