Author: Gulf News Week
A leading people smuggler, whose network is believed to be responsible for the majority of illegal cross-Channel journeys in recent years, has been unmasked by a BBC investigation.The 28-year-old Iraqi Kurd has evaded arrest for several years by operating under the alias “Kardo Ranya”. He has kept his real name a closely guarded secret, which has frustrated law enforcement agencies in their efforts to issue an international warrant for his arrest.The lack of information about Kardo Ranya’s real name has also made it harder for individual police forces in Europe to track his whereabouts or follow leads beyond their own…
Israel has passed a new law to impose the death penalty and conduct public trials for those involved in the unprecedented Hamas-led attacks and mass hostage-taking in Israel in October 2023.The legislation was passed by 93 votes to 0 in Israel’s parliament – the Knesset – and was unusually jointly sponsored by government and opposition politicians. The remaining 27 lawmakers were absent or abstained.”May everyone see how the victims and their families look into the whites of the eyes of those murderers, rapists and kidnappers,” Yulia Malinovsky, a co-sponsor of the bill, told a news conference ahead of the parliamentary…
The US has been holding regular negotiations with Denmark to expand its military presence in Greenland, according to multiple officials familiar with the discussions, with talks between both sides progressing in recent months.US officials are seeking to open three new bases in the south of the territory, a semi-autonomous part of Denmark, as they work to resolve a diplomatic crisis sparked by President Donald Trump when he threatened to seize Greenland by force.Trump said in January that the US should “own” Greenland to prevent Russia or China from taking it. He said this could happen the “easy way ” or…
Security around Beijing’s historic Tiananmen Square has been heightened for days, with rumours on social media swirling of a special parade or some big, choreographed event.Preparations for this major event have started with a whisper, but China appears ready to put on a show for US President Donald Trump.The visit will include talks, a banquet, and a visit to the Temple of Heaven, a complex of imperial temples where emperors would pray for a good harvest.And both Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping will be hoping the visit will bear fruit. This summit between the world’s two most powerful leaders…
This morning, Sir Keir Starmer’s cabinet is split on the most fundamental political question a government’s top table of ministers can ever wrestle with: whether the prime minister should carry on.Clearly, a cabinet split on this is unsustainable. Either cabinet ministers have to resign or be sacked, or the prime minister himself has to go.Last night, ministers went in to see Sir Keir and he was met with a range of advice. Some said he should fight on. Some said he should set out a timetable for his departure. And others, as he weighed his options, tried to help him…
A former World Bank president has told the BBC that China should stop hoarding food and fertiliser to ease a global supply crisis caused by the Iran war.David Malpass, who also served as Treasury Under Secretary for International Affairs under US President Donald Trump from 2017 to 2019, was speaking to the World Service’s World Business Report on the eve of the Trump-Xi summit in Beijing.”They have the biggest world stockpile of food stuffs and of fertiliser,” he said. “They can stop building their stockpiles.”His comments come as nations around the world scramble to secure fertiliser supplies ahead of spring…
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa says he will legally challenge a report that has paved the way for parliament to consider impeachment proceedings against him over the theft of large sums of cash from his private farm. A Constitution Court ruling last week found that parliament acted unconstitutionally when it voted against establishing an impeachment inquiry against Ramaphosa regarding the Phala Phala report in 2022. “I remain here and am not resigning,” Ramaphosa said on Monday, ending days of speculation over whether he would step down.The controversy stems from the so-called Phala Phala scandal, in which thousands of dollars were…
Watch: Alaska town sees its last sunset until AugustResidents of Utqiagvik, the United States’ northernmost city, will experience 84 days of midnight sun and uninterrupted daylight.1 hr agoUS & Canada
The twenty-seven foreign ministers of the European Union approved new sanctions on Monday on Israeli settlers over rising violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.There has been a surge in attacks by settlers since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023, the UN has recorded.Settlements – illegal under international law – are built on Israeli-occupied land in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, areas Palestinians claim for a future state. The EU foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said it was “high time we move from deadlock to delivery… extremisms and violence carry consequences.”The French foreign minister Jean-Noel…
An American and a French national who have returned to their home countries having left a cruise ship hit by a deadly outbreak of hantavirus have tested positive, authorities say.In total seven cases of hantavirus linked to the MV Hondius have been confirmed, with two other cases suspected, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday.The US health department said a second American national on the repatriation flight had also shown mild symptoms, adding that both passengers had travelled back in “biocontainment units out of an abundance of caution”.French Health Minister Stéphanie Rist said a woman was isolating in Paris…