RIYADH/DUBAI/TEHRAN: The United States and Iran traded attacks across the Middle East for a seventh consecutive night on Friday, with Washington striking Iranian military and infrastructure targets and Tehran launching attacks against US assets and allies including Kuwait and Jordan, as the collaps»»»

The US-Iran conflict has intensified, with Iran increasing missile and drone attacks on Gulf states. President Donald Trump states that diplomacy remains possible. The following is a summary for UAE residents. 1. US continues strikes on IranThe US military conducted strikes against Iran for the sev»»»

Modon has sold out the final phase of its Bashayer waterfront community on Hudayriyat Island within one day of launch, generating around Dh1.25 billion in sales. The developer said all 300 residences in the final phase were sold, reflecting strong demand for homes on Hudayriyat Island. According to»»»

In the age of social media, sharing moments from our personal and professional lives has become second nature. From vacation photos and family celebrations to career updates and daily activities, people routinely post information online without considering who else may be watching. While social med»»»

1 of 2 | Canada geese graze on the north shore of Pittsburgh as smoke from wildfires in Canada creates a haze on the city's skyline Thursday. Photo by Archie Carpenter/UPI | License Photo Cool and warm air will battle across the Northeast this weekend as more Canadian wildfire smoke degrades air qu»»»

MIAMI: Didier Deschamps brings the curtain down on a remarkable 14-year reign as France coach on Saturday when Les Bleus face England in the World Cup third-place play-off. Waiting in the wings is Zinedine Zidane, Deschamps’ former teammate and one of the all-time great French players. Deschamps, 5»»»

Education and Science Minister Georgi Valchev said here Friday that Bulgaria is ready to join the new European ocean observation initiative and become an equal partner in building a common system for scientific research and data exchange. He made the statement during a meeting with Charlina Vitchev»»»

WASHINGTON: After months of a regional war that has left Iraq once again caught between Iran, the Gulf and the US, Baghdad is attempting an ambitious diplomatic pivot — hosting talks it hopes will transform the country from a battleground into a broker. The proposal, announced by Iraq’s Foreign Min»»»

BETHLEHEM: When Mohammed Adnan Sbeih, also known as Abu Amous, began building a home for his family, he believed years of sacrifice would finally provide the stability he had worked so hard to achieve. Instead, 4 years of continuous labor, decades of savings, and mounting debt were erased within ho»»»

NEW YORK: Argentina’s Mauricio Pochettino is weighing ‌whether to coach the United States Men’s National Team for the next four years, which would include the 2030 World Cup hosted by Morocco, Portugal and Spain. Pochettino has been engaged in contract talks to stay with the USMNT side that reached»»»

Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira participates in a press conference in Brasilia on Thursday after the announcement of new U.S. tariffs on Brazilian goods. 'It is clear that what bothers the U.S. government is that Brazil did not give in to the excessive demands and unreasonable requirements »»»

Germany will take part in a French nuclear exercise later this year, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Friday after key defence talks with French President Emmanuel Macron at an air base near Cologne. Merz said the two countries would also continue to develop ​the ‌cloud solution from ‌the ​FCAS »»»

Uber is set to become the new owner of Foodora Hungary after agreeing to acquire German food delivery giant Delivery Hero in a USD 14.8 billion (EUR 12.7 billion) deal. The acquisition will significantly expand Uber’s global food delivery business and strengthen its position against major competito»»»

July 17 (UPI) -- Italy returned to Mexico a collection of 27 pre-Columbian archaeological artifacts and fossils recovered during separate investigations into the illicit trafficking of cultural property, authorities from both countries said. The handover occurred Thursday at the Mexican Embassy in »»»

GENEVA: The humanitarian situation in the Sudanese city of El-Obeid is worsening rapidly, the United Nations said Friday, as displacement camps swelled with new arrivals. The UN has been warning for weeks that atrocities similar to those committed during the paramilitary assault on the Darfur city »»»

Tunis, July 17, 2026 (TAP) - The stock market delivered a near-flawless performance over the past week, from July 13 to 17, 2026. Driven by a significant influx of liquidity into the stock exchange, the benchmark index recorded a marked...»»»

