Author: Gulf News Week
Getty ImagesAs wildfires worsen across large parts of Indonesia, a noxious haze is choking the regionA blanket of toxic haze is enveloping parts of Indonesia and spreading into Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines, as weeks-long wildfires continue to burn.Millions of people across large swathes of South East Asia have been exposed to the smog, which in some areas has fuelled “acutely unhealthy” pollution more than 15 times the World Health Organization’s recommended level.Many of the ongoing fires have been burning across Sumatra and Indonesian Borneo since mid-July – underpinned by a so-called Super El Niño that is exacerbating drought conditions.Between…
ReutersMore than 80 people, including a baby, are feared to have died in a boat which was adrift in the Atlantic Ocean for 27 days.Spanish Maritime Rescue teams located the vessel some 65 nautical miles southwest of Gran Canaria’s coastal town of Arguineguín on Wednesday and found 44 survivors, with five dead bodies also on board.The boat is believed to have departed The Gambia in West Africa in early August with 127 occupants on board. Human rights activist Helena Maleno Garzón, founder of Spanish charity Caminando Fronteras, said 83 people had lost their lives.Rescuers were forced to leave the five…
Europa Press via Getty ImagesPedro Sánchez has been criticised for blaming trafficking gangs and social media for the crisisSpanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has said no-one foresaw the influx of 72,000 migrants in the exclave of Ceuta, as pressure mounts over his handling of the crisis.”It’s absurd to think that the government knew and did nothing,” Sánchez told Spain’s parliament on Thursday, hours after tens of thousands of people joined protests across the country backed by opposition parties.Sánchez also maintained there was no evidence Morocco was behind the mass crossing and there had been “close co-ordination” between the two countries.A…
Getty ImagesTim Curry attends a 40th anniversary celebration for The Rocky Horror Picture Show in Los Angeles in 2015.British actor Tim Curry died of coronary artery disease, his spokesman has confirmed to the BBC.The Rocky Horror Picture Show star died in his Los Angeles home on 25 August, aged 80. In addition to the heart condition, Curry had a history of stroke and kidney cancer, which were significant conditions that contributed to his death, his spokesman said, citing a death certificate filed in Los Angeles County. Stars of stage and screen paid tribute to the actor, who shot to fame…
The BBC watched groups of migrants boarding an inflatable dinghy on the Gravelines beach in northern FranceA drop in small boats illegally reaching the UK is forcing people smuggling gangs to adopt new tactics, a BBC investigation has found.And there are claims of more “mega-dinghies” being prepared, of the type seen arriving on UK shores in recent weeks.The image of a 15-metre long small boat carrying a record 230 migrants towards the UK drew condemnation from both newspapers and politicians.Ministers were accused of “losing control” of illegal Channel crossings, and the French police again found themselves criticised for not intervening.They…
Watch: Why US troops have a history in this raucous Thai cityFar from hitting the bars and fleshpots of the Thai beach resort of Pattaya, in their first hours onshore most of the nearly 5,000 sailors from the USS Abraham Lincoln seemed determined to go shopping.At the Hard Rock Hotel – one of two beachside hotels where they were able to stay off the ship – they hung around clutching their recent purchases. But perhaps, after a record 250 days confined inside a grey steel warship, the normality of a trip to the mall might have been just what they…
Florian Plaucheur/AFP via Getty ImagesEl Niño brought intense flooding and landslides to southern Brazil in 2024The world has entered a “danger zone of extreme weather” as the impacts of El Niño start to be felt globally, UN head António Guterres has warned.The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has released the latest data on the natural weather phenomenon showing it could be the strongest for more than 70 years and last until at least February 2027.El Niño changes weather patterns around the world, pushing some regions into drought whilst others experience stronger typhoons and flooding.Forecasters also say El Niño will boost temperatures…
BBCAbraham Mofokeng was 20 when he joined a peaceful protest in Sharpeville Abraham Mofokeng still carries the wounds of the bloody suppression of a protest in South Africa 66 years ago. In what became known as the Sharpeville massacre, police infamously opened fire on thousands of peaceful demonstrators.A bullet is still lodged in Mofokeng’s spine, and he has a gentle limp from a gunshot to the leg.”We weren’t seen as people,” the 86-year-old tells the BBC as he explains the reasons he joined the demonstration on 21 March 1960 against the repressive laws of the white-minority government.”All you were good…
LIVEToxic haze from Indonesia spreads to Malaysia and Philippines as wildfires rageMillions in South East Asia are affected by toxic haze as wildfires burn in Indonesia’s Sumatra and Kalimantan.
ReutersDonald Trump’s portrait has made its way on to a US coin – the first time a living president has appeared on American currency in a century.The US Mint launched the commemorative $1 coin with a portrait of Trump alongside the words “In God we trust”, to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary.The special-edition money captures “the spirit, pride, and legacy of a nation approaching its landmark anniversary”, the US Mint said.The coins – priced at $61 (£45) for a roll of 25 and a bag of 100 for $154.50 – were “not currently in stock” on the US Mint’s website within…