What does NATO’s 5% spending deal really mean?
The Hague, Netherlands - NATO leaders are set to sign off Wednesday at their Hague summit on a defence spending...
Geostrategy
Israel kills 46 Gazans waiting for aid as hostage families call for end to war
Civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that 21 people were killed and around 150 wounded by Israeli fire near...
Geostrategy
Geostrategy
UN: Yemen’s warring parties agree to two-month truce
The UN said Yemen's warring parties have agreed to a two-month extendable truce starting Saturday, the first day of Ramadan...
- The announcement brings a glimmer of hope in a brutal conflict that has killed hundreds of thousands and left millions on the brink of famine
- "The truce can be renewed beyond the two-month perod with the consent of the parties," UN special envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg said in a statement.
Arts & Culture
Qatar World Cup draw pairs Iran and USA
England also found themselves in Group B and will face Iran in their opening game on the tournament's first day,...
- Germany and Spain are joined by Japan in Group E, which will be completed by the winner of an intercontinental play-off in June between Costa Rica and New Zealand.
- Qatar will also take on African champions Senegal as well as the Netherlands, who return to the World Cup after missing out in 2018, in Group A.
Tunisia summons speaker for ‘conspiracy against state security’
Tunisia has summoned for questioning the speaker of the dissolved parliament for "conspiracy against state security" after lawmakers met online...
- Rached Ghannouchi, who also heads the Islamist-inspired Ennahdha party, received a summons on Thursday "to question him about the holding of a plenary meeting"
- President Kais Saied dissolved parliament on Wednesday, dealing another blow to the political system in place since the North African country's 2011 revolt
Business
Israel and UAE ‘milestone’ free trade deal to boost commercial relations
Israel described as "historic" the deal abolishing customs duties on "95 percent of the products" exchanged between the Jewish state...
- Talks for a free trade agreement were concluded Friday after four rounds of negotiations, including last month in Egypt between Israeli PM and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince.
- The deal was now "ready for signature", the UAE's Minister of State for Foreign Trade Thani al-Zeyoudi said.
Economy
Lebanon to pay $16m for power on polling day
Lebanon's electricity company is charging $16 million to supply power on the day of the May 15 parliamentary polls, a sum...
- The state-owned Electricite du Liban (EDL) presented a quote of $16 million to the government, which is trying to provide just half a day's worth of power to polling stations
- "I held several meetings with EDL, which apparently couldn't provide electricity except at a very high cost," Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi said
Economy
World Bank urges support for poor as food prices soar
Developing and import-dependent countries have been heavily impacted by Russia's invasion of Ukraine -- the two countries that account for...
- Among those affected are Egypt, Lebanon, Tunisia and war-torn Yemen, whose humanitarian crisis is already considered the world's worst.
- Net food importers will suffer the most from the effects of the war, according to UNCTAD, which lists 36 countries as highly dependent on wheat imports from Ukraine, Russia.
Geostrategy
Iran reacts with fury over imposition of new US sanctions
Iran criticized the United States for imposing new sanctions on the Islamic republic, saying it shows the Americans harbor bad...
- The US Treasury announced on Wednesday the measures targeting several entities it accused of involvement in procuring supplies for Iran's ballistic missile program
- The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) meanwhile said Iran's "missile prowess" and regional influence are "red lines" ,according to a statement posted on its website
Economy
Oil prices sink as US taps reserves, equities fall
President Joe Biden will announce later on Thursday the release of a record million barrels of oil a day for...
- President Joe Biden will announce later on Thursday the release of a record million barrels of oil a day for about 180 days from US strategic stockpiles
- Crude prices have spiked in recent weeks over fears of a major supply shortfall after Russia — the world’s second biggest exporter of oil after Saudi Arabia
Geostrategy
Moscow gas threat as NATO warns Russians ‘regrouping’ in Ukraine
Russia threatened Thursday to turn off its gas taps to Europe if the continent fails to pay in rubles, opening...
- Putin on Thursday raised the stakes, warning that EU members will need to set up ruble accounts from Friday to pay for Russian gas
- Moscow insisted war was going to plan as it said this week it would scale back attacks on capital Kyiv and concentrate on the east
Geostrategy
Tunisia speaker rejects president’s dissolution of parliament
"We consider that the parliament remains operational," Rached Ghannouchi told AFP in an interview.
- "We consider that the parliament remains operational," Rached Ghannouchi told AFP in an interview.
- Saied had dissolved the chamber on Wednesday, dealing another blow to the political system in place
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What does NATO’s 5% spending deal really mean?
The Hague, Netherlands - NATO leaders are set to sign off Wednesday at their Hague summit on a defence spending...
Geostrategy
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Honda to make electric mopeds
Business
London court rejects suspending arms exports to Israel
Britain's strategic licensing criteria states that weapons should not be exported when there is a clear risk they could be...
Pakistan parties reach power-sharing agreement, Khan loyalists left out
After weeks of negotiations, Khan's adversaries announced at a late-night press conference in the capital Islamabad that a power-sharing agreement...
Pentagon confirms Houthis shot down drone off Yemen
The downing of the drone came the same day that the Houthi rebels targeted two US-owned merchant vessels as they...
Geostrategy
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Geostrategy
Dutch court upholds $50bn payment award in Yukos case
THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS - A Dutch court quashed an appeal by Russia in a record $50-billion case on Tuesday, paving the...
- The Amsterdam Appeals Court turned down a claim by Moscow that shareholders had "committed fraud" during the arbitration process.
- In 2014 the international Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague ruled in favor of shareholders,
Geostrategy
WHO registers eighty percent rise in measles case
Geneva, Switzerland - The World Health Organization voiced alarm on Tuesday at the rapid spread of measles, with more than 306,000...
- At least 95 percent of children need to be fully vaccinated against the disease in a locality to prevent outbreaks, but global vaccination rates have slipped to 83 percent.
- WHO official Crowcroft pointed out that 92 percent of all children who die from measles live among less than a quarter of the global population, mainly in very low-income countries
Geostrategy
WHO shifts 32 patients out of ‘indescribable’ Gaza hospital
Geneva, Switzerland - The World Health Organization said on Tuesday it had transferred 32 patients out of the besieged Nasser Hospital...
- After being denied access to the hospital on Friday and Saturday, the WHO said it led two life-saving missions to transfer 32 critical patients, including two children.
- WHO staff said the scenes around the hospital in the southern city of Khan Yunis were "indescribable", while calling the conditions inside ripe for the spread of disease.