Author: Gulf News Week
LIVECanada becoming EU ‘associate member’ would be positive move, Carney saysThe PM says Canada having closer EU links would also make it a more “effective partner” of the US, adding no-one will tell his country who it can strike agreements with.
Watch: ‘Searing’ palace response to Earl Spencer’s claim in Diana bookBuckingham Palace is in a war of words with Earl Spencer, the brother of Diana, Princess of Wales, over a controversial memoir about her life and death.King Charles is accused of insensitively saying to Earl Spencer, in the wake of Diana’s death in 1997, that “we’ll forget her soon enough”, according to excerpts published in the Daily Mail.But the Palace has pushed back unusually strongly, angered by the claims and attempting to cast doubt on them.”While we do not comment on books as a matter of principle, His Majesty is…
LIVEKing to urge AI leaders ‘not to lose control of our destiny’ at Scotland summitThe meeting in Dumfries falls on a busy day for the royals, with the Prince and Princess of Wales due on the Isle of Bute and Prince Harry at an Invictus Games event.
Low expectations that Russia’s election will bring peace closer, Steve Rosenberg reportsThe system of power in Russia is often referred to as “managed democracy” (where the Kremlin does the managing).That means huge powers for the president and few political surprises.This weekend’s election is set to deliver another parliament dominated by the party of power, United Russia, and a house of MPs fiercely loyal to Vladimir Putin.Critics dismiss the vote as neither free nor fair.”We have our own political system, our own political process,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov explained recently.That means no curveballs for the Kremlin. No surprises. So no story?Far…
Watch: Why has the Federal Reserve raised interest rates?US interest rates have been raised for the first time in more than three years and could be increased further in a bid to slow rising prices.Rates were hiked to 3.75%-4% from 3.5%-3.75% by the Federal Reserve in a unanimous decision, despite fierce opposition from President Donald Trump, who had called for rates to be cut.Fed Chair Kevin Warsh said the move was because “inflation is too high and has been for too long”, adding that it was a “sober” and “responsible decision”.After the announcement, Trump expressed support for Warsh but said…
Fort Worth Star-Telegram/Tribune News Service via Getty ImagesAustin Tice filed high-profile news reports during the Syrian civil war US journalist Austin Tice, who disappeared in Syria in 2012, was kidnapped in a calculated operation which was more than a month in the planning, the BBC can reveal. A member of the group which detained Tice has also claimed the abduction was sanctioned by Syria’s leader at the time, President Bashar al-Assad.Tice was seen getting into a car with a driver he knew and trusted. For years, many assumed they had stumbled upon a government checkpoint, and that the abduction of…
Bloomberg via Getty ImagesA worker checks a sample of oil in Russia – India and China are among the biggest buyers of Russian oilFor four years, India, one of the world’s biggest oil importers, has turned Russia’s war-driven disruption of global oil markets to its advantage.Russian crude, displaced from western markets after the invasion of Ukraine, has flowed instead to Indian refineries, often at attractive discounts. The arrangement has lowered the cost of one of India’s biggest imports and given its refiners an abundant source of crude.Now that bargain is becoming a source of geopolitical risk.The US House of Representatives…
Watch: CEO Evan Spiegel tells the BBC he would consider a time limit on SnapchatThe boss of Snapchat-parent Snap Inc says the firm would be “willing to implement” time limits for teens, following a call from Meta for it to take action.Evan Spiegel told the BBC in an interview at the company’s California headquarters that setting a maximum amount of time that young users could spend on the app could be “an important step forward for the industry.” His comments came as Snap revealed a slew of new features for its upcoming Specs glasses, which it said could connect to…
Will Ed Sheeran cancel his tour as support acts quit?Robert Kraft, the US stadium owner who had pro-Palestinian rapper Macklemore removed as Ed Sheeran’s opening act at his venue, says Sheeran has asked him to donate $2m (£1.5m) to “aid in the region”.The request came after Macklemore said he would donate $1m (£750,000) to Palestinian organisations, challenging Kraft to match the sum.Kraft, the owner of the New England Patriots, announced the requested pledge in his second statement this week on the controversy, without specifying where exactly the funds would go.On Monday, he confirmed he had Macklemore dropped as the opening…
Getty ImagesLena Dunham, creator of the hit TV series Girls, has welcomed her first child with husband Luis Felber via a surrogate.The writer and actress announced the birth of her daughter in an op-ed published by Vogue on Wednesday, where she wrote she was “bashful and dizzy with joy”. Dunham, 40, has spoken publicly about her struggles with fertility and chronic illness, and grief around her dreams of motherhood after undergoing a hysterectomy when she was 31 years old. Of meeting her surrogate, she wrote in Vogue: “While I’ve been known to make friends quickly – airport terminals, veterinary offices…