Author: Gulf News Week
British foreign secretary pledges support for Syria’s new government after talks with interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa.The United Kingdom has announced it is formally restoring diplomatic ties with Syria as British Foreign Secretary David Lammy travelled to the capital Damascus to meet with interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa. Al-Sharaa received Lammy on Saturday alongside Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani, according to photos of the meeting released by the presidency. “After over a decade of conflict, there is renewed hope for the Syrian people,” Lammy said in a statement released by his office, noting that the visit was the first by a…
WASHINGTON (news agencies) — President Donald Trump signed his package of tax breaks and spending cuts into law Friday in front of Fourth of July picnickers after his cajoling produced almost unanimous Republican support in Congress for the domestic priority that could cement his second-term legacy.Flanked by Republican legislators and members of his Cabinet, Trump signed the multitrillion-dollar legislation at a desk on the White House driveway, then banged down a gavel gifted to him by House Speaker Mike Johnson that was used during the bill’s final passage Thursday.Against odds that at times seemed improbable, Trump achieved his goal of…
LONDON (news agencies) — As well as Jannik Sinner is playing at Wimbledon, he doesn’t appear to need much in the way of help. Still, he got some Saturday when his opponent, Pedro Martinez, was dealing with a problematic shoulder and often put in first serves at so-so speeds.The No. 1-ranked Sinner has dropped a total of 17 games so far, made his way to the fourth round for the seventh consecutive Grand Slam tournament — he’s collected three such trophies in that span — and never was truly in trouble during a 6-1, 6-3, 6-1 victory over No. 52…
When it comes to weight-resistance exercise, you can choose free weights such as dumbbells or barbells. Or weight machines, which are often driven by cables or levers. You can use resistance bands or tubes to build strength. Or try pushups and pullups — old standbys that create muscle overload by using your own body weight.These four basic options for strength training present fitness possibilities for young or old or beginners. And they offer flexibility for use in the gym, your home or in a hotel room during travel.You’ll probably wind up using a combination of the four, and they all…
Palestinians say they have no choice but to go to deadly US- and Israeli-backed aid sites amid growing starvation.More than 700 Palestinians have been killed trying to get food in the Gaza Strip over the past few weeks, according to new figures from the Gaza Health Ministry, spurring renewed condemnation of a contentious United States and Israeli-backed aid scheme. The Health Ministry said on Saturday that at least 743 Palestinians were killed and more than 4,891 others were injured while seeking assistance at Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) distribution sites. The GHF, which began operating in the bombarded Palestinian enclave in…
PARIS (news agencies) — Cries of “It is warm!” rang out across the Seine on Saturday morning as Parisians jumped into the river — legally — for the first time in more than 100 years.Public swimming was allowed in designated areas of the Seine, including two newly built wooden decks near the Eiffel Tower and the Île Saint-Louis in central Paris. Before sunrise, a municipal officer skimmed away the last few patches of algae with a fishnet. Soon after, a line of eager Parisians formed, towels in hand, waiting for their chance to jump in.Woos and cries of joy echoed…
WASHINGTON (news agencies) — Barack Obama had the Affordable Care Act. Joe Biden had the Inflation Reduction Act. President Donald Trump will have the tax cuts.All were hailed in the moment and became ripe political targets in campaigns that followed. In Trump’s case, the tax cuts may almost become lost in the debates over other parts of the multitrillion-dollar bill that Democrats say will force poor Americans off their health care and overturn a decade or more of energy policy.Through persuasion and browbeating, Trump forced nearly all congressional Republicans to line up behind his marquee legislation despite some of its…
NAIROBI, Kenya (news agencies) — Kenyans disaffected with President William Ruto hold placards proclaiming “WANTAM,” a sensational slogan distilling their efforts to disgrace him as a “one-term” leader. They stick their index fingers in the air, saying Ruto must vacate the presidency when his term expires in 2027. For others who want him gone only three years after he was elected, even that’s a long time. Kenya’s fifth president became a remarkably unpopular leader barely two years into his presidency after proposing aggressive tax measures that many saw as a betrayal of his campaign promise to support working-class people. Ruto…
KYIV, Ukraine (news agencies) — Ukraine said it struck a Russian airbase on Saturday, while Russia continued to pound Ukraine with hundreds of drones overnight as part of a stepped-up bombing campaign that has further dashed hopes for a breakthrough in efforts to end the more than 3-year-old war.Ukraine’s military General Staff said Saturday that Ukrainian forces had struck the Borisoglebsk airbase in Russia’s Voronezh region, describing it as the “home base” of Russia’s Su-34, Su-35S and Su-30SM fighter jets. Writing on Facebook, the General Staff said it hit a depot containing glide bombs, a training aircraft and “possibly other…
Three Israeli attacks hit Bint Jbeil, Shebaa and Chaqra.Israel has carried out four drone attacks on towns in southern Lebanon, resulting in a death and several injured, in the latest wave of near-daily Israeli violations of the November ceasefire between Israel and the Lebanese group Hezbollah. An “Israeli enemy drone attack on a vehicle” in the Saf al-Hawa area in the city of Bint Jbeil “killed one person and wounded two others”, Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health said in a statement on Saturday carried by the official National News Agency (NNA), noting the toll was expected to rise. A second…