Author: Gulf News Week
Vikram/InstagramVikram, an actor from Tamil Nadu, posted a clip of him playing with the endangered animalA video posted by a Tamil film star showing him cuddling an endangered gibbon has triggered an investigation by Indian wildlife officials over how he came into contact with the animal.Vikram, an award-winning actor from the southern state of Tamil Nadu, was seen hugging and playing with a lar gibbon in a now-deleted video posted on Instagram on Monday.The state’s forest department has since begun investigating how the gibbon came to be at a private home and whether rules governing its possession and transfer were…
MLB Photos via Getty ImagesBTS member V says he has been dealing with hearing issues for more than two yearsV, a member of pop sensation BTS, says he has been receiving treatment for hearing loss in one ear, an announcement that comes midway through the band’s highly-anticipated world tour.In a livestream on Wednesday, the 30-year-old said that he has dealt with the problem for about two and a half years. This was the first time he was revealing it to the band’s fans, he said.”If the hearing in my left ear is at 100, it’s only about 30 in my…
Universal Images Group via Getty ImagesSome see them as sinister but these birds play a vital role in nature’s cycle”People fear the environment where the shrine is. No evil will ever happen here. So, nobody fights vultures that perch here,” a man they call the Vulture King tells the BBC.Mostly associated with death and decay, perhaps it is not surprising that when vultures disappeared from the skies across many West African cities, they were not missed.Yet across the continent, their disappearance is becoming impossible to ignore, as conservationists warn that hunting linked to traditional beliefs and spiritual practices continues to…
AFP via Getty ImagesRussian state media said it was Putin’s first visit to the Kuril islandsJapan said it “strongly protests” Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to a disputed island chain.Russian state media reported on Thursday that Putin visited Iturup – known in Japan as Etorofu – one of four islands in the Kuril chain that are claimed by both Russia and Japan.Japan’s foreign minister Toshimitsu Motegi said the islands are “inherently Japanese territory both historically and under international law, and the Government of Japan strongly protests this visit”.The two countries have been locked in a dispute over the Kuril islands…
‘Justified’ or ‘no business being there’? Tennessee munitions town loyal to Trump but divided on IranAs one local puts it, there’s a “church on every street” of the Appalachian community of Kingsport, in the US state of Tennessee.Christianity reigns supreme in this working-class area. Above downtown’s historic Lamplight Theatre, a sign proclaims “Jesus first in all things”.And while more than 300 area churches may be providing spiritual sustenance to this town of 58,000 people, there’s another institution that supplies it with economic nourishment.The Holston Army Ammunition Plant churns out explosives used in Patriot missiles, warheads and other heavy weaponry in…
APUS inmates Anthony Darrell Hines, 66, Carlos Cuesta-Rodriguez, 71, and Jeremy Williams, 41, are scheduled to be executed on ThursdayIt’s been 16 years since three people were executed on the same day in the US, but on Thursday, three men convicted of murder in different US states will face the death penalty.The planned executions of inmates Anthony Darrell Hines, 66, Jeremy Williams, 41, and Carlos Cuesta-Rodriguez, 71, in Tennessee, Alabama and Oklahoma, respectively, are indicative of a steep rise in executions across the US.Last year, in 2025, there were more than four times as many people put to death as…
EPAThe current outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo is on track to surpass the deadliest outbreak of the disease ever, the director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO) has said. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters that the 2026 outbreak, “at its current pace”, would “eclipse” that of the 2014-2016 occurrence, which killed at least 11,000 people.The outbreak this year, declared on 15 May, has seen at least 4,300 cases and caused more than 2,000 deaths. The WHO said on Wednesday it hoped to reverse the spread of the disease within three months but warned that this meant…
In pictures: Stunning eclipse turns daylight into darkness across Europe
Jason Howard/Bauer-Griffin/GC ImagesAmerican football player Travis Kelce has reflected on his wedding to Taylor Swift, telling US media that their nuptials were “the best night of my life”.Kelce and Swift tied the knot on 3 July at New York’s Madison Square Garden in a star-studded event that was largely kept private.Few details from the ceremony have been shared publicly and Kelce’s comments on Wednesday mark the first he’s shared since the couple were wed by comedic actor Adam Sandler.”It was kind of cool to live out my childhood dream of being in that venue, the mecca of all sports venues,…
NEW YORK (news agencies) — For those trapped in rubble after an earthquake, survival depends on many factors, including weather and access to water and air.If their injuries aren’t too severe, victims can survive for a week or more, assuming the weather isn’t too hot or cold, experts say.Two days after a powerful deadly earthquake struck western Colombia, rescue teams are racing against the clock to search for survivors.Most rescues happen in the 24 hours after a disaster. The chances of survival drop with each day after that, experts say. Most victims are badly injured or buried by falling stones…