Author: Gulf News Week

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (news agencies) — In the time before widespread vaccination, devastating infectious diseases ran rampant in America, killing millions of children and leaving others with lifelong health problems.Over the next century, vaccines virtually wiped out long-feared scourges like polio and measles and drastically reduced the toll of many others. Today, however, some preventable, contagious diseases are making a comeback as vaccine hesitancy pushes immunization rates down. And well-established vaccines are facing suspicion even from public officials, with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime anti-vaccine activist, running the federal health department.“This concern, this hesitancy, these questions about vaccines are…

NEW YORK (news agencies) — What makes a great song of the summer? Is it an up-tempo pop banger? Something with an earworm chorus? Does it need to feature the words “summer,” “sunshine,” or another synonym — “California” — in the title? How could anyone attempt a song of the summer after the late, great Beach Boy Brian Wilson composed them so expertly, anyway?It very well may be subject to the eye (well, ear) of the beholder, but media views the song of the summer as the one that takes over those warm months between June and August, the kind…

TEL AVIV, Israel (news agencies) — Dozens of Israeli settlers rampaged around a military base in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, setting fires, vandalizing military vehicles, spraying graffiti and attacking soldiers, the military said.Sunday night’s unrest came after several attacks in the West Bank carried out by Jewish settlers and anger at their arrests by security forces attempting to contain the violence over the past few days. More than 100 settlers on Wednesday evening entered the West Bank town of Kfar Malik, setting property ablaze and opening fire on Palestinians who tried to stop them, Najeb Rostom, head of the local…

WASHINGTON (news agencies) — Court records show that the Trump administration has agreed to spare from deportation a key witness in the federal prosecution of Kilmar Abrego Garcia in exchange for his cooperation in the case. Jose Ramon Hernandez Reyes, 38, has been convicted of smuggling migrants and illegally reentering the United States after having been deported. He also pleaded guilty to “deadly conduct” in connection with a separate incident where he drunkenly fired a gun in a Texas community. Records reviewed by The Washington Post show that Hernandez Reyes has been released early from federal prison to a halfway…

HONG KONG (news agencies) — It’s been years since mass arrests all but silenced pro-democracy activism in Hong Kong. But a crackdown on dissent in the semiautonomous Chinese city is still expanding, hitting restaurants, bookstores and other small businesses.Shops and eateries owned by people once associated with the largely subdued pro-democracy movement are feeling a tightening grip through increased official inspections, anonymous complaint letters and other regulatory checks.Those critical of the city’s political changes say it’s a less visible side of a push to silence dissent that began five years ago when Beijing imposed a national security law to crush…

DETROIT (news agencies) — NBA free agent Malik Beasley is under investigation by the U.S. District Attorney’s office regarding gambling allegations tied to league games, a person familiar with the situation told media on Sunday.The person spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment on the matter.“We are cooperating with the federal prosecutors’ investigation,” NBA spokesman Mike Bass said in a statement released to the news agencies and other outlets on Sunday.ESPN was the first to report on the investigation.“There have been no charges against Malik,” Steve Haney, Beasley’s attorney, told the news agencies. “It’s just…

Kesha enjoying her freedom on her first new album since she left her old label and Ryan Coogler’s guts-spilling vampire film “Sinners,” are some of the new television, films, music and games headed to a device near you.Also among the streaming offerings worth your time, as selected by media’ entertainment journalists: Charlize Theron in “The Old Guard 2” on Netflix, National Geographic’s 25-hour “SharkFest” and John Cena playing a U.S. president opposite Idris Elba as the UK’s prime minister in the comedy “Heads of State.”– Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners,” arguably the movie of the year up to this point, begins streaming…

BOGOTA, Colombia (news agencies) — Indigenous and rural communities along the Nanay River in Peru’s northern Amazon filed a complaint on Friday accusing the government of failing to stop illegal gold mining that is contaminating their water and food with toxic mercury.The complaint was submitted in the country’s capital, Lima, to the Secretariat General of the Andean Community, a regional trade bloc that includes Peru, Ecuador, Colombia and Bolivia. The communities argue that Peru has violated a binding regional policy adopted in 2012 to combat illegal mining. A delegation of 10 leaders and residents from the Peruvian Amazon traveled to…

After days of blistering heat, the nation’s sweaty East Coast got to open windows, step outside and get temporary relief on Friday as temperatures plummeted as much as 40 degrees and humidity dropped alongside.At least 68 record highs were set and more than 20 places logged triple-digit heat from Sunday through Wednesday before a cold front from the north broke a heat dome’s grip on the region Friday. Boston, which hit a record 102 Fahrenheit (about 39 Celsius) on Tuesday, was at 61 (about 16 Celsius) on Friday.That blast of cool comfort brought temperatures as much as 10 to 15…

WASHINGTON (news agencies) — President Donald Trump says he is not planning to extend a 90-day pause on tariffs on most nations beyond July 9, when the negotiating period he set would expire, and his administration will notify countries that the trade penalties will take effect unless there are deals with the United States.Letters will start going out “pretty soon” before the approaching deadline, he said.“We’ll look at how a country treats us — are they good, are they not so good — some countries we don’t care, we’ll just send a high number out,” Trump told Fox News Channel’s…