Author: Gulf News Week
Dozens of dogs kept in sham animal shelters and used for online scamming have been rescued by police and animal rights organisations in Uganda following a BBC investigation.A suspect has been arrested after two adjacent shelters were raided by the police. Two other suspects are said to be at large, according to animal rights activists.Owen Godfrey Membe has pleaded not guilty to a charge of animal cruelty and has been remanded in custody until 27 May.Membe is accused of “killing an animal in an unnecessarily cruel manner” under Uganda’s Animals (Prevention of Cruelty) Act.The organisation, which includes qualified veterinarians, said…
The director of the Eurovision Song Contest says organisers are watching voting patterns “very, very carefully” after concerns were raised about Israel’s ability to influence the results at last year’s contest.Some broadcasters claimed that social media posts on Israeli government accounts, which encouraged people to vote multiple times, may have influenced the result. Contest director Martin Green told the BBC he agreed that “some of the promotion by some of the broadcasters was a little disproportionate”.The situation prompted an overhaul of voting procedures for this year’s event, and Green added that anyone who flouted the rules would come “under further…
Trump vs Xi: Who has the upper hand?The BBC’s Sarah Smith explains why President Trump may not have the upper hand during his meeting with China’s Xi Jinping.21 mins agoWorld
LIVEPM has ‘full confidence’ in Streeting, No 10 says, as health secretary’s allies expect him to launch challengeWes Streeting met the PM for less than 20 minutes in Downing Street this morning ahead of the King’s Speech to Parliament.
In a landmark German case targeting chocolate “shrinkflation”, a court has found that the manufacturer of Milka’s classic Alpine Milk bar cheated consumers and broke competition law.Cutting back on the amount of chocolate while having the same kind of wrapper meant that customers were being misled, Bremen regional court ruled.The three-week court case was brought by Hamburg’s consumer protection office (VZHH), which accused manufacturer Mondelēz of deceiving consumers by cutting the weight of the “Alpenmilch” bar from 100g to 90g.Reacting to the ruling Mondelēz told the BBC it was “taking the decision of the court seriously” and would “look at…
Support from Washington is conditional on clear progress in curbing pro-Iran militia activity.The decision by United States President Donald Trump to back Ali al-Zaidi as Iraq’s next prime minister may have surprised some quarters. But when one looks into whom Trump was trying to keep out, his motivation becomes clear.Iraq’s dominant parliamentary bloc, the Coordination Framework, a coalition of Shia parties aligned with Iran, had initially thrown its weight behind former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. For Washington, the nomination of an openly pro-Iran premier was a red line, especially amid continuing attacks by pro-Iran Iraqi militias on US assets in…
Waymo is recalling thousands of its self-driving cars in the US over a software issue that could allow vehicles to drive into flooded roads.According to a letter posted on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) website on Tuesday, the voluntary recall affects nearly 3,800 robotaxis that use the company’s fifth and sixth-generation automated driving systems.It follows an incident on 20 April in San Antonio, Texas, where an empty Waymo vehicle entered a flooded road and was swept into a creek.The company, which hopes to be operating a robotaxi service in London by September, said it was working on “additional…
Issues with a new wave of “smart glasses” seem to be piling up.Yet some of the biggest technology companies in the world are poised to sell many millions of pairs in the coming years.Women leaving the beach, going into a shop, or simply standing outside are now being approached by men usually wearing Meta’s Ray-Bans, the company’s “smart” or “AI” glasses, often in order to film the women’s responses to casual questions or pick-up lines without their knowledge or consent.The women only find out about the videos of them after they gain traction, and often abuse, online. They have little…
Israel have sailed through to the final of the Eurovision Song Contest, with the lovestruck pop song Michelle, performed by 28-year-old Noam Bettan.The contest’s festive atmosphere has been upended in recent years by a controversy over Israel’s military action in Gaza. Five countries have boycotted the 2026 event, including seven-time winners Ireland.Bettan faced a mixed reception at Tuesday’s semi-final. A few audience members booed and shouted anti-Israeli slogans, while others chanted his name in support. Before the show, the singer told the Jerusalem Post he was determined to concentrate on the music and relegate any criticisms to “background noise”.In a…
It is quite something when two blokes having a cup of coffee can generate more headlines and conversation than the King coming to parliament for the main ceremonial event of the parliamentary calendar.Both these things are happening this morning. The prime minister has met the Health Secretary Wes Streeting in private – a meeting offered by Sir Keir Starmer to cabinet ministers after Tuesday’s cabinet meeting and an offer Streeting took up.It was a very short meeting – under 20 minutes – and we may not know what happened in Number 10 immediately.And then, not long afterwards, the King will…