Massive US bunker-buster bombs make combat debut in Iran strikes
The US military says the GBU-57 -- also named Massive Ordnance Penetrator -- is designed to penetrate up to 200...
Geostrategy
US attacks three key Iranian nuclear facilities, mega bombs likely used in strikes
Trump called on Iran to "agree to end this war," saying that "now is the time for peace." But it...
Geostrategy
Geostrategy
UAE cargo ship sinks off Iran, all but one crew rescued
An Emirati cargo ship sank in Gulf waters off Iran, triggering a search and rescue operation in heavy seas Thursday...
- State media reported that the vessel -- a car transporter -- had capsized in heavy winds off the Iranian port of Asalouyeh.
- The search was continuing for the final missing crew member with two rescue vessels combing the waters.
Geostrategy
Biden slams ‘war criminal’ Putin as Ukraine civilian horror grows
US President Joe Biden branded Vladimir Putin a "war criminal" Wednesday as the Russian leader's onslaught in Ukraine claimed more...
- Officials in the port city of Mariupol were struggling to count the dead at the Drama Theatre, where thick smoke rose from the rubble
- It was the latest in a litany of assaults on civilians across Ukraine since Putin invaded on February 24
Geostrategy
‘Here there is nothing’: Yemen’s Aden scarred by grinding war
While Aden is now relatively stable, economically the ancient port city has been left on its knees.
- While Aden is now relatively stable, economically the ancient port city has been left on its knees
- Water and electricity are intermittent, serving a population that officials say has tripled to more than three million, as people seek safety from fighting raging elsewhere
Science
WTO chief hails Covid vaccines IP compromise
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said the compromise was a big step forward in a bid to end the logjam at the global...
- Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said the compromise was a big step forward in a bid to end the logjam at the global trade body
- However, she cautioned that some of the details on waiving WTO rules on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) still needed to be fleshed out
Economy
US Fed raises interest rate in battle against high inflation
Markets are expecting a total of seven rate hikes this year, and while the US Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee...
- At the conclusion of its two-day meeting, the Fed’s Open Market Committee announced a quarter-point rate hike
- This is the first increase in interest rates since 2018 and since it cut the rate to zero at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic
Geostrategy
Number of Italy bound under-18 Tunisian migrants quadruples in four years
A record number of irregular migrants under 18 years old reached Italy from Tunisia last year, more than quadrupling in...
- Tunisia has become a major conduit for migrants seeking to reach European shores, particularly the Italian island of Lampedusa.
- Some 2,731 minors completed the journey last year, up from 561 four years earlier, a Tunisian social group reported.
Geostrategy
Iran FM says ‘two issues’ remain with US to restore nuclear deal
Iran's foreign minister said Wednesday that two issues remain with the United States in paused negotiations to restore the 2015...
- "We had four issues as our red lines," but "two issues have been almost resolved," Hossein Amir-Abdollahian was quoted as saying by state news agency IRNA
- Iran has been engaged in direct negotiations in Vienna to revive the deal, known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), with France, Germany, Britain, Russia
Arts & Culture
Ukraine invasion shows democracy is shaking: Artist
What Ai Weiwei calls the current "crisis of human rights and freedom of speech" is portrayed in a life-size replica...
- He was speaking at the Albertina Modern gallery where the show, "In Search of Humanity", opens Wednesday.
- The new exhibition, which he described as "critical and radical", displays several works that are responses to the experiences of those fleeing war and persecution.
Economy
IEA cuts oil demand outlook, fears Russia supply ‘shock’
The International Energy Agency cut its world oil demand forecast for 2022 on Wednesday, warning that sanctions against Russia over...
- Russia, the world's biggest exporter of oil, has been hit with a slew of international sanctions over the war in Ukraine, which sent oil prices soaring.
- While the measures exclude the energy market, the IEA said major oil companies, trading houses, shipping firms and banks have "backed away from doing business with the country".
Geostrategy
Israel to start direct flights to Egypt’s Sharm el-Sheikh in April
Israel is to launch direct flights to Sharm el-Sheikh on Egypt's Red Sea coast next month, in an expansion of...
- The new air link had been discussed in September between Israeli PM Naftali Bennet and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi during Bennet's visit to Egypt last year.
- Bennett said Israel was "opening up to the countries of the region and the basis for this longstanding recognition is the peace between Israel and Egypt".
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Massive US bunker-buster bombs make combat debut in Iran strikes
The US military says the GBU-57 -- also named Massive Ordnance Penetrator -- is designed to penetrate up to 200...
Geostrategy
Company News
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Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny dies in prison
Western governments immediately attacked the Kremlin over the death of the most outspoken critic of President Vladimir Putin. Navalny lost...
Geostrategy
5 die in Israeli-raided hospital after oxygen cut: Gaza ministry
Palestinian Territories -- The health ministry in Gaza said five patients died Friday due to lack of oxygen at one...
Geostrategy
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Geostrategy
A royal decree dissolves Kuwait parliament as political wrangling persists
Kuwait City, Kuwait--Kuwait dissolved parliament on Thursday after a protracted stalemate between cabinet ministers and lawmakers dragged on despite the accession...
- According to KUNA, the official news agency, a "royal decree was issued to dissolve the national assembly" elected in June of 2023
- The royal decree came after ministers boycotted a parliamentary session on Wednesday, objecting to a speech delivered by a lawmaker
Geostrategy
In Egypt, Brazil’s president denounces Israel’s Gaza war
Speaking before an Arab League meeting in Cairo, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, on his second trip to Egypt...
- The Brazilian leader said in the speech "stop the collective punishment"
- Lula, in November, accused Israel of committing the "equivalent of terrorism" in Gaza
Geostrategy
Israel PM spurns global recognition of a Palestinian state
In a post in Hebrew on social media platform X, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the Jewish country...
- His comments follow a similar rejection by far-right ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir
- The Washington Post reported that the US and Arab diplomats were working on a plan for peace