Author: Gulf News Week

LONDON (news agencies) — Aryna Sabalenka was having a hard time dealing with her Wimbledon quarterfinal opponent’s unusual game style. The mistakes were mounting Tuesday. The stress was rising. The deficit was troubling.As things went awry, Sabalenka would look at her box with a quizzical expression and raise her hands. After missing one forehand off a short ball, she knelt on the grass near the net, the very picture of exasperation. A month after her loss to Coco Gauff in the French Open final, Sabalenka knew she needed to keep her emotions in check and straighten out her strokes.Did just…

NEW YORK (news agencies) — Sean “Diddy” Combs will be sentenced in his federal criminal case on Oct. 3, a judge said Tuesday after probation officials rejected the defense and prosecution’s plan to move the date up by about two weeks.Combs, who remains jailed after a split verdict last week, spoke briefly to his lawyer Marc Agnifilo during a virtual hearing on the scheduling issue that lasted all of two minutes. At one point he asked the lawyer to turn on his camera so they could see each other’s faces.The hip-hop mogul’s lawyers had been urging Judge Arun Subramanian to…

The unscheduled talks come as Trump’s Middle East envoy said Israel and Hamas were closing their differences on a truce deal.United States President Donald Trump has met Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House for a second time in 24 hours to discuss a possible ceasefire deal in Gaza. The unscheduled talks on Tuesday evening lasted just over an hour, with no media access, and came as Israeli forces killed at least 95 Palestinians in Gaza. The two men had also met for several hours during a dinner at the White House on Monday, during Netanyahu’s third visit…

Travelers racing to catch a flight at U.S. airports no longer are required to remove their shoes during security screenings, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Tuesday. Noem said the end of the ritual put in place almost 20 years ago was immediately effective nationwide. She said a pilot program showed the Transportation Security Administration had the equipment needed to keep airports and aircraft safe while allowing people to keep their shoes on.“I think most Americans will be very excited to see they will be able to keep their shoes on, and it will be a much more streamlined process,”…

WASHINGTON (news agencies) — President Donald Trump’s decision to send more defensive weapons to Ukraine came after he privately expressed frustration with Pentagon officials for announcing a pause in some deliveries last week — a move that he felt wasn’t properly coordinated with the White House, according to three people familiar with the matter.The Pentagon, which announced last week that it would hold back some air defense missiles, precision-guided artillery and other weapons pledged to Ukraine because of what U.S. officials said were concerns that American stockpiles were in short supply. Trump said Monday that the U.S. will have to…

FRISCO, Texas (news agencies) — Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark is doubling down on his preference to stay with only five automatic qualifiers if the College Football Playoff does expand from 12 to 16 teams as many expect after this season, instead of each of the four power conferences being guaranteed multiple bids.“We have the responsibility to do what’s right for college football … not what’s right for one or two or more conferences,” Yormark said Tuesday at Big 12 football media days. “I think 5-11 is fair. Earn it on the field, assuming we want to expand. I love…

‘Hospitals are rationing. Ambulances are stalling. Water systems are on the brink,’ UN humanitarian office says.The United Nations humanitarian office, OCHA, has warned that the fuel crisis in Gaza due to the Israeli blockade has reached a “critical point” and will cause further deaths and suffering in the besieged Palestinian territory. OCHA said the fuel powering vital functions in Gaza, including water desalination stations and hospitals’ intensive care units, is running out quickly, with “virtually no additional accessible stocks left”. “Hospitals are rationing. Ambulances are stalling. Water systems are on the brink,” the office said in a statement. “The deaths…

LOS ANGELES (news agencies) — An 11-month strike by video game performers could formally end this week if members ratify a deal that delivers pay raises, control over their likenesses and artificial intelligence protections. The agreement feels “like diamond amounts of pressure suddenly lifted,” said Sarah Elmaleh, a voice actor and chair of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists’ interactive branch negotiating committee.Union members have until Wednesday at 5 p.m. Pacific to vote on ratifying the tentative agreement.Voice and body performers for video games raised concerns that unregulated use of AI could displace them and threaten…

The NHL and NHL Players’ Association have ratified their extension of the collective bargaining agreement, securing labor peace in the sport through 2030.The league and union announced in a joint news release Tuesday that the deal had been approved. It took a vote of the Board of Governors and the full NHLPA membership.“The partnership between the Players’ Association and the league is stronger than it ever has been, and working together under this agreement presents a fantastic opportunity to continue to grow the game,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said. “We are grateful to the Board of Governors for its support…

Tehran’s top diplomat Abbas Araghchi visits Saudi Arabia for the first time after Iran’s 12-day war with Israel.Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) has met Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Jeddah in the first visit by a top Iranian official to the Gulf kingdom after Israel’s war with Tehran. Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said Araghchi’s talks with Prince Mohammed and other Saudi officials on Tuesday were “fruitful”. The visit after the 12-day intense conflict between Israel and Iran, which saw the United States bomb three Iranian nuclear facilities before mediating a ceasefire, suggests…