Author: Gulf News Week
Getty ImagesSingers PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson have provided the soundtracks to viral dancesWhether it’s the arm swings of Zara Larsson’s Lush Life or the geometric shapes of the PinkPantheress song Girl Like Me, chances are you’ve seen – and maybe even tried – the dance routines.Videos of fans copying the moves to hits from both artists have racked up millions of views online.But what makes sequences like this go viral?According to one choreographer to the stars, the best move is “often the first thing that comes out”.She spoke to BBC Newsbeat ahead of PinkPantheress headlining Alexandra Palace on Friday night.The…
Getty ImagesCMAT performed right before Olivia Dean at Radio 1’s Big Weekend festival in SunderlandSinger-songwriter CMAT has shared her “deep sadness” about body-shaming abuse she received after her performance at Radio 1’s Big Weekend.The Irish musician says she has experienced a “difficult” few days after performing at the music festival in Sunderland because of online comments about her weight.CMAT says she is “not choosing to look like this or weigh this much as some kind of punk rock act of liberty” but that she simply has “a body”.It’s not the first time the country singer’s addressed being fat-shamed online -…
Getty ImagesFormer US Attorney General Pam Bondi is appearing in front of a congressional panel probing convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Bondi, who was removed from her post as America’s top law enforcement officer by US President Donald Trump in April, will testify on the US Justice Department’s handling of its release of the Epstein files.The testimony in Washington DC is taking place behind closed doors, but transcripts or video might be released at a later time. Bondi was formally summoned by the House Oversight Committee in March, just before Trump announced her ouster as his administration’s top prosecutor. In…
Watch the moment Blue Origin’s rocket exploded during a test in FloridaThe fireball that lit up the sky over Florida’s Kennedy Space Centre last night has put a big question mark over whether Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin can deliver on a string of commitments to Nasa in its efforts to send astronauts to the lunar surface and build a Moon base.Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket exploded at about 21:00 local time during a routine test of its engines.The 98m (322ft) rocket had been due to launch 48 satellites for Amazon’s Leo broadband network, as early as 4 June.The explosion is…
ReutersIsrael’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaking in April this yearIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that he directed the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to increase control of Gaza to 70%. Speaking at a conference on Thursday, he said: “We are currently squeezing Hamas; we now control 60% of the territory of the Strip – you know this. We were at 50, we moved to 60. My directive is to move to,” he said before pausing as someone in the crowd said, “100”. “Let’s go step by step. First of all, 70. Let’s start with that. We’re pressing them from all…
Anxious relatives wait for news as injured students returnEight students alleged to have been involved in a suspected arson attack at a Kenyan girls’ school that killed 16 pupils have been arrested, police say.The fire in the early hours of Thursday morning at the Utumishi Girls Academy in Gilgil, about 120km (77 miles) north-west of capital city Nairobi, tore through the upper floor of a dormitory which had 135 bunk beds.After interviews with students and staff and a forensic review of CCTV footage, eight pupils at the school were identified as “persons of interest in connection with the planning and…
Pier Marco Tacca via Getty ImagesA famous bull mosaic in one of Italy’s grand arcades is getting some much-needed care after being worn down by tourists honouring a tradition involving its delicate body parts.As the legend goes, tourists in Milan who grind their heels on the bull’s testicles and spin in place three times are guaranteed good fortune and are destined to return.Visitors twirling clockwise for luck have left a small crater on the bull’s “lucky spot”.”Thousands of people every day have performed the famous heel-spinning gesture,” city councillors said. “The pink tiles that make up its testicles are being…
A debate is under way in Tehran over whether control of the world’s busiest oil chokepoint can replace uranium enrichment as the country’s deterrent.Iran’s decision to act on its long-promised threat to close the Strait of Hormuz has brought United States countermeasures in the form of a US naval blockade. Despite doubts over the legality, feasibility and efficacy of Iran’s initial move and flip-flops about the continuation of the closure, the immediate global impact, surging oil prices and cascading market shocks appear to have surprised even Iran itself, judging by reactions from regime loyalists on state and social media.A radical…
BBCTuk tuk driver Mohammad Umar had to miss a day of work because he could not cope with the heatOn a scorching afternoon in one of Delhi’s busiest markets, two different worlds exist side by side.One is inside brightly-lit, air-conditioned showrooms, where customers move slowly between racks of clothes, escaping the worst of the summer heat.The other is outside, under a blazing sun – where street vendors, fruit sellers, cycle-rickshaw drivers and ice-cream cart operators continue working through temperatures soaring above 40C.In the afternoon, even walking through the market feels exhausting. But for millions of informal workers across Delhi, staying…
Are the US and Iran close to reaching a peace deal… again?The US and Iran still need to work out several sticking points before an agreement on the war can be reached, Vice-President JD Vance has said.Asked by the BBC if President Donald Trump was close to signing a deal, Vance said it was too early to say “when or if” the two sides would finalise an agreement.The deal would reportedly extend the ceasefire for 60 days and launch talks on the future of Iran’s nuclear programme.Earlier on Thursday, US officials told the BBC that the two countries had agreed…