Author: Gulf News Week

The US and Israel have long been close allies, but is Washington now emphasising its dominance?A succession of high-ranking US officials have found themselves in Israel in recent days – first special envoy Steve Witkoff and presidential adviser Jared Kushner on Monday, then Vice President JD Vance on Tuesday, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday.Their focus has been clear – to stop the US-backed Gaza ceasefire deal from collapsing. And that essentially means ensuring that the Israeli government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu does not back out of the agreement, which ended two years of war earlier this…

US Vice President Vance decries ‘political stunt’, says Trump would not back annexation of occupied West Bank.US Vice President JD Vance said President Donald Trump would oppose Israeli annexation of the occupied West Bank, and it would not happen, suggesting a move by Israeli lawmakers towards that end looked like a “stupid political stunt”.A bill applying Israeli law to the West Bank, a move tantamount to annexation of a territory that Palestinian leaders seek for part of a future independent state, won preliminary approval from Israeli lawmakers on Wednesday.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3China faces ‘profound’ changes,…

Forty-one aid organizations accuse Israel of ‘arbitrarily’ rejecting aid shipments into famine-struck Gaza.The hunger crisis in Gaza remains “catastrophic” two weeks after the ceasefire took effect, the UN’s health agency has warned, as international aid groups demanded Israel stop blocking humanitarian deliveries.Supplies entering the besieged enclave are not meeting the nutritional needs of the people living there, aid groups announced Thursday, while the UN’s World Food Programme said that supplies into Gaza were still far short of its daily target of 2,000 tonnes because only two crossings into the Palestinian territory are open.“The situation still remains catastrophic because what’s entering…

FIFA confirms change of name to Afghan Women United, dropping ‘refugee’ from the team name ahead of the tournament.A FIFA-organised tournament involving the Afghanistan women’s refugee team has been moved from the United Arab Emirates to Morocco, the world football governing body said, with the four-team friendly competition set to begin on Sunday.The “FIFA Unites: Women’s Series” tournament, originally scheduled to run from October 23-29 in Dubai, also features the national women’s teams of the UAE, Chad and Libya.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4South Africa thump Pakistan by eight wickets to draw Test serieslist 2 of 4Why…

Khartoum International Airport briefly reopened on Wednesday before being hit again by drone strikes.The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have targeted Sudan’s capital Khartoum and its main airport with drones, a day after the first passenger flight in two years landed in the city amid the civil war.The government-aligned Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) intercepted the drones on Thursday, which caused no damage, a military official who spoke on condition of anonymity told The Associated Press news agency. The RSF and SAF did not immediately acknowledge the attack.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3RSF drone strike kills dozens in…

Real peace demands Palestinian statehood, Ukrainian neutrality and the courage to defy the war lobby.United States President Donald Trump styles himself as a peacemaker. In his rhetoric, he claims credit for his efforts to end the wars in Gaza and Ukraine. Yet beneath the grandstanding lies an absence of substance, at least to date.The problem is not Trump’s lack of effort, but his lack of proper concepts. Trump confuses “peace” with “ceasefires,” which sooner or later revert to war (typically sooner). In fact, American presidents from Lyndon Johnson onward have been subservient to the military-industrial complex, which profits from endless…

Indonesia says it barred Israeli gymnasts from the global event to maintain ‘public order and security’.The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has urged global sports federations not to host any sporting events in Indonesia after it banned Israeli gymnasts from the ongoing Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Jakarta, a decision the host nation said it took to “maintain public order”.The IOC’s executive board issued a statement on Wednesday saying it has recommended that world sports bodies cease holding events in Indonesia.Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim-majority country, denied visas to Israeli gymnasts earlier this month amid Israel’s genocide in Gaza, meaning they…

Satellite imagery shows Israel holds about 40 active military positions beyond the yellow line.Satellite imagery analysis by media’s fact-checking agency Sanad shows that the Israeli army holds about 40 active military positions in the part of the Gaza Strip outside the yellow line, the invisible boundary established under the first phase of the ceasefire to which its troops had to move, according to the deal.The images also show that Israel is upgrading several of these facilities, which help it maintain its occupation of 58 percent of Gaza even after the pullback by troops to the yellow line.While the majority of…

Saudi Arabia’s status as home to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina means grand mufti’s pronouncements are closely watched.Saudi Arabia has named Sheikh Saleh bin Fawzan al-Fawzan as the country’s new grand mufti, the kingdom’s top religious scholar.The state-run Saudi Press Agency reported that King Salman appointed the 90-year-old to the position late on Wednesday, based on a recommendation from his son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.Recommended Stories list of 2 itemslist 1 of 2Saudi fund, Kushner’s firm to buy games maker Electronic Arts in $55bn deallist 2 of 2Saudi Arabia down Indonesia; Qatar, Oman draw in AFC World Cup…

Group of 27 Congress members call for release of Mohammed Ibrahim, 16, held in Israeli detention for eight months.A group of United States lawmakers have urged the Trump administration to secure the release of a 16-year-old Palestinian American who has been held in Israeli detention centres for eight months.In a letter sent to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, 27 members of the US Congress called for the release of Mohammed Ibrahim amid reports that he faces abusive conditions in detention.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Cold cells, meagre meals: Palestinian American…