Author: Gulf News Week
BBCSixteen years ago, Abdi Nor Iftin was a Somali refugee living in one of the roughest slums in Kenya when he found out he had won the lottery of a lifetime. Out of nearly eight million applicants in 2013, he had been one of the lucky 50,000 granted a US visa through a scheme known as the diversity visa scheme that the US government had begun in the 1990s.Abdi had long dreamt of moving to America. He was so obsessed, his childhood friends even nicknamed him “Abdi America” after he learnt to speak English by watching Hollywood movies. “My whole…
ReutersWarning: This story contains descriptions of abuseInstagram has been running paid adverts promoting child sexual abuse material in India, a BBC Eye investigation has found.The ads, seen by the BBC World Service, use terms including “rape video” and “child video” and link users to channels on the messaging app Telegram, where they can buy the material for as little as 99 rupees (about $1).Ads on Instagram are only published after first being approved by its moderation technology.Later, when the BBC asked Instagram’s parent company Meta for comment, it said it had already disabled several adverts and suspended the accounts posting…
LIVESwitzerland play Algeria for place in World Cup last 16Follow live updates and match stats as Switzerland face Algeria in the Fifa World Cup last 16.
Watch: Man rescued from rubble eight days after Venezuela earthquakeA man has been rescued alive after being trapped for eight days in the rubble of a building that collapsed after twin earthquakes in Venezuela. Emergency workers managed to free Hernán Gil more than 100 hours after they had first located him under 140 tonnes of rubble. A Chilean firefighter had earlier described the rescue operation as “without doubt the most complex and technically difficult which I’ve had to tackle”.As of Thursday evening, 2,595 people are confirmed to have died in the quakes which hit Venezuela on 24 June, and tens…
EPAA suspect has been identified in the investigation into a parcel bombing in Monaco that seriously wounded a sanctioned Ukrainian multi-millionaire and two others.Monaco’s prosecutor’s office said an arrest warrant has been issued against the suspect, who they say is a foreign national and no longer in Monaco. They added an Interpol red notice would also be issued.On Monday evening, a person was seen on video surveillance leaving a package in the entrance hall of a building in Monaco. Shortly afterwards, an explosion went off, injuring three people as they entered. Authorities said the incident was being investigated as attempted…
LIVEPortugal face Croatia with Spain waiting in World Cup last 16Follow live commentary as Portugal face Croatia in the last 32 of the Fifa World Cup.
Getty ImagesA barrage of celebrities – including mother of the supposed groom Donna Kelce -have been spotted in New York ahead of pop star Taylor Swift’s expected wedding to NFL player Travis Kelce.Among the stars in the Big Apple are TV presenter Graham Norton, who Swift invited to the ceremony on his BBC chat show last year. Fleabag actress Phoebe Waller-Bridge and singer Sabrina Carpenter were also seen in NYC ahead of the big day, which is thought to be taking place on Friday at Madison Square Garden. A rehearsal dinner is rumoured to be happening on Thursday.While the guest…
ReutersThe current outbreak of Ebola in the DRC and Uganda began in MayA trial of potential treatments for the strain of virus behind the current deadly Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has begun, the World Health Organization (WHO) has announced. The first patient has been enrolled in the DRC, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Thursday. More than 1,400 cases and 438 deaths have been confirmed in the DRC alone, according to the WHO. There are currently no approved vaccines or treatments for the Bundibugyo virus strain of the disease, which is highly infectious. Speaking…
Officials announce charges for alleged Reflecting Pool vandalismA former US Olympian has been charged with vandalising the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, DC.Authorities say David “Davey” Hearn, 67, a three-time Olympic canoeist, was seen reaching into the water last month after renovations to the pool. US Attorney Jeanine Pirro told a press conference on Thursday that Hearn had caused $1,000 (£750) worth of damage and is facing a felony charge of destruction of property.Hearn’s attorneys said in a statement that he is innocent and that the “indictment reflects the administration’s effort to shift blame for their own failures”. Getty…
Watch the latest forecast as extreme heat hits the eastern United StatesMillions of people across the US East Coast are enduring dangerous heat and humidity, with temperatures expected to reach and stay at 38C (100F) for several days.The National Weather Service has warned that the heat index – a measure of how hot it feels based on temperature and humidity – could reach as high as 115F in cities such as Washington DC, Philadelphia and New York over the 4 July weekend.The soaring temperatures are raising concerns as President Donald Trump hosts a celebration marking America’s 250th birthday and multiple…