Author: Gulf News Week
The UK is at a “moment of consequence” as Russia is “relentlessly targeting” critical infrastructure, the UK’s largest spy agency will warn.GCHQ Director Anne Keast-Butler will set out threats facing the UK and the measures she believes need to be taken to confront them when she makes her inaugural public speech on Wednesday.In excerpts from her address, Keast-Butler singles out Russia for “targeting critical infrastructure, democratic processes, supply chains and public trust”.Russia has been blamed for a string of espionage plots on British soil and, more recently, waging an undeclared ‘hybrid war’ against the UK and other Nato countries. The…
Iran says the US has committed a “gross violation” of the ceasefire with new air strikes it launched on the country.The US Central Command (Centcom) said Iranian missile sites and boats attempting to place mines had been targeted with what it called “self-defence strikes” in southern Iran on Monday.Iran’s foreign ministry said it held the US responsible for the consequences of its “aggressive and unjustified actions” in the Hormozgan region, which has a coast along the Strait of Hormuz – the crucial waterway Iran has blocked causing a spike in world energy prices. It is unclear what impact the strikes…
From cancelled holidays and soaring airfares to delayed hiring and financial stress, faith, family and community are helping residents keep the Eid spirit alive[Editor’s Note: Follow the media live blog for the latest regional developments with the US-Israel-Iran ceasefire now in effect.] This Eid Al Adha, many UAE residents say the festive season feels different.What is usually a time of travel, family reunions and celebrations has, for some, been overshadowed by rising costs, delayed plans and growing uncertainty linked to the ongoing Iran war. From soaring ticket prices and postponed travel plans to delayed contracts and fewer job opportunities, families…
Multiple people have been killed and injured and some are still missing after a major chemical explosion at a paper mill in Washington, authorities said.The explosion occurred at 07:15 PDT (15:15 GMT) at the Nippon Dynawave Packaging facility in Longview, 130 miles (210km) south of Seattle.Investigators said in a news conference on Tuesday that 10 people have been injured and transported to hospital. Officials have not yet said how many people have died or are unaccounted for.The explosion occurred due a “rupture of a tank containing white liquor”, the company said in a statement. White liquor is a highly corrosive…
In India’s capital Delhi, power has long circulated through ministries, embassies and the parliament – but also through the shaded verandas of the Gymkhana Club.For generations, the cream-coloured clubhouse located on Safdarjung Road has functioned as a discreet world of retired generals, senior bureaucrats and old business families conducting negotiations over whisky sodas and kebabs. Even those who have never entered its gates – which is most Delhi residents – have heard stories about its grandeur.Now, that world faces an uncertain future.Last week, the federal government, which owns the 27.3 acres on which the 113-year-old club stands, ordered it to…
The remains of sailors who died on an ill-fated Arctic expedition have been identified by researchers using DNA testing.The Victorian-era HMS Erebus, built in Pembroke Dock in 1826, became part of nautical folklore after it vanished in the mid-19th Century. All of the sailors on board died after the ship became stuck in ice, with some resorting to cannibalism during desperate attempts at survival.Now, three sailors aboard the ship have been identified and living descendants contacted by researchers at the University of Waterloo, in Canada.What was HMS Erebus?HMS Erebus, captained by Sir John Franklin, set sail in 1845.Accompanied by HMS…
Nasa has released details of robotic landers, hopping drones and vehicles it aims to send to the Moon as part of US plans to build a lunar base.Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’s space company Blue Origin is one of several companies picked to build the machines.The US wants to land Americans back on the Moon before President Donald Trump leaves office in 2028.But Nasa is competing with China to returns humans to the lunar surface, meaning the space agency is under pressure to appear to be winning the new space race.On Monday it launched its Shenzhou-23 spacecraft, sending a crew of…
The UK record for the hottest May day has been broken for a second day in a row, as parts of London surpassed 35C on Tuesday.Kew Gardens in south-west London recorded a provisional temperature of 35.1C, beating Monday’s 34.8C record-high in the same place.Wales also broke May records for the second consecutive day, as provisional temperatures reached 32.3C at Cardiff’s Bute Park, surpassing Monday’s 32.2C at Hawarden Airport in Flintshire.The soaring temperatures led to delays to train services due to speed restrictions put in place because of the heat.”Until yesterday, the highest temperature in May was 32.8C, but we’ve now…
Israel has launched an intensive wave of strikes across swathes of southern and eastern Lebanon, after vowing to step up its military action against Hezbollah.The Israeli military said it hit more than 100 Hezbollah infrastructure sites and fighters during what was one of the heaviest nights of bombardment since a US-brokered ceasefire began in mid-April.Strikes in the Bekaa Valley village of Mashghara killed 11 people, including two children, Lebanon’s health ministry said. The military said it hit sites where “terrorist activity” was identified.It came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday he had given the instruction to “press…
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has started a legal challenge against a report commissioned by parliament that has paved the way for MPs to once again consider impeachment proceedings against him.In 2022, an independent panel said Ramaphosa might have committed serious misconduct relating to the theft of large sums of cash hidden in a sofa at his private farm. The president denied any wrongdoing.Earlier this month a Constitutional Court ruling said parliament had acted unconstitutionally when four years ago it voted against establishing an impeachment inquiry following the report. At that time Ramaphosa’s African National Congress (ANC) party had a…