Iran says nuclear talks ‘difficult but useful’, US ‘encouraged’
Iran and the United States wrapped up nuclear talks in Oman on Sunday with no apparent breakthrough in a public...
Geostrategy
US and China meet in ‘important step’ towards de-escalating trade war
Geneva, Switzerland - Senior US and Chinese officials were meeting in Geneva Saturday in what Chinese state media described as...
Economy
Huge crowds flock to Vatican for Pope Francis’s funeral
Arts & Culture
Arts & Culture
Saudi marks Eid al-Fitr today, other Mideast states on Monday
Saudi Arabia and some other Gulf Arab states are to celebrate the Eid al-Fitr holiday from Sunday but other Middle...
- The United Arab Emirates and Qatar also announced Sunday would be the first day of the holiday
- But neighbouring Oman and Jordan, as well as Shiite-majority Iran, said that Eid al-Fitr would not begin until Monday
Geostrategy
Trump says Iran faces ‘bad, bad things’ if no nuclear deal after Tehran responds to a letter from him
"I sent them a letter just recently, and I said: you have to make a decision, one way or the...
- Trump in 2018 pulled the United States out of an agreement to relieve sanctions on Iran in return for curbs on its nuclear program
- Tehran has refused to negotiate directly with Washington under these circumstances, but has held out the possibility of indirect talks
Arts & Culture
Film stars blast Academy for ‘failing to defend’ Palestinian filmmaker
Los Angeles, United States - Movie stars including Joaquin Phoenix, Penelope Cruz and Richard Gere have blasted the Academy of...
- Hamdan Ballal co-directed "No Other Land," which won best documentary at this year's Academy Awards
- Unlike multiple other prominent filmmaker groups, the US-based Academy initially did not issue a statement
Business
Goldwind 2024 revenue up 12.5%
The clean energy giant posted $7.8bn in revenue for 2024.
- Net profit last year also saw growth, rising nearly 40 percent percent to 1.9 billion yuan.
- China now dominates the global wind sector in terms of total installed capacity, aided over the years by generous strategic subsidies from Beijing.
Geostrategy
Pro-Palestine rallies held in many countries on Quds Day
Quds (Jerusalem) Day commemorations were launched in 1979 by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic republic, which has...
- Crowds gathered in the streets of Tehran after supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urged the Iranian people to protest against "the enemies' tricks".
- Thousands also gathered in the Yemeni capital Sanaa in demonstrations described by the rebels' TV channel as "the largest in the Arab Islamic world".
Arts & Culture
‘My entire life’: Saudi tailor keeps robe-making craft alive
Hofuf, Saudi Arabia - Saudi tailor Habib Mohammed's shop once made ornate, hand-woven cloaks for royals, a time-honoured craft he...
- He makes "bisht", a long gown which for centuries has been a status symbol, worn by kings and princes -- and ordinary men -- and could take a week of meticulous work to create
- Now, with cheap Chinese-made robes taking a bite out of his business, 60-year-old tailor is struggling to make a profit, and his only son wouldn't take over the beleaguered shop
Geostrategy
Iran says it has responded to Trump’s nuclear talks letter
Iran has sent a response to a letter from US President Donald Trump that called for nuclear talks and warned...
- US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, asked by reporters on his plane over the Caribbean whether the US has received the letter, said: "I'm not going to comment on that yet."
- He said that the United States had expected there to be a response and "obviously at that point, the president will decide what steps if he any he wants to take next".
Geostrategy
Lawyer complains Turkish student held in US ‘abducted’
A lawyer representing a Turkish university student detained in the United States and facing deportation said Thursday that his client...
- Earlier this week, a video surfaced on social media showing 30-year-old Rumeysa Ozturk being detained by masked, plain-clothed figures near Tufts University in Massachusetts
- The video quickly went viral as a symbol driving the fear and anger gripping US campuses as President Donald Trump clamps down on students accused of holding extremist views
Geostrategy
Palestinian sources say Hamas, mediators in new talks to revive Gaza truce, hostage release deal
Negotiations between Hamas and Israel, mediated by Egypt along with Qatar and the United States, have been deadlocked for weeks...
- Talks are focusing on the possibility of implementing a truce during the Eid al-Fitr and Jewish Passover holidays
- A Palestinian source close to Hamas said that despite the discussions, "no breakthrough" had been achieved so far
Science
Firms and researchers at odds over superhuman AI
The belief that human-or-better intelligence -- often called "artificial general intelligence" (AGI) -- will emerge from current machine-learning techniques fuels...
- "Systems that start to point to AGI are coming into view," OpenAI chief Sam Altman wrote in a blog post last month.
- Such predictions help justify the hundreds of billions of dollars being poured into computing hardware and the energy supplies to run it.
Iran says nuclear talks ‘difficult but useful’, US ‘encouraged’
Iran and the United States wrapped up nuclear talks in Oman on Sunday with no apparent breakthrough in a public...
Geostrategy
Company News
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Huge crowds flock to Vatican for Pope Francis’s funeral
Arts & Culture
Abu Dhabi launches $500mn maternal health fund for Africa
Nairobi, Kenya -- A $500-million fund aimed at improving maternal and neonatal health in sub-Saharan Africa was launched Tuesday in...
Geostrategy
Emirates expects first 777X delivery in H2 2026
Boeing had pushed back the first delivery to 2026 from 2025.
Business
UN rights chief demands world act to stop Israel’s Gaza ‘catastrophe’
"As the complete blockade of assistance essential for survival enters its ninth week, there must be concerted international efforts to...
Geostrategy
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Geostrategy
UN ‘alarmed’ by US strikes in Yemen that Huthis say killed 68 migrants
The United Nations expressed deep alarm on Monday at reports that US strikes on Yemen killed scores of people at...
- The US military has hammered the Iran-backed Huthis with near-daily strikes since March 15 in an operation dubbed "Rough Rider."
- Huthi-controlled media said the latest strikes on the movement's stronghold of Saada killed at least 68 people, all Africans
Geostrategy
Amnesty accuses Israel of ‘live-streamed genocide’ against Gaza Palestinians
Paris, France - Amnesty International on Tuesday accused Israel of committing a "live-streamed genocide" against Palestinians in Gaza by forcibly...
- In its annual report, Amnesty charged that Israel had acted with "specific intent to destroy Palestinians in Gaza, thus committing genocide."
- Israel has rejected accusations of "genocide" from Amnesty, other rights groups and some states in its war in Gaza
Business
Amazon launches first Starlink-rival internet satellites
Project Kuiper, a subsidiary of the online retail giant founded by Jeff Bezos, is playing catch-up with Starlink - SpaceX's...
- The $10 billion initiative plans to deploy 3,200 satellites into low Earth orbit - the region of space up to 1,200 miles - with hopes of going live later this year
- SpaceX launched the first batch of Starlink satellites in 2019 and now boasts more than 6,750 operational units, serving over five million customers worldwide