Author: Gulf News Week

KYIV, Ukraine (news agencies) — U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine and Russia, retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, arrived in Kyiv on Monday, a senior Ukrainian official said, as anticipation grew over a possible shift in the Trump administration’s policy on the more than three-year war.Trump last week teased that he would make a “major statement” on Russia on Monday. Trump made quickly stopping the war one of his diplomatic priorities, and he has increasingly expressed frustration about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s unbudging stance on U.S-led peace efforts.Putin “talks nice and then he bombs everybody,” Trump said late…

WASHINGTON (news agencies) — The Justice Department and FBI are struggling to contain the fallout from this week’s decision to withhold records from the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking investigation, which rankled influential far-right media personalities and supporters of President Donald Trump.The move, which included the acknowledgment that one particular sought-after document never actually existed, sparked a contentious conversation between Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino at the White House this week. The spat threatened to shatter relations between them and centered in part on a news story that described divisions between the FBI and the Justice…

BANGKOK (news agencies) — Shares were mixed in Asia on Monday after the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq composite edged away from the records they set last week. An announcement over the weekend by U.S. President Donald Trump that he plans 30% tariffs on goods from Mexico and the European Union had scant immediate impact, as analysts said they expected progress toward trade deals before an Aug. 1 deadline.Trump detailed the planned tariffs Saturday in letters posted to his social media account. The Mexican peso weakened slightly against the dollar, trading at 18.6 pesos to the dollar. Chinese shares advanced…

The live-action remake of the animated film “How to Train Your Dragon” and a two-part, five-hour documentary on Billy Joel are some of the new television, films, music and games headed to a device near you.Also among the streaming offerings worth your time, as selected by media’ entertainment journalists: The long-delayed third album from rapper Roddy Ricch, “The Summer I Turned Pretty” returns for its third and final season and two arcade favorites — Donkey Kong and Pac-Man — get reinvented for gamers.— Movie theaters are crowded enough this summer that one recent box-office hit is already coming to homes.…

DAMASCUS, Syria (news agencies) — Clashes between local militias and clans in Syria’s Sweida province have killed more than 30 people and injured nearly 100, and government forces were being sent to the area to restore order, authorities said.The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported at least 37 people killed, including two children, in the clashes between armed groups from the Druze religious minority and Sunni Bedouin clans around the province. The U.K.-based war monitor reported that military convoys were sent to the area to reinforce security checkpoints.The observatory said the clashes had started after a series of kidnappings between…

BENGALURU, India (news agencies) — India’s government is seeking to limit temperature settings on new air conditioners to save electricity in the country that considered the fastest-growing market for them. The power minister proposed a rule in June requiring air conditioners sold in the country to have thermostats that can be set no lower than 20 Celsius (68 Fahrenheit). Officials hope the small change will create massive energy savings in the country of more than 1.4 billion people. About 10 million to 15 million air conditioners are sold annually as incomes and urbanization increase along with the temperatures. The current…

WASHINGTON (news agencies) — President Donald Trump says he is considering “taking away” the U.S. citizenship of a longtime rival, actress and comedian Rosie O’Donnell, despite a decades-old Supreme Court ruling that expressly prohibits such an action by the government. “Because of the fact that Rosie O’Donnell is not in the best interests of our Great Country, I am giving serious consideration to taking away her Citizenship,” Trump wrote in a social media post on Saturday. He added that O’Donnell, who moved to Ireland in January, should stay in Ireland “if they want her.” The two have criticized each other…

It used to be that dating was as simple as deciding between dinner, a trip to the movies or an arcade. Now, understanding the dating scene has become intermingled with smartphones, matchmaking apps and one’s ability to navigate thorny social issues like racial preference in a mate.“Love Island,” a widely popular international reality television franchise, is emblematic of the complexities of modern dating. It has also sparked heated discussions among fans about the desirability of Black women and darker-complexioned people both on and off air.The show, which aired the finale of the seventh season of its U.S. version Sunday and…

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (news agencies) — The search for those missing after Yemen’s Houthi rebels sank a ship in the Red Sea has ended as at least four people are presumed dead and 11 others remain unaccounted for, the private security firms involved said Monday. The announcement came as satellite photos show long, trailing oil slicks from where the bulk carrier Eternity C sank, as well as another where the sinking of the bulk carrier Magic Seas by the Iranian-backed Houthis took place. Both ships were attacked over a week ago by the rebels as part of their campaign…

Here are the key events on day 1,236 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.Here is how things stand on Monday, July 14: Fighting: Russian drone attacks killed a 53-year-old Ukrainian man in Ukraine’s Sumy region and left parts of the city of Sumy without power, the Kyiv Independent reported, citing local authorities. Ukraine’s SBU intelligence service said it killed several Russian secret service agents during an operation to arrest them in the Kyiv region on Sunday. The SBU said it believed the agents were behind the killing of its colonel, Ivan Voronych, in Kyiv on Thursday. Russia’s Ministry of Defence said…