NEW YORK: Saudi Arabia has established an advanced model for sustainable urban development, progressing from planning and policymaking to implementation and measurable impact, Minister of Municipalities and Housing Majed Al-Hogail has said. Guided by the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030, the Kingdom»»»

The new Hungarian government “has engaged in intense reforms to restore the rule of law”, the European Commission said in its 2026 rule of law report published on Friday. “Following continued dialogue with the Commission under the Recovery and Resilience Plan and the general regime of conditionalit»»»

ATLANTA: Federal health officials have identified lettuce from Mexico served by Taco Bell locations across five US states as a source of the widespread outbreak of diarrhea-causing parasite cyclospora. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention late Thursday confirmed the source and warned cons»»»

France's ​main ​gambling sector regulator said ⁠on Friday it had ‌instructed the ‌country's ​internet service providers to ​block access ​to ​the Polymarket ​website, one of a number of online prediction markets that allow people to bet on the outcome of future events. The move aims to enforce»»»

First the storms, now the fires. President Emmanuel Macron has described the blazes in the Fontainebleau Forest as some of the worst since the end of World War II. The president visited the scene to show his support for the 950 firefighters still working to extinguish the flare-ups. Meanwhile, the »»»

The Grand Mosque of Paris, built in 1926 in the Latin Quarter as a tribute to Muslim soldiers who died for France during World War I, marks its 100th anniversary this year. French historian Benjamin Stora traces its little-known role as a geopolitical bridge – not only between France and Alger»»»

After over a year and a half of the ongoing conflict, Russia has handed over more than 18,500 bodies of fallen Ukrainian soldiers, while Ukraine has returned just 569 in exchange, according to data from the Russian Ministry of Defense. Russia's peak transfers - up to 1,200–1,245 bodies at a time - »»»

Tunis, July 17 (TAP) - The progress made in the programme to regenerate historic town centres was discussed at a steering committee meeting held Friday and chaired by Infrastructure and Public Works Minister Salah Zouari and representatives of the...»»»

WASHINGTON: The World Cup final between Argentina and Spain on Sunday will be refereed by Slavko Vinčić of Slovenia, two years after he was in charge of a Champions League final. FIFA announced the pick late Thursday. It’s the second straight World Cup final where Argentina, now the defending champ»»»

The education system in areas under Houthi control is facing a fresh wave of criticism as the group launched the new academic year during the summer. The Houthis are accused of limiting the distribution of school supplies and cash assistance to their supporters and to the families of fighters kille»»»

DUBAI: More airlines are restoring flights to parts ‌of the Middle East after the conflict that followed US and Israeli strikes on Iran, but some carriers have kept suspensions in place. Below is an update on the status of airlines’ flights, in alphabetical order: AEGEAN AIRLINES Greece’s largest c»»»

Police used an excavator to gain access to a house linked to fentanyl distribution in Sofia's Fakulteta borough, where a 42-year-old woman was arrested with dozens of fentanyl doses, according to a Friday briefing by Deputy Chief of the Third Police Precinct, Commissioner Stanislava Todorova. She s»»»

A 42-year-old woman was detained in Sofia's Krasna Polyana district during a specialized police operation targeting drug distribution. Police officers found dozens of doses of fentanyl during the action, Sofia police deputy chief Commissioner Stanislava Todorova said. According to her, the operatio»»»

A series of a new anti-corruption proposals are set to be tabled by the European Commission before the end of the year. The announcement on Friday (17 July) follows the publication of reports that attempt to decrypt rule-of-law issues in each of the 27 member states. Speaking to reporters in Brusse»»»

US President Donald Trump’s veteran teleprompter operator Gabriel Perez is under investigation over an alleged insider betting scheme tied to the president’s speeches. The aide is believed to have earned thousands of dollars by placing bets on the contents of Trump’s remarks on prediction market Ka»»»

The Russian armed forces continued to strike Ukrainian ports and vessels operating in the interests of the Ukrainian military, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Friday. A Russian drone strike on the port of Yuzhny in Ukraine's Odessa region hit a dry cargo ship delivering supplies to the Ukraini»»»

Artificial intelligence is no longer simply a technological race. It is becoming a question of how the world chooses to govern one of the most transformative innovations of the modern era, who benefits from it, and whether its advantages remain concentrated in the hands of a few companies or are sh»»»

