US envoy says Hezbollah involvement in Iran-Israel war would be ‘very bad decision’
The US special envoy for Syria Tom Barrack warned Lebanese militant group Hezbollah on Thursday against getting involved in the...
Geostrategy
Trade war worsens foreign investment outlook: UNCTAD World Investment Report
Presenting the annual report at a press conference, UNCTAD chief Rebeca Grynspan said it contained a "clear and urgent" message...
Economy
Geostrategy
Biden slams ‘dictator’ Putin and his war in Ukraine
US President Joe Biden on Tuesday branded his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin a "dictator" facing withering economic and diplomatic isolation...
- Biden made clear there would be no US boots on the ground in the week-old war on Europe's doorstep
- "A Russian dictator, invading a foreign country, has costs around the world," Biden said
Business
Italy’s Eni to pull out of Russia-Turkey pipeline
Eni will sell its stake in Blue Stream following moves by rivals BP and Shell to divest from Russia-linked projects...
- Eni will sell its stake in Blue Stream following moves by rivals BP and Shell to divest from Russia-linked projects after Moscow invaded Ukraine
- The company controls the gas pipeline -- which links the two countries via the Black Sea -- equally with Russian energy giant Gazprom
Economy
Brent oil breaks $110 a barrel, WTI up 5% on Ukraine conflict
Brent crude broke above $110 a barrel on Wednesday and WTI was up more than five percent as Russia's invasion...
- Brent climbed 4.88 percent to $110.09, while WTI was up 5.06 percent at 108.64
- The conflict in eastern Europe came as prices were already soaring owing to tight supplies
Business
Qatar Airways hits out at Airbus as new jet grounded in paint dispute
Qatar Airways has secured an injunction preventing Airbus from cancelling deals for other jets as the two are involved in...
- The airline has now grounded 22 of its 53 A350 jets since November 2020, and said it will move ahead with legal action.
- In retaliation, Airbus has in turn sought to cancel orders made by Qatar Airways for two other A350 jets and 50 A321neo planes.
Business
Egypt’s Suez Canal Authority announces hike in passage tolls
Egypt's Suez Canal Authority announced Tuesday additional tolls for transiting vessels including fuel tankers, as oil prices soar in the...
- Petroleum gas tankers will see a 10 percent hike on passage fees while liquefied natural gas carriers and general cargo ships will incur a seven percent increase.
- Ships carrying petroleum products will be hit with a five percent rise under the new tolls, which are effective immediately.
Arts & Culture
Single women in Tunisia demand reproductive rights
Under Tunisian law, single women can only freeze their eggs if they are facing medical treatment. The eggs are stored...
- But the Tunisian law precludes the possibility of single women freezing eggs to delay pregnancy for social or career reasons.
- In Algeria, only married women have access to such services, while in Libya, doctors say fertility treatment does not exist at all.
Geostrategy
Arabs decry ‘racist’ double standard in Ukraine media commentary
Arabs noted that while the toll of war may be similar in the respective conflicts, the media treatment is not....
- The Arab and Middle Eastern Journalists' Association condemned "examples of racist news coverage that ascribes more importance to some victims of war than others".
- For Syrians, the disparity in media treatment is particularly striking as Russia launched a bloody intervention to prop up Bashar al-Assad's regime more than six years ago.
Business
Shell to sell stakes In Gazprom
Action followed after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
- The announcement came after UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said more than 3 million Russian companies would be unable to access funding from London-based financial institutions
- European football's governing body UEFA also ended its estimated 40-million-euro sponsorship deal with Gazprom
Business
Italy looks to Algeria to cover possible gas shortage
Italy imports around 95 percent of the gas it uses, and around 45 percent of that comes from Russia.
- Russia last week invaded Ukraine, causing the United States and its allies to impose sanctions on Moscow
- The conflict also sparked alarm among countries like Italy, which depend on Russia for their energy needs
Geostrategy
Must conclude Iran nuclear talks this week, says France
The negotiations to revive the deal involve Iran as well as France, Germany, Britain, Russia and China directly, and the...
- All sides have signaled progress in the talks, but Iran has said that the West still needs to decide on some key issues
- Parties to the 2015 deal saw it as the best way to stop the Islamic republic from building a nuclear bomb
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US envoy says Hezbollah involvement in Iran-Israel war would be ‘very bad decision’
The US special envoy for Syria Tom Barrack warned Lebanese militant group Hezbollah on Thursday against getting involved in the...
Geostrategy
Company News
Biden, Xi set for high-stakes summit
Geostrategy
Latest News
Alstom to cut 1500 jobs
Business
Iraq resumes talks with US on coalition forces exit
According to the military spokesman for Iraq's prime minister, the discussions aim to schedule a timeline for a pullout of...
Geostrategy
Hospitalized Pentagon chief hands duties to deputy
The latest health scare came weeks after it emerged that Austin, 70, had kept previous hospital stays secret and had...
Geostrategy
More than 50 people killed in Israeli strikes on Rafah
Witnesses heard an intense series of strikes and saw smoke billowing above the city, which now hosts more than half...
Geostrategy
Most Read
Geostrategy
Saudi Arabia sends $250m to bolster Yemeni government
Saudi Arabia said it had disbursed $250 million in aid to the internationally-recognized government in Yemen. The money follows an...
- The Yemeni government relocated to Aden, a port city on the southern coast, after the Iran-backed Houthis seized the capital Sanaa in 2014.
- In 2015 Saudi Arabia mobilized an international coalition intended to oust the Houthis.
Geostrategy
Hamas warns Israeli invasion of Rafah will ‘torpedo’ hostage talks
Foreign governments, including Israel's key ally the United States, and aid groups have voiced deep concern over Israeli Prime Minister...
- The United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) were some of the latest to raise the alarm over the plan for Rafah.
- German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on social media platform X that "the people in Gaza cannot disappear into thin air".
Geostrategy
Thousands in Morocco protest ties with ‘genocidal’ Israel
In late 2020, Morocco established diplomatic ties with Israel under the Abraham Accords brokered by the United States which saw...
- Since the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza began on October 7, several large-scale demonstrations in the North African kingdom have called for the abrogation of the normalization deal.
- "Normalization is treason," and "Stop the massacre," read banners protesters carried in front of Morocco's parliament in the center of Rabat.