Author: Gulf News Week
Israel continues to deny what aid agencies and governments are saying is the man-made starvation it is forcing on GazaOne hundred twenty-seven people, 85 of them children, have died from hunger or malnutrition as a result of Israel’s siege of Gaza, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blocked all aid to Gaza in March, claiming that it was to pressure Hamas into accepting a ceasefire that Israel broke unilaterally later that month. This week, the Israeli government has blamed the United Nations for the situation, even accusing its aid agency of working with Hamas to restrict…
Providing water, searching for water, drinking water, swimming in water can all get you killed.In Gaza, we see death in every aspect of life. Death has become an inseparable companion, lingering in the streets, the skies, and even in our homes. It is no longer a shock – it is a grim daily reality which we have been forced to adapt to. There are many ways to die in Gaza, although one does not have the luxury to choose. You may be killed in a bombing, or be struck by a sniper’s bullet as you try to collect food to…
UNRWA chief says aid airdrops a dangerous ‘distraction’, could kill starving Palestinians.The United Kingdom says it is working with Jordan on “forward plans” to airdrop aid into besieged Gaza and evacuate children needing medical care as Israel’s forced starvation and bombardment of Palestinians fuel global outrage. Two infants on Saturday became the latest Palestinian children to die from malnutrition. Hospitals in Gaza have now recorded five new deaths due to famine and malnutrition in the past 24 hours. The total number of starvation deaths in the territory has risen to 127, including 85 children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. British…
The trailblazing artist, son of legendary Fairuz and composer Assi Rahbani, was also a playwright, pianist and political provocateur.Lebanese musician and composer Ziad Rahbani, son of the iconic singer Fairuz and a pioneer of fusion jazz, has died at the age of 69 of a heart attack. “On Saturday at 9:00am, the heart of the great artist and creator Ziad Rahbani stopped beating,” said a statement from the hospital where he was being treated in the capital, Beirut, on Saturday. Rahbani influenced generations of Lebanese people with his songs and especially his plays, whose lines are known by heart by…
A mother and child are among those killed by gunmen who threw a hand grenade into the building in Zahedan.An attack on a courthouse in southeastern Iran’s Sistan-Baluchestan province has killed at least five civilians and injured 13, Iranian media report. A mother and child were among those killed on Saturday by gunmen who threw a hand grenade into the building in Zahedan, the capital of Sistan-Baluchestan, a senior police official told the state news agency IRNA. IRNA said three of the attackers were also killed during the assault, citing the regional headquarters of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).…
Protesters carry portraits of political prisoners and a cage that organisers said represented the state of political life in the country.Hundreds of Tunisian activists have protested against President Kais Saied, calling his rule since 2021 an “authoritarian regime” that has turned the country into an “open-air prison”. The protesters marched in capital Tunis on Friday, marking four years since Saied made moves to consolidate his one-man rule in a country once known as the birthplace of the Arab Spring pro-democracy uprisings. Chanting the slogan, “The Republic is a large prison,” they demanded the release of jailed opposition leaders, including Rached…
These Shia families withstood Israel’s attacks on Lebanon and are now struggling to find where they fit.Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon – Fatima Kandeel, 43, and her two sons moved into a new rented apartment in the southern suburbs of Beirut in March. They had been staying with her sister Aida nearby for four months after a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon had stopped the worst, but not all, of Israel’s attacks on Lebanon, and it felt good to have their own place. In their barely furnished living room in Laylake, Dahiyeh, with only two armchairs and a shisha pipe between them,…
As record heatwaves boost demand for cooling, air conditioning becomes vital – but with a steep environmental cost.Heatwaves all over the world are becoming longer and more intense and the need for cooling is rising fast, putting strain not just on power bills but on electricity grids and the planet. With 2024 the hottest year on record and 2025 not far behind, air conditioning is no longer a luxury for many – it’s a lifeline. media breaks down how air conditioners work, traces the history of cooling, and offers practical tips on protecting your AC and reducing energy costs. How…
media says incitement campaign aims to ‘justify targeting of journalists’ as Israel continues to bombard Gaza.media Media Network has denounced the Israeli military for what it called a “campaign of incitement” against its reporters in the Gaza Strip, including most notably media Arabic correspondent Anas al-Sharif. In a statement on Friday, media said it “strongly condemns and denounces these relentless efforts, which have consistently incited against its staff since the beginning of its coverage of the ongoing Israeli war on Gaza”. “The Network considers this incitement a dangerous attempt to justify the targeting of its journalists in the field.” The…
As starvation grips Gaza, more than 200 UK lawmakers urge Prime Minister Keir Starmer to recognise Palestinian state.More than 200 lawmakers in the United Kingdom have called on the British government to recognise a Palestinian state, as pressure mounts on Prime Minister Keir Starmer to take concrete action amid Israel’s war on Gaza. Some 221 MPs from across the political spectrum signed an open letter on Friday calling on Starmer’s Labour government to recognise a Palestinian state in advance of a United Nations conference on Palestine next week. “We are expectant that the outcome of the conference will be the…