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GAZA: At least 11 Palestinians were killed, including women and children, in an Israeli strike on a house in Nuseirat camp in central Gaza Strip, Gaza medics told Reuters early on Tuesday.
DUBAI: The UAE has announced a collaboration with Elon Musk on the new underground Dubai Loop project at the World Governments Summit on Thursday.
The Dubai Loop is set to cover the city’s most populated areas and would help transport people underground in a seamless manner, said Omar Sultan AlOlama, the UAE’s minister of state for artificial intelligence, digital economy and remote work applications.
AlOlama made the announcement in conversation with Musk, who was speaking via video link, at the summit.
“It’s going to be like a wormhole, you will wormhole from one part of the city and then, boom, you are out on another part of the city,” said Musk.
Musk’s construction firm, the Boring Co., has built underground traffic tunnels in California and Las Vegas, which were tested in 2018.
These tunnels, according to Musk, promise high-speed transportation, a reduction in traffic, and a better alternative to public transport systems such as subways.
When asked about criticisms regarding safety in the tunnels, Musk said one of the safest places to be during an earthquake, for example, would be a tunnel.
“Being in a tunnel is like being in a submarine, even if there is a storm above you the water is still calm around the submarine,” he explained.
Musk said that underground travel was much more efficient and safer in comparison to air transport such as flying taxis and helicopters.
He made the comments during a session titled “Boring Cities, AI and DOGE,” a year after a model of a flying taxi was featured at the 2024 World Governments Summit.
The acronym DOGE stands for the new Department of Government Efficiency, which is led by Musk, and created by President Donald Trump in January to slash federal spending.
Asked about his plans for the US government, Musk called for a “war on bureaucracy” and said the US must move toward rule by the people.
“We have a lot of support from the American public to improve government efficiency. It is something that appeals to voters of all types. Seventy percent of voters wanted more efficiency in governance,” he said.
Musk said improving government efficiency in the US would reduce inflation, alleviate government deficits and lead to less involvement in international affairs.
This means people could potentially spend less through low interest rates and potentially zero-rated inflation, Musk added.
“The US has been pushy in international affairs, we should leave other countries on their own and America should mind its own business,” he added.
Musk said the goal was to reduce the size of the federal government and reduce regulations. But he warned that the solution to combating overregulation was a war on bureaucracy.
“In the absence of that (war) you get more rules and regulations until everything is eventually illegal. There needs to be a war against bureaucracy in the government,” said Musk.
He explained that a reduction in government spending would lead to the economy growing faster and cited a possible 4 or 5 percent increase.
“Government spending can be reduced by 3 or 4 percent so there is no inflation in 2025 to 2026,” he added.
“If the government reduces deficits from $2 trillion to $1 trillion, inflation will drop and debt payments will be less, benefiting the average American,” explained Musk.
Musk said there were currently 450 federal agencies in the US government, averaging two new agencies a year since the formation of the US, which he said was “too many.”
Lack of efficiency in US governance is also related to poor tech systems in governments, he added.
“The US runs on thousands of computers that don’t talk to each other, in order to improve efficiency in government upgrades to this tech is needed,” he said.
CAIRO: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Jordan’s King Abdullah II stressed Wednesday the “unity” of their countries’ positions on Gaza, a day after US President Donald Trump held talks with the Jordanian monarch in Washington.
“The two leaders affirmed the unity of the Egyptian and Jordanian positions,” on the reconstruction of the war-ravaged Gaza Strip, “without displacing the Palestinian people from their land,” a statement from the Egyptian presidency read.
Another statement from the Jordanian royal court said that the two leaders stressed their “shared position” rejecting the forced displacement of Palestinians.
Both statements also referred to their willingness to “cooperate” with Trump to achieve “just and lasting peace” in the Middle East.
Egypt and Jordan have been at the forefront of a fierce Arab pushback against a Trump plan to relocate Palestinians from Gaza to the two countries.
Trump’s remarks have been coupled with a suggestion that he could “conceivably” halt aid to both countries if they refuse to take in Palestinians.
After his talks with Trump in Washington on Tuesday, King Abdullah II said that his country remains “steadfast” in its position against the forced displacement of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.
“This is the unified Arab position,” Abdullah wrote on social media.
Egypt announced this week that it would host a summit of Arab nations later this month. It also said it would present a “comprehensive vision” for Gaza’s reconstruction in a way that ensures Palestinians remain on their land.
Egypt and Jordan, both key US allies, are heavily reliant on foreign aid and the US is considered one of their top donors.
BAGHDAD: Rukaya Al-Zubaidi placed a cautious foot on a skateboard and then struggled to find her balance as others glided back and forth at Baghdad’s first park dedicated to the sport.
“It’s only my second time skating, but I want to keep going, especially now we have the space for it here in Baghdad,” the 22-year-old said as loud music mixed with laughter from fellow boarders.
After negotiating with authorities for five years, three organizations from Italy, Iraq and Belgium have now opened Baghdad’s first skatepark.
It is not the first in the country, however: that honor went to the northern city of Sulaimaniyah.
The new skatepark at the sports ministry in a Baghdad suburb provides a welcome means of escape for young people in a country that has endured decades of conflict and crisis.
It also offers a rare respite from the gaze of conservative Iraqi society.
Zubaidi, wearing a pink sweater, watched fellow enthusiasts, both professional and amateur, as they rolled on colorful boards in the open-air park.
“When my friends first told me about skateboarding, I was scared,” she said — not just of falling but also because of what people might say and because her parents might not approve.
“But when I tried it, it just filled me with a beautiful energy,” she added.
The skatepark project “is about inclusivity and community, about having a place for everyone,” said Ishtar Obaid of Iraq’s Forsah association.
Forsah, which means “opportunity,” was one of the three organizations that spearheaded the project.
It provides a space “where people from different backgrounds” come together, and “that’s the beauty of sport,” said Obaid, who also advises Iraq’s Olympic committee.
Her organization plans to run skateboarding classes for children and trainers.
“It is a new chapter for sports in Iraq,” Obaid said.
When the authorities approved the project in late 2024, the associations including Make Life Skate Life, a Belgian-US charity that has set up skateparks in northern Iraq, Libya and India, built the new facility in just one month.
Kjell Van Hansewyck of Make Life Skate Life said it was a “real struggle” to find a location for the skatepark.
He described Baghdad as “a crowded city with a lot of pollution and traffic jams,” and lacking “public land and facilities for children.”
The Iraqi capital is bustling with dozens of infrastructure and construction projects. Towering cranes and machinery dominate its streets, as new tunnels and bridges are being built.
“It is like one big work site,” Van Hansewyck said.
When authorities said they could provide space at the sports ministry, the groups could hardly turn down the offer, despite this meaning skaters would have to pass through security checkpoints.
Van Hansewyck said the skatepark is “not visible from the streets,” which makes it difficult for people who want to check it out.
But he is confident that passionate skaters will still promote the park and do everything possible to make it a major attraction.
Mohammad Al-Qadi, 19, bought his first skateboard in 2019, the year he also joined a wave of nationwide anti-government protests.
Baghdad was the vibrant epicenter of the movement. Protesters also organized cultural and sports events before the demonstrations were crushed in a brutal crackdown that saw more than 600 people killed.
Since then, Qadi had only been able to skate on Baghdad’s busy streets.
“When we took to the streets with our skateboards, people would call us bad boys,” he said.
In conservative Iraq, skateboarding is widely viewed as an alternative sport adopted by rebellious youths — leading many to shun it for fear of ruining their reputations.
Qadi said this perception may have slightly improved, but until now local skaters still had nowhere to go.
“When I feel pressured by my studies or in my personal life, I turn to skateboarding, which has never let me down,” he said.
The new skatepark offers an “opportunity” for a break and a rethink, Qadi added.
Hussein Ali, 18, has been skating for five years and said he hoped Iraq will eventually have a national team to compete in championships.
Skateboarding was one of five sports that made an Olympic debut at the Tokyo 2020 games.
For some in Iraq, skateboarding provides a sense of normality in a country where violence had long been a fact of life.
For Ali, it is also a way to meet new people.
“When you see someone else skating you simply reach out, and just like that, you become friends.”
