Author: Gulf News Week
The prime minister’s political future hangs in the balance, with his home secretary, a handful of ministers and more than 80 MPs calling on him to go, if not immediately then in the near future.However, there is not a consensus among Labour MPs about who they want to replace Sir Keir Starmer as leader of the Labour party and of the country.And on Tuesday, the prime minister told the cabinet he would “get on with governing” and that a leadership contest had not been triggered.So although no one has publicly said they want to take over yet, here are some…
President Volodymyr Zelensky’s former right-hand man Andriy Yermak appeared in a Kyiv court on Tuesday, after he was named by Ukraine’s two anti-corruption agencies as a suspect in a money-laundering scheme.Yermak’s lawyer had earlier denounced as “baseless” allegations that the former head of the presidential office had been caught up in a corruption scandal surrounding a $10.5m (£7.5m) luxury construction project outside Kyiv.Hours before the court hearing Yermak told reporters “I do not have any house, I only have one flat and one car”, adding later that he would comment afterwards.For years he was a close friend of Zelensky, and…
Federal prosecutors have filed criminal charges against the owner of the cargo ship Dali, two years after the vessel struck Baltimore’s Key Bridge, causing its collapse and killing six people. Synergy Marine, the company that operated the ship, along with one of its employees, has been charged with conspiracy, obstruction and misconduct resulting in death, among other offences.Prosecutors allege the company misled investigators about conditions on the ship and failed to disclose hazards and other safety concerns to the US Coast Guard. A spokesperson for Synergy said the company “will defend against these allegations with vigor”, the New York Times…
An Indonesian guide who led a group of hikers up Mount Dukono has described the harrowing moment they were caught up in Friday’s eruption, which killed three people in his group.Reza Selang narrowly escaped from being crushed by a large rock ejected from the crater, which landed on two other hikers right beside him.”There are no words. Until now I still feel torn apart, I still can’t believe it… right now I am deeply devastated,” he told the BBC over the phone on Monday.Indonesian authorities have said two Singaporeans and one Indonesian were killed in the eruption, while the other…
Come and have a go if you think you’re hard enough.Boil it down and that’s what Sir Keir Starmer said to the cabinet today, at the start of what was – let’s remember – just its standard weekly scheduled meeting.The prime minister’s message was spoken to a full meeting of 28 cabinet ministers.But it was directed at one person present: Wes Streeting, the health secretary.As of first thing this morning, that remained his plan.Then the prime minister made his bold gambit, taking refuge in Labour Party rules.Keir Starmer latest: Follow liveAt a glance: Starmer grapples with leadership crisisWatch: Keir Starmer’s…
A mayor of a southern Californian city has resigned after the US Department of Justice (DoJ) charged her with acting as an illegal agent of China.Eileen Wang, 58 – the mayor of Arcadia – agreed to plead guilty to the felony count and Arcadia City Council said she resigned from her post on Monday.Wang could face a sentence of up to 10 years in prison. Her lawyers, Jason Liang and Brian Sun, said in a statement on her behalf that “she apologises and is sorry for the mistakes she has made in her personal life”.First assistant US attorney Bill Essayli…
Netflix has been sued in Texas over claims it collects data belonging to children and adults in the US state without their consent, and uses “addictive” design to keep them hooked.Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton accused the streaming giant of “spying” on citizens saying it “records and monetises billions” of pieces of information about how users behave on the platform, despite suggesting otherwise.”Every interaction on the platform became a data point revealing information about the user,” his office said.Netflix has rejected the claims and says it will challenge them in court, according to a statement shared with Reuters.”Netflix takes our…
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has proposed a “social media delay” for children in Europe and has said new legislation could be put forward in months.She told an EU summit in Copenhagen that an expert panel was due to come up with steps on how to protect minors online by July.Several countries in Europe and around the world have already introduced social media bans for minors, and von der Leyen did not rule that out.”The discussion about a minimum age for social media can no longer be ignored,” she said. Australia became the first country in the world…
There is “no sign” of a larger hantavirus outbreak after the evacuation of the last passengers from a disease-stricken cruise ship, the head of the UN health agency has said.But the World Health Organization’s chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned “the situation could change” and there could still be more confirmed virus cases.The MV Hondius left Spain’s Tenerife island on Monday and is sailing to the Dutch port of Rotterdam. Two flights with the final group of 28 passengers landed in nearby Eindhoven on Tuesday.Three people have died after travelling on the ship. An American and a French national who previously…
Even in Khartoum, where there is no longer fighting, the humanitarian situation is dire.I recently visited Khartoum for the first time since the war started. It quickly became clear to me that the world still doesn’t fully comprehend what has happened there. In the streets of Sudan’s capital, the destruction was apocalyptic. A city that used to have a population of 7 million seemed almost empty as we drove through its districts.The buildings were almost all destroyed or partially flattened by shelling and air attacks, while those left standing were riddled with bullet holes. I had never seen this scale…