Author: Gulf News Week

A transit corridor pact signed by Azerbaijan and Armenia could be game-changing, according to several experts.Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev, his late father and predecessor Heydar Aliyev and some of their closest political allies hail from Nakhchivan.The name of this tiny, mountainous and underdeveloped Azeri area sandwiched between Armenia, Iran and Turkiye sounds unfamiliar to those outside the strategic South Caucasus region.But Nakhchivan’s name and geopolitical significance resurfaced after United States President Donald Trump hosted a White House summit between Azeri and Armenian leaders on Friday.Azerbaijan’s Aliyev and the Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signed a preliminary peace deal to end…

Human rights groups have warned that expelling the population from Gaza would violate international law.Israel is in discussions with South Sudan about forcibly relocating Palestinians from Gaza to the East African country, according to six people familiar with the matter who spoke to The Associated Press.The proposal is part of an Israeli effort to displace Palestinians from Gaza – a move human rights groups warn would amount to forcible expulsion, ethnic cleansing, and would violate international law.Critics of the transfer plan fear Palestinians would never be allowed to return to Gaza and that mass departure could pave the way for…

United Nations chief Antonio Guterres puts both countries ‘on notice’ over documented pattern of sexual violence.United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has put Israel and Russia “on notice” that their armed forces and security personnel could be listed among parties “credibly suspected” of committing sexual violence in conflict zones.The warning on Tuesday resulted from “significant concerns regarding patterns of certain forms of sexual violence that have been consistently documented by the United Nations”, Guterres wrote in a report seen by the Reuters news agency.In his annual report to the UN Security Council on conflict-related sexual violence, Guterres said that Israel and…

The Argentinian president will dedicate his $1m Genesis Prize to a new diplomatic initiative called the ‘Isaac Accords’.President Javier Milei of Argentina has proposed a new $1m initiative to strengthen relations between Latin America and Israel, ahead of an anticipated visit from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.On Monday, the Genesis Prize Foundation — a group that offers an annual award to members of the Jewish community — announced that Milei, its most recent winner, would use his prize money to launch a new nonprofit, the American Friends of the Isaac Accords (AFOIA).“AFOIA is a vehicle to promote Milei’s bold vision…

Yasser Abu Shabab escaped prison and has since emerged as an Israeli-backed militia leader in southern Gaza.In June, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted to arming and supporting the Popular Forces militia in Gaza to oppose Hamas.“What’s wrong with this?” he said in a short video he tweeted. “It only saves the lives of Israeli soldiers.”He did not clarify what the Popular Forces would do exactly, but experts believe Israel is backing the militia and its leader, Yasser Abu Shabab, to put a Palestinian face on the ethnic cleansing of Gaza.The 31-year-old Abu Shabab, a previously unknown member of Gaza’s…

A Sebastia resident’s ordeal highlights Israel’s escalating campaign of humiliation, violence, and land appropriation.On July 2, Khaled Azem was pulled from his car at a checkpoint in the northern occupied West Bank, he tells media.Israeli soldiers beat and humiliated him, forcing him to say: “I love Israel”, while filming him on his phone, then posting it to his social media.Azem, 25, and his brother-in-law had just left the Azem home in Sebastia, a village to the northwest of Nablus, to work on a construction site.That’s when he fell victim to one of the increasing attacks that villagers say are part…

It also focused on supporting ‘the Syrian government’s efforts to consolidate’ a ceasefire in the Druze-majority Syrian province of Suwayda, as Syria’s minority communities continue to express concerns for their safety.Foreign ministers from Syria and Jordan, as well as a United States envoy have met in Amman to discuss ways to support the rebuilding of Syria under its new government, as Damascus seeks investment deals with international companies to revive an economy battered by 14 years of civil war.Syria’s Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that its top diplomat Asaad al-Shaibani met with Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi and US envoy…

Tehran says it carried out widespread internal arrests as Israel, US launched huge strikes on the country in June.Iranian police arrested as many as 21,000 “suspects” during the country’s 12-day conflict with Israel and the United States in June, according to state media citing a law enforcement spokesperson.Following massive Israeli air strikes that began on June 13, which killed top military officials and scientists as well as hundreds of civilians, Iranian security forces began a campaign of widespread arrests accompanied by an intensified street presence based around checkpoints and “public reports”. The US also carried out extensive strikes on Iranian…

Victim suffers serious burns amid strong winds that whip flames through Tres Canto near Madrid.A man has died from burns and thousands of people have been forced to flee as wildfires sweep through parts of Spain, fuelled by strong winds during a searing heatwave across Europe.The victim suffered serious burns as winds of up to 70 kilometres per hour (43 miles per hour) whipped the flames through Tres Cantos, a wealthy suburb north of the capital, Madrid, officials said on Tuesday.The man later died in hospital, becoming the first death from dozens of wildfires to hit the country since the…

I met Mohammed and Anas during our coverage of Israel’s war on Gaza, and we were all in awe of them.Deir el-Balah, Gaza – The first time I met Mohammed Qreiqeh was at al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City on January 31 when we had just returned from southern Gaza to the north.I went to media’s media tent at the hospital, where he was. Photographer Abdel “Abed” Hakim and I introduced ourselves, and we all chatted – about the situation, the war and our displacement to the south.At the time, Anas al-Sharif was doing a live report.I felt a warm…