Author: Gulf News Week

WASHINGTON (news agencies) — President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday ending many U.S. economic sanctions on Syria, following through on a promise he made to the country’s new interim leader.White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the move was designed to “promote and support the country’s path to stability and peace.” The executive order is meant to “end the country’s isolation from the international financial system, setting the stage for global commerce and galvanizing investments from its neighbors in the region, as well as from the United States,” Treasury’s acting undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, Brad…

NEW YORK (news agencies) — In choosing Zohran Mamdani as their candidate for mayor, Democrats in America’s most Jewish city have nominated an outspoken critic of Israel, alarming some in New York’s Jewish community and signaling a sea change in the priorities of one of the party’s most loyal voting groups.The 33-year-old democratic socialist’s surprisingly strong performance against former Gov. Andrew Cuomo makes clear that taking a stance against Israel is no longer disqualifying in a Democratic primary. The state Assembly member has declined to support the right of Israel to exist as a Jewish state, refused to denounce the…

WASHINGTON (news agencies) — On Monday afternoon, the president of the United States was just another person complaining online about his service provider.Donald Trump wrote in a pair of posts on Truth Social that he was trying to hold a conference call with faith leaders from all over the country but was unable to start the call because of technical difficulties.“AT&T is totally unable to make their equipment work properly,” the Republican president said in a post. “This is the second time it’s happened. If the Boss of AT&T, whoever that may be, could get involved — It would be…

Here is how things stand on Tuesday, July 1: Fighting The Russian-installed governor of the occupied Luhansk region in eastern Ukraine, Leonid Pasechnik, said that Russian troops are now in full control of the entire region. If confirmed, that would make Luhansk the first Ukrainian region fully occupied by Russia after more than three years of war. Luhansk is one of four regions that Russia now claims as its own. Russia’s state media and war bloggers also said that Russian forces have taken control of the first village in the central Ukrainian region of Dnipropetrovsk. This came as Moscow-appointed officials said…

Cnews agenciesE CANAVERAL, Fla. (news agencies) — India, Poland and Hungary launched their first astronauts in more than 40 years Wednesday, sending them on a private flight to the International Space Station.The three countries shared the tab for the two-week mission. Axiom Space, the Houston company that arranged the deal, put the ticket price at more than $65 million per customer.SpaceX’s Falcon rocket blasted off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center two weeks late because of space station leak concerns. The capsule on top carried not only the three newcomers to space — none of whom were alive when their countries’…

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday that states can bar Medicaid payments to Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider.The federal government and many states already block using Medicaid funds to cover abortion. But the state-federal health insurance program for lower-income people does pay for other services from Planned Parenthood, including birth control, cancer screenings and testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections.The ruling comes at a moment when Congress is considering blocking Planned Parenthood from receiving any federal Medicaid funding, a move that the group says would force hundreds of clinic closings — most of them in states where…

US Treasury says it removed 518 Syrian individuals and entities from its list of sanctions after president’s decree.Washington, DC – United States President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to dismantle a web of sanctions against Syria, a move that will likely unlock investments in the country more than six months after the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad. Trump’s decree on Monday offers sanctions relief to “entities critical to Syria’s development, the operation of its government, and the rebuilding of the country’s social fabric”, the US Department of the Treasury said in a statement. The Syrian government has been…

If you’ve lately been feeling that the “Jurassic Park” franchise has jumped an even more ancient creature — the shark — hold off any thoughts of extinction. Judging from the latest entry, there’s still life in this old dino series. “Jurassic World Rebirth” captures the awe and majesty of the overgrown lizards that’s been lacking for so many of the movies, which became just an endless cat-and-mouse in the dark between scared humans against T-Rexes or raptors. “Jurassic World Rebirth” lets in the daylight.Credit goes to screenwriter David Koepp, who penned the original “Jurassic Park,” and director Gareth Edwards, who…

Sonia Dhamani, a fierce critic of President Kais Saied, has criticised him for practices against refugees and migrants.A Tunisian court has sentenced Sonia Dhamani, a prominent lawyer and renowned critic of President Kais Saied, to two years in jail, lawyers have said, in a case that rights groups say marks a deepening crackdown on dissent in the North African country. Dhamani’s lawyers withdrew from the trial after the judge refused to adjourn the session on Monday, claiming Dhamani was being tried twice for the same act. The court sentenced Dhamani for statements criticising practices against refugees and migrants from sub-Saharan…

ATHENS, Greece (news agencies) — It’s dubbed the “Rally of Gods” — a punishing, four-day event on the World Rally Championship circuit that will take 69 crews from 31 countries across rough, treacherous terrain in Greece.Known for its brutal combination of dust and heat on its twisty, mountainous stages, the Acropolis Rally started on Thursday afternoon with a special stage in the very center of Athens. Unlike much of the rest of the rally, the start will see the cars sliding on city streets outside Greece’s parliament building near the foot of the Acropolis.Roads in the Greek capital’s center shut…