Author: Gulf News Week
Sir Keir Starmer is fighting to stay on as prime minister, as he stares down calls for Labour critics, including some of his own ministers, to quit Downing Street.It comes amid a revolt among Labour MPs and calls from ministers for him to draw up an exit timetable after a disastrous set of elections last week.Here is a summary of what is happening.What’s happening today?Starmer tells cabinet he will ‘get on with governing’ and leadership contest has not been triggeredChris Mason: PM hangs on by a thread as party revoltsWhat’s the mood in the party?Nearly 80 Labour MPs have publicly…
Japanese snack giant Calbee says it will temporarily switch to black and white packaging for some its best-known products as supplies of an ingredient used in ink have been disrupted by the Iran war.The firm says new-style packets for 14 of its products, including crisps and prawn crackers, will start to appear in shops in Japan from 25 May.It marks the latest example of how everyday goods are being impacted after Iran effectively closed the key Strait of Hormuz waterway in retaliation for US and Israeli strikes on the country.In recent weeks, companies around the world have warned that supply…
On a rainy, cold morning Masooda makes her way to a hillside cemetery in north-west Kabul to visit the grave of her younger brother Mirwais.But she doesn’t know exactly where he was buried after he was killed in a Pakistani airstrike two months ago.Instead, she stands at the edge of a mass grave, neatly covered with tiny white stones and roughly marked with grey granite slabs, which is the final resting place of some of the at least 269 people killed in the attack on a drug rehabilitation centre.Exactly how many are in the grave is impossible to say: like…
Almost 200 so-called Russian “shadow fleet” vessels have entered UK waters since the prime minister threatened to intercept them nearly seven weeks ago, BBC Verify analysis suggests.In March, Sir Keir Starmer announced that British armed forces “are now able to board sanctioned vessels that are passing through our waters”.However, BBC Verify has identified 184 UK-sanctioned vessels making 238 journeys through UK waters since then and the government has not publicly stated or offered evidence that any have been boarded.The Ministry of Defence (MoD) say it is “disrupting and deterring” shadow fleet vessels, without providing specific details. One former Royal Navy…
A leading people smuggler, whose network is believed to be responsible for the majority of illegal cross-Channel journeys in recent years, has been unmasked by a BBC investigation.The 28-year-old Iraqi Kurd has evaded arrest for several years by operating under the alias “Kardo Ranya”. He has kept his real name a closely guarded secret, which has frustrated law enforcement agencies in their efforts to issue an international warrant for his arrest.The lack of information about Kardo Ranya’s real name has also made it harder for individual police forces in Europe to track his whereabouts or follow leads beyond their own…
Israel has passed a new law to impose the death penalty and conduct public trials for those involved in the unprecedented Hamas-led attacks and mass hostage-taking in Israel in October 2023.The legislation was passed by 93 votes to 0 in Israel’s parliament – the Knesset – and was unusually jointly sponsored by government and opposition politicians. The remaining 27 lawmakers were absent or abstained.”May everyone see how the victims and their families look into the whites of the eyes of those murderers, rapists and kidnappers,” Yulia Malinovsky, a co-sponsor of the bill, told a news conference ahead of the parliamentary…
The US has been holding regular negotiations with Denmark to expand its military presence in Greenland, according to multiple officials familiar with the discussions, with talks between both sides progressing in recent months.US officials are seeking to open three new bases in the south of the territory, a semi-autonomous part of Denmark, as they work to resolve a diplomatic crisis sparked by President Donald Trump when he threatened to seize Greenland by force.Trump said in January that the US should “own” Greenland to prevent Russia or China from taking it. He said this could happen the “easy way ” or…
Security around Beijing’s historic Tiananmen Square has been heightened for days, with rumours on social media swirling of a special parade or some big, choreographed event.Preparations for this major event have started with a whisper, but China appears ready to put on a show for US President Donald Trump.The visit will include talks, a banquet, and a visit to the Temple of Heaven, a complex of imperial temples where emperors would pray for a good harvest.And both Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping will be hoping the visit will bear fruit. This summit between the world’s two most powerful leaders…
This morning, Sir Keir Starmer’s cabinet is split on the most fundamental political question a government’s top table of ministers can ever wrestle with: whether the prime minister should carry on.Clearly, a cabinet split on this is unsustainable. Either cabinet ministers have to resign or be sacked, or the prime minister himself has to go.Last night, ministers went in to see Sir Keir and he was met with a range of advice. Some said he should fight on. Some said he should set out a timetable for his departure. And others, as he weighed his options, tried to help him…
A former World Bank president has told the BBC that China should stop hoarding food and fertiliser to ease a global supply crisis caused by the Iran war.David Malpass, who also served as Treasury Under Secretary for International Affairs under US President Donald Trump from 2017 to 2019, was speaking to the World Service’s World Business Report on the eve of the Trump-Xi summit in Beijing.”They have the biggest world stockpile of food stuffs and of fertiliser,” he said. “They can stop building their stockpiles.”His comments come as nations around the world scramble to secure fertiliser supplies ahead of spring…