Author: Gulf News Week

NewsFeedEU-backed migrant crackdowns in Mauritania fuel fear and deportationsThousands of migrants in Mauritania who once relied on daily street work to survive have been rounded up, detained in poor conditions and deported to remote borders under an EU-backed effort to halt Atlantic migration routes to Europe. media’s Shola Lawal reports from Nouakchott where those who remain say they are too afraid to step outside.Published On 28 Apr 202628 Apr 2026SaveClick here to share on social mediashare-nodesSharefacebookxwhatsapp-strokecopylinkgoogleAdd media on Googleinfo

Circumvention mechanisms already exist and the conflict is encouraging more entities to work with them.For years, sociologists and political scientists have warned that sanctions do not work. They do not topple targeted governments; instead, they hurt their citizens. And yet, the use of sanctions has only expanded, with the US leading the charge. As a result, there is now increasing evidence that this over-reliance on such punitive measures has led to their growing ineffectiveness. The US-Israel war on Iran has made that all the more obvious.The conflict carries the potential to push further the process of weakening the effect of…

A sovereign Lebanon and a demilitarised Hezbollah cannot happen without a credible political transition.Lebanese leaders have gone to Washington for the first direct negotiations with Israel in over 30 years, attempting to restore sovereignty under near-impossible terms.According to the ceasefire deal agreed on April 16, Lebanon must “effectively demonstrate its ability to assert its sovereignty” as a condition for extending the fragile pause in hostilities. Israel, for its part, preserves the right to take “all necessary measures in self-defence, at any time” and to keep its forces deployed on Lebanese soil.This is the framework through which Lebanese sovereignty is to…

US-Israeli attacks on Iran under the pretext of ending a nuclear weapons programme are damaging confidence in the NPT.On April 27, states party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) will gather in New York to begin their five-year review of its function. This year, the review conference opens under the shadow of the war that the US and Israel launched on Iran under the pretext that it was about to develop a nuclear weapon.As the 191 state parties gather to review the NPT, the grand bargain at the heart of this treaty will be put on…

Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil was killed because she refused to be intimidated into silence.On April 22, the Israeli regime assassinated yet another journalist. Her name was Amal Khalil. She was a well-known Lebanese journalist, born during the early years of the last Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon, who spent years documenting the lives of people in the south of the country amid Israeli invasion and bombardment.Amal was well-known and beloved across Lebanon. As her brother, Ali Khalil, said at her funeral, she was present in every home.For two years, Amal received direct threats from the Israeli regime. In one interview,…

In war and peace, decentralised renewable energy systems provide a safe and resilient alternative.Forty years ago, a reactor exploded in the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant in what was then the Soviet Republic of Ukraine. At least 30 people were killed in the immediate aftermath. The large amounts of radioactive particles released as a result of the explosion travelled in clouds across Ukraine, Belarus and Russia and then spread to other parts of Europe.It is estimated that tens of thousands have died since then due to radioactive exposure that triggered lethal diseases, including cancer. The frequency of birth defects increased between…

Tensions in the Strait of Hormuz have slowed fertiliser shipments which could put harvests at risk. Here is what African states can do about it.Food security in Africa could face major disruptions due to continuing uncertainty in the Strait of Hormuz.The conflict between the United States, Israel and Iran is disrupting global fertiliser trade flows – and this stands to leave millions of African farmers without the ammonia, urea, phosphate, sulphur and other fertiliser inputs vital to growing more food in sub-Saharan Africa.Fertiliser shipments passing through the Strait of Hormuz account, for example, for roughly one-quarter of global ammonia trade…

These elections offer participation without power, revealing how occupation shapes and limits Palestinian political life.On April 25, Palestinians will vote in local elections to choose representatives to municipal and village councils for four-year terms. These elections come after years of repeated postponements of national votes, with no legislative elections held since 2006.In cities across the occupied West Bank, such as Ramallah, Al-Bireh, and Nablus, billboards featuring local candidates line the streets, while in villages, posters of candidates have been erected in public spaces.There is both cynicism and cautious anticipation surrounding these elections, which have become the only remaining electoral mechanism…

This initiative aims to produce 150 million date-fortified food units annually, dedicated to children suffering from malnutrition and to combating hunger in underprivileged communities Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, on Friday (April 24) announced the launch of the world’s largest charity-based dates factory to ‘fight hunger’, developed in collaboration with key partners. This groundbreaking initiative aims to produce 150 million date-fortified food units annually, dedicated to children suffering from malnutrition and to combating hunger in underprivileged communities. “God has blessed us in the UAE and the region with…

Amal Khalil was killed while reporting on an Israeli air strike in southern Lebanon during a 10-day ceasefire.Amal Khalil was killed while reporting on an Israeli air strike in southern Lebanon during a 10-day ceasefire. She is the ninth journalist killed in Lebanon this year. As Lebanon buries her and talks continue on extending the ceasefire, what does her death say about the prospects for accountability?In this episode: Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4The Take: How Trump’s Iran war is driving military dissentlist 2 of 4The Take: Did UK universities pay to ‘spy’ on pro‑Palestine students?list 3 of…