Author: Gulf News Week
Iranian president seeks to calm tensions, acknowledging protesters’ ‘legitimate’ grievances over inflation.At least five people have been killed as demonstrations over the soaring cost of living in Iran spread to more parts of the country.At least three people were killed and 17 others were injured at protests in the city of Azna in Lorestan province, some 300km (185 miles) southwest of Tehran, Iran’s semiofficial Fars news agency reported on Thursday.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Iran warns of ‘severe’ response in wake of Trump’s new strikes threatlist 2 of 3Protests, strikes after Iran’s economic situation rapidly deteriorateslist 3…
Ban could cut hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza off from essential care, Doctors Without Borders warns.Israel faces mounting global condemnation as a ban on dozens of international aid organisations working to provide life-saving assistance to Palestinians in the war-ravaged Gaza Strip has come into effect.On Thursday, a group of 17 human rights and advocacy organisations in Israel condemned the prohibition, saying it “undermines principled humanitarian action, endangers staff and communities, and compromises effective aid delivery”.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Palestinians in Gaza say ‘lives will be destroyed’ by Israel’s NGO banlist 2 of 3Israel’s NGO…
Thousands of families fleeing renewed fighting in Kordofan and Darfur arrive in the city of Kosti, only to find overcrowded camps and dwindling international support.On the outskirts of Kosti, a city in south-central Sudan that has transformed into a giant way station for the desperate, Aziza sits with her children on the open sandy ground. There are no walls to protect them, and no roof to shield them from the sun or extreme weather.After a long and harrowing journey escaping the war, Aziza and her family have been reduced to sleeping under thin sheets repurposed into a basic shelter.Recommended Stories…
Four activists from the proscribed Palestine Action group in the UK are still on hunger strikes in prison.Four members of the Palestine Action group, which has been proscribed as a terrorist organisation in the United Kingdom, are continuing with their hunger strikes in different prisons around the country.Four other Palestine Action members have ended their hunger strikes – some after being hospitalised.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Four Palestine Action hunger strikers vow to continue as two pause protestlist 2 of 4Palestine Action: Prison hunger strikes that shaped historylist 3 of 4When Palestinian existence is portrayed as hatelist…
Demonstrators in Turkiye demand global pressure on Israel, calling the so-called ceasefire ‘a slow-motion genocide’ against Palestinians.Hundreds of thousands of people are marching through Istanbul in a sweeping show of solidarity with Palestinians, condemning Israel’s genocide in Gaza and rejecting claims that a ceasefire has brought meaningful relief.Protesters, many waving Palestinian and Turkish flags, converged on the city’s historic Galata Bridge on Thursday despite freezing temperatures.The march, organised by civil society groups under the National Will Platform alongside Turkish football clubs, rallied under the slogan: “We won’t remain silent, we won’t forget Palestine.”More than 400 civil society organisations joined the…
Israel currently occupies the Palestinian side of the crossing, choking Gaza of a vital humanitarian entry point.Israel is preparing to reopen the Rafah crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt in both directions after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returns from a visit to the United States, according to Israeli media reports.Israel’s Kan 11 news reported on Wednesday that the expected decision comes as a result of pressure from US President Donald Trump.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Trump threatens Hamas, warns Iran of more strikes after Netanyahu talkslist 2 of 3What being a woman in Gaza means in…
STC to maintain presence, but agrees to deployment of Riyadh-backed National Shield government forces in the areas.Tensions in Yemen continue to simmer as Rashad al-Alimi, the head of the internationally recognised Presidential Leadership Council, has warned against unilateral military moves by southern separatists.Al-Alimi cautioned that further advances by the Southern Transitional Council (STC) separatists in Hadramout and al-Mahra provinces would have serious consequences.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3What is behind the Saudi-UAE rupture in Yemen?list 2 of 3Palestine was the deadliest place to be a journalist in 2025: Media unionlist 3 of 3Why are some African countries…
Mali and Burkina Faso are the latest to issue ‘tit-for-tat’ bans on visas for US citizens with immediate effect.Mali and Burkina Faso have announced they are imposing full visa bans on United States citizens in retaliation for US President Donald Trump’s ban on US visas for their citizens this month.The two West African countries, which are both governed by the military, on Tuesday became the latest African nations to issue “tit-for-tat” visa bans on the US. These follow Trump’s new visa restrictions, which now apply to 39 countries in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America. The White House…
Bulldozers flatten refugee housing while Israel approves 126 settler housing units and targets UN agencies.Israeli forces have begun demolishing dozens of buildings housing Palestinian families in the northern occupied West Bank, forcing mass displacement as winter sets in, and leaving communities scrambling for shelter.Israeli military bulldozers and cranes tore through residential blocks in the Nur Shams refugee camp on Wednesday, flattening homes that housed about 100 families. Thick clouds of dust rose over the camp as residents watched from a distance, according to an AFP news agency journalist at the scene.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Oxfam, Doctors…
Sanaa and Batoul embody Gaza’s resilience, facing war, famine, and loss with little hope for a better life.Deir el-Balah and Nuseirat, Gaza Strip – In her tent made of fabric sheets with a roof covered in white plastic tarp, Sanaa Issa tries to steal a quiet moment with her daughters.Sanaa spoke to media as the new year approached, and with a ceasefire officially in place in Gaza. But, lying on a wet blanket in a tent with rain pouring down, Sanaa doesn’t have a huge amount to be positive about.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Four reasons why…