Palestinians recount ‘black hole’ of Israeli detention
Jerusalem, Undefined -- Denied contact with his lawyer for months, now freed Palestinian prisoner Shady Abu Sedo said he lost...
Geostrategy
Chinese ship scouts deep-ocean floor in South Pacific
Beijing, China -- A Chinese research vessel docked in the Cook Islands Saturday as it probed the Pacific nation's deep-sea...
Geostrategy
Business
Methanol-powered ship to set sail for Europe’s first ‘green’ route
Rotterdam, Netherlands -- The first methanol-powered ship to ply routes between Europe's busy ports was unveiled Tuesday in Rotterdam, with shipping...
- The Eco-Maestro, a 13,675-tonne container carrier will head off to Antwerp in the next few days, before plotting a course for Klaipeda in Lithuania and Riga in Latvia.
- Completed in China earlier this year, the Eco-Maestro is kitted out with the latest engines that can run on methanol -- a sustainable fuel made from decomposed organic matter.
Geostrategy
What we know about the rocky ‘roadmap’ to an elusive Gaza ceasefire
Jerusalem, Undefined - Qatari and Egyptian mediators are cajoling Israel and Hamas towards negotiations on a plan to end their war,...
- US President Joe Biden first outlined in late May what he called an Israeli initiative for a truce and hostage release deal
- Since the October 7 Hamas attacks, much of Gaza has been reduced to rubble and its 2.4 million people are surviving on sporadic aid deliveries
Geostrategy
Heavy battles in Gaza City on eve of new truce talks
Hamas has accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of deliberately stepping up battles in Gaza City and far-southern Rafah to...
- Troops, tanks and aircraft were fighting in Gaza on the eve of new truce talks
- Israeli forces on Monday intensified fighting and bombardment across the city
Business
China’s BYD signs deal to open electric car plant in Turkey
Istanbul, Turkey -- China's electric vehicle giant BYD on Monday signed a one-billion-dollar agreement with Turkey to open a plant in...
- The one-billion-dollar agreement would likely help China dodge new European Union tariffs.
- The BYD facility will have an annual capacity of 150,000 vehicles as well as a research and development center.
Business
Chip giant TSMC briefly joins trillion-dollar club
New York, United States -- Chip-making juggernaut Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. briefly surpassed $1 trillion in market capitalization on Monday as...
- TSMC controls more than half the world's output of chips and supplies them for everything from Apple's iPhones to Nvidia's cutting-edge artificial intelligence hardware.
- The company hit the threshold briefly after the opening bell in New York, but slipped lower in later trading.
Geostrategy
Gaza battles rage as mediators push for truce deal
Mediators Egypt and Qatar were due to host new talks this week, according to officials, as the bloodiest-ever Gaza war...
- Cairo and Doha have resumed diplomatic efforts to halt the fighting, aiming for an initial six-week ceasefire
- Hamas has signaled it would drop its insistence on a "complete" ceasefire
Geostrategy
Erdogan says may invite Syria’s Assad to Turkey ‘at any moment’
Erdogan's comments come after tensions have mounted over the past week after a mob went on the rampage, vandalising businesses...
- Turkey originally aimed to topple Assad's regime when the Syrian conflict erupted with the violent suppression of peaceful protesters in 2011
- But more recently, Ankara has shifted focus to preventing what Erdogan in 2019 dubbed a "terror corridor" from opening up in northern Syria
Geostrategy
‘Enough’: Israeli protesters demand Gaza truce
Large protests, also demanding elections, have taken place across Israel's commercial hub every Saturday night, with smaller ones throughout the...
- The demonstrators want Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach a truce and hostage-release deal or else step down
- The nationwide "disruption day" began at 6:29 am to correspond to the start of Hamas's October 7 attack on southern Israel that started the war
Geostrategy
Health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says 16 killed in strike on school
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said two of its workers were killed in a strike at Al-Bureij in...
- The ministry, which condemned the strike as an "odious massacre", said another 50 injured were taken to hospital from Al-Jawni school at Nuseirat in central Gaza
- Israel has carried out a military offensive that has killed at least 38,098 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to data from the Gaza health ministry
Geostrategy
Calling for better ties with West, Iran reformist wins presidency
In the mausoleum of Imam Khomeini in southern Tehran, Pezeshkian gave a speech thanking his supporters, saying their votes have...
- Pezeshkian received more than 16 million votes, around 54 percent, and Jalili more than 13 million, roughly 44 percent, out of about 30 million votes cast
- The death of ultraconservative president Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash necessitated the election, which was not due until 2025
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Palestinians recount ‘black hole’ of Israeli detention
Jerusalem, Undefined -- Denied contact with his lawyer for months, now freed Palestinian prisoner Shady Abu Sedo said he lost...
Geostrategy
Company News
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Israel says targeted Huthi energy site in Yemen
Israel said Sunday it targeted an energy infrastructure site in Yemen's capital Sanaa, linked to the Iran-backed Huthi rebels behind...
Geostrategy
Syrian president says unifying country ‘should not be with blood’
Damascus, Syria -- Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has said the battle to unify his country after years of civil war...
Geostrategy
Israelis rally nationwide calling for end to Gaza war, hostage deal
A huge Israeli flag covered with portraits of the remaining captives was unfurled in Tel Aviv's so-called Hostage Square --...
Geostrategy
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Business
Aramco signs $11bn deal
The deal involves its Jafurah gas facilities.
- Jafurah is the largest non-associated gas development in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, estimated to contain 229 trillion standard cubic feet of raw gas.
- It is a key component in Aramco’s plans to increase gas production capacity by 60 percent between 2021 and 2030.
Geostrategy
Israeli strikes kill 40 Palestinians in Gaza, says civil defense agency
The latest deadly strike comes as Israeli military hinted at an approaching call to push civilians from Gaza City ahead...
- The latest toll comes more than a week after Israel's security cabinet approved plans to capture the Palestinian territory's largest city.
- Ahead of the offensive, Israeli defense ministry said that starting from Sunday, the military would supply more tents and shelter equipment.
Arts & Culture
After DJs and raves, Saudi Arabia pushes home-grown culture
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- First, deeply religious Saudi Arabia opened its doors to Western raves and music festivals. Now it's...
- The move towards more wholesome, Saudi-inspired entertainment comes after raucous scenes at past music festivals in the capital.
- Reports of alcohol and drug use -- both banned in the kingdom -- at the MDL Beast electronic music festival have been denied by Riyadh authorities.