MOSCOW: Russian authorities have detained a blogger who criticized President Vladimir Putin and the war in Ukraine and fined an anti-war politician, as Moscow sends a warning signal to critics of the Kremlin ahead of September’s parliamentary election. Although Putin maintains a near-total grip on »»»

Russia’s international reserves edged up to $722.4bn in the week ending 10 July, according to the Central Bank of Russia, extending a recovery after a sharp fall in late June. (chart) The stockpile increased by $700mn, or about 0.1%, from $721.7bn a week earlier. It remains well below this yea»»»

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is set to appoint former interior minister Ihor Klymenko as secretary of the National Security and Defence Council, completing another stage of a contentious wartime government reshuffle. After making the controversial decision to sack Defence Minister Mykhai»»»

Ukraine’s lawmakers approved chairman of the national gas company Naftogaz’s board, Serhii Koretskyi as the new Ukrainian Prime Minister on July 16 in anticipation of intense winter attacks by Russia. Zelenskiy announced a surprise government reshuffle at the weekend, after asking Ukraine’s Prime M»»»

Nestlé will cease production at its Diósgyőr factory by the end of 2026 after a sustained decline in demand for seasonal chocolate products, the company has announced. The decision affects the plant that specialises exclusively in manufacturing hollow chocolate figures, including the familiar choco»»»

Nvidia slipped below Apple early Friday as the world's most valuable publicly traded company due to the latest selloff in semiconductor shares. Shares of Nvidia were down more than four percent as worries about the valuation of artificial intelligence equities dogged the market, giving the company »»»

Dubai: Dubai's food sector continued its rapid expansion in the first half of the year, with 1,898 new food establishments opening across the emirate, equivalent to around 316 new businesses a month or 10.5 every day, according to Dubai Municipality. The latest figures bring the total number of foo»»»

The number of drones delivered to the Russian army has more than doubled compared to 2025, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexei Krivoruchko said on Friday. "To ensure superiority over the enemy, the number of drones delivered to the troops has more than doubled compared to 2025," Krivoruchko stre»»»

Japan's Parliament voted Friday to revise the law regarding the royal succession that has been in place since 1947, expanding the number of eligible heirs to distant male relatives but did not relax the ban preventing Princess Aiko (pictured), or any other female royal, from ascending the Chrysanth»»»

Abu Dhabi: The UAE marks Union Pledge Day on 18th July each year, commemorating the historic signing of the Declaration of the Union and the UAE Constitution by the Founding Fathers in 1971, marking the beginning of a 55-year journey of development, progress and global leadership. Union Pledge Day,»»»

The crisis around the Strait of Hormuz, which appears to be dragging on, is increasing the importance of the North-South international transport corridor, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Friday. "The topic is indeed very important, especially in a situation where the crisis in the St»»»

Dubai: Brent crude may need a prolonged disruption through the Strait of Hormuz or clear evidence of tightening global inventories to break above $90 a barrel, despite heading for its biggest weekly gain since April. Sign up for our daily business newsletter, Cheques & Balances.The global benchmark»»»

A day at Lake Balaton is becoming increasingly expensive for many families, with beach admission fees often overtaking accommodation costs as the biggest holiday expense. For a family of four, a full day at a paid beach can easily cost HUF 10,000–15,000, prompting many visitors to seek out the lake»»»

Dubai: Moving to a new country often begins with excitement to new opportunities, new surroundings, and the promise of a different future. But behind many expatriate stories is a challenge of building a life from the beginning. For Egyptian expat Ahmed Youssef, that challenge came at a time when th»»»

RIYADH: Tuwaiq Academy has announced the launch of a new set of “Tuwaiq Executives” programs, set to run at its headquarters in Riyadh from July to December. The programs aim to develop leaders and decision-makers and equip them to keep pace with emerging technologies through partnerships with lead»»»

In the Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Bulgaria (part of the 2026 Rule of Law Report, released on Friday), the European Commission found that one recommendation in the 2025 Rule of Law Report is fully implemented, some progress has been achieved on two recommendations, limited progr»»»

First, a bit of recent history. In 2015, after the Maidan coup in Kiev and the beginning of the confrontation between Russia and the West, the EU created the East StratCom Task Force to fight foreign disinformation campaigns supposedly orchestrated by Russia. This agency is a part of the European E»»»