Author: Gulf News Week

NEW YORK (news agencies) — A memoir by an Israeli man held in captivity for more than a year by Hamas is coming out this fall in the U.S.Eli Sharabi’s “Hostage,” written in Hebrew and already a bestseller in Israel, is the first published memoir by anyone kidnapped by Hamas during the deadly surprise attack of Oct. 7, 2023. Harper Influence, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, announced Tuesday that the English-language edition of his book will come out this Oct. 7, the 2-year anniversary.Sharabi, 53, was released in early February and has said that he had shrunk to under 100…

Elon Musk has said that he’s formed a new political party, but it’s unclear what steps — if any — he’s taken to do so, or how the effort might affect upcoming elections.Musk has not yet released any additional information. Spokespeople for Musk and his political action committee, America PAC, didn’t immediately comment Monday. While there are many recent federal elections filings that reference the Tesla and SpaceX CEO or his companies, Musk himself has even gone on his social media platform batting down at least one filing as fake.The possible new political party marks another development in the rift…

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (news agencies) — João Pedro scored twice against his boyhood team in his first start for Chelsea, leading the Blues over Fluminense 2-0 Tuesday to assure an all-European Club World Cup final.A 23-year-old who had been at Fluminense from about age 10 until leaving for Watford in 2020, João Pedro scored in the 18th and 56th minutes and refused to celebrate either goal in a sign of respect for his former club. He joined Chelsea from Brighton on July 2.Seeking its second world championship, Chelsea advanced to Sunday’s title match against the winner of Wednesday’s game between…

Opposition leader Ghannouchi, ex-prime minister and former presidential aide sentenced amid President Saied’s crackdown on dissent.A Tunisian court has handed jail terms to 21 high-profile politicians and former top officials, including opposition leader and ex-Parliament Speaker Rached Ghannouchi, the Tunis Afrique Press (TAP) news agency reports. The rulings on Tuesday are the latest move in President Kais Saied’s widening crackdown on critics and political opponents. Ghannouchi, the leader of the Ennahdha party who has been in jail since 2023, was sentenced to up to 14 years in jail. Several others, including former Prime Minister Youssef Chahed and ex-Minister of Foreign…

It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s a … a purple and orange shape-shifting chemical compound?Writer-director James Gunn’s “Superman” was always going to be a strange chemistry of filmmaker and material. Gunn, the mind behind “Guardians of the Galaxy” and “The Suicide Squad,” has reliably drifted toward a B-movie superhero realm populated (usually over-populated) with the lesser-known freaks, oddities and grotesquerie of back-issue comics.But you don’t get more mainstream than Superman. And let’s face it, unless Christopher Reeve is in the suit, the rock-jawed Man of Steel can be a bit of a bore. Much of the fun and frustration…

Trump aide says Washington ‘hopeful’ a 60-day truce between Israel and Hamas can be reached by the end of the week.An aide to United President Donald Trump has suggested a Gaza ceasefire is close, saying Washington hopes to see an agreement finalised by the end of the week. “We’re in proximity talks now, and we had four issues, and now we’re down to one after two days of proximity talks,” special US envoy Steve Witkoff told reporters at the White House on Tuesday. “So we are hopeful that by the end of this week, we will have an agreement that will…

WASHINGTON (news agencies) — The Trump administration is dropping plans to allow continued use of the last type of asbestos legally allowed in U.S. manufacturing after an outcry from asbestos opponents.The Environmental Protection Agency said in a court filing Monday that it will now defend the Biden administration’s ban of chrysotile asbestos, which is used in products like brake blocks and sheet gaskets.The carcinogenic chemical has been mostly phased out in the U.S., but last year, the agency under former President Joe Biden sought to finish the decadeslong fight with a comprehensive ban. The EPA in 2024 said “exposure to…

PHILADELPHIA (news agencies) — As trash and tempers heat up across Philadelphia on Day 8 of a strike by blue-collar city workers Tuesday, some residents and small business owners are hiring pop-up hauling services to clear their blocks of garbage, even as they broadly support the union’s quest for higher pay. Mayor Cherelle Parker, a Democrat, is standing firm in her offer of raises of about 3% per year over a three-year contract, which comes on top of a 5% raise she gave as an olive branch to all four major city unions after taking office last year.“I do believe…

SAGAMIHARA, Japan (news agencies) — One is known as “The Monster,” the other “Big Bang.”The bout between champion boxers Naoya Inoue (30-0-0, 27 KOs) and Junto Nakatani (31-0-0, 24 KOs) is already being billed as Japan’s “fight of the century.” And the date hasn’t even been set. Sports pundits are hailing what’s happening these days as the golden age of Japanese boxing. And this is a nation that has produced its share of Hall of Famers.For a period last year, all four division bantamweight champions were Japanese. The Ring magazine’s latest Top Ten pound-for-pound ranking has three Japanese fighters, including…

PARIS (news agencies) — Stéphane Rolland went back to what he does best on Tuesday: unadulterated couture. This season at Paris Couture Week, Rolland stripped away gimmicks and let the clothes do the talking, unveiling a dazzling palette of ivory, black, and red — with giant spangles shimmering like stardust or cosmic fish scales.A live string orchestra set the mood as Rolland’s signature silhouettes reshaped the female form: mermaid gowns hugged the body, giant tulle trains trailed behind, and severe white dresses with razor-sharp shoulders brought a surreal, intergalactic edge. Space-age references ran throughout, from pointy shoulders to jewels worn…