Author: Gulf News Week
Getty ImagesIranian drones have hit the Iraqi city of Irbil, the capital of the Kurdistan regionThe Trump administration is planning to cut off military aid to a key Middle East ally that helped the US defeat the Islamic State group (IS) and is now facing punishing attacks from Iran, according to four sources familiar with the matter.The US Department of Defense has told leaders of Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region in recent meetings that the administration is not planning to renew an expiring agreement that provides security assistance to the Peshmerga, the Kurdish security force.The BBC spoke to two officials who…
Getty ImagesThe staffer was found to have made tens of thousands of dollars through betting on what the president would say in his speechesA former White House teleprompter operator has been ordered to pay more than $172,000 (£127,000) for using inside information to bet on US President Donald Trump’s speeches.Gabriel Perez was found to have made trades on what the president would say during addresses between December 2025 and February 2026 on Kalshi – a prediction markets platform where users can bet on real-world events.Its regulator, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), said Perez would have to surrender profits of…
AFP via Getty ImagesPirates manage to board ships operating a long way from the coast and then guide them closer to the shoreA surge in piracy near Somalia has increased threats to shipping already under pressure from maritime blockades and conflict due to the US war with Iran.Two cargo vessels were seized in the Gulf of Aden within four days last week, rising to at least 13 the number of ships attacked since the start of the year and triggering unprecedented drone strikes against the pirates.It is the biggest escalation in hijackings in more than a decade, renewing concern about…
Crystelle Pereira/Getty Images/Pophams Bakery/Supreedha Iyer”Sweetcorn belongs in desserts!”That’s according to Crystelle Pereira, a cook and former Great British Bake Off finalist known for her wacky flavour combinations.While sweetcorn is already a staple in South East Asian and Latin American puddings, it has largely been relegated to sandwich fillings and pizza toppings in the UK. But that could all be changing.In recent weeks, the vegetable has been popping up all over social media in sweet treat form – as an ingredient in everything from cookies and ice cream to cheesecake.Crystelle PereiraCook and former Great British Bake Off star Crystelle Pereira says…
Elaine LingElaine LingElaine Ling splits her time between New York and California, but wherever she is and needs a coffee, she doesn’t visit a Starbucks.She only goes there for her cold drinks. Her “real coffee” comes from local cafes.”I don’t really like to go to Starbucks for coffee. I think their coffee is like too sweet,” Ling, 21, told the BBC. “I’m more of a refresher girl when it comes to going to Starbucks.” Though founded as a coffee shop more than five decades ago, Starbucks says that three out of every four drinks it now sells are cold. Think…
BBCHolly Ratchford has decided to speak out publicly for the first timeHolly Ratchford still cannot believe that the man who moved into the residential complex she once managed would go on to be accused of involvement in the darkest day in recent US history.”It’s almost impossible for me to wrap my head around who he said he was, and who he really is. I still struggle with that,” she tells the BBC.The man, Omar al-Bayoumi – a Saudi in his early 40s – moved to the complex in San Diego, California, with his family in September 1999.The new resident at…
AFP via Getty ImagesThe US has reached a deal with Venezuela to control more than 65 billion barrels of its proven oil reserves, President Donald Trump announced.”This Historic Transaction MORE THAN DOUBLES American Oil Reserves, greatly increases our Oil Supply, and will substantially lower Gas Prices for all Americans,” Trump posted on social media.Venezuela’s interim President, Delcy Rodriguez, hailed the agreement as one that would help her nation’s economic revival.Trump vowed to tap Venezuela’s reserves, the world’s largest, after the US captured its then-President Nicolás Maduro this year. More recently, Trump has been under pressure to tame domestic petrol prices,…
AFP via Getty ImagesLatest opinion polls have been so close that the result is impossible to callIcelanders are voting in a referendum to decide whether to resume talks on joining the European Union, 13 years after they were broken off.In an indication of how tight the result is expected to be, the latest opinion poll put the No campaign in the lead with 51.6%. An earlier poll had put the Yes campaign ahead.Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir’s centre-left government had already intended to hold a referendum, but turbulent international affairs prompted her to bring it forward.But the debate was fought less…
97-year-old woman rescued after Nepali floods looked like ‘a warrior’A 97-year-old woman, Guna Maya Bohara, survived the flash floods and was rescued using an excavator. 3 hrs agoAsia
ReutersBerlin Mayor Kai Wegner said the German capital would not cave to the ransom demandBerlin is being blackmailed by hackers who were able to compromise city systems and steal data earlier this month, its mayor has said.Kai Wegner said officials would not cave in to the ransom demand, which came on Thursday evening. He did not say how much was being sought, though Der Spiegel reports the hackers are demanding 30 bitcoin, worth around €2m (£1.7m).Some of the German capital’s online systems were forced to close down as a result of the attack, while investigators were working to understand what…