Author: Gulf News Week
BALTIMORE (news agencies) — The New York Mets consider Juan Soto to be a bona fide All-Star, despite the snub he received from those who selected the National League squad for the Midsummer Classic on July 15.Soto, in his first year with the Mets, has performed well enough to earn the respect of his manager and teammates. In their opinion, he’s deserving of a place in the All-Star Game next week in Atlanta.“He’s an All-Star for us,” manager Carlos Mendoza said Tuesday night after the Mets beat Baltimore 7-6. “It’s frustrating, but I’m hoping in the next couple of days…
Influential leader records message from prison, saying ‘care and sensitivity’ needed for peace process.Abdullah Ocalan, the leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), has announced the end of the group’s armed struggle against Turkiye, calling for a full shift to democratic politics. The jailed leader relayed his message via a video recording dated June, which was aired by the PKK-aligned Firat News Agency on Wednesday, describing the shift as a “historic gain”. “This represents a voluntary transition from the phase of armed conflict to the phase of democratic politics and law,” said Ocalan, who has been in prison since…
KYIV, Ukraine (news agencies) — Russia fired a record 728 Shahed and decoy drones at Ukraine overnight, as well as 13 missiles, the Ukrainian air force said Wednesday, in the latest offensive escalation amid mounting Russian aerial and ground attacks in the more than three-year war.The city of Lutsk, which lies in Ukraine’s northwest along the border with Poland and Belarus, was the hardest hit, though 10 other regions were also struck, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.Lutsk is home to airfields used by the Ukrainian army. Cargo planes and fighter jets routinely fly over the city. No casualties were immediately…
DENVER (news agencies) — Three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic has decided to delay a contract extension with the Denver Nuggets this summer, a person with knowledge of the matter told media on Tuesday night.The person spoke to the news agencies on condition of anonymity because neither Jokic nor the Nuggets have addressed the matter publicly. It doesn’t affect Jokic’s status in Denver in the short term: He has at least two years remaining on his deal — $55.2 million this season and $59 million in 2026-27, along with a player option in 2027-28 worth nearly $63 million.Jokic became eligible Tuesday…
Rome Statute signatories Italy, France and Greece accused of ‘violating’ international legal order by letting alleged war criminal fly over territory.Francesca Albanese, the United Nations special rapporteur on the human rights situation in the occupied Palestinian territory, has hit out at countries that allowed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to fly over their airspace en route to the United States, suggesting that they may have flouted their obligations under international law. Albanese said on Wednesday that the governments of Italy, France and Greece needed to explain why they provided “safe passage” to Netanyahu, who they were theoretically “obligated to arrest”…
WASHINGTON (news agencies) — Sweeping tariffs set to be imposed by President Donald Trump next month may cast a pall over his top diplomat’s first official trip to Asia this week — just as the U.S. seeks to boost relations with Indo-Pacific nations to counter China’s growing influence in the region. Trump on Monday sent notice to several countries about higher tariffs if they don’t make trade deals with the U.S., including to a number of Asian countries. The move came just a day before Secretary of State Marco Rubio planned to depart for a Southeast Asian regional security conference…
NEW YORK (news agencies) — Las Vegas star A’ja Wilson will have an MRI on the right wrist that she injured in an 87-78 loss to the New York Liberty on Tuesday night, Aces coach Becky Hammon said.The coach didn’t know the severity of the injury and said Wilson would get the imaging Wednesday morning.“Big picture, our season is bigger than one game. We want to make sure she’s good to go,” Hammon said.The three-time MVP got hurt with 4:13 left in the second quarter when she drove down the lane and landed awkwardly after getting fouled. She was on…
With the Belly Laughs Festival, an ambitious Asian American and Pacific Islander-centered comedy festival, the food is as important as the talent line-up. Every detail is intended to send a message of unabashed cultural pride.“It’s like we grew up kind of shying away and hiding our Asian-ness,” said Viv Wang, a volunteer festival producer with Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment, or Cnews agenciesE, who helped conceive the idea for the event. “It just made a lot of sense to have comedy and food — these two ways that people can connect and just celebrate being Asian and having a…
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (news agencies) — Europe’s top human rights court is set to rule Wednesday on Russia’s actions in the conflict in Ukraine, including human rights violations during the full-scale invasion and the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17. Judges at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg will rule on four cases, brought by Ukraine and the Netherlands against Russia, marking the first time an international court will adjudicate Russian culpability for the wider conflict in Ukraine dating from 2014.Any decision will be largely symbolic. The complaints were brought before the court’s governing body expelled Moscow in…
Shares were mixed in Asia on Wednesday, following a choppy trading day on Wall Street as the Trump administration pressed its campaign to win more favorable trade deals with nations around the globe.Japan’s Nikkei 225 is up 0.2% to 39,764. 02, while South Korea’s Kospi added 0.5% to 3,132.02 as Tokyo and Seoul are working a trade deal with the U.S. before higher tariffs announced by Washington take effect on Aug. 1.“Sectoral carve-outs remain the thorniest terrain,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management wrote in a commentary, adding that Korea and Japan are likely seeking relief for their car and…