Author: Gulf News Week

UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese has issued a report naming several US giants among companies aiding Israel’s occupation and war on Gaza. Companies from other countries – from China to Mexico – are also named.The United Nations special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) has released a new report mapping the corporations aiding Israel in the displacement of Palestinians and its genocidal war on Gaza, in breach of international law. Francesca Albanese’s latest report, which is scheduled to be presented at a news conference in Geneva on Thursday, names 48 corporate actors, including United…

By refusing to take action on Israel, EU states are violating European and international law.“Law is interpreted for friends and applied to enemies,” Italian statesman Giovanni Giolitti once said. There are few better examples of this than the way the European Union bends over backwards to avoid addressing Israel’s severe breaches of international law and the terms of its association agreement with the bloc. On May 20, the EU’s Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) voted to conduct a review of whether Israel was denying Palestinians’ human rights by preventing humanitarian aid from entering Gaza. A month later, the same body concluded: “There…

Riyadh club’s shock defeat of Man City at FIFA Club World Cup was the culmination of a long climb by the Saudi team for respect.Riyadh-based club Al Hilal and the Saudi Pro League (SPL) have made a habit of making international headlines in recent years, but almost exclusively it’s been for off-field matters involving money and player transfers. Whether it was Brazilian superstar Neymar’s 90-million-euro ($98m) blockbuster signing in 2023 and subsequent departure 17 months later after playing just seven games, or their unsuccessful attempts to lure other big names like Mohamed Salah and Victor Osimhen, the club and league…

WASHINGTON (news agencies) — The Senate came to a standstill Tuesday after slogging through a tense overnight session, with Republican leaders searching for ways to secure support for President Donald Trump’s big bill of tax breaks and spending cuts while fending off proposed amendments, mostly from Democrats trying to defeat the package.Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota spent the night reaching for last-minute agreements between those in his party worried the bill’s reductions to Medicaid will leave millions without care and his most conservative flank, which wants even steeper cuts to hold down deficits ballooning with the tax…

WASHINGTON (news agencies) — Clean energy advocates were already bracing for a Republican-led bill that would phase out tax credits for wind, solar and other renewable energy as President Donald Trump and GOP lawmakers moved to dismantle the 2022 climate law passed by Democrats under former President Joe Biden. But a proposal that emerged over the weekend was even more drastic than they thought.It was more aggressive in ending incentives for clean energy than a previous Senate version and would even impose new taxes on some wind and solar projects while boosting production of coal used in steelmaking. The Senate…

The Florida Panthers completed another hat trick Monday less than two weeks since repeating as Stanley Cup champions.After Aaron Ekblad, Brad Marchand and Sam Bennett said they never wanted to leave South Florida, they got their wish. Days after locking up Bennett long term, the Panthers agreed to re-sign Ekblad and Marchand.Ekblad agreed to an eight-year deal worth $48.8 million. Marchand agreed to a six-year deal, according to a person familiar with the deal who spoke to media on condition of anonymity because the team had not announced the signings.The deals got done before the start of NHL free agency…

TOKYO (news agencies) — Japan on Sunday successfully launched a climate change monitoring satellite on its mainstay H-2A rocket, which made its final flight before it is replaced by a new flagship model designed to be more cost competitive in the global space market. The H-2A rocket lifted off from the Tanegashima Space Center in southwestern Japan, carrying the GOSAT-GW satellite as part of Tokyo’s effort to mitigate climate change. The satellite was safely separated from the rocket and released into a planned orbit about 16 minutes later.Scientists and space officials at the control room exchanged hugs and handshakes to…

KYIV, Ukraine (news agencies) — “You have no moral right to die.”That’s what Olha Kurtmalaieva told herself as she lay in intensive care, her body shutting down after emergency chemotherapy. Her cancer had progressed to Stage 4, meaning it had spread to other parts of her body and was now incurable. The pain was unbearable. The doctors weren’t sure she’d make it through the night.She was facing death alone in the Ukrainian capital, while her soldier husband was in Russian captivity in the more than three-year war.“If I die now, who will bring him back?” Olha thought to herself. “He…

Maris Kreizman always loved books and TV. As a self-described ambition monster, she once thought that if she worked hard and played by the rules, she would land her dream job in publishing and live happily ever after with a house, husband, good health insurance and fat 401(k).Well, she got the husband and with him, the insurance. But alas, the rest was not be. In her debut essay collection, “I Want to Burn This Place Down,” the 40-something book critic, columnist for Lit Hub and erstwhile podcaster recalls a series of mini-awakenings in college and the New York publishing world…

Waymo’s robotaxis will begin carrying passengers through parts of Atlanta on Tuesday in an expansion of a partnership with Uber that began earlier this year in Austin.Waymo’s driverless march into Atlanta comes just days after Tesla finally launched a limited robotaxi service in Austin, more than five years after CEO Elon Musk brashly promised the electric automaker would quickly overtake Waymo as the leader in autonomous driving technology. Unlike Waymo’s robotaxis, Tesla is initially placing a human in the passenger seat of its rival service to take over the vehicle if something goes wrong. While Tesla is starting with about…