Demand for air con set to triple by 2050, warns UN
Geneva, Switzerland -- Global demand for air conditioning could more than triple by 2050, the United Nations warned on Tuesday,...
Geostrategy
UAE ‘probably’ won’t join Gaza stabilization force: senior official
Abu Dhabi, UAE -- The United Arab Emirates is not planning to join the international stabilisation force for Gaza because...
Geostrategy
Geostrategy
Israel PM and defence minister clash over Gaza hostage deal
"When Gallant adopts the anti-Israel narrative, he harms the chances of reaching a hostage release deal," Netanyahu said, adding that...
- Gallant was discussing the choice Israel faced between a ceasefire deal that could end the conflicts in the north with Lebanese Hezbollah and in Gaza, and escalating the war
- "I and the defence establishment support the first option," he said, rather than talk of "'total victory' and all that nonsense", a phrase frequently used by Netanyahu
Fitch lowers Israel’s credit rating amid economic strain from Gaza conflict
San Francisco, United States - US credit rating agency Fitch downgraded Israel a notch on Monday, warning that its ongoing conflict...
- Fitch said that the conflict continuing into next year would force Israel to continue its high spending on military
- Israel has also exchanged near-daily cross-border fire with Hezbollah in Lebanon, forcing Israelis to be evacuated from the northern border region
West tells Iran to ‘stand down’ Israel attack threats; Tehran says ‘no way’
With tensions soaring in the Middle East, the United States says that Iran along with its proxies might attack Israel...
- Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah have vowed revenge for the killings of Ismail Haniyeh and Fuad Shukr
- The White House warned that a "significant set of attacks" by Iran and its proxies was possible as soon as this week
Geostrategy
OPEC says Chinese economy pulling down oil demand
Paris, France -- Uncertainty about Chinese economic growth is weighing on global oil demand this year, OPEC said on Monday, leading...
- "The world oil demand growth forecast for 2024 is revised down slightly by 135,00 barrels a day from the previous month’s assessment," OPEC said.
- OPEC blamed the declining prices on "concerns about China's economic performance" as well "as easing geopolitical risk premiums and mixed economic indicators."
Geostrategy
Calls for Gaza truce grow, Hamas wants Biden plan implemented
Biden had said the first phase of the proposed roadmap would include a "full and complete ceasefire" lasting six weeks,...
- The second phase would see the remaining living hostages released as the warring sides negotiate "a permanent end to hostilities", followed by "a major reconstruction plan for Gaza
- Israel has accepted the invitation from the United States, Qatar and Egypt to send negotiators for talks planned for Thursday.
Geostrategy
Yunus says Bangladesh is experiencing a ‘student-led revolution’
Hasina fled by helicopter as protesters flooded Dhaka's streets in a dramatic end to her long rule. Her government was...
- "This is a revolution, a student-led revolution," new interim leader Muhammad Yunus said
- Yunus, 84, arrived back in Bangladesh from Europe on Thursday
Geostrategy
US orders carrier group to hasten Middle East arrival
He said Austin, who spoke with his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant on Sunday, had also ordered the USS Georgia guided missile...
- US Defence Secretary Austin ordered the aircraft carrier strike group led by the USS Abraham Lincoln, and equipped with F-35 fighters, to "accelerate its transit" to the region
- The United States announced last week that it was deploying the strike group, as well as additional ballistic missile defense-capable cruisers and destroyers
Geostrategy
Israel faces anger over Gaza school strike rescuers say killed 93
Mahmud Bassal, spokesman for the civil defence agency, said 11 children and six women were among the 93 who died...
- The bombardment of Al-Tabieen religious school and mosque drew criticism from across the Middle East and beyond alongside calls for a ceasefire
- Civil defence rescuers in the Hamas-ruled territory said three Israeli missiles hit the complex in Gaza City while people were performing dawn prayers
Former YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki dies of cancer aged 56
San Francisco, United States - Tech pioneer and former YouTube chief Susan Wojcicki, who played an instrumental role in the rise...
- Wojcicki, one of the most prominent women in Silicon Valley, spent nearly two decades helping transform Google from the search engine startup to a global behemoth
- At YouTube, which Google acquired in 2006, Wojcicki helmed operations for nearly a decade, before stepping down last year to focus on her family, health and personal projects
Geostrategy
‘Children torn apart’: Israel strike rains hell on Gaza dawn prayers
Dawn prayers were shattered by the early morning triple air strike from Israeli warplanes, which gutted Al-Tabieen religious school and...
- "Israel is genociding the Palestinians one neighborhood at the time, one hospital at the time, one school at the time," said UN Rapporteur Francesca Albanese.
- In a report issued in March, Albanese said there were "reasonable grounds" to determine that Israel had committed several acts of "genocide" in its war in Gaza.
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Demand for air con set to triple by 2050, warns UN
Geneva, Switzerland -- Global demand for air conditioning could more than triple by 2050, the United Nations warned on Tuesday,...
Geostrategy
Company News
Latest News
Nestle unveils method to boost cocoa yields as climate change hits
Geneva, Switzerland - Faced with climate change diminishing farmers' yields, Nestle announced Wednesday that it was working on a technique...
Business
‘Hell is Us’ looks to break mould of big-budget gaming
Paris, France - Developer Jonathan Jacques-Belletete has taken a gamble on forthcoming game "Hell is Us", hoping to ape the...
Business
‘Curly is beautiful’: Tunisian women embrace natural hair
Tunis, Tunisia -- Tunisian mother Mouna Jebali had long used a flat iron to straighten her thick hair, but with...
Arts & Culture
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Geostrategy
21 countries sign joint statement condemning Israel’s West Bank settlement project
Israel has approved the plans for the roughly 12-square-kilometre parcel of land known as E1 just east of Jerusalem, which...
- "We condemn this decision and call for its immediate reversal in the strongest terms," said the statement of foreign ministers.
- All of Israel's settlements in the West Bank, occupied since 1967, are considered illegal under international law.
Economy
Asian markets creep up as investors await key speech
Hong Kong, China - Asian markets edged mostly upward in muted morning trading on Thursday, one day before a key...
- US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, who has resisted public demands by President Donald Trump to cut rates, is scheduled to deliver remarks Friday
- Data last week provided a mixed picture of US inflation, making it uncertain if the Fed will lower rates as many investors expect in September
Geostrategy
US senators push for improved press access in Gaza
Washington, United States - A group of 17 US Senators sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday...
- The letter to Rubio, a staunch supporter of Israel, said: "We urge you to press the Israeli government to protect journalists in Gaza and allow global media to the territory."
- Last week, an Israeli strike killed four journalists for Al Jazeera, including Qatari television correspondent Anas al-Sharif, as well as two freelance journalists