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Iran has condemned a joint US-Gulf Cooperation Council statement as “interventionist, irresponsible and provocative”, accusing Washington and its Gulf allies of using diplomacy to impose pressure on Tehran after the recent United States-Israeli war on Iran.In a statement on Friday, Iran’s Foreign Ministry rejected the communique issued after a GCC-US ministerial meeting in Bahrain on June 25, saying it distorted regional realities and repeated US and Israeli positions on Iran’s nuclear programme, missile capabilities, regional allies and the Strait of Hormuz.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of listWhat did the US-GCC statement say?The US-GCC statement followed talks in Manama co-chaired…

The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Iziaq Salako, disclosed this on Thursday at the opening of the 6th Africa Digital Health Summit (ADHS 2026) in Abuja. Picture: Sent by Nike: The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Iziaq Salako Keywords: Africa Digital Health Summit (ADHS 2026) in Abuja, N500 billion for digital infrastructure The federal government says Nigeria will require about ₦500 billion over the next five years to build the digital infrastructure needed to modernise healthcare delivery and achieve universal health coverage. The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Iziaq Salako, disclosed…

In late 2021, Amber Salzman interviewed for a job that she had no intention of taking. A relatively new start-up company, called Epicrispr Biotechnologies, was looking for a chief executive, and it was keen on vetting Salzman — who had decades of experience in the pharmaceutical industry — for the role. She had said yes to the meeting only as a favour to a recruiter, who had helped her to fill a key position at another company she had worked with. Joining the start-up wasn’t something she was enthusiastic about.Halfway through the meeting, she changed her mind. Salzman had watched…

Halfway into the 2026 MLB season, the Mets have fired manager Carlos Mendoza. They made the announcement Friday after getting swept by the Cubs in a four-game series at Citi Field earlier this week. The Mets (34-47 at the 81-game mark) have struggled consistently this season, starting with a 12-game losing streak in April. Andy Green will serve as the club’s interim manager for the remainder of the 2026 season.Mendoza, who was hired ahead of the 2024 season, led the Mets to the playoffs in his first year, when they lost to the eventual champion Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS. The…

Lionel Richie has postponed his next two concerts on advice from his doctors after cutting short his concert in St. Paul, Minnesota earlier this week. “Under advisement by doctors to rest and return to full health, Lionel Richie has postponed his next two concerts,” a statement from the singer’s team read. “Lionel is heartbroken to postpone these two shows and cannot wait to be back performing for his fans.” The impacted shows are Richie’s June 26 gig in Chicago and June 27 in Columbus, Ohio; rescheduled dates were not announced at press time. The singer is expected back on the…

The Federal High Court in Lokoja, Kogi State, on Friday, set aside its earlier judgement directing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to register the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) as a political party. The judge, Isah Dashen, held that all relevant parties must be heard before any substantive decision can be made in the matter. The court upheld the application filed by the Peace Movement Party (PMP), ruling that the party was a necessary party to the suit. According to the judge, the earlier judgement was constitutionally defective as it was delivered without hearing from all interested parties. He declared…

An unusual wave of anticorruption arrests targeting senior officials in Iraq has resulted in the seizure of tens of millions of dollars – rousing public opinion across the country and bringing renewed attention to the decades-long problem of financial corruption.The Iraqi Supreme Judicial Council on Tuesday said cash seized in an investigation into alleged corruption linked to detained Oil Ministry Undersecretary for Refining Affairs Adnan al-Jumaili had risen to about $86m. It added that 70 properties, 21 vehicles and about three kilogrammes (6.6 pounds) of gold jewellery had been seized.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of listThe judiciary said the…

Iran reaffirmed on Friday its claim to being a central authority in managing marine traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a day after its forces struck a container vessel there, temporarily halting shipping through the critical waterway.The strike on the vessel, the Ever Lovely, a container ship that was passing near the Omani side of the strait, appeared to be the first known Iranian attack on a commercial vessel since the signing of a preliminary peace agreement between Tehran and Washington last week. It laid bare the challenges to restoring prewar levels of traffic through the strait.Although the United States…

Former CEO of Apollo Global Management Leon Black arrives to testify at a closed-door interview with the House Oversight Committee on Capitol Hill on June 26, 2026 in Washington, DC.Kevin Dietsch | Getty ImagesFormer Apollo Global Management CEO Leon Black, in prepared testimony for a House committee on Friday, said notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein duped him out of more than $60 million in financial advisory fees by falsely claiming that they were tax-deductible.Black says he had no involvement in Epstein’s sex-trafficking operation and did not pay him for access to women.He said that he was misled by Epstein’s Jekyll-and-Hyde…

One of the best deals this ongoing Prime Day has been on Apple’s latest flagship headphones. The AirPods Max 2 are still available for a heavily discounted price of $399 ($150 off) at Walmart, even though they sold out at Amazon.Since the Amazon deal kicked and Walmart is out of stock on one of the Max 2’s five colors, it seems this deal is not long for this world. Even discounted to $399 the AirPods Max 2 are still pretty expensive, but it’s a much better price for some fancy headphones. The sequel version of the AirPods Max look the…