Author: Gulf News Week
@LulaOficial via EVNLula held up a vial containing oil found as part of the exploratory drillingBrazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has hailed the discovery of oil near the mouth of the Amazon river.Speaking after the find was announced by Brazil’s state-run oil company Petrobras, he said it could be “a passport to the country’s future”. His decision to allow exploratory drilling in the area known as the Brazilian Equatorial Margin was heavily criticised by environmentalists, who raised concerns that any potential oil spills could devastate its ecosystem. Lula, who is running for another four-year term in elections scheduled…
PA MediaEarl Spencer is to publish a new book telling the life story of his sister, Diana, Princess of Wales, from his perspective.Swan Song: Diana, My Sister is due to be released in the UK next month, nearly 30 years after she died.”I want to speak on Diana’s behalf and do so in an openly positive way,” Earl Spencer said of his reasons for writing the book.He added that he hoped it would enable people to understand who she really was: “A one-off, dynamic character, full of love, charisma and self-doubt, who gave life a hell of a go, and…
Getty ImagesSydney Swans coach Dean CoxSydney Swans coach Dean Cox has said he is “extremely disappointed” that several players from his Australian Football League (AFL) team have been linked to a sexual assault investigation.The club has confirmed an “alleged incident” involving an unspecified number of players occurred in the hours after the team’s win at Melbourne Cricket Ground on Sunday – but have provided no other details.Separately, Victoria Police have said detectives are investigating a report of a sexual assault at a hotel in East Melbourne in the early hours of Monday morning.A spokesperson said officers have spoken to several…
Social MediaA young British couple and their pilot were killed in a helicopter crash on the Greek island of Sifnos on Monday, Greek police have said.They have been named as newlyweds Alexander Cromie and Marie Ebert, who were in Greece on their honeymoon.The private helicopter crashed just metres from a landing pad, killing the pair and their pilot, a Greek national.The couple are said to have taken the helicopter from the village of Markopoulo near Athens to the popular holiday island, Kathimerini reported. Plume of black smoke seen at site of deadly helicopter crashA Foreign Office spokesperson told the BBC:…
ReutersThe trial beginning on Tuesday will mark another huge test for Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg’s social media empireMeta has been hit with successive losses in court over how its platforms have targeted and harmed young users, but a jury trial set to begin on Tuesday may pose the biggest threat yet to its operations.The trial stems from a lawsuit filed in 2023 by 30 US states, including California and New York, in which they claim numerous violations of federal and state privacy laws for children.Not only are the states seeking upwards of $1 trillion from Meta, they are demanding it…
BBCDr Sevket Alpturk (l), Dr Firdevs Uguz Tip (c), and patient co-ordinator Julie Hodson (r) worked at Dogus IVF CentreAt least 30 children, most of them British, are feared to have been conceived by IVF treatment in northern Cyprus using the wrong sperm or egg donors.In each case, the parents suspect they did not get the donors they had selected.The figure is one of several new findings in a BBC investigation that, earlier this year, uncovered the first seven cases.All the parents say they carefully selected anonymous donors based on information such as their medical history, appearance, personality, education and…
Getty ImagesHayden Panettiere and Wladimir Klitschko had a daughter together in 2014Hayden Panettiere’s ex-partner Wladimir Klitschko has posted an emotional tribute to the “talented” late Heroes and Nashville star, who he said has “left this world too soon”.The former world heavyweight boxing champion, who shares an 11-year-old daughter with Panettiere, said the family is going through “profound shock and grief” following her death at the age of 36.Panettiere died in Greenville, South Carolina, on Sunday and police said there were not “any signs of foul play or suspicious circumstances”.She had struggled for years with substance abuse and audio from police…
Getty ImagesZhu Rongji served as China’s premier from 1998 to 2003, leading China through a series of key economic reformsFlags at government sites are flying at half-mast and security vehicles are parked in the heart of Beijing, as China mourns former Premier Zhu Rongji.Zhu died of an illness last week at 97 and was cremated at a funeral in Beijing on Tuesday. The ceremony, attended by senior leaders including President Xi Jinping, was kept low-key. No footage has been released.Zhu, who served as China’s premier from 1998 to 2003, is remembered as one of the country’s most important economic reformers.While…
Courtesy of Promise OkoroPromise Okoro has yet to name the animal but says it loves eating fried riceWhen Promise Okoro walked out of his final degree exams earlier this month, he fully expected the usual end-of-term celebrations.His cheering friends were already outside blasting music and snapping and filming this much-loved Nigerian “signing-out” ritual.Their white shirts filled up with messages scribbled by classmates and well-wishers – a colourful record of a shared journey through education.But then, through the crowd, came Promise’s mother, Chinyere, pulling a goat.The 23-year-old pharmaceutical technology student initially thought the screams meant someone was about to propose marriage.Instead,…
BBCThousands of life jackets, covered in plastic wrapping, were seized by the German authorities in the springGermany has carried out its first raids under a new law to crack down on smugglers using the country as a staging post for small boat crossings on the English Channel, the BBC has learned.More than 9,000 life jackets, dozens of dinghies and engines and 360 pumps were seized by police this spring during a joint operation involving the UK, France and Germany in the North Rhine-Westphalia region.The dinghies and equipment are now being stored at a secret location that the BBC was given…