Author: Gulf News Week
The White House has begun construction on a UFC fighting cage on its South Lawn ahead of next month’s event to celebrate 250 years of American independence.Workers were seen assembling domed arches and a staging area, which based on online renderings, will form an octagon-shaped ring surrounded by a wire-mesh fence and thousands of temporary seats.US President Donald Trump previously said the project will be the “biggest event” the UFC has ever had, featuring an “arena right outside the front door of the White House”.Dubbed UFC Freedom 250, the event is due to take place on 14 June, with the…
Akira was always a fast learner, her father Al Amin says with pride. At 6 months she was already saying her first words. At just over 4 years old, she had started to say some words in English.He stops, his voice catching.”She was never short of love from both families. She was the crown of all.”They took her four times to get it; twice she was turned away because she had a cold. “Don’t stress,” he says the health care worker told them, “the vaccine can be administered up until she reaches 5.” The third and fourth time, he says,…
The UK is at a “moment of consequence” as Russia is “relentlessly targeting” critical infrastructure, the UK’s largest spy agency will warn.GCHQ Director Anne Keast-Butler will set out threats facing the UK and the measures she believes need to be taken to confront them when she makes her inaugural public speech on Wednesday.In excerpts from her address, Keast-Butler singles out Russia for “targeting critical infrastructure, democratic processes, supply chains and public trust”.Russia has been blamed for a string of espionage plots on British soil and, more recently, waging an undeclared ‘hybrid war’ against the UK and other Nato countries. The…
Iran says the US has committed a “gross violation” of the ceasefire with new air strikes it launched on the country.The US Central Command (Centcom) said Iranian missile sites and boats attempting to place mines had been targeted with what it called “self-defence strikes” in southern Iran on Monday.Iran’s foreign ministry said it held the US responsible for the consequences of its “aggressive and unjustified actions” in the Hormozgan region, which has a coast along the Strait of Hormuz – the crucial waterway Iran has blocked causing a spike in world energy prices. It is unclear what impact the strikes…
From cancelled holidays and soaring airfares to delayed hiring and financial stress, faith, family and community are helping residents keep the Eid spirit alive[Editor’s Note: Follow the media live blog for the latest regional developments with the US-Israel-Iran ceasefire now in effect.] This Eid Al Adha, many UAE residents say the festive season feels different.What is usually a time of travel, family reunions and celebrations has, for some, been overshadowed by rising costs, delayed plans and growing uncertainty linked to the ongoing Iran war. From soaring ticket prices and postponed travel plans to delayed contracts and fewer job opportunities, families…
Multiple people have been killed and injured and some are still missing after a major chemical explosion at a paper mill in Washington, authorities said.The explosion occurred at 07:15 PDT (15:15 GMT) at the Nippon Dynawave Packaging facility in Longview, 130 miles (210km) south of Seattle.Investigators said in a news conference on Tuesday that 10 people have been injured and transported to hospital. Officials have not yet said how many people have died or are unaccounted for.The explosion occurred due a “rupture of a tank containing white liquor”, the company said in a statement. White liquor is a highly corrosive…
In India’s capital Delhi, power has long circulated through ministries, embassies and the parliament – but also through the shaded verandas of the Gymkhana Club.For generations, the cream-coloured clubhouse located on Safdarjung Road has functioned as a discreet world of retired generals, senior bureaucrats and old business families conducting negotiations over whisky sodas and kebabs. Even those who have never entered its gates – which is most Delhi residents – have heard stories about its grandeur.Now, that world faces an uncertain future.Last week, the federal government, which owns the 27.3 acres on which the 113-year-old club stands, ordered it to…
The remains of sailors who died on an ill-fated Arctic expedition have been identified by researchers using DNA testing.The Victorian-era HMS Erebus, built in Pembroke Dock in 1826, became part of nautical folklore after it vanished in the mid-19th Century. All of the sailors on board died after the ship became stuck in ice, with some resorting to cannibalism during desperate attempts at survival.Now, three sailors aboard the ship have been identified and living descendants contacted by researchers at the University of Waterloo, in Canada.What was HMS Erebus?HMS Erebus, captained by Sir John Franklin, set sail in 1845.Accompanied by HMS…
Nasa has released details of robotic landers, hopping drones and vehicles it aims to send to the Moon as part of US plans to build a lunar base.Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’s space company Blue Origin is one of several companies picked to build the machines.The US wants to land Americans back on the Moon before President Donald Trump leaves office in 2028.But Nasa is competing with China to returns humans to the lunar surface, meaning the space agency is under pressure to appear to be winning the new space race.On Monday it launched its Shenzhou-23 spacecraft, sending a crew of…
The UK record for the hottest May day has been broken for a second day in a row, as parts of London surpassed 35C on Tuesday.Kew Gardens in south-west London recorded a provisional temperature of 35.1C, beating Monday’s 34.8C record-high in the same place.Wales also broke May records for the second consecutive day, as provisional temperatures reached 32.3C at Cardiff’s Bute Park, surpassing Monday’s 32.2C at Hawarden Airport in Flintshire.The soaring temperatures led to delays to train services due to speed restrictions put in place because of the heat.”Until yesterday, the highest temperature in May was 32.8C, but we’ve now…