Author: Gulf News Week

The Sudan Liberation Movement/Army appeals for UN help to recover bodies from a village buried by a landslide after heavy rain.A landslide has destroyed an entire village in Sudan’s western Darfur region, killing an estimated 1,000 people, according to a rebel group that controls the area.News agencies said the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army issued a statement late on Monday reporting the disaster in the Marra Mountains area of Darfur.The rebel group said the landslide struck on Sunday after days of heavy rainfall in the area, and the village was “completely levelled to the ground”, leaving only one survivor.“Initial information indicates the…

Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot says his country will recognise Palestine this month and impose 12 ‘firm sanctions’ on Israel.Belgium will recognise the State of Palestine at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) later this month, Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs Maxime Prevot has announced.“Palestine will be recognised by Belgium at the UN session! And firm sanctions will be imposed against the Israeli government,” Prevot, who is also the deputy prime minister, wrote on the social media platform X early on Tuesday.Israel will face 12 sanctions from Belgium, Prevot said, including a ban on the import of products from illegal Israeli…

Iran is facing multiple crises at home as Israel’s Western allies pile on the pressure and threaten more sanctions.Tehran, Iran – Iran’s currency has been sharply depreciating again as European powers push to reinstate United Nations sanctions against the country amid stalled diplomacy and fears of war with Israel and the United States.The US dollar hit a price of more than 1.06 million rials in Tehran’s open currency market on Monday, slightly higher than before Tehran and Washington started mediated negotiations in April.The Iranian government and central bank have once again said the sharp decline of the embattled national currency…

US envoy Barrack proposed the zone, but analysts say locals don’t trust Israel or the US’s ability to control it.The United States has floated a proposal for an economic zone in southern Lebanon in what analysts tell media is a far-fetched and poorly thought-out plan to incentivise the Lebanese government to push on with disarming Hezbollah.The US envoy to the Middle East, Thomas Barrack, floated the economic zone during a visit to Lebanon on Tuesday but provided few details other than hints at financing.“We, all of us – the Gulf, the US, the Lebanese – are all going to act…

The severe winds and unpredictable nature of the Mediterranean make organisers decide to turn around and set sail later.The Global Sumud Flotilla carrying aid to the Israeli-blockaded Gaza Strip has been forced to turn back due to poor weather, according to a statement by the group and sources travelling with the mission.The flotilla said on X that strong winds on Sunday of more than 30 knots (55.6 kilometres per hour, or 34.5 miles per hour) on the Mediterranean Sea could have posed a problem for smaller boats in the convoy.“The decision was made by the [flotilla] steering commission … to…

Leading genocide scholars formally declare that Israel’s war on Gaza meets the UN’s definition of genocide.The world’s top genocide scholars have formally declared that Israel’s war on Gaza meets the legal definition of genocide, marking a landmark intervention from leading experts in the field of international law.The International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS), a 500-member body of academics founded in 1994, passed a resolution on Monday, stating that Israel’s policies and actions in Gaza fulfil the definition of genocide set out in the 1948 United Nations Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.“This is a definitive…

The US denial of visas for Palestinian officials who were to attend the UN General Assembly is yet another move to silence Palestinians.As world leaders are preparing to gather in New York for the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in September, one nation will not have any representatives: the Palestinian people. That is because the United States Department of State has decided to deny visas to Palestinian officials seeking to attend the UNGA session.Since 1947, the US has mostly honoured its “headquarters agreement” with the UN, granting visas — albeit limited in scope — to officials…

Authorities say more than 800 people have died as floods and rubble hinder rescue efforts.A magnitude 6 earthquake has hit Afghanistan near its border with Pakistan.The death toll from Sunday night’s disaster has risen to more than 800 people, according to the government. Flooding and debris have hampered rescue efforts.Here is more about what happened and why Afghanistan is vulnerable to earthquakes:What happened?At 11:47pm (19:47 GMT) on Sunday, the earthquake shook Nangarhar and Kunar provinces in eastern Afghanistan. It was 8km (5 miles) deep, making it a shallow tremor.Shallower earthquakes tend to cause more damage because the epicentre of the…

The missile attack comes amid Houthi pledges to target Israel-linked shipping over its ongoing war in Gaza.Yemen’s Houthi movement has claimed responsibility for a missile attack on a tanker in the Red Sea, days after Israeli air strikes killed its prime minister and several senior officials.The group on Monday said it directly hit the Liberian-flagged Scarlet Ray, which is Israeli-owned, according to the maritime security company Ambrey.The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency, which monitors shipping in the region, disputed the claim, reporting the missile missed its target on Sunday.“The crew witnessed a splash in close proximity to their…

More settler attacks also take place across the territory, with a Palestinian husband and wife hurt in the violence.The Israeli army has carried out raids and arrests across the occupied West Bank, with incidents reported in the cities of Bethlehem, Hebron, Nablus and Ramallah.Multiple Palestinians were detained in the territory on Sunday, according to the Wafa news agency, including a child and a young man in the town of Yabad.Reports suggested that a 37-year-old man was also arrested in the town of Beit Fajjar, while a 25-year-old man was taken into Israeli custody in the town of Nilin near Ramallah.Several…