Author: Gulf News Week
LONDON (news agencies) — Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are meeting to decide the Wimbledon championship just five weeks after they played each other in an epic French Open final.Sunday’s matchup at Centre Court between the No. 1-ranked Sinner and No. 2 Alcaraz marks the first time the same two men faced off in the title matches on the clay at Roland-Garros and the grass at the All England Club in the same year since Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal did it in 2006, 2007 and 2008.Alcaraz, a 22-year-old from Spain, defeated Sinner, a 22-year-old from Italy, in five sets…
Satellite data shows destruction of Rafah before plan to transfer entire population of Gaza to ‘humanitarian city’ in the south.Demolition operations being conducted by Israel in Gaza’s southern Rafah Governorate have been stepped up sharply, an investigation by media’s Sanad investigations unit has found. Israel’s defence ministry has announced a plan to relocate 600,000 people into what observers say would be “concentration camps” in the area in southern Gaza, with plans to expand this to the Strip’s entire population. Sanad’s analysis of satellite imagery up to July 4, 2025, shows the number of demolished buildings in Rafah rising to about…
Millions of people receive a federal tax deduction for the interest they pay on home loans. Under President Donald Trump’s new tax-cut law, many people for the first time also could claim a tax deduction for interest on their vehicle loans.The new tax break will be available even to people who don’t itemize deductions. But there are some caveats that could limit its reach. The vehicles must be new, not used. They must be assembled in the U.S. And the loans must be issued no sooner than this year, to list just a few qualifications.Here are some things to know…
LOS ANGELES (news agencies) — “Love Island USA” will crown the winning couple of its seventh season Sunday evening, culminating a tumultuous summer full of explosive breakups and shock exits.The finale will air on Peacock at 6 p.m. Pacific/9 p.m. Eastern, following a chart-topping run since the season premiered on June 3. The show brings young singles together in a remote villa in Fiji to explore connections with the ultimate goal of finding love. The show, an American spinoff to the UK series, has shaken up reality TV, becoming Peacock’s most watched entertainment series on mobile devices, according to NBC…
ATLANTA (news agencies) — Pittsburgh’s Paul Skenes will start his second straight All-Star Game for the National League and Detroit’s Tarik Skubal will open for the American League on Tuesday night at Truist Park.Major League Baseball made the announcement Saturday night.Skenes will become the first pitcher to start consecutive All-Star Games since Washington’s Max Scherzer and Boston’s Chris Sale in 2017 and ’18. Sale started three in a row beginning in 2016.Skenes and Skubal are 1-2 in average four-seam fastball velocity among those with 1,500 or more pitches this season, Skenes at 98.2 mph and Skubal at 97.6 mph, according…
KERRVILLE, Texas (news agencies) — President Donald Trump on Friday toured the devastation from catastrophic flooding in Texas and lauded state and local officials, even amid mounting criticism that they may have failed to warn residents quickly enough that a deadly wall of water was coming their way.Trump has repeatedly promised to do away with the Federal Emergency Management Agency as part of his larger pledges to dramatically shrink the size of government, and he’s fond of decrying officials in Democrat-run states hit by past natural disasters and tragedy. But the president struck a far more somber and sympathetic tone…
CHICAGO (news agencies) — White Sox great Paul Konerko got a present from one No. 14 to another in honor of the 20th anniversary of the 2005 World Series championship run — a jersey signed by noted Chicago fan Pope Leo XIV.Cardinal Blase Cupich, the archbishop of Chicago, presented Konerko a jersey with the new pontiff’s signature on the back during a ceremony prior to the game against the Cleveland Guardians. It had the six-time All-Star’s last name and “Pope Leo” above the No. 14.“It’s kind of surreal,” he said. “I’m sure my mom will ask for dibs on it.”Konerko…
SAN FRANCISCO (news agencies) — Shohei Ohtani pitched three scoreless innings against the San Francisco Giants on Saturday as the Dodgers star continues to work his way back from elbow surgery.Working as an opener for the fifth time this season after not pitching in all of 2024, Ohtani threw 36 pitches, 25 for strikes while serving as Los Angeles’ opener for the fifth time this season. He allowed one hit and struck out the side on 12 pitches in the first inning when his fastball was twice clocked at 99.9 mph.“Overall a very efficient outing,” Ohtani said through an interpreter.…
MINNEnews agenciesOLIS (news agencies) — Minnesota Twins All-Star center fielder Byron Buxton admitted to feeling a little added pressure before Saturday’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. It was his bobblehead day, meaning the first 10,000 fans to walk through the gates at Target Field would receive a replica of Buxton doing his “Buck Truck” home run celebration.“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous before the game started, just knowing it was bobblehead day,” Buxton said. “Obviously you want to come out and do something good.”Buxton did more than something good. He became the first player to hit for…
WASHINGTON (news agencies) — Just months after President Donald Trump returned to office amid a wave of anti-immigration sentiment, the share of U.S. adults saying immigration is a “good thing” for the country has jumped substantially — including among Republicans, according to new Gallup polling.About 8 in 10 Americans, 79%, say immigration is “a good thing” for the country today, an increase from 64% a year ago and a high point in the nearly 25-year trend. Only about 2 in 10 U.S. adults say immigration is a bad thing right now, down from 32% last year.During Democratic President Joe Biden’s…