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Rubio tours Gulf in bid to allay allies’ security concerns over the US-Iran memorandum of understanding.Published On 24 Jun 202624 Jun 2026United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio is on the second day of a visit to the Gulf region to reassure allies that a deal to end the Iran-US war would account for their security concerns.On Wednesday, Rubio held a working lunch with United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and other senior figures, including National Security Advisor Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan.Recommended Stories list of…

The Executive Director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), Winnie Byanyima, has warned that the United States’ planned withdrawal of HIV/AIDS funding from South Africa could cost lives and undermine decades of progress in the fight against the disease. Speaking ahead of a high-level United Nations meeting on HIV/AIDS, Ms Byanyima urged Washington to reconsider the decision and adopt a gradual transition plan to prevent disruptions to critical HIV services. South Africa carries the world’s largest HIV burden, with about eight million people living with the virus. While the country funds most of its treatment programme, US…

A Nigerian robotics innovator, Ubokobong Amanam, has launched a robotic rehabilitation glove designed to support stroke survivors and individuals living with hand-related disabilities, marking what his company describes as Nigeria’s first commercially mass-produced wearable medical robot. Mr Amanam announced the official launch and commercial distribution of the device in a Facebook post on Friday, saying the innovation was developed after years of research, testing, and collaboration with physiotherapists and medical experts. According to Ubokobong Robotics, the lightweight, rechargeable glove is equipped with programmed guided hand movement, adjustable intensity, targeted finger training, digital cycle counting, and mirror-mode training. The device also…

1 France France have looked like the team to beat so far. Kylian Mbappe looks in great shape and seems driven by the memory of the 2022 final, when his hat trick wasn’t enough to prevent defeat. With his current form, even Messi’s newly set World Cup scoring record may not be out of reach. — 2 Argentina What more can be said about Messi? Five goals in two games, a new World Cup record with 18 goals, and another masterclass on the biggest stage. He’s carrying Argentina once again, but as the tournament progresses, they’ll need his teammates to…

PJ Harvey‘s last album found her singing about a fictionalized version of her home country. For her next project, she’s headed as far there as humanly (or inhumanly) possible. On her somber new single, “Voyager,” she imagines what the voice of the Voyager 2, a space probe NASA launched in 1977, would say. “Force fields, high winds, cold moons, bright rings, hear my signal, will you follow?” she sings, her voice sounding spectral with glitches. “Look back at us as a speck of dirt.” Keyboards undulate between two notes, quivering like a fading signal, as she sings, “Choose light, choose…

I have two brothers and a sister. We all live in different states. Our sister often texts us about medical issues that she and her husband face. Or she texts about her grandchildren and sends us pictures of them. My responses are kind but short. I have medical concerns, too, but I don’t broadcast them. Neither do my brothers. I believe that she is trying to get attention or to brag, as she has always done. I am particularly uncomfortable with the way she remembers our mother — a narcissist who abused us. The warm light in which my sister…

There has been a consensus since the 1980s that educational technology is a vital component of modern schooling. This sentiment intensified with the advent of the web in the 1990s and peaked with the widespread adoption of iPads and Chromebooks that enabled remote education during the pandemic.As recently as 2023, a survey of 810 public school parents conducted for the American Federation of Teachers reported that 76% expressed “a favorable view of the way technology is used to facilitate teaching and learning in their child’s school.”Just three years later, those decades of EdTech acceptance and progress are being challenged. A reversal…

Islamabad, Pakistan – At the alpine resort of Burgenstock in Switzerland last weekend, United States Vice President JD Vance stood alongside Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani.Standing a few metres away was Pakistani military chief Asim Munir, whom Vance pointed to as he began delivering remarks.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list“Since Field Marshal Asim Munir welcomed us with the prime minister in Islamabad [in April], I have joked that I have two very, very important people in my life, an Indian and a Pakistani. The Indian is my…

A severe heatwave is gripping Europe as temperatures push towards record June highs.Authorities have issued heat alerts across much of the region, warning of risks to health, transport networks and public services as the mercury climbs.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of listEurope is the world’s fastest-warming continent with temperatures rising at about twice the global average rate. Much of its infrastructure, housing and transport networks were designed for a cooler climate, making prolonged periods of extreme heat particularly disruptive.The latest heatwave is the second major episode of extreme heat to hit Europe in just two months, raising new concerns…

French officials on Wednesday confirmed the first case of Ebola in the country, saying that a humanitarian worker who had traveled to the Democratic Republic of Congo, where an outbreak began last month, tested positive for the virus. The aid worker was admitted to a special health care facility and is in stable condition, the health ministry said in a statement. French health workers are racing to trace anyone who may have come in contact with the person. Contacts will have to be isolated for 21 days and will be closely monitored, the ministry said. The risk of infection remained…