Author: Gulf News Week

Authorities said further updates on the resumption of in-person or remote learning across schools and higher education institutions will be announced on Wednesday The Education, Human Resources, and Community Development Council has announced that educational institutions across the UAE are preparing for a gradual return to in-person learning, with a phased approach aimed at ensuring safety and continuity. As part of the first step, nurseries will begin reopening this week, starting with those located in government premises and commercial buildings. Other nurseries will be allowed to continue offering home-based childcare services in line with approved regulations. Authorities said further updates on the resumption…

Israel is destroying the Status Quo to establish full control over Muslim and Christian religious life at holy sites.On Holy Saturday as Palestinian Christians tried to reach the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, Israeli security forces started attacking and arresting them. On the following day, Orthodox Easter, Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and his supporters stormed into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, where they performed prayers despite a ban on non-Muslim religious rituals there.These incidents followed Israel’s unprecedented closure of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for 40 days under the guise of…

Trump needs to take decisive action to secure regional peace and a win in the midterm elections.It was too much to ask of United States Vice President JD Vance that he hammer out a peace agreement with representatives of the Islamic Republic of Iran after the first direct meeting of the two sides in more than a decade.But it is not too much to ask for enemy combatants to maintain the ceasefire and for negotiators to come back to the table for a second round of meetings.As of now, we still have a ceasefire. The question remains: Can America win…

The past month and a half have shown that the nature of modern warfare is shifting.On Saturday, the United States and Iran held direct negotiations for the first time in more than a decade. The talks ended without a deal, as the US and Iranian positions remain far apart.While it is unclear what will happen next, the past month and a half of fighting has cast light on important lessons to be learned not just about this conflict but also the nature of modern warfare. These may turn into key considerations for decision-makers in Washington as they determine what to…

NewsFeedNetanyahu next to Middle East map: ‘We strangled them and have more to do’Standing in front of a map of the Middle East, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu describes how six countries ‘wanted to strangle us’ but instead ‘we strangled them… and we have more to do’. Ambassadors from Israel and Lebanon are set to hold talks in Washington DC on Tuesday, but they’ve issued conflicting statements on what will be discussed.Published On 12 Apr 202612 Apr 2026SaveClick here to share on social mediashare-nodesSharefacebookxwhatsapp-strokecopylinkgoogleAdd media on Googleinfo

NewsFeedIsrael reprimands Spanish diplomat over detonation of Netanyahu effigyIsrael says it has reprimanded Spain’s top diplomat in Tel Aviv over the blowing up of an effigy of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during Easter celebrations in the Spanish town of El Burgo. Israel’s foreign ministry blamed ‘incitement’ by Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez. The municipality has previously used effigies of US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin during the annual event which draws hundreds of onlookers.Published On 12 Apr 202612 Apr 2026SaveClick here to share on social mediashare-nodesSharefacebookxwhatsapp-strokecopylinkgoogleAdd media on Googleinfo

A governing arrangement for the strait can and must be developed based on law and fact.The announcement of a ceasefire by United States President Donald Trump on Tuesday has brought some relief to the Gulf region, seafarers and the energy markets. Iran has agreed to open the Strait of Hormuz for commercial traffic as long as vessels coordinate movements with its authorities.Irrespective of what happens next – whether a durable peace deal is negotiated or hostilities resume – the global misery caused by Iran’s closure of the strait demonstrates a clear need for long-term solutions that are solidly rooted both…

Even if the talks fail to produce a deal, a return to an all-out war may still be averted.Expectations for the upcoming talks between the United States and Iran in Pakistan are understandably modest. There is even a risk that the meeting won’t take place at all.Yet, paradoxically, the failure of the talks may still shift the situation in a positive direction. Indeed, the true measure of the ceasefire’s success may not be whether it yields a lasting accord with Iran. It may lie instead in what it forestalls: Even in the absence of a durable deal, Washington may have…

NewsFeedGaza father searches for his children’s remains in the rubble for yearsA father in the Al Bureij camp in Gaza survived an Israeli airstrike but four of his children died. He’s been trying for years to recover their bodies from the rubble, but he can’t do it alone. Six months into the ceasefire, Israel is still refusing to allow heavy equipment into Gaza, leaving an estimated 10,000 people missing under the rubble. media’s Hind Khoudary reports.Published On 10 Apr 202610 Apr 2026SaveClick here to share on social mediashare-nodesSharefacebookxwhatsapp-strokecopylinkgoogleAdd media on Googleinfo

The UK PM visited the Gulf, and said many of the right things. But when you do the wrong things, words don’t matter.When UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer arrived in the Gulf this week, the message was clear: Britain was back, ready to play a stabilising diplomatic role in a region once again on the brink. Meetings were held, statements issued, alliances reaffirmed.The choreography of diplomacy was all there.But the reality unfolding around him told a different story.As Starmer moved between Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Qatar, the decisions that actually mattered were happening elsewhere. The fragile ceasefire between…