Author: Gulf News Week

BOBO-DIOULASSO, Burkina Faso (news agencies) — Isaka Diallo was playing with friends when a stone struck his left eye. For two weeks, his parents searched hospitals in western Burkina Faso for an eye doctor. The village clinic only prescribed painkillers. Other health workers did not know what to do.When they eventually found Dr. Claudette Yaméogo, Burkina Faso’s only pediatric ophthalmologist, the injury had become too difficult to treat.“The trauma has become severe,” Yaméogo said of Diallo’s condition as she attended to him recently at the Sanou Sourou University Hospital in the city of Bobo-Dioulasso. “Cases like (Diallo’s) must be treated…

To dodge Trump’s tariffs and wrath, five African presidents played the role of loyal colonial subject, and left their dignity behind.On July 9, United States President Donald Trump opened a three-day mini summit at the White House with the leaders of Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania, and Senegal – by subjecting his distinguished guests to a carefully staged public humiliation. This was not the plan – or at least, not the part the public was meant to see. A White House official claimed on July 3 that “President Trump believes that African countries offer incredible commercial opportunities which benefit both the…

SULAYMANIYAH, Iraq (news agencies) — Fighters with a Kurdish separatist militant group that has waged a decades-long insurgency in Turkey began laying down their weapons in a symbolic ceremony on Friday in northern Iraq, the first concrete step toward a promised disarmament as part of a peace process.The Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, announced in May that it would disband and renounce armed conflict, ending four decades of hostilities. The move came after PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan, who has been imprisoned on an island near Istanbul since 1999, urged his group in February to convene a congress and formally disband…

LONDON (news agencies) — Grammy-winning singer Chris Brown on Friday pleaded not guilty to two further charges related to the serious beating of a music producer with a bottle in a London nightclub in 2023.Brown, 36, denied the more serious charge of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm at a hearing last month.The singer, wearing a light brown suit, pleaded not guilty to assault causing actual bodily harm to Abraham Diaw at the Tape nightclub in the swanky London neighborhood of Mayfair in February 2023.He also denied having an offensive weapon — a bottle — in a public place during…

‘Panic, fear, and terror that swept through the school overwhelming’ says survivor. of strike in Jabalia an-Nazla.At least eight people have been killed, including children, in an Israeli bombardment of the Halimah al-Saadiyah School in Jabalia an-Nazla, in northern Gaza, where displaced Palestinians were sheltering, according to sources at al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City who spoke to media. Several people were also injured in the attack. Survivors relayed a harrowing scene of inferno. “I saw the whole area filled with dust – that’s when I realised the strike had hit this place,” Abu Haitham Khalla told media, standing among the…

KYIV, Ukraine (news agencies) — By day, the Ukrainian capital hums with life — crowded metros, dog walkers and children on playgrounds. By night, Kyiv becomes a battleground as Russia unleashes relentless drone and missile attacks that chase much of the population underground for safety.The nighttime assaults have intensified in the fourth year of the full-scale invasion, with the number of drones sometimes exceeding 700. Swarms of 1,000 drones could soon become the norm, officials say.Many people in Kyiv describe the recent attacks as the most terrifying of the war, and even residents who previously ignored sirens have been driven…

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (news agencies) — The developer of what would be the first new coal mine in Wyoming in decades plans to process the fossil fuel to extract hard-to-get metals that are crucial for tech products and military hardware.Energy Secretary Chris Wright, former West Virginia U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon, and Wyoming’s congressional delegation are on the VIP list for a groundbreaking ceremony Friday at the Ramaco Resources, Inc., Brook Mine outside Ranchester in far northern Wyoming.Rare earth elements are a family of 17 metallic elements with unusual properties that make them useful for specific applications. Neodymium…

LONDON (news agencies) — Carlos Alcaraz takes on Taylor Fritz, and Jannik Sinner faces Novak Djokovic in the men’s semifinals at Wimbledon.Both matchups are scheduled to be played Friday at Centre Court, with No. 2 seed Alcaraz vs. No. 5 Fritz leading things off at about 1:30 p.m. local time, followed by No. 1 Sinner vs. No. 6 Djokovic.The two winners will meet Sunday to decide the champion.Alcaraz has won the last two trophies at the All England Club, beating Djokovic in the final each time.Alcaraz is on a career-best 23-match winning streak that includes the championship at the French…

Syria’s wildfires are the first major natural disaster since the country overthrew the Bashar al-Assad regime in December.Qastal Maaf, Latakia, Syria – Abu Jameel Muhammed’s weathered hands, blackened by soot and ash, trembled as he patted the scorched earth around what remained of his beloved olive tree. At 80, the Syrian elder had survived a brutal civil war, economic collapse, and international sanctions – but the sight of his charred courtyard companion reduced him to tears. “Villagers rescued me as flames approached my home … I survived, but my only daughter on this land was consumed by fire. It was…

Fighters from PKK begin symbolic disarmament in Iraq’s northern Kurdish region, ending decades-long battle with Turkiye.The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) has begun the first steps towards disarmament, closing a chapter on a four-decade armed campaign against the Turkish state in a conflict that has killed more than 40,000 people. A small ceremony was held on Friday in Sulaimaniyah in Iraq’s northern Kurdish region, where 20 to 30 PKK fighters were destroying their weapons rather than surrendering them to any government or authority. The symbolic process was conducted under tight security and is expected to unfold throughout the summer. Images from…