Starlink services disrupted in Iran amid expanding protests and broader measures affecting internet access
Widespread jamming of the Starlink satellite internet service used by some Iranian opposition members is a likely first in peacetime but...
Geostrategy
Iran president says ‘rioters’ must not disