Author: Gulf News Week

The Kingdom launches a global investor charm offensive, leveraging its unprecedented tourism growth and $100 billion in committed funding to position itself as the world’s next great travel destination. RIYADH – In a powerful demonstration of its tourism ambitions, Saudi Arabia has announced it welcomed 115.9 million visitors in 2024, shattering its original Vision 2030 target six years early and prompting the launch of a new, more ambitious goal: 150 million annual tourists by 2030. This record-breaking growth forms the backdrop of a major new campaign to attract global capital into the sector. The Kingdom unveiled its “Tourism Doing Business” investment…

The aging president’s authority has eroded amid war in Gaza and Israeli expansion in the West Bank, leaving Palestinians divided and without a clear political path forward. RAMALLAH – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas marks his 90th birthday on Saturday confronting his most severe leadership challenge since taking office nearly two decades ago, with his administration largely sidelined from determining Gaza’s future while struggling to maintain relevance in the West Bank. The nonagenarian leader, who hasn’t permitted presidential elections since 2005, now faces collapsing popular support and diminishing international influence as Israel pursues its war against Hamas in Gaza. The United States…

Former US President Trump’s mediation efforts hit obstacles as landmine allegations threaten to reignite deadly border conflict between the Southeast Asian neighbors. WASHINGTON – A truce between Thailand and Cambodia brokered by former US President Donald Trump appears increasingly fragile, with Thailand suspending the agreement and demanding Cambodia apologize for alleged new landmine deployments along their contested border. The diplomatic setback comes just months after Trump and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim helped negotiate a ceasefire following July’s intense fighting that killed dozens and displaced approximately 300,000 people. While Trump expressed optimism after recent calls with both nations’ leaders, telling reporters…

The UN Security Council says further extensions would hinge on real progress between Sudan and South Sudan.The United Nations Security Council has voted to renew a UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA), the peacekeeping mission in the oil-rich disputed region between Sudan and South Sudan, for another year.A 12-0 vote late on Friday, which saw Russia, China and Pakistan abstain, extended the mission until November 2026, but warned that progress on ending bloody fighting in the region would be crucial to any potential future extensions.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Abyei, a non-state entity of post-war Sudanese…

Brazil’s top court seals the former leader’s fate, with an arrest warrant now the imminent next step following the rejection of his last major legal challenge. BRASILIA – Jair Bolsonaro’s legal shields have fallen, as Brazil’s Supreme Court closed the door on his attempt to overturn a conviction for plotting to overturn the 2022 election. The definitive rejection of his appeal paves the way for the former president to be imprisoned. The court’s ruling, finalized Friday, upholds the landmark sentence of 27 years for crimes linked to a concerted effort to subvert democracy and keep President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva…

Jawhar Ben Mbarek’s sister said his health had ‘severely deteriorated’ and a ‘dangerous toxin’ was detected in his body.Jailed Tunisian opposition figure Jawhar Ben Mbarek has been hospitalised due to severe dehydration, his family has said, as his health continues to deteriorate after more than two weeks on hunger strike.Ben Mbarek, the cofounder of Tunisia’s main opposition alliance, the National Salvation Front, started his hunger strike on October 29 to protest his detention in jail since February 2023.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3‘I’ll go back’, say African migrants deported in campaign by Mauritanialist 2 of 3Tunisian opposition…

The British street artist has created several versions of the iconic painting across London, as well as in Palestine.A man has been sentenced to 13 months in prison by a British court for stealing a print of street artist Banksy’s iconic Girl with Balloon from a London gallery in September last year.Larry Fraser, 49, was jailed on Friday by a judge in southwest London after he pleaded guilty to the smash-and-grab burglary of the elusive artist’s painting, valued at 270,000 pounds ($355,200).Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Banksy mural of UK judge hitting protester scrubbed from London court…

Palestinians call for better tents and other supplies as Israel maintains restrictions on aid to war-ravaged Gaza Strip.Displaced Palestinians are reeling after heavy rains flooded their tents in makeshift displacement camps in Gaza City, as the United Nations warns that Israeli restrictions on aid have left hundreds of thousands of families without adequate shelter.Abdulrahman Asaliyah, a displaced Palestinian man, told media on Friday that residents’ mattresses, clothes and other belongings were soaked in the flooding.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Amputees from Israel’s Gaza war use homemade prosthetics to re-enter lifelist 2 of 3Rashida Tlaib introduces US Congress…

Loay Abu Saif, one of 153 Palestinians who left Gaza without knowing final destination, says Israel helped facilitate his group’s transfer.A resident of the Gaza Strip, who is one of 153 Palestinians that landed in South Africa without the correct paperwork this week, says the group did not know where they would end up when they left Israel.Loay Abu Saif, who fled Gaza with his wife and children, told media on Friday that the journey out of the battered and besieged enclave was a “trip of suffering”.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3South Africa lets 153 Palestinians disembark…

Explosion in the Mezzeh district of Damascus injures one woman and causes material damage, according to Syrian state media.A woman has been injured in an explosion in the Mezzeh district of Damascus, according to Syrian state media.Rockets were fired at a home in Syria’s capital on Friday night, causing injury as well as material damage, the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3How will the Syrian president’s visit to the White House impact the region?list 2 of 3The Meeting Between the US and Syria is “Very Symbolic”list 3 of 3Syria signs up to…