Author: Gulf News Week
Watch: Families still search for bodies a month after Venezuela’s earthquakesThe worst day in Victor Calderón’s life – a month ago to the day – unfolded while he was at sea. When the powerful twin earthquakes devastated Venezuela’s northern coastline, the 49-year-old fisherman had been on the boat for 18 days and was told by radio that the building he and his family lived in had collapsed.When he got back to shore, a staggering 26 members of his family were gone. They include his sisters, their children and grandchildren, as well as his stepfather and nine cousins. Their ages ranged…
AFP via Getty ImagesA Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) supporter wearing a cockroach mask at a protest over irregularities in major public examinations in DelhiIt began with a fear familiar to millions of young Indians: if the examinations that determine their future cannot be trusted, what can?Weeks later, on Monday, tens of thousands of young men and women tried to march on India’s parliament. Police responded with tear gas and baton charges. Thousands more have returned to the streets in the days since.The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), a youth-led movement born out of anger over repeated examination paper leaks, has quickly…
Federal health officials are investigating a new outbreak involving the diarrhea-causing parasite cyclospora.The outbreak included 72 people as of Wednesday. The Food and Drug Administration has not yet identified which products are linked to the illnesses. Officials also have not said where the cases are located. “This is an active investigation, and officials are working together to determine the specific cause of illnesses in this cluster,” the Department of Health and Human Services said in an email Thursday.Federal officials earlier this week said they remained focused on lettuce from Taylor Farms as the source of a separate, multistate outbreak. The…
Getty ImagesAt least 40 people, most of them protesters, have been killed in the run-up to elections in Pakistan-administered KashmirNaqash Zardad was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.The education department employee was at his buffalo farm in Rawalakot in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, when violent clashes broke out between police and protesters nearby.With roads blocked around his farm, Zardad was unable to get home.Then gunshots were fired.Zardad is one of at least 40 people who have been killed in the run-up to legislative elections in Pakistan-administered Kashmir. Of those, 34 were protesters. Six were police and paramilitary personnel. Rawalakot…
Could you run a country on just three hours of sleep? Japan’s PM says she doesJapan’s prime minister Sanae Takaichi says she survives on zero to three hours a night, and people are reacting.4 hrs agoAsia
Clément Cornec/ENES Bioacoustics Research LabThe songs of birds like this European wren are shaped by their environmentScientists in France say they have discovered the building blocks of the incredible diversity of birdsong.A team analysed the songs of more than 100,000 songbirds and revealed that the world’s birdsongs are composed of eight fundamental types of sound that the researchers call “motifs”. Birdsong all around the world, they say, is made up of combinations of these motifs – three types of trill, three types of whistle, chaotic notes and harmonies.Birdsong is one of the natural world’s most sophisticated forms of sound-based communication.…
Watch: A baby trafficking ring has been convicted – but what now for the babies?On Tuesday an Indonesian court convicted 19 people for baby trafficking, wrapping up a high-profile case – but leaving a key question unanswered.The members of the trafficking syndicate were found guilty of procuring at least 34 babies and selling them for adoption.Most of the children were bound for Singapore, and at least 12 babies were sent over.The case has garnered attention in both countries for months. Now that it has ended, its verdict has sharpened the question of what will happen to the babies in Singapore.…
Bloomberg via Getty ImagesOil prices hit $100 a barrel for the first time since May as the escalating conflict in the Middle East reignited fears over global energy supplies.Brent crude – the global benchmark for oil prices – rose more than 6% on Thursday following several days of increases as the US stepped up military strikes against Iran.Prices spiked after Houthi militia in Yemen attacked oil tankers in the Red Sea, threatening a key export route that Saudi Arabia has used to bypass the Strait of Hormuz.Gas prices have also risen steadily over the past month, with the benchmark UK…
Getty ImagesThe US is imposing new tariffs on imports from around 60 trading partners over claims they failed to properly stop forced labour. The duties, ranging from 10% to 12.5%, target key economic partners – including the UK, EU, Canada, Japan and India. They go into effect on Friday. The move is the latest escalation in the global trade war reignited by US President Donald Trump when he returned to office last year.The US Supreme Court ruled earlier this year that many of the tariffs imposed globally under emergency powers were illegally enacted. So the president has since sought other…
NEW YORK (news agencies) — The Senate health committee delayed a planned vote Thursday on whether to advance the nomination of Dr. Erica Schwartz to lead the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.The committee plans to vote next week on whether to forward Schwartz’s nomination to the full Senate. The committee’s chair, Sen. Bill Cassidy, said a family emergency was affecting the number of Republicans needed to be present to vote yes.If approved, the 54-year-old Schwartz would become the 22nd director of the Atlanta-based CDC, which is charged with protecting Americans from preventable health threats.Schwartz faced scrutiny during her…