Author: Gulf News Week
ReutersTourists with umbrellas outside the Pyramid of the Louvre museum as it closes early due to the heatwaveA heatwave gripping western Europe has led to a series of unprecedented temperature highs, with France experiencing its hottest day ever, the UK seeing record heat for June and Spain reaching its highest daily average since 1950.Tens of millions of people are grappling with punishing temperatures, which hit almost 41C in Paris and have led to red heat alerts across swathes of the continent.France’s national temperature indicator – an average of day and night temperatures across dozens of locations – hit 30C on…
Watch: Two men are making $50,000 to watch the World Cup, with nowhere to hideThe World Cup is ramping up with six matches scheduled each day until the end of the group stage, which makes tuning in something of a full-time job. That is literally the case for Kevin Akoto and Austin Franklin, who are getting paid $50,000 (£37,800) each to watch all 104 World Cup matches.The BBC caught up with the two football fans, just over a week into their roles as Fox One “Chief World Cup Watchers” to see what the experience has been like.It’s hard to miss…
Getty ImagesElon Musk during the Cannes Lions International Festival Of Creativity 2024.Tech entrepreneur Elon Musk lost his trillionaire status on Tuesday, less than two weeks after becoming the first person to achieve it following SpaceX’s public debut, according to data from Bloomberg. The Bloomberg Billionaires Index – updated daily at 17:30 in New York (22:30 BST) – valued his fortune at $957bn (£727bn) on Tuesday, down from the $1.11tn valuation less than 14 days ago.The reversal followed a sharp retreat in SpaceX and Tesla shares as technology stocks broadly tumbled, fuelled by growing doubts over the long-term profitability of artificial…
Getty ImagesSenate Majority Leader John Thune (L) and US President Donald Trump (R) speak to reporters at the Capitol.President Donald Trump cancelled his approval of a landmark bill aimed at lowering Americans’ housing costs just hours ahead of a planned signing ceremony at the US Capitol. Both chambers of Congress had earlier approved the legislation in a rare bipartisan move, signalling how pressing the issue has become for American voters across the political divide. Trump wrote on social media that he would not sign the bill until a separate law on stringent voter ID requirements is passed. But unless the…
LIVEScotland take on Brazil with World Cup history awaiting – join the conversationWatch BBC TV coverage, listen to Radio 5 Live commentary and follow live text updates as Scotland take on Brazil in their final Group C game at the Fifa World Cup.
Bloomberg via Getty ImagesAt polling stations across New York City on Tuesday, an electoral storm was brewing.Less than seven months after Zohran Mamdani completed his stunning run to defeat former Governor Andrew Cuomo and become the youngest mayor of New York City in a century, a trio of Mamdani backed left-wing congressional candidates accomplished similar feats.Two of the candidates Mamdani endorsed, New York City Comptroller Brad Lander and community activist Darializa Avila Chevalier, unseated incumbent Democratic congressmen.One of the defeated, 79-year-old Adriano Espaillat, had served five terms in the House of Representatives and was the leader of the Congressional Hispanic…
PA MediaThe King met the Afghan women’s cricket team and faced a tricky questionKing Charles has given a symbolic show of support for the Afghan women’s cricket team – which is now in exile and, because of the Taliban regime’s ban on women’s sport, is not allowed to represent its country.The women told him how they escaped the Taliban in Afghanistan to keep their dreams of playing cricket alive.”I’m so glad that you can pursue what you want to do,” the King told the cricketers, giving them an enthusiastic welcome in Clarence House on a scorching morning.Cricketer Ekil Latifi, who…
BBCAmerican college graduates have made one thing clear to this year’s batch of commencement speakers – beware of bringing up artificial intelligence (AI).Some of the biggest names in tech, including former Google boss Eric Schmidt, have been booed when they mention the technology.At Stanford University recently, in the heart of the American tech hub of Silicon Valley, Sundar Pichai – the CEO of Google, a major AI developer – joked about having been told to avoid the topic.A group of graduates nevertheless walked out during his remarks.Stanford occupies a unique position in the American tech ecosystem. It’s regarded as a…
ReutersBuildings pictured in Yevpatoria, Crimea on Tuesday during what authorities previously described as a temporary power outageA Ukrainian air attack on Russian-occupied Crimea has knocked out power in its largest city, Sevastopol, Moscow-installed governor Mikhail Razvozhayev says.Ukraine says its drones struck the city’s main power substation overnight.Razvozhayev warned some areas would be left without power until Wednesday evening.Kyiv has been intensifying attacks on power facilities in areas held by Russia to damage oil revenues and try to force President Putin to the negotiating table. No fuel for sale as Ukraine’s blockade of Russian-occupied Crimea takes effect”We will not be intimidated…
AFP via Getty ImagesOnly about 25% of homes in France have an air-con unitWith temperatures soaring, France is being forced to re-think its longstanding reservations about one possible answer to climate change: air-con.This week debate about la clim (climatisation) has once again burst out, with Marine Le Pen on the populist right urging a mass subsidised roll-out and traditionally hostile Greens conceding that some air-conditioning may now be inevitable.Currently the country has a low take-up, with only 25% of households equipped with an air-con unit. In Spain and Italy the figure is 50%, and in the US and Japan 90%.French…