Trump sends Witkoff to Moscow in hopes of finalizing Ukraine deal
An initial US plan which was heavily weighted in Russia's favor has been replaced by one taking in more of...
Geostrategy
Trump peace plan: Washington, Kyiv say a peace deal must ‘fully uphold’ Ukraine sovereignty
US President Donald Trump had given Ukraine until November 27 to approve his plan to end the nearly four-year conflict,...
Geostrategy
Business
Air passenger numbers to top five billion for the first time in 2025: IATA
Geneva, Switzerland -- Air passenger numbers are forecast to top five billion for the first time next year and the sector's...
- Total industry revenues are forecast at $1.007 trillion, helped by falling oil and fuel prices, "the first time that industry revenues top the $1 trillion mark," IATA said.
- Airlines have been hit by rising fuel costs since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022 but IATA said it expected this factor to ease next year.
Syria rebel leader vows to pursue former officials for torture, war crimes
Syria's Islamist rebel leader on Tuesday vowed to pursue former senior government officials responsible for torture and war crimes, a...
- Israel continued launched air strikes destroying the former government's military capabilities
- Baath party said it will support "a transitional phase in Syria aimed at defending the unity of the country."
Geostrategy
European countries suspend Syrian asylum decisions after Assad’s fall
While Berlin and other governments said they were watching the fast-moving developments in the war-ravaged nation, Vienna signaled it would...
- World leaders and Syrians abroad watched in disbelief at the weekend as Islamist-led rebels swept into Damascus
- The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees had imposed a freeze on decisions for ongoing asylum decisions
Business
UAE to introduce 15% tax rate on corporate profit from Jan 2025
Dubai, United Arab Emirates -- The United Arab Emirates, home to the regional headquarters of numerous multinational companies, said Monday it...
- The move will bring the UAE in line with efforts towards a global minimum corporate rate.
- The UAE, long considered a tax haven, last year began taxing the profits of companies worth more than 375,000 dirhams ($102,000) at nine percent.
Business
Oil prices higher on China boost, Syria uncertainty
Major stock markets diverged as investors reacted to political crises in South Korea and France, and tracked the perspectives for...
- Oil prices rose more than one percent as traders tracked developments in Syria after president Bashar al-Assad fled the country over the weekend as rebels swept into Damascus.
- China is battling sluggish domestic consumption, a persistent crisis in the property sector and soaring government debt -- all of which threaten Beijing's official growth target.
ECB to cut rates again amid bleak eurozone outlook
The European Central Bank is expected to cut interest rates again this week amid a darkening outlook, with political turbulence...
- The central bank hiked rates aggressively from mid-2022 to tame surging energy and food costs
- Eurozone's anaemic growth rates are weighing down the broader single currency area
Assad’s fall reshapes Middle East politics, redefining power dynamics across the region
The Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham rebels shocked the world by swiftly seizing Aleppo and Damascus, overshadowing global focus on the...
- Assad had for nearly 14 years held off an uprising that many believed had been exhausted, but his downfall followed a series of battlefield convulsions for other allies of Iran
- Israel has all but decapitated the Hezbollah leadership in Lebanon since September, while the killing of Hamas figureheads has dealt major blows to Assad's key backer Tehran
Geostrategy
UK Prime Minister to talk trade, Middle East during Gulf visit
London, United Kingdom -- Britain's leader Keir Starmer makes his first trip to the Gulf as prime minister from Sunday, seeking...
- Starmer will first visit the United Arab Emirates and then travel to Saudi Arabia, before stopping off in Cyprus on his way back to London on Tuesday.
- Starmer's trip comes after Britain last week rolled out the diplomatic red carpet for Qatar's emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani who enjoyed a state visit to the UK.
Geostrategy
Trump touts tariffs, mass deportations and NATO skepticism
In his first formal television interview -- and just six weeks before he takes office -- Trump again signaled that...
- He also stressed that his campaign promises of huge tariffs -- including against top US trading partners Canada, Mexico and China -- would be enacted.
- As to whether Americans would see higher prices as a result of those tariffs, Trump said that "I can't guarantee anything. I can't guarantee tomorrow."
Geostrategy
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....
- Protests spread like wildfire in neighbouring provinces, with anti-government demonstrators toppling statues of late president Hafez al-Assad in the Jaramana suburb of Damascus
- The Israeli army said Saturday that its troops were assisting UN peacekeeping forces in the Syrian-controlled part of the Golan Heights in repelling an attack "by armed individuals
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Trump sends Witkoff to Moscow in hopes of finalizing Ukraine deal
An initial US plan which was heavily weighted in Russia's favor has been replaced by one taking in more of...
Geostrategy
Company News
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Europe hyperloop test hits new speed record in Dutch trial
The Hague, Netherlands -- A Dutch tech startup said Wednesday it had set a European speed record for its futuristic...
Geostrategy
Iran, IAEA sign cooperation framework in Cairo after suspension following Israeli strikes on nuclear sites
The agreement was signed in Cairo by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi,...
Geostrategy
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Geostrategy
Israel forum says concerned for Gaza hostages after Doha strikes
The main Israeli group campaigning for the release of hostages held in Gaza expressed "deep concern" following an Israeli attack...
- "The chance of bringing them back now faces greater uncertainty than ever before, with one thing of absolute certainty -- their time is running out," the statement said.
- Hamas and Israel have held multiple rounds of indirect ceasefire negotiations brokered by Qatar, Egypt and the United States throughout the nearly two-year Gaza war
Business
Stocks climb eyeing US rate cut, political turbulence
A steep downward revision to US job creation cemented expectations that the Federal Reserve would begin lowering its benchmark rate...
- US employment growth is likely to be revised down by 911,000 for the 12 months ending in March, official data showed.
- Investors are now looking to consumer inflation data coming Thursday, since a hot reading could keep the Fed from cutting further as it looks to curb price increases.
Geostrategy
Israel strikes Hamas officials in Qatar, the first of its kind on Qatari territory
Qatar, which has been a key mediator in efforts to broker a truce in Gaza, said Israeli strikes targeted the...
- Qatar, which has been a key mediator in efforts to broker a truce in Gaza, said Israeli strikes targeted the homes of several members of Hamas's political bureau
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he ordered the strikes in response to a Monday shooting in Jerusalem that killed six people and was later claimed by Hamas