France opens ‘complicity in genocide’ probes over blocked Gaza aid
Paris, France -- French anti-terror prosecutors have opened probes into "complicity in genocide" and "incitement to genocide" after French-Israelis allegedly...
Geostrategy
Lebanon says dismantled ‘more than 500’ Hezbollah installations in south
Under a November ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group was required to pull its fighters out...
Geostrategy
Arts & Culture
Pakistan party falls flat after semi-final cricket loss
The national mood was summed up by Prime Minister and former captain Imran Khan who said the side should be...
- Pakistan cricket fans reacted largely with good grace and humour Friday to their team's exit from the Twenty20 World Cup.
- Fans on social media heaped blame for the loss on Hasan Ali, vilified after dropping a catch at a key point of the match.
Market Report
Asian markets rise on outlook hope but eyes on inflation
A respite in the crisis surrounding troubled Chinese developer Evergrande also provided some much-needed support to the region.
- A respite in the crisis surrounding troubled Chinese developer Evergrande also provided some much-needed support to the region
- Analysts said dealers remained hopeful that the inflation spurt would not be long-lasting and flatten out as supply chains normalise
Geostrategy
Biden, Xi expected to hold virtual summit on Monday: US media
Relations between the world's two largest economies have deteriorated in recent weeks, in particular over Taiwan.
- Relations between the world's two largest economies have deteriorated in recent weeks, in particular over Taiwan
- Washington has repeatedly signaled its support for Taiwan in the face of Chinese aggression
Economy
Trillions needed to fight climate threat: UN draft report
The draft Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change report is scheduled for release early next year.
- Helping vulnerable nations cope with the multiplier effect of climate change will require trillions of dollars, according to a draft UN report
- The failure of rich countries to deliver the promised $100 billion a year for vulnerable nations has become a flashpoint at COP26
Geostrategy
Macron hosts leaders to keep Libya polls on track
The hydrocarbon-rich North African country has been mired in civil war since the overthrow of dictator Moamer Kadhafi in a...
- The presidential vote on December 24, and legislative elections, are the core parts of a UN plan to help restore stability
- There are also fears over whether the various factions will recognise the results of the polls
Science
Elon Musk’s SpaceX launches four astronauts to International Space Station
After a series of delays, Elon Musk's private company SpaceX launched four astronauts to the International Space Station on Wednesday...
- The station is currently operating with just one NASA astronaut in the US segment to welcome the incoming crew.
- The flight was initially postponed from October 31 first for weather, then a "minor medical issue" affecting one of the crew.
Business
Syria inks solar plant deal with UAE firms
Syria has signed a deal with United Arab Emirates firms for the construction of a solar power plant near Damascus,...
- The accord comes two days after UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan met President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus
- The Syrian government initially approved the project last month, with Economy Minister Samer al-Khalil calling it a positive sign
Geostrategy
Kuwait to limit visas for Lebanese over Gulf row
Kuwait is to limit the number of visas it issues for Lebanese nationals as a diplomatic row festers between Beirut...
- “A verbal decision has been taken to be stricter in granting tourist and business visas to Lebanese,” the source told AFP
- The source stressed that no official decision had been made and that visas for visitors from Lebanon have not been suspended
Geostrategy
Incoming CEO of Israeli spyware firm NSO steps down
The designated chief executive of NSO, the Israeli firm infamous for phone hacking, is resigning less than two weeks after...
- Isaac Benbenisti was tapped last week to succeed founder and CEO Shalev Hulio
- NSO's Pegasus software can switch on a phone's camera or microphone and harvest its data
Geostrategy
Scientists appeal for immediate climate action at COP26
More than 200 scientists told the COP26 summit Thursday to take immediate action to halt global warming, warning in an...
- The scientists warned in an open letter that some climate change impacts were "irreversible" for generations.
- Commitments made so far could still lead to "catastrophic" warming of as much as 2.7C by 2100, according to the UN.
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France opens ‘complicity in genocide’ probes over blocked Gaza aid
Paris, France -- French anti-terror prosecutors have opened probes into "complicity in genocide" and "incitement to genocide" after French-Israelis allegedly...
Geostrategy
Company News
Latest News
Evergrande shares begin trading
Business
US carries out fresh strikes against Yemen’s Houthis
Washington is seeking to reduce the Iran-backed Houthis' capabilities, but the Yemeni rebels are still able to attack despite a week...
5 dead in Israel strike on Syria targeting ‘Iran-aligned leaders’: monitor
The mid-morning strike, which caused a large plume of smoke to billow into the sky, was also reported by Syrian...
Israel to allow flour shipments for Gaza through key port: US
Three UN agencies -- the World Food Program (WFP), UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO) -- pushed for the...
Most Read
US drone crashes in Iraq, Islamic resistance fighters claim hit
US and allied forces in Iraq and Syria have been hit by some 140 attacks since mid-October, according to the...
- "A US UAV crashed near Balad airbase, Iraq" on Thursday night local time, a US defense official said, without identifying the type of drone that was lost
- The Islamic Resistance in Iraq said Friday that it fired on a US MQ-9 which was operating over Iraq the day before
EU’s Borrell accuses Israel of ‘creating’ and ‘financing’ Hamas
Hamas was created in December 1987 shortly after the start of the first Palestinian intifada, or uprising, in the Israeli-occupied...
- Israeli PM has in recent days reaffirmed his opposition to the creation of a Palestinian state, drawing criticism from his US ally, which is still advocating a two-state solutions
- "Israel is reaffirming its refusal (of this solution), and to prevent it they have gone so far as to create Hamas themselves," the EU's top diplomat Josep Borrell said
Geostrategy
Biden on Palestinian state: some states ‘don’t have their own militaries’
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland this week said Israel would not...
- Biden said it was not impossible Netanyahu might come round to some form of two-state solution, mooted for decades as a way to end Middle East tensions
- The Israeli premier said on Thursday that his country "must have security control over all the territory west of the Jordan (River)."