Author: Gulf News Week

Emirati defence giant spotlights homegrown tech, from the Badr-250 aircraft to the new “AlDeraa” platform, marking a leap in national manufacturing prowess. ABU DHABI, 16th November, 2025 (WAM) – Calidus Holding Group has chosen the Dubai Airshow 2025 as the stage to unveil its latest breakthrough in defence technology: the “AlDeraa” short-range air defence system. The move signals a significant step in the UAE’s capability to produce integrated, world-class military hardware domestically. The Emirati group, a key player in the region’s defence sector, is showcasing a comprehensive range of its products at the event, which kicks off on November 17. The…

DR Congo reach inter-confederation playoffs for 2026 World Cup after beating favourites Nigeria on penalties after a 1-1 draw.The Democratic Republic of the Congo kept their hopes of a World Cup place alive as they edged Nigeria 4-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw at the end of extra time to win the African qualifying playoffs in Morocco.DR Congo now await the draw on Thursday for the inter-confederation playoffs in March, where six teams will chase two places at the 48-team finals.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4‘Silliness’: Ireland and Portugal coaches at odds over Ronaldo red cardlist…

Chief investigator declines to say how many arrested; some were identified by videos on social media.Syria has arrested members of the country’s security and military services as part of a probe into sectarian violence in the southern province of Suwayda earlier this year that left hundreds dead.Judge Hatem Naasan, head of a committee investigating the eruption of violence in Suwayda in July, said that members of security services and the military “who were proven to have committed violations” based on findings and videos posted online had been detained.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Rocket attack in Syria’s capital wounds one…

Hardliners furious after US amended resolution to secure support of countries participating in Gaza stabilisation force.Israel is engaged in a last-ditch bid to change the wording of a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution on the next phase of United States President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan that was recently amended to mention a “credible pathway” to Palestinian statehood.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his cabinet on Sunday that his opposition to a Palestinian state had “not changed one bit”, one day before the UNSC votes on the US-drafted resolution, which would mandate a transitional administration and an international stabilisation…

The paid forced deportation flights are the latest Israeli scheme in a long history of failed ethnic cleansing efforts.Earlier this week, a flight carrying 153 Palestinians from Gaza landed in South Africa without documentation. The passengers were stuck on the plane for 12 hours before the South African authorities, who claimed they had not been informed by Israelis about the deportation flight, allowed them to disembark on humanitarian grounds.The Palestinians on board had paid between $1,500 and $5,000 to a company called Al-Majd Europe to leave Gaza. The operation is run by a few Palestinians on the ground in coordination…

Details have emerged about the controversial scheme to take Palestinians out of Gaza, run by Al-Majd Europe.On Thursday morning, a chartered plane carrying 153 Palestinians from war-torn Gaza – many without the required travel documents – landed at an airport near Johannesburg, leaving South African officials “blindsided”.After nearly 12 hours of scrambling, the group was allowed to disembark into the care of a local charity organisation.More details have emerged about the scheme run by “Al-Majd Europe”, through which activists argue Israel is advancing its ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from Gaza.The Palestinian passengers were charged a hefty sum of money by…

Foreign minister says Iran has not been enriching uranium at any of its sites since Israel and the US bombed them.Tehran, Iran – Iranian authorities maintain that the United States and its allies are set on a forceful approach over the country’s nuclear programme, so negotiations appear far off.The administration of US President Donald Trump has left no room for talks by repeatedly presenting “maximalist demands”, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday at a news conference in Tehran.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4IRGC says tanker seized near Iran’s waters based on judicial orderlist 2 of…

I volunteered in Gaza as a doctor. The anger, guilt, and helplessness I continue to feel are unbearable.It has been more than a month since a “ceasefire” took hold in Gaza. That, of course, does not mean that the killing of Palestinians has stopped. It simply means that it has been reduced to a rate that allows international media to ignore it.And so, the world has largely moved on from the story. But I haven’t.In July 2024, I joined a medical mission to Gaza and spent 22 days there, volunteering at hospitals. What I came back with is something I cannot…

Latest Israeli attack on UNIFIL comes as it continues near-daily strikes on its northern neighbour in violation of yearlong ceasefire.The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) says Israeli soldiers have shot at its peacekeepers in their latest targeting of UNIFIL as Israel continues to attack Lebanon on a near-daily basis in violation of a yearlong ceasefire in its war against Hezbollah.Israeli forces on Sunday “fired on UNIFIL peacekeepers from a Merkava tank from near a position Israel has established in Lebanese territory”, the peacekeepers said in a statement, adding heavy-machinegun rounds hit about 5 metres (5.5 yards) from their…

The New Visions art movement energised a cultural boycott in the 1980s. Artists are still using it as inspiration today.In the quiet of his Ramallah studio in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian artist Nabil Anani works diligently on artworks deeply rooted in a movement he helped create during the political tumult of the late 1980s.Cofounded in 1987 by Anani and fellow artists Sliman Mansour, Vera Tamari and Tayseer Barakat, the New Visions art movement focused on using local natural materials while eschewing Israeli supplies as a form of cultural resistance. The movement prioritised self-sufficiency at a time of deep political…