Celebrations erupt across Syria to mark end of 50 years of Baath party rule
Bashar al-Assad's whereabouts not clear, but his key backer Russia said he had resigned from the presidency and left Syria....
Geostrategy
Syria: Tens of thousands of Alawites flee Homs, fearing rebel advance towards Damascus-coast strategic link
Analysts said they expected the fighters led by Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) to push on towards the city,...
Business
White House announces $20bn in grants, loans to boost Intel chip production
Washington, United States - The White House unveiled almost $20 billion in new grants and loans Wednesday to support Intel's US...
- Wednesday's $8.5 billion direct funding announcement is the largest of any grant made so far under the $52.7 billion 2022 CHIPS and Science Act.
- The money will help incentivize Intel to make more than $100 billion worth of investments, which will be one of the largest investments ever in US semiconductor manufacturing.
Geostrategy
UN warns record e-waste in 2022 a catastrophe for environment
On average, every person on earth generates roughly 7.8 kilograms (17 pounds 3 ounces) of e-waste each year, said the...
- Less than one quarter of the 62 million tons of e-waste produced in 2022 was recycled, resulting in heavy metals, plastics and toxic chemicals leaking from junked devices
- The scourge is only going to worsen as demand for new technologies, including solar panels and electric vehicles, outpaces the ability to recycle, the report by UN says
Economy
Cash-strapped Pakistan gets draft approval for $1.1 bn IMF payout
Islamabad, Pakistan - Pakistan reached a tentative deal to unlock a $1.1 billion tranche of an International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout...
- Last summer, cash-strapped Pakistan sketched a $3 billion deal with the IMF as it battled a balance-of-payments crisis which brought it to the brink of default.
- After six days of talks in Islamabad, concluding Tuesday, the IMF said officials had reached a "staff-level agreement" to pay out the latest portion of the deal.
Geostrategy
Gaza ceasefire, post-conflict planning on Blinken’s Saudi visit agenda
Blinken is due to travel on to Egypt, which neighbors Gaza and whose envoys have been involved in previous mediation...
- He will discuss "a political path for the Palestinian people with security assurances with Israel, and an architecture for lasting peace and security in the region", Miller added.
- Nearly six months into the war, Israel's key backer the United States has repeatedly called on its ally to allow more humanitarian aid into besieged Gaza.
Afghanistan blames ‘politics’ as Australia cancels T20 tour in UAE
The Afghanistan Cricket Board urged the Australian government "not to impose its policies on cricket boards" and "focus on supporting...
- Cricket Australia said it had received advice "that conditions for women and girls in Afghanistan are getting worse" and postponed the three-match series scheduled in August
- The decision, announced Tuesday, was third time since 2021, when the Taliban returned to power, that Australia have refused to play Afghanistan outside of international tournaments
Microsoft hires DeepMind co-founder to lead AI unit
Of all the tech giants, Microsoft has moved the fastest into adopting generative AI, integrating its powers into a whole...
- Suleyman is one of the biggest names in the artificial intelligence revolution that is taking the technology world by storm and his hiring is a major move by Microsoft
- Suleyman said that some key collaborators at Inflection, including co-founder Karén Simonyan, had "chosen to join" his team at Microsoft
Geostrategy
Hate crimes surge 32 percent in France following Gaza war: Govt
Police recorded 8,500 crimes and misdemeanors "committed because of the ethnicity, nationality, supposed race or religion" of the victim across...
- There were twice as many crimes and misdemeanors recorded in October-December as in the same period in 2022.
- "The increase can be seen from October, with a level of offences holding at the same high level in November before falling back in December," the report said.
Geostrategy
Israel’s Gallant to visit US as Rafah pressure builds
During his first visit to Washington since war erupted in response to Hamas's unprecedented October 7 attack, Gallant is due...
- Netanyahu's office said a delegation would visit Washington at "the request of US President"
- Biden said Monday he had told Netanyahu to send a team to Washington
No oil and gas majors aligned with climate targets: report
An A grade would be potentially aligned with the goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement to limit temperature rise to...
- The assessment of the 25 largest listed fossil fuel firms by the think-tank Carbon Tracker is designed to enable investors to judge whether the firms are in line with international
- At the bottom of the Carbon Tracker list were Saudi Aramco, Brazil's Petrobras, and the US's ExxonMobil, all rated G. The US firm Conoco Phillips was given an H
Business
Google hit by US$272m fine in France
It breached an agreement on terms for paying media firms.
- French regulators said the fine was for "failing to respect commitments made in 2022" and accused it of not negotiating in "good faith" with news publishers
- France has been a test case for the rules and after initial resistance Google and Facebook agreed to pay some French media for articles shown in web searches
Celebrations erupt across Syria to mark end of 50 years of Baath party rule
Bashar al-Assad's whereabouts not clear, but his key backer Russia said he had resigned from the presidency and left Syria....
Geostrategy
Company News
Latest News
UN sends emergency food aid for one million Lebanese amid fresh Israeli attacks
The World Food Program says it had launched an emergency operation to provide meals for one million people affected by...
Geostrategy
Lebanon may be seeing ‘largest displacement’ ever: PM
Prime Minister Najib Mikati said that "the estimated number is very high and may reach one million" -- which would...
Business
Trump launches into ‘dark speech’ on illegal immigration
Anti-immigrant sentiment has been at the core of Trump's appeal in economically depressed, majority-white parts of the country ever since...
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Geostrategy
Death of Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut an inflection point in the Middle East conflict
Rarely seen in public, Nasrallah enjoyed cult status among his supporters and was the only man in Lebanon with the...
- Palestinian group Hamas and Iranian Supreme leader Khamenei condemn the killing of Nasrallah in Israeli strikes
- Israeli military says "most of the senior leaders of Hezbollah have been eliminated" in Lebanon
Geostrategy
Biden ready to ‘adjust’ US forces in Mideast amid tensions: White House
Washington, United States - President Joe Biden ordered US forces in the Middle East to be adjusted "as necessary," the White...
- The US president, who traveled to his beach house in Delaware on Friday, had been briefed several times by his national security team, the White House added
- Biden had earlier confirmed that "the US had no knowledge of or participation in the (Israeli) action," adding in remarks to reporters that, "We're gathering information."
Geostrategy
Tens of thousands protest against Lebanon ‘bloodbath’ in Iran, Yemen
The demonstrations in Tehran and other Iranian cities were responding to a call by authorities on Wednesday to demonstrate in...
- Hezbollah is part of the "axis of resistance," Iran-aligned armed groups across the Middle East that have targeted Israel, and also US forces
- The alliance also includes Yemen's Houthi rebels who organized a demonstration by tens of thousands in the capital Sanaa on Friday a day after firing a missile at Israel