Author: Gulf News Week

Narcotics worth more than $972m seized in two separate operations carried out within 48 hours.The Pakistani navy, operating as part of the Saudi-led Combined Maritime Forces (CMF), has seized nearly $1bn worth of narcotics from two vessels sailing through the Arabian Sea.The CMF, the naval network overseeing the operation, said in a statement on Wednesday that last week, the Pakistani navy intercepted the dhows in two separate operations over 48 hours and seized narcotics worth more than $972m.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Saudi Arabia signs mutual defence pact with nuclear-armed Pakistanlist 2 of 3Pakistan FM says Trump’s…

Hamas says it is meeting its side of the truce agreement while Israel refuses to open the crucial Rafah border crossing.Israel and Hamas have exchanged the remains of more captives, but the Palestinian group says Israel is failing to uphold the terms of the Gaza ceasefire agreement by refusing to reopen the crucial Rafah border crossing with Egypt.The bodies of two more Israeli captives, one soldier and one civilian, were returned to Israel late on Tuesday, and identified early on Wednesday as those of Aryeh Zalmanovich, 85, and army Master Sergeant Tamir Adar, 38.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1…

Mohammed Ibrahim, 16, has described inhumane conditions in Israeli detention as rights advocates call for his release.Defense for Children International – Palestine (DCIP) has obtained testimony from Palestinian American teenager Mohammed Ibrahim, whose case has become a symbol for the mistreatment of minors in Israeli jails.In an interview with a DCIP lawyer, published on Tuesday, 16-year-old Mohammed described the harsh conditions he has faced since his detention began in February, including thin mattresses, cold cells and meagre meals.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Trump claims Middle East countries offered to fight Hamas in Gazalist 2 of 3WFP says…

Netanyahu’s office says he will appoint the deputy head of the National Security Council, Gil Reich, as acting head.Israel’s national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi says he has been fired by Benjamin Netanyahu, as the Israeli prime minister’s office said Gil Reich would be appointed as acting head of the National Security Council (NSC).“Prime Minister Netanyahu informed me today of his intention to appoint a new head of the National Security Council,” Hanegbi said in a statement on Tuesday evening. “In light of this, my term as national security adviser and head of the National Security Council ends today.”Recommended Stories list…

More than 200 people have been hospitalised in recent weeks with respiratory issues blamed on a local chemical plant.A general strike and tens of thousands of protesters have brought the southern Tunisian city of Gabes to a standstill as anger intensifies over a state-run chemical plant that residents blame for a pollution crisis.Shops, markets, schools, and cafes shut down in the general strike, halting economic activity in coastal Gabes on Tuesday in response to a call by the powerful UGTT labour union.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Tunisia pardons man sentenced to death over Facebook postslist 2 of…

US president renews his threats to Hamas, saying that the Palestinian group could face ‘FAST, FURIOUS, & BRUTAL’ end.United States President Donald Trump has suggested that several countries in the Middle East have offered to send forces to Gaza to fight Hamas, renewing his threats to the Palestinian group amid the fragile ceasefire in the territory.“Numerous of our NOW GREAT ALLIES in the Middle East, and areas surrounding the Middle East, have explicitly and strongly, with great enthusiasm, informed me that they would welcome the opportunity, at my request, to go into GAZA with a heavy force and ‘straighten our…

WFP says food supplies remain well below daily target of 2,000 tonnes, calls for Israel to open more crossing points.The UN World Food Programme says that supplies to Gaza have ramped up after the US-brokered ceasefire, but are still far short of its daily target of 2,000 tonnes because only two crossings into the Palestinian territory are open.Approximately 750 metric tonens of food are now entering the Gaza Strip daily, according to the WFP, but this was still well below the scale of needs after two years of Israel’s devastating war that has reduced much of Gaza to ruins.Recommended Stories…

EuroLeague said the decision to allow Israeli clubs to play home games was in response to the October 10 ceasefire agreement.Basketball’s top European competitions are set to become the first to return to Israel since the October 7, 2023 attacks, after clubs agreed on Tuesday to resume EuroLeague and EuroCup games in the country from December 1, following recent ceasefire and peace initiatives in the region, the organisation said.Games involving Israeli teams have been held at neutral venues since October 2023 due to the conflict in Gaza.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3UCL: Spanish giants Atletico travel to…

Ignoring the new reality or refusing to engage with it would mean to lose agency.There are two conversations unfolding in the wake of the latest ceasefire, which has brought a fragile pause to the carnage in Gaza – one quiet, pragmatic, and regional; the other, loud, moral, and global. The first takes place behind closed doors, among diplomats, intelligence services and political veterans of the Middle East. The second fills our timelines, animated by outrage and solidarity – the only decent human response to horror. The first is sketching a new map of power, as the second speaks of betrayal…

Sarkozy was convicted of criminal conspiracy for seeking campaign funds for the 2007 election from Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi.France’s former president Nicolas Sarkozy has arrived at a prison in Paris to start serving a five-year jail sentence.The 70-year-old leader arrived at La Sante prison in a police car on Tuesday morning, becoming the first former head of an European Union state to be jailed.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3France’s Macron set to name new prime minister on Fridaylist 2 of 3Who is Francois Bayrou, France’s new prime minister?list 3 of 3Top France court upholds Nicolas Sarkozy’s corruption convictionend…