Qatar urges Israel, Hamas to seize ‘window of opportunity’ for Gaza truce
US President Donald Trump voiced optimism on Friday about a new ceasefire in Gaza saying an agreement involving Israel and...
Geostrategy
China’s Xiaomi receives almost 300,000 SUV pre-orders in minutes
Beijing, China -- Chinese electric vehicle maker Xiaomi received almost 300,000 pre-orders within an hour for its first sport utility...
Business
Geostrategy
Tensions threaten to boil over in Jerusalem’s Muslim quarter
The Old City of Jerusalem, with its Jewish, Muslim, Christian and Armenian quarters, swarms with tourists and pilgrims, security forces,...
- Muslim and Christian Palestinians as well as rights groups accuse Israeli ultra-nationalist groups of trying to "Judaize" the district in the annexed eastern sector of the city.
- And in what Palestinians see as a blatant provocation, Jewish hardliners have been stepping up visits to the esplanade.
Business
Twitter weighs ‘poison pill’ to hold off Elon Musk
The so-called "poison pill" Twitter has proposed to use against Elon Musk's potential hostile takeover is a mechanism with a...
- To halt a takeover, the board plans to activate the pill if the Tesla CEO comes to own more than 15 percent of Twitter
- The "poison pill" was invented 40 years ago by business lawyer Martin Lipton to counteract a wave of hostile takeovers on Wall Street
Economy
Eurozone posts growth in April despite Ukraine war
Economic growth in the eurozone accelerated and hit a seven-month high in April, a key survey showed on Friday, despite...
- "The eurozone has therefore started the second quarter on a stronger-than-anticipated footing, confounding consensus expectations of a slowdown," said S&P
- The automotive sector took the hardest hit, with production levels falling sharply in April -- and at a faster rate than in March, the survey said
Arts & Culture
Bahraini artisans toil to preserve sugar-coated tradition
As Bahrainis celebrate Ramadan along with the rest of the Muslim world, the holy month is a period of appreciation...
- As Bahrainis celebrate Ramadan along with the rest of the Muslim world, the holy month is a period of appreciation for traditional sweets
- A thick mixture of sugar, saffron and freshly blanched almonds is transformed into a uniquely Bahraini version of the ubiquitous Middle Eastern dessert: halva
Geostrategy
Portuguese man detained over Beirut blast
Spanish authorities said Thursday they had arrested and then granted conditional release to a Portuguese man wanted by Interpol over...
- Moreira is wanted in Lebanon for allegedly having brought explosives into the country
- He is wanted in Lebanon for the crimes of "terrorism" and "causing death through the use of explosives."
Geostrategy
Turkey calls in Iraq envoy to defend new offensive
Iraq’s charge d’affaires was called in a day after officials in Baghdad denied Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s claim that...
- Iraq’s charge d’affaires was called in a day after officials in Baghdad denied Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s claim that they backed the offensive
- Erdogan said on Wednesday that Turkey’s push into the mountains of northern Iraq was being conducted in “close cooperation with the central Iraqi government."
Business
Price hikes fuel Nestle Q1 sales rise
Nestle raised prices due to inflation, and signaled more hikes.
- Nestle's organic growth reached 7.6 percent in the first quarter, exceeding the forecast of analysts
- The growth excludes the effects of acquisitions or divestments to focus on a company's core operations
Geostrategy
Libya’s rival government meets for first time
Libya's rival government selected by parliament in the east met for the first time Thursday, challenging a cabinet brokered by...
- "We are keen to carry out our work as the legitimate Libyan government emanating from the legislative authority," Bashagha said
- The rival adminstrations are the latest political split since the fall of dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011
Geostrategy
Parched Iraq’s water resources ‘down 50 percent’
Oil-rich Iraq, despite its mighty Tigris and Euphrates rivers, is classified as one of the world's five countries most vulnerable...
- Iraq which shares the Tigris and Euphrates with Turkey and Syria often protests that their upstream construction of dams has endangered its water resources.
- World has Bank warned that Iraq, a country of 41 million people, could suffer a 20-percent decline in drinking water resources by 2050 due to climate change.
Geostrategy
Courts in Iraq sentence eight to death
Eight people have been sentenced to death in Iraq, half of them over a 2020 car bombing in the city...
- A criminal court in Anbar, a province in western Iraq, "sentenced four terrorists to death by hanging for setting off a car bomb in Ramadi"
- Amnesty International said in a report last year that Iraq was the world's fourth leading executioner
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Qatar urges Israel, Hamas to seize ‘window of opportunity’ for Gaza truce
US President Donald Trump voiced optimism on Friday about a new ceasefire in Gaza saying an agreement involving Israel and...
Geostrategy
Company News
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Attack on Rafah would be ‘nail in coffin’ of Gaza aid: UN chief
Speaking before the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Antonio Guterres said that Gaza's southernmost city, where more than 1.4...
Qatar ruler to arrive in Paris for discussions on Gaza
The gas-rich country has emerged as the key player in mediation between Israel and Hamas to agree a truce in...
Geostrategy
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Geostrategy
US airman dead after self-immolating outside Israeli embassy
The shocking act was an escalation of recent protests across the United States against Israel's actions in Gaza. Washington last...
- US media reported that the man livestreamed himself on Twitch, wearing fatigues and declaring he will "not be complicit in genocide" before dousing himself in liquid
- The man lit himself on fire while yelling "Free Palestine!" until he fell on the ground, he was transported to hospital with "critical life threatening injuries", officials said
Economy
Majority of WTO members sign investment deal for development
The deal aims to facilitate "the flow of foreign direct investment... particularly to developing and least-developed" countries with the aim...
- The Investment Facilitation for Development (IFD) Agreement, signed by 75 percent of the WTO's members, would require full consensus before it could be formally incorporated
- Despite broad backing, some members may still oppose its integration into the WTO, including India, which typically objects to agreements that do not cover all countries
Economy
WTO convenes ministers in UAE with slim hopes for breakthrough
The World Trade Organization's 13th ministerial conference (MC13), scheduled to run until Thursday in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the...