BRICS summit planned for July in Rio, says current chair Brazil
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - Leaders of the countries known as BRICS will hold a summit in Rio de Janeiro in...
Geostrategy
Hezbollah supporters protest banning Iranian planes from landing in Beirut
Beirut, Lebanon - Hezbollah supporters blocked the Beirut airport road and burned tyres on Thursday to protest a decision barring two...
Geostrategy
Geostrategy
Crunch time for Saudi-hosted drought, desertification talks
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- Landmark talks on desertification are set to conclude in Saudi Arabia this week amid doubts that pledged funds...
- The 12-day UNCCD COP16 meeting has announced billions in funding for drought response and land restoration.
- The UNCCD said 1.5 billion hectares (3.7 billion acres) of land must be restored by decade's end and that at least $2.6 trillion in global investments were needed.
South Korean police raid president’s office
#South #Korean police raided President #Yoon Suk #Yeol's office as part of the investigation into his declaration of #martial law....
- The deeply unpopular Yoon is already under a travel ban
- Yoon survived an impeachment motion in parliament on Saturday
New Syrian rulers pledge stability, accountability, and reconstruction after Assad’s ouster
Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, the Islamist leader who headed the rebel offensive, had previously announced talks on a transfer of power...
- The rebels appointed Mohammad al-Bashir as the transitional head of government to run the country until March 1, a statement said
- Assad fled Syria as an Islamist-led opposition alliance swept into the capital Damascus over the weekend, bringing to an end five decades of brutal rule by his clan
Business
Air passenger numbers to top five billion for the first time in 2025: IATA
Geneva, Switzerland -- Air passenger numbers are forecast to top five billion for the first time next year and the sector's...
- Total industry revenues are forecast at $1.007 trillion, helped by falling oil and fuel prices, "the first time that industry revenues top the $1 trillion mark," IATA said.
- Airlines have been hit by rising fuel costs since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022 but IATA said it expected this factor to ease next year.
Syria rebel leader vows to pursue former officials for torture, war crimes
Syria's Islamist rebel leader on Tuesday vowed to pursue former senior government officials responsible for torture and war crimes, a...
- Israel continued launched air strikes destroying the former government's military capabilities
- Baath party said it will support "a transitional phase in Syria aimed at defending the unity of the country."
Geostrategy
European countries suspend Syrian asylum decisions after Assad’s fall
While Berlin and other governments said they were watching the fast-moving developments in the war-ravaged nation, Vienna signaled it would...
- World leaders and Syrians abroad watched in disbelief at the weekend as Islamist-led rebels swept into Damascus
- The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees had imposed a freeze on decisions for ongoing asylum decisions
Business
UAE to introduce 15% tax rate on corporate profit from Jan 2025
Dubai, United Arab Emirates -- The United Arab Emirates, home to the regional headquarters of numerous multinational companies, said Monday it...
- The move will bring the UAE in line with efforts towards a global minimum corporate rate.
- The UAE, long considered a tax haven, last year began taxing the profits of companies worth more than 375,000 dirhams ($102,000) at nine percent.
Business
Oil prices higher on China boost, Syria uncertainty
Major stock markets diverged as investors reacted to political crises in South Korea and France, and tracked the perspectives for...
- Oil prices rose more than one percent as traders tracked developments in Syria after president Bashar al-Assad fled the country over the weekend as rebels swept into Damascus.
- China is battling sluggish domestic consumption, a persistent crisis in the property sector and soaring government debt -- all of which threaten Beijing's official growth target.
ECB to cut rates again amid bleak eurozone outlook
The European Central Bank is expected to cut interest rates again this week amid a darkening outlook, with political turbulence...
- The central bank hiked rates aggressively from mid-2022 to tame surging energy and food costs
- Eurozone's anaemic growth rates are weighing down the broader single currency area
Assad’s fall reshapes Middle East politics, redefining power dynamics across the region
The Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham rebels shocked the world by swiftly seizing Aleppo and Damascus, overshadowing global focus on the...
- Assad had for nearly 14 years held off an uprising that many believed had been exhausted, but his downfall followed a series of battlefield convulsions for other allies of Iran
- Israel has all but decapitated the Hezbollah leadership in Lebanon since September, while the killing of Hamas figureheads has dealt major blows to Assad's key backer Tehran
BRICS summit planned for July in Rio, says current chair Brazil
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - Leaders of the countries known as BRICS will hold a summit in Rio de Janeiro in...
Geostrategy
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Palestinian Authority suspends Al Jazeera broadcasts
The Palestinian Authority on Wednesday ordered the suspension of broadcasts by Qatar-based Al Jazeera across the Palestinian territories, accusing the...
‘Numb’ New Orleans grapples with horror of deadly truck attack
New Orleans, United States - The celebratory atmosphere of Bourbon Street in New Orleans, long an American byword for indulgence and...
Syria Foreign Minister in Saudi Arabia, hopes the visit opens ‘new, bright page’
Last week, in an interview with Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television, Sharaa said Saudi Arabia "will certainly have a large role...
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Economy
Maysa Sabreen made first woman chief of Syrian central bank
Damascus, Syria -- Syrian authorities have appointed Maysa Sabreen as interim central bank governor, a bank official told AFP on Tuesday,...
- Sabreen, a Syrian banking expert, held the position of first deputy governor since 2018. She has also served on the central bank's management committee.
- Mohammed Issam Hazime, who headed the central bank before her, was appointed in 2021 under the rule of Bashar al-Assad.
South Korea’s Yoon: from star prosecutor to president facing arrest
Yoon is under investigation for his martial law declaration and faces criminal charges of insurrection, which could result in life...
- Investigators sought an arrest warrant against Yoon which a court issued on Tuesday.
- If arrested, Yoon would become the first S.Korean president detained before impeachment procedures
Geostrategy
UN experts demand Israel face consequences for alleged Gaza war crimes and genocide claims
The experts called for urgent, independent and thorough investigations into alleged serious violations of international law, saying Israel's continued impunity...
- Israel's retaliatory military campaign has killed more than 45,500 people in Gaza, a majority of them civilians
- The experts highlighted alleged crimes against humanity committed by Israel "including murder, torture, sexual violence.'