Author: Gulf News Week
BBCIn an abandoned luxury apartment in the Syrian capital Damascus, armed men dressed in military fatigues sifted through designer clothes and documents.Scattered across the living room floor, under a sparkling crystal chandelier, were dozens of photos of the same slender man in different settings – sitting at his desk, even playing in the snow. And multiple prints of the same image, showing him smiling warmly as he shook the hand of ousted dictator Bashar al-Assad.The man was not instantly recognisable, but gold medals and gilded certificates piled nearby were inscribed with the name Hussam Luka.Known as “The Spider”, Luka was…
What we know so far about the deadly Thailand shootingAt least seven people have died after a teenage boy shot his grandparents before opening fire on a school in Bangkok.6 hrs agoAsia
WASHINGTON (news agencies) — When Joe Shearer was a Marine fighting in Iraq, a blast from an enemy mortar round knocked him down and made him vomit. He got up and kept going despite a searing headache. When a roadside bomb struck his Humvee convoy months later, the explosion’s shock wave swept through his body before headaches and sleeplessness set in for days. “As long as you got back up and could go back on patrol, that’s kind of what you did,” he said.Shearer, 40, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, links both events in 2005 to traumatic brain injuries, which were…
EPAThai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has pledged to introduce stricter gun lawsThailand’s prime minister has vowed to introduce new gun control laws in the wake of a shooting by a teenager on the outskirts of Bangkok that left eight people dead and 22 injured.The 14-year-old killed his grandparents at the home they shared, before travelling to Debsirin School in Nonthaburi, where he was a student. There, he killed five teachers before taking his own life. Later, Thai media reported that a student had also died from their injuries.Speaking after the attack, Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said he plans to introduce…
Watch: Neighbour reacts after dozens of improperly stored bodies found at funeral homeThis story contains details some might find distressingInvestigators are working to identify remains and notify families after nearly 60 improperly stored bodies were found at a Chicago funeral home.The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office, which is leading the investigation, said the process could take days, as families wait to learn how their loved ones’ remains were left “in various states of decomposition”. The medical examiner’s office said it was alerted by state and federal authorities who made the discovery at South Chicago Chapel on Thursday.CBSSouth Chicago Chapel did…
Getty ImagesThe White House helipad and new ballroom extension under construction in Washington DC on 5 August 2026The Trump administration has been ordered to stop construction on President Donald Trump’s $400m (£297m) ballroom at the White House.A federal appeals court dealt the latest setback to the controversial project on Friday, testing Trump’s presidential authority. He has vowed to appeal to the Supreme Court.”Whether or not a massive ballroom should be constructed is for Congress to decide and is not a matter for Executive self-help,” the panel’s majority said. The order upholds a preliminary injunction won by the National Trust for…
Getty ImagesAt least seven people have been killed and 23 injured after a 14-year-old boy opened fire at his home and school on the outskirts of Thailand’s capital, Bangkok.The gunman – a student at the Debsirin School in Nonthaburi – killed his grandparents and five teachers before taking his own life, Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul told reporters. The attacker still had “more than 30 bullets left” when he turned the gun on himself, Anutin added.Nine of the injured people remain in a critical condition, authorities say.The shooting – the second at a school in Thailand this year – has…
Kiama CouncilA former apprentice stonemason who helped build the Houses of Parliament is thought to have borrowed the book in the late 1800sA book borrowed 150 years ago has finally been returned to an Australian library, with the culprit linked to the Houses of Parliament in London.Antiquities of Athens was borrowed from a local library in Kiama, a seaside town about 120km (75 miles) south of Sydney, some time in the mid-1870s.The book on classic Greek architecture was stored in a tea chest hidden behind a boarded-up fireplace for decades before it was recently discovered by a family member.Ross Simmons,…
ReutersTurkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Pakistan’s Shehbaz Sharif signed the pact in MeccaSaudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan have signed a joint defence agreement, saying an attack on one of them would be seen as an attack on all three.The pact was announced at a meeting between Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in the Saudi city of Mecca.After the US and Israel attacked Iran on 28 February, Tehran and its allies struck targets in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states and disrupted traffic…
Dr. Stacy Norton was only 7 years old when her mother died of colon cancer, one of several family members struck by aggressive tumors at unusually young ages. Decades later, Norton rolled up her sleeve to help test if a new kind of vaccine might protect her and her own children from cancer.The Houston doctor is among an estimated 1 million Americans who have Lynch syndrome, a faulty gene passed from a parent that puts them at extremely high risk of colorectal cancer and more vulnerable to certain other cancers, too. They’re often urged to get yearly colonoscopies — far…