Author: Gulf News Week
Two million people continue to face hunger and thirst, while more than 460 Palestinians have died from starvation.Despite a ceasefire deal with Israel, Palestinians across the devastated Gaza Strip continue to go hungry as food supplies remain critically low and aid fails to reach those who need it most.As per the ceasefire agreement, Israel was supposed to allow 600 humanitarian aid trucks into Gaza per day. However, Israel has since reduced the limit to 300 trucks per day, citing delays in retrieving bodies of Israeli captives buried under the rubble by Israeli attacks.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of…
Bus belonging to the Syrian Energy Ministry was attacked, killing four people and injuring nine.At least four people have been killed and nine injured following an explosion targeting a government-owned bus in eastern Syria, according to the state news agency SANA.The explosive device detonated while the bus, belonging to the Syrian Ministry of Energy, was travelling on a highway connecting Deir Az Zor and al-Mayadin, SANA reported in a post on X on Thursday.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Syria’s al-Sharaa seeks to ‘redefine’ Russia ties in first Moscow visitlist 2 of 3Syria seeks to ‘redefine’ Russia ties,…
From Argentina to Egypt, at least 86 countries collectively owe the International Monetary Fund more than $162bn.Central bankers and financial delegates have gathered in Washington, DC this week for the annual International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank meetings, which conclude on Saturday.Discussions this week have focused on global economic headwinds, as the IMF warns of signs of distress following US trade tariffs and protectionism.The IMF is widely seen as a “lender of last resort”, only stepping in when countries face severe financial crises and cannot access usual borrowing channels. Its loans, however, often come with strict conditions which can…
Health officials in Gaza say many of the 90 returned bodies bore marks of violence and possible executions.Gaza’s Ministry of Health says it has received the remains of 45 Palestinians who were held in Israeli custody via the International Committee of the Red Cross, bringing the total number of bodies returned to 90 as part of a United States-brokered ceasefire deal.Medical teams are continuing to examine, document and prepare the bodies for delivery to families “in line with approved medical procedures and protocols”, the Health Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Raila…
United Nations humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher calls for immediate ‘unhindered access’ for aid deliveries.The United Nations humanitarian chief, Tom Fletcher, has urged Israel to immediately open more crossings into the famine-stricken Gaza Strip to allow for a surge in aid deliveries.In remarks to reporters on Wednesday, Fletcher said that the UN is seeking a dramatic boost in humanitarian aid for Gaza, saying the hundreds of relief trucks cleared to enter the devastated enclave were nowhere near the thousands needed to ease a humanitarian disaster.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Apple to increase Chinese investments amid US-China trade tensionlist…
Spain argues NATO funding should address real threats, not arbitrary targets, amidst Trump’s tariff retaliation plans.The European Commission and Spain’s government have dismissed US President Donald Trump’s latest threat to impose higher tariffs on Madrid over its refusal to meet his proposed NATO target for defence spending.Trump said on Tuesday that he was “very unhappy” with Spain for being the only NATO member to reject the new spending objective of 5 percent of economic output, adding that he was considering punishing the Mediterranean country.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Can the EU and NATO impose tariffs on India…
Analysts express concern over the rehabilitation of Israel, even as it says it has done no wrong.In both Israel and among its Western allies, the Gaza ceasefire deal is seen as an opportunity – to move on from the accusations of genocide against it, and to restore close relations weakened as a result of public anger.Over two years of its unrelenting war on Gaza, Israel has killed more than 67,900 Palestinians and injured more than 170,000. It has destroyed or damaged 92 percent of the enclave’s residential housing and its actions in blockading Gaza have led to a famine being…
Syria’s interim leader assures the Russian president that his government will honour all past agreements with Moscow.Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa has told Russia’s President Vladimir Putin that he seeks to “restore and redefine ties” with Moscow, a key ally of ousted longtime Kremlin ally Bashar al-Assad.Al-Sharaa made the statement on Wednesday while meeting with Putin in Moscow during his first state visit to the country that has been hosting al-Assad since his exile from Syria 10 months ago.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Ceasefire declared between Syrian forces, Kurdish fighters after one killedlist 2 of 3Syria’s first elections…
As tanks withdraw and the bombing slows, Israel extends its war through Palestinian militias turned against their own.Israel’s war on Gaza has not ended with the pullback of its tanks or the falling silent of its warplanes. Tens of thousands have been killed, hundreds of thousands of homes reduced to rubble, and some two million people driven from their homes. Yet the greatest danger may still lie ahead, for Israel intends to continue the war in another form, one that no longer requires its army.In the vacuum left by Israel’s destruction, a grim new reality is unfolding. Armed militias are…
Israeli army violence continues in the occupied West Bank where soldiers act with impunity, Palestinians are ordered to leave or labour without pay.Occupied West Bank, Palestine – Close to Tulkarem, on the outskirts of the Nur Shams refugee camp, grey apartment blocks sit empty. Abandoned cars are strewn amid rubble where homes once stood. Shops are silent, streaked black where flames licked against the windows.Amid escalating violence by settlers from illegal Israeli settlements across the occupied West Bank, the Israeli military has intensified its efforts to forcibly displace the tens of thousands of Palestinians who live in the Nur Shams…