UAE to lift three-year Lebanon travel ban: statement
Dubai, United Arab Emirates -- The United Arab Emirates will lift a ban on its citizens travelling to Lebanon that...
Geostrategy
UAE says foils bid to transfer weapons to Sudan army
"The security services succeeded in preventing the transfer of a quantity of military equipment to the Sudanese Armed Forces following...
Geostrategy
Geostrategy
Le Pen’s French presidency bid in jeopardy after election ban
A French court on Monday threw into severe doubt far-right leader Marine Le Pen's 2027 bid for president, handing her...
- She was convicted over a scheme to take advantage of European Parliament expenses to employ assistants who were actually working for her far-right party in France
- Le Pen as well as the other officials were banned from running for office, with the judge specifying that the sanction should come into force with immediate effect
Arts & Culture
Hard-hitting drama ‘Adolescence’ to be shown in UK schools
London, United Kingdom - The Netflix drama "Adolescence", which has sparked widespread debate about the toxic and misogynistic influences young...
- Starmer said he had watched the drama -- in which a 13-year-old boy stabs a girl to death after being radicalised on the internet -
- The internet and social media meant "ideology" can now be "pumped directly into the minds of our children", he added
Geostrategy
Le Pen’s French presidency bid in jeopardy after election ban
Paris, France -- A French court on Monday threw into severe doubt far-right leader Marine Le Pen's 2027 bid for...
- A French court on Monday handed her a five-year ban on running for office after convicting her over a fake jobs scheme.
- She was also given a four-year prison term by the Paris court but will not go to jail, with two years of the term suspended and the other two to be served outside jail.
Economy
Trump puts world on edge as ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs loom
Trump kept rivals and allies alike guessing about who would be targeted and by how much, but promised to be...
- A fan of tariffs for decades, Trump said that he had "settled" on a plan but kept the world in suspense as he refused to reveal the details.
- He would only say that the tariffs would be lower than what other countries would be charging the United States, adding that "we sort of have a world obligation perhaps."
Business
Vanke reports annual loss of $6.8 bn
The property giant attributes loss to falling sales and shrinking profit.
- Beijing has in recent years grappled with a prolonged crisis in the country's vast real estate sector, once a key pillar of the economy but now beset with sprawling debt.
- Hong Kong-listed Vanke is part-owned by the government of Shenzhen and was China's fourth-largest real estate firm by sales last year, according to research firm CRIC.
Geostrategy
Trump says ‘there will be bombing’ if Iran fails to make ‘peace deal’
Trump's language represented a sharpening of his comment a few days earlier that if Tehran refused to negotiate a new...
- It was not clear whether Trump was threatening bombing by US planes alone or perhaps in an operation coordinated with Israel
- Trump in 2018 pulled the United States out of an agreement to relieve sanctions on Iran in return for curbs on its nuclear program
Geostrategy
Trump says ‘very angry, pissed off’ with Putin over Ukraine
"If Russia and I are unable to make a deal on stopping the bloodshed in Ukraine, and if I think...
- NBC's Kristen Welker said Trump had called her to express his fury over Putin questioning Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's future as a leader
- Putin rejected a joint US-Ukrainian plan for a 30-day ceasefire, and on Friday suggested Zelensky be removed from office as part of the peace process
Geostrategy
Netanyahu offers Hamas leaders Gaza exit but demands group disarm amid strikes on the Palestinian territory
A senior Hamas official stated on Saturday that the group had approved a new ceasefire proposal put forward by mediators...
- Gaza's civil defence agency said an Israeli air strike on a house and tent sheltering displaced Palestinians killed at least eight people, including five children
- The strike in Khan Yunis came in the morning on the first day of Eid al-Fitr, the festival marking the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan
Geostrategy
Turkey opposition pushes for early polls as Swedish reporter jailed
Istanbul, Turkey -- The Turkish opposition on Sunday worked to keep up the momentum of the protest movement triggered by...
- With Turkey entering several days of public holiday marking the end of the Ramadan, the opposition has vowed to keep up the protest movement while switching to focused events.
- Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on Thursday 1,879 people had been detained in connection with the protests since March 19, with 260 of them remanded in custody pending trial.
Geostrategy
‘Day of funerals,’ Gazans mark grim Eid under Israeli strikes
At dawn, many Gazans gathered across different parts of the territory to offer traditional morning Eid prayers, an AFP correspondent...
- Many prayed beside makeshift tents sheltering tens of thousands of displaced Gazans, living in dire humanitarian conditions.
- At the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, several residents visited the graves of loved ones killed in the war.
UAE to lift three-year Lebanon travel ban: statement
Dubai, United Arab Emirates -- The United Arab Emirates will lift a ban on its citizens travelling to Lebanon that...
Geostrategy
Company News
Latest News
Boeing says China not accepting planes over US tariffs
New York, United States -- Boeing's CEO confirmed Wednesday that China had stopped accepting new aircraft due to the US-China...
Business
Abbas urges Hamas to free Gaza hostages as Israeli strikes kill 25
"Hamas has given the criminal occupation excuses to commit its crimes in the Gaza Strip, the most prominent being the...
Business
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Geostrategy
Trump to visit Saudi, Qatar, UAE in May amid tensions over Iran, trade, and security
Saudi Arabia's top diplomat held talks in Washington earlier this month to lay the groundwork for a visit by Trump...
- It will be his second foreign trip since returning to office, following his planned attendance at the Vatican for Pope Francis's funeral on Saturday
- Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, promised in January to pile $600 billion into US trade and investments
Arts & Culture
Trump, Zelensky to attend Pope Francis’s funeral Saturday
Pope Francis's funeral will be held on Saturday, the Vatican announced, as world leaders from US President Donald Trump to...
- The Argentine pontiff, 88, died on Monday after a stroke, less than a month after returning home from five weeks in hospital battling double pneumonia
- Francis died in the Casa Santa Marta, the Vatican residence where he lived during his 12-year papacy, and his body was laid out in its chapel on Monday evening
Geostrategy
Iran says technical nuclear meeting with US postponed to Saturday
A technical, expert-level nuclear meeting between Iran and the United States will be held on Saturday, coinciding with the third...
- Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said the decision to reschedule the meeting was made following Oman's proposal and the agreement of the Iranian and US delegations
- Western countries including the United States have long accused Iran of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons -- an allegation Tehran has consistently denied