Author: Gulf News Week

Donald Trump’s Federal Reserve chair has been confirmed by the US Senate in a vote that fell largely along party lines. Kevin Warsh won confirmation on Wednesday with 54 votes in favour and 45 against. He will succeed Jerome Powell, whose tenure featured multiple clashes with the US president over interest rates. His term ends on Friday. Warsh’s confirmation was the narrowest margin for the Senate approval of a Fed chair since the process was implemented in 1977.Only one Democrat, Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman, voted in favour to confirm Warsh.Warsh is facing a difficult balancing act when he steps into…

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A senior diplomat tasked with implementing Donald Trump’s peace plan for Gaza has said Hamas could survive as a political movement after handing over power, if it rejected armed conflict and gave up its weapons and military structures.Nickolay Mladenov, high representative for Gaza to the US-led Board of Peace, speaking to journalists on a visit to Jerusalem, also warned that the current stalemate could lead to a permanent division of Gaza, along the so-called Yellow Line marking the area controlled by Israel.”[Continuing] a status quo actually means at some point solidifying the Yellow Line, probably into a fence, probably into…

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The Philippine Senate was locked down with military personnel seen entering the building where a senator wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) had sought refuge.Rounds of gunfire were heard but officials have not revealed who fired the shots. They said there were no casualties.Senator Ronald Dela Rosa said earlier he believed his arrest was imminent and urged Filipinos to prevent it. He is safe and with security personnel, officials said.He is accused by the ICC of killing dozens of people when he was police chief during former president Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs, in which thousands of alleged dealers…

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At least 12 people have been killed in seven separate Israeli air strikes on cars south of Beirut, Lebanon’s health ministry says, as the war between Israel and the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah continues despite a ceasefire.Eight people, including two children, died when drones targeted three vehicles on the coastal highway in the Barja, Jiyeh and Saadiyat areas, around 20km (12 miles) from the capital, according to the ministry.The others were killed in strikes on four cars further south, in the city of Sidon and the towns of Maaliyeh, Chaaitiyeh and Naqoura.The Israeli military has not yet commented.The military also…

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A survivor of Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse has told how the late sex offender sexually abused her while he was under house arrest for soliciting prostitution from a minor.Roza, who was recruited from Uzbekistan as a teenager by Epstein’s associate and modelling agent Jean-Luc Brunel, spoke publicly for the first time alongside a number of victims in a field hearing that was organised by House Democrats.She told the session that she was introduced to Epstein by Brunel in July 2009, was offered work by Epstein “to help me with my financial troubles”, and he later subjected her to rape over a…

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Dozens of dogs kept in sham animal shelters and used for online scamming have been rescued by police and animal rights organisations in Uganda following a BBC investigation.A suspect has been arrested after two adjacent shelters were raided by the police. Two other suspects are said to be at large, according to animal rights activists.Owen Godfrey Membe has pleaded not guilty to a charge of animal cruelty and has been remanded in custody until 27 May.Membe is accused of “killing an animal in an unnecessarily cruel manner” under Uganda’s Animals (Prevention of Cruelty) Act.The organisation, which includes qualified veterinarians, said…

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The director of the Eurovision Song Contest says organisers are watching voting patterns “very, very carefully” after concerns were raised about Israel’s ability to influence the results at last year’s contest.Some broadcasters claimed that social media posts on Israeli government accounts, which encouraged people to vote multiple times, may have influenced the result. Contest director Martin Green told the BBC he agreed that “some of the promotion by some of the broadcasters was a little disproportionate”.The situation prompted an overhaul of voting procedures for this year’s event, and Green added that anyone who flouted the rules would come “under further…

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LIVEPM has ‘full confidence’ in Streeting, No 10 says, as health secretary’s allies expect him to launch challengeWes Streeting met the PM for less than 20 minutes in Downing Street this morning ahead of the King’s Speech to Parliament.

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