Author: Gulf News Week

The families were taken in for questioning on the day of the incident in which a two-year-old boy fell to his death from a staircase area in a residential towerThe families of two Indian girls who were in custody in the case of the death of a Pakistani toddler have been released on bail, according to a lawyer who was handling the case. “The families of both girls were released on bail,” said Advocate Preeta Sriram Madav. “Now the investigations and court proceedings will continue as per the local law.”The families, who hail from the southern Indian states of Kerala…

Ankit SrinivasRam Chandra, a railway worker, says this summer’s heat is the worst he has experienced in years on the jobBy 6am, the sun over Banda had already forgotten it was morning.The light had the hard glare of a summer afternoon. Shadows were shrinking before breakfast.In May, this dusty district in India’s Uttar Pradesh state spent days at the top of an unenviable national ranking: the hottest place in the country. Temperatures hovered at 47-48C (116-118F) for more than a week, an extraordinary run even by local standards.Yet what was striking was the way in which people adapted. Banda’s more…

Getty ImagesWeight-based training has grown in popularity in recent yearsDoing 90 minutes to two hours of weight training per week can greatly reduce the risk of an early death, according to new research. Data gathered from decades-long studies suggested that carrying out regular resistance or weight training over an extended period can significantly lower the chance of death from heart disease and stroke.The benefits also included reducing the risk of death from neurological disease.Experts said it was further evidence that strength-based training can help prevent or delay poor health and could ease pressure on overstretched health services.”I want to be…

Tawtheeq system will block any attempt to register a contract at a higher rate than the previous year even if a tenant has agreed to a rate increase prior to this ruleReal estate experts have welcomed the move by Abu Dhabi to temporarily freeze rents, with one industry veteran describing the move as “extremely rare” on a global scale.The decision, which takes effect immediately, overrides the existing framework that allowed landlords to raise rents by up to 5 per cent annually, provided tenants were given a two-month notice period. Under the new rules, all tenancy contract renewals will be processed…

Investment advisors warn retail investors in the UAE that sky-high valuations and crowded trades could leave retail investors exposed once the AI euphoria fadesAs three of the world’s most closely watched technology companies – Anthropic, SpaceX, and OpenAI – edge closer to public listings, investment professionals in the UAE are counselling caution.On Monday, artificial intelligence (AI) giant Anthropic said it confidentially filed for a US initial public offering (IPO). It did not disclose the size or the terms of the offering, but it last raised $65 billion at a post-money valuation of $965 billion in late May, putting it ahead…

ReutersPutin insists Russia’s war aims in Ukraine are being reached, even though initial plans were for a short military operationIf Vladimir Putin’s Russia had an official slogan, what would it be?”Russia is what it is, and we’re not ashamed of showing it,” Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov once told me in an interview.That fits.But I recently heard an updated version from veteran pop and folk singer Nadezhda Babkina.”Anyone who doesn’t like that,” she added, “can go and poison themselves.”In many ways, the line “they can go and poison themselves” encapsulates Russia in 2026 – unapologetic, unrepentant and uncompromising.Like Vladimir Putin himself.Since…

X/US Central CommandThe US military released video footage of the vessel purportedly being hitThe US says it has struck and “disabled an unladen oil tanker” that was sailing towards Iran, as part of Washington’s naval blockade on the Strait of Hormuz.US Central Command (Centcom) said a US aircraft fired a Hellfire missile into the engine room of the Botswana-flagged M/T vessel, after its crew “ignored repeated warnings”.Centcom also released a footage purportedly showing the moment the tanker was hit on Tuesday. Iran has not publicly commented on the issue.The US military began enforcing its blockade of all vessels entering and…

BBCUkrainians knew a huge strike was coming. Since Russia threatened to step up attacks on the capital, Kyiv, about a week ago, many spent nights in underground shelters.We were two floors underground, and yet we could feel and hear the massive explosions above. Then came the Russian drones, possibly carrying more explosives or scouting out the damage done by the missiles. Then more missiles.More than 41,000 people – including almost 4,500 children – sheltered underground in the Kyiv metro overnight, a record number in recent years, the metro company said.Even though Moscow had said its attacks would get much worse,…

Getty ImagesUS President Donald Trump has named a housing official to serve as acting Director of National Intelligence (DNI), the country’s top spy chief who oversees 18 government intelligence agencies.Bill Pulte, part of a powerful home-building dynasty and a private equity financier, has no known background in intelligence, and his selection to temporarily fill the position is stirring controversy among lawmakers and others. Pulte has been accused of using his role of director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency to target Trump’s perceived enemies by making criminal referrals over claims of mortgage fraud.Outgoing Director Tulsi Gabbard’s last day is 30…

MicrosoftThe Majorana 2 chipMicrosoft says its new quantum chip is vastly more reliable than its previous version, paving the way for a quantum computer solving commercially useful problems within three years.At the heart of quantum computing are qubits, which offer the promise of answering questions that defeat today’s machines, but are notoriously delicate and unstable.Microsoft says the qubits on Majorana 2, its new chip, survive for an average of 20 seconds, rather than the milliseconds of Majorana 1.That means the new chip is 1,000 times more reliable – an improvement in performance the tech giant compares to the difference between…