BEIRUT, Jul 14 (NNN-NNA) – The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), yesterday warned of a rapid escalation of the tensions on the Lebanon-Israel border.

“The tensions that took place on the border over the past days indicate that, events could develop quickly,” Candice Ardell, deputy director of the UNIFIL Media Office, was quoted as saying.

The UN official urged Israel and Lebanon to avoid activities that may increase tensions, said the report.

SINGAPORE, July 14 (Reuters) - A Singapore government minister and a property tycoon were arrested this week, the anti-graft body said on Friday, without giving details of what prompted the rare high-level probe that has gripped the city state.

Transport Minister S. Iswaran and managing director of Hotel Properties Ong Beng Seng were arrested on Tuesday and subsequently released on bail, the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) said in an emailed response to a Reuters query.

The CPIB said on Wednesday that it had launched an investigation into Iswaran.

KYIV, July 14 (Reuters) - He wears a pistol to interviews with foreign journalists and discusses wartime intelligence. Weapons and military gear are strewn on the floor of his Kyiv office. He says he has "sources" close to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

For an intelligence chief running Ukraine's spy operations during war with Russia, Kyrylo Budanov, 37, has built up an unusually public profile that he has used to get his message out and to menace Russia from afar.

These days, a spy boss cannot stay in the shadows, he says.

MOSCOW, July 14. /TASS/: Russia and Poland maintain parity in terms of the number of diplomatic missions, Polish Ambassador to Russia Krzysztof Krajewski said on Friday.

"We have parity in terms of the number of missions. Poland has its embassy in Moscow, Russia has its embassy in Warsaw. Each of us has three consulates general," he said in an interview with the Polish Press Agency. "So, parity is maintained."

Paris, Jul 14 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi has become the first Indian premier to have been conferred with the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour, France's highest civilian and military honour, by French President Emmanuel Macron.

NEW DELHI, July 14 (Xinhua) -- The flooding in the Indian capital was exacerbated on Friday as waters of overflowing Yamuna River reached the entrance of the Supreme Court.

Officials said the flood situation aggravated as a regulator of the Delhi Irrigation and Flood Control Department suffered damage near Indraprastha, causing flooding in ITO and surrounding areas.

KUALA LUMPUR, July 14 (NNN-Bernama) — Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said that the collaboration between the Malaysian Government and the founder and chief executive officer of Tesla Inc and SpaceX, Elon Musk, will create tens of thousands of skilled job opportunities in the country.

He said this comes after Musk agreed to make significant investments in Malaysia, including setting up Tesla headquarters in Cyberjaya.

13 July 2023; MEMO: A group of pro-Israel Republican US senators have accused President Joe Biden of engaging in "an anti-Semitic boycott of Israel" and threatened to block any nomination put forward by the White House if it does not reverse its policy over the occupation state.

LONDON, July 14 (Reuters) - Workers at Britain's No.2 airport Gatwick will strike for eight days at the end of July and in early August, potentially causing cancellations and travel misery for thousands of passengers at the busiest time of year for summer holidays.

European travellers are already on high alert over worries about air traffic control problems arising from both the reduced air space available due to the Ukraine war, plus staffing issues and industrial action at some locations.

14 July 2023; MEMO: Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that anyone found guilty of burning the Quran will have to serve their sentence in the Federation's predominantly Muslim regions.

Putin was quoted by Russia's TASS news agency yesterday as stating: "They will serve their sentences, as stated by the Minister of Justice, in places of deprivation of liberty located in one of the regions of Russia with a predominantly Muslim population."

MOGADISHU, July 14 (Xinhua) -- The World Health Organization (WHO) has condemned the latest attack on a health facility in a disputed city in Somalia's Somaliland region, where dozens of people were killed and injured, including healthcare workers and patients.

The WHO said that Tuesday's fighting in Las Anod also resulted in the destruction of two ambulances.

MOSCOW, July 14. /TASS/: Kiev’s district court has granted the motion of the Ukrainian Security Service and changed detention conditions for Metropolitan Pavel, the abbot of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra monastery, from round-the-clock house arrest to detention in custody with the possibility of bail worth over 33 million hryvnas (over $900,000), the Ukrainian online newspaper Strana reported on Friday.

The RBC Ukraine agency said that he court put the archbishop under arrest until August 14.