Author: Gulf News Week

Hamas says ongoing talks remain ‘tough’ as Trump sees a ‘good chance’ of reaching ceasefire deal within days.Hamas says it has agreed to release 10 Israeli captives as part of continuing efforts to reach a ceasefire in the besieged and bombarded Gaza Strip, but warned that ongoing talks for a truce were “tough” due to Israel’s “intransigence”. The Palestinian group said on Wednesday that the ceasefire talks, spearheaded by key mediators Qatar and the United States and held in the Qatari capital Doha, have several sticking points, including the flow of desperately needed aid, withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza,…

JERUSALEM (news agencies) — As Israel and Hamas move closer to a ceasefire agreement, Israel says it wants to maintain troops in a southern corridor of the Gaza Strip — a condition that could derail the talks.An Israeli official said an outstanding issue in the negotiations was Israel’s desire to keep forces in the territory during a 60-day truce, including in the east-west axis that Israel calls the Morag corridor. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to talk with the media about the negotiations.Keeping a foothold in the Morag corridor is a key element in…

SAN FRANCISCO (news agencies) — Silicon Valley chipmaker Nvidia on Wednesday became the first publicly traded company to surpass a $4 trillion market valuation, putting the latest exclamation point on the investor frenzy surrounding an artificial intelligence boom powered by its industry-leading processors.Although Nvidia’s market value dipped back below $4 trillion by the time the stock market closed, reaching the milestone highlighted the upheaval being unleashed by an AI craze that’s widely viewed as the biggest tectonic shift in technology since Apple co—founder Steve Jobs unveiled the first iPhone 18 years ago. Underscoring the changing of the guard, AI bellwether…

INDIANnews agenciesOLIS (news agencies) — Veronica Burton had 21 points, eight rebounds and six assists, Kayla Thornton added 18 points and eight boards, and the Golden State Valkyries beat the Indiana Fever 80-61 on Wednesday to spoil Caitlin Clark’s return.The Valkyries held Clark to just 10 points on 4-of-12 shooting as the Fever scored their second-fewest points of the season.Clark returned after missing the past five games with a left groin injury. The All-Star captain participated in practice Monday — the first time she’d done that since getting hurt on June 26.Golden State led 41-32 at halftime and Kate Martin…

LOS ANGELES (news agencies) — Superman might do more than just save Metropolis — filmmaker James Gunn hopes the beloved superhero will bring hope to a cynical world. “Everybody’s gotten so cynical and ironic,” said Gunn. “Everybody’s ironic about everything all the time. And he (Superman) is a good-natured guy who wants to be kind. And when you see the world through Superman’s eyes, everyone is beautiful.”“Superman,” which flies into theaters nationwide Thursday, is a bit of a change in tone for the writer and director who brought a mischievous playfulness and snark to the chaotic worlds of “Suicide Squad”…

UNITED NATIONS (news agencies) — The Trump administration announced it is issuing sanctions Wednesday against an independent investigator tasked with probing human rights abuses in the Palestinian territories, the latest effort by the United States to punish critics of Israel’s 21-month war in Gaza.The State Department’s decision to sanction Francesca Albanese, the U.N. special rapporteur for the West Bank and Gaza, comes after a recent U.S. pressure campaign to force the international body to remove her from her post failed. Albanese, a human rights lawyer, has been vocal about what she has described as the “genocide” that Israel is waging…

X CEO Linda Yaccarino said she’s stepping down after two bumpy years running Elon Musk’s social media platform. Yaccarino posted a positive message Wednesday about her tenure at the company formerly known as Twitter and said “the best is yet to come as X enters a new chapter with” Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI, maker of the chatbot Grok. She did not say why she is leaving. Musk responded to Yaccarino’s announcement with his own 5-word statement on X: “Thank you for your contributions.”“The only thing that’s surprising about Linda Yaccarino’s resignation is that it didn’t come sooner,” said Forrester…

The U.S. Senate’s health committee on Wednesday approved Susan Monarez to be President Donald Trump’s director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, taking her one step closer to confirmation.The committee voted 12-11 for advancing her nomination to the full Senate. The vote went along party lines, with Democrats in opposition.Monarez, 50, is poised to become the first CDC director to pass through Senate confirmation following a 2023 law. She was named acting director in January and then tapped as the nominee in March after Trump abruptly withdrew his first choice, David Weldon. She holds a doctorate in…

Trump administration says it is targeting Francesca Albanese for encouraging ICC war crime prosecution against Israel’s Netanyahu.Washington, DC – The administration of United States President Donald Trump has imposed sanctions on United Nations expert Francesca Albanese over her documentation of Israel’s abuses against Palestinians during its war on Gaza. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the penalties on Wednesday, accusing Albanese of waging a “campaign of political and economic warfare against the United States and Israel”. Albanese, who serves as UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territory, has been a leading global voice in calling for action to end…

WASHINGTON (news agencies) — The Supreme Court on Tuesday cleared the way for President Donald Trump’s plans to downsize the federal workforce despite warnings that critical government services will be lost and hundreds of thousands of federal employees will be out of their jobs.The justices overrode lower court orders that temporarily froze the cuts, which have been led by the Department of Government Efficiency.The court said in an unsigned order that no specific cuts were in front of the justices, only an executive order issued by Trump and an administration directive for agencies to undertake job reductions.Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson…