Author: Gulf News Week
Getty ImagesCarney is a guest of von der Leyen in Strasbourg this week”Wouldn’t it be lovely if Canada was the 28th state of the European Union rather than the 51st state of the United States?” asked Finland’s President Alexander Stubb this summer.The question was rather tongue-in-cheek. US President Donald Trump, who is currently locked in an escalating tariff tussle with Ottawa, has, on a number of occasions, declared his ambition to make Canada the 51st American state – causing deep offence amongst many Canadians.Finland is one of the EU’s 27 member states and a close ally of Canada as a…
Getty ImagesMount Fuji’s official climbing season runs from July to early SeptemberFrom next year, people who attempt to climb Mount Fuji during off-peak seasons and then require rescue by helicopter will have to pay for the service, authorities governing the northern part of the peak say.The fee is among a series of measures Japan’s Yamanashi prefecture is introducing to deter reckless and poorly prepared climbers.A similar fee of 8,000 yen ($51; £38) per five minutes is already in place in nearby Saitama prefecture for other mountainous areas and will be used as a reference.Yamanashi authorities will also require those looking…
CBSAt least one person has died after a helicopter crashed in suburban Los Angeles, fire officials say.Three other people were injured when the aircraft went down between two commercial buildings in the Chatsworth neighbourhood, a Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) spokesperson told the BBC.Footage from the scene showed two shipping containers and several vehicles burning. The blaze has been extinguished, the fire department said.It was not immediately clear who was operating the aircraft, but local media reports suggested it was a news helicopter that was flying near the scene of a fatal bus crash.”That person was declared deceased on scene.…
Deepak JasrotiaSatyawadi Rakshak Party says it spent millions of dollars during 2024 elections – but its office is now shutThere was little to suggest that the locked flat in Anand, in the western Indian state of Gujarat, was the headquarters of a political party.There was no signboard, campaign poster or obvious trace of political activity. But on paper, the Satyawadi Rakshak Party had recently received an extraordinary amount of money.In the financial year ending in March 2024, official records show the Gujarat-based party received more than 3.3bn rupees (approx $35m; £25m) in donations. A few months later, when India held…
Getty ImagesSaab was extradited to the US in May Alex Saab, a former Venezuelan official and aide to ex-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, has pleaded guilty to money laundering charges in the US. The US case against Saab has been closely watched as Maduro and his wife, former First Lady Cilia Flores, face trial next year in New York on weapon and drug charges, which they deny.As part of the plea deal, Saab, 54, must forfeit $195m (£145m), and agree to co-operate fully with US prosecutors. He could face up to 20 years in prison.Maduro and Flores were seized by the…
Watch: What does the munitions shortage mean for the US?The US defence department’s inspector general says the war with Iran has led to “shortfalls” in munitions and a bottleneck in resupply, contradicting President Donald Trump who has repeatedly denied the US is facing shortages. Trump has claimed US munitions supplies are “virtually unlimited” and said reporting otherwise is “fake news”. But the independent watchdog said the US spent more than $22 billion on munitions from February through June, leading to “strategic inventory shortfalls”. When asked about the watchdog’s report, the White House said the US had “more than enough” munitions.…
Getty ImagesEd Sheeran issued a statement on Tuesday saying it was the promoter’s decision to drop Macklemore from his upcoming US tour datesAll of the remaining support acts on Ed Sheeran’s US tour have quit, after the rapper Macklemore was dropped from the line-up for making pro-Palestinian remarks on stage.Among them were Finneas, the brother of pop star Billie Eilish, who said in a statement: “Artists must not be silenced when they speak up for the oppressed.”Irish singer-songwriter Aaron Rowe and Danish band Lukas Graham also announced their departure. Irish folk band Beoga, who perform with Sheeran on stage every…
Why is Donald Trump so opposed to regulating AI?The BBC’s North America editor Sarah Smith looks at why the US president is contradicting AI leaders, who are calling for the technology’s development to be slowed down.2 hrs agoUS & Canada
Getty ImagesUS government borrowing costs climbed to their highest level since 2007 after a jump in oil prices further fuelled concerns about inflation.The effective interest rate on US government bonds over 10 years, known as the 10-year Treasury yield, rose as high as 5.04% but has eased back since.Government bond yields have been rising globally for months, driven by worries that inflation caused by the oil price surge since the start of the US-Israel war with Iran will lead to higher interest rates.The US has been buying back bonds back in a bid to drive the Treasury yield down, with…
Getty ImagesThe US Supreme Court has rejected President Donald Trump’s plan to restrict voting by mail before November’s midterm elections, in a setback for the White House.The justices upheld a federal judge’s order that temporarily blocked the US Postal Service (USPS) from moving forwards with new requirements for postal ballots.Trump called the decision a blow to his political party. “Republicans just got another bad decision from the United States Supreme Court,” the president wrote on Truth Social.One legal group said in response that the decision would prevent the USPS from “sowing chaos in our elections”.Trump, who argued the rules would…