Author: Gulf News Week

ReutersHealth workers need to be fully protected as the virus can spread from touching bodily fluids.The latest Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo began at least three months before it was officially declared – meaning the health authorities are still playing catch-up, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned.More than 1,900 people have died from the virus since that declaration on 15 May, making this the second-worst Ebola outbreak ever.Infection rates are still high, adding to the concern that the authorities are struggling to get to grips with the spread of the disease.The epicentre of this outbreak of…

BBCArday, pictured in 2023, said the recent accusations and speculation “have taken a profound toll on me and on those I love”Jason Arday has cancelled an appearance in London next month, following his resignation as a Cambridge professor in the wake of allegations of plagiarism and questions about some of his achievements.Arday’s talk at the Royal Geographical Society’s conference has been “cancelled at the request of the speaker”, the organisation said.He is also no longer listed on the websites of two other scheduled events in the coming months.Arday – who became Cambridge’s youngest ever black professor in 2023 – has…

WASHINGTON (news agencies) — U.S. health officials on Monday proposed a rule change that would require food manufacturers to notify regulators before introducing new ingredients or additives into processed or packaged foods.The proposal would change a decades-old policy that advocates have called a regulatory loophole, blaming it for allowing thousands of unvetted ingredients into the U.S. food supply. Under the proposed rule from the Food and Drug Administration, companies would have to document and submit their safety findings for new ingredients, giving regulators the opportunity to investigate if they see a potential safety risk. Currently companies can decide for themselves…

Terry Fries/Handout via ReutersThe Bald Range Fire started on Friday in British Columbia’s Okanagan region and quickly grew over the weekend, forcing thousands to evacuate. Earl Kurz and his wife have lived in Peachland, a town overlooking Okanagan Lake in Canada’s British Columbia, for 30 years. In the last 10, he said he has grown used to wildfires threatening his community.But this is the first time he’s been forced to flee, and surveying the damage left behind by the Bald Range wildfire, which broke out on Friday and grew in a matter of hours to 53 sq miles (136 sq…

EPA/ShutterstockBenjamin Netanyahu is facing an uphill contest in a general election scheduled for OctoberIsrael’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may have categorically rejected the new Board of Peace roadmap to disarm Hamas in Gaza, but that is unlikely to be the final word.The White House has not officially commented. However, it is reportedly “not bothered” by Netanyahu’s statement and views it as campaign rhetoric in the run-up to a heated general election.”We understand Bibi’s political needs” the Israeli journalist, Barak Ravid, quotes a senior US official as saying – using a nickname to refer to the Israeli leader. “We have no…

Getty ImagesA refining and petrochemical plant in Nizhnekamsk (stock photo)At least 13 people have been killed in a Ukrainian drone strike on the Russian republic of Tatarstan, local officials have said. They confirmed one child was among those killed, with 75 more people injured as drones hit Nizhnekamsk, more than 1,100 kilometres (680m) from the Ukrainian border. Ukraine’s Armed Forces said the city’s Tanevo oil refinery had been hit.It is one of the deadliest single attacks on Russia since the start of Moscow’s full-scale war in Ukraine in 2022. Kyiv has recently stepped up its long-range strikes on facilities it…

PA MediaNigel Farage said a “lit incendiary device” was pushed through his letterbox in April 2025Nigel Farage said an incident at his London home last year was “directly linked” to the murder of Ann Widdecombe, after counter-terror police reopened an inquiry into it last week.It relates to what Farage described as a “lit incendiary device” being pushed through his letterbox in April 2025, the BBC understands.Counter Terrorism Policing (CTP) London has also referred itself to the police watchdog over how the initial investigation was handled.At a Monday press conference, the Reform UK leader said: “I understand this is a completely…

Twitter/@ABDELAESPRIELLAHernando Forero Mosquera, aka “El ruso”, is accused of leading a dissident rebel factionA man suspected of leading a dissident faction of a left-wing rebel group has been killed in a military operation in central Colombia, officials say. The operation forms part of a crackdown on illegal armed groups ordered by Colombia’s new president, Abelardo de la Espriella, who was sworn in on Friday. He said the killing by the security forces of Hernando Forero Mosquera and five other alleged members of armed groups on the weekend sent “a clear and powerful message to all bandits that there is nowhere…

Getty ImagesThe world’s oceans hit their hottest ever recorded temperatures for July, partly fuelled by developing El Niño conditions in the Pacific, according to the EU’s climate monitoring service.The average sea surface temperature (SST) outside the world’s polar regions – between 60 degrees north and 60 degrees south – was 20.96C last month, beating the previous high of 20.89C, set in 2023.Last month was the joint second-warmest July globally on record, with temperatures 1.47C above the estimated pre-industrial average, according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service.Meanwhile, Western Europe experienced its hottest ever June and July, with prolonged hot and dry…

ReutersFormer lawmaker Chalong Riewrang smokes at a police station where he held a press conferenceA former Thai MP allegedly shot dead a local official in the southern province of Nonthaburi, then dialled into a YouTube livestream to inform the host – a political pundit – of what he had done.Former Nonthaburi MP Chalong Reawraeng told the shocked host, Anchalee Paireerak, that he had shot Thongchai Yenprasert, a former police official, outside Thongchai’s office.Thongchai, who was hit in the neck, died in hospital. His driver was shot in the arm and hand.Chalong was arrested but then allowed to hold a press…