Author: Gulf News Week
US President Donald Trump’s futuristic “Golden Dome” missile defence system will cost about $1.2 tn (£882bn) to develop, deploy and operate over two decades, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates.That figure is significantly higher than the initial sum of $175bn (£129bn) that had been earmarked. And the system designed to shield the US against ballistic and cruise missiles might not even work. The new CBO report warned the Golden Dome could be vulnerable to a full-scale attack by Russia or China.Acquisition costs alone would be over $1tn, including for the interceptor layers and a space-based missile warning and tracking system,…
In under a month from now, India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is expected to release its final report on the crash of London-bound Air India flight AI‑171 that went down seconds after take‑off from Ahmedabad in western India on 12 June 2025.As the world awaits the findings on the devastating tragedy that claimed 260 lives, a cascade of formidable challenges has deepened the crisis at Air India.A leadership vacuum, mounting financial losses, airspace closures and a Middle Eastern fuel shock have put the carrier’s ambitious turnaround into question. A spate of recent incidents have also cast a shadow on…
An independent, Israeli investigation has published harrowing details of “systematic, widespread” sexual violence by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups during the attacks on 7 October 2023, and against hostages.The 300-page report concludes that rapes, sexual assault and sexual torture were intended “to maximize pain and suffering”.While the UN and others have published reports on sexual violence during the attacks – in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage – this is the most comprehensive.It draws on 430 filmed interviews with survivors and witnesses, more than 10,000 photographs and videos filmed by attackers, and official records and…
The UK has said it will contribute drones, fighter jets and a warship to a joint mission aimed at safeguarding shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. Defence minister John Healey announced the package at a virtual summit of defence ministers on Tuesday. It includes autonomous systems to detect and clear naval mines, drone boats and Typhoon jets for air patrols.More than 40 other nations are involved in the mission, which Healey said would begin when conditions allow.For months Iran has been controlling the Strait of Hormuz – one of the world’s busiest oil shipping channels – in retaliation for US…
Sebastian Muñoz-Najar has only just finished primary school. The 13-year-old is still years away from learning how to drive. He cannot legally work. He’s too young to even have a social media account.But he’s already despairing about his future housing prospects.Amid near constant headlines about Australia’s deepening housing crisis, the Adelaide student began worrying about what the future might look like for his generation.Armed with Google and a calculator, Sebastian was shocked to find that, if the current trajectory of house prices and wage growth continues, by the time he graduates from university the average house in his city will…
Israeli air strikes have killed at least 13 people in southern Lebanon, state media say, where a ceasefire has failed to stop the war between Israel and the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah.Overnight, six people were killed and seven others were injured when a house in Kfar Dounine was hit, according to Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA).On Tuesday afternoon, Lebanon’s health ministry said two paramedics from the state-run Lebanese Civil Defense emergency service were killed and a third was injured in an Israeli strike on Nabatieh, as they carried out a mission in response to an earlier attack that killed…
The prime minister’s political future hangs in the balance, with his home secretary, a handful of ministers and more than 80 MPs calling on him to go, if not immediately then in the near future.However, there is not a consensus among Labour MPs about who they want to replace Sir Keir Starmer as leader of the Labour party and of the country.And on Tuesday, the prime minister told the cabinet he would “get on with governing” and that a leadership contest had not been triggered.So although no one has publicly said they want to take over yet, here are some…
President Volodymyr Zelensky’s former right-hand man Andriy Yermak appeared in a Kyiv court on Tuesday, after he was named by Ukraine’s two anti-corruption agencies as a suspect in a money-laundering scheme.Yermak’s lawyer had earlier denounced as “baseless” allegations that the former head of the presidential office had been caught up in a corruption scandal surrounding a $10.5m (£7.5m) luxury construction project outside Kyiv.Hours before the court hearing Yermak told reporters “I do not have any house, I only have one flat and one car”, adding later that he would comment afterwards.For years he was a close friend of Zelensky, and…
Federal prosecutors have filed criminal charges against the owner of the cargo ship Dali, two years after the vessel struck Baltimore’s Key Bridge, causing its collapse and killing six people. Synergy Marine, the company that operated the ship, along with one of its employees, has been charged with conspiracy, obstruction and misconduct resulting in death, among other offences.Prosecutors allege the company misled investigators about conditions on the ship and failed to disclose hazards and other safety concerns to the US Coast Guard. A spokesperson for Synergy said the company “will defend against these allegations with vigor”, the New York Times…
An Indonesian guide who led a group of hikers up Mount Dukono has described the harrowing moment they were caught up in Friday’s eruption, which killed three people in his group.Reza Selang narrowly escaped from being crushed by a large rock ejected from the crater, which landed on two other hikers right beside him.”There are no words. Until now I still feel torn apart, I still can’t believe it… right now I am deeply devastated,” he told the BBC over the phone on Monday.Indonesian authorities have said two Singaporeans and one Indonesian were killed in the eruption, while the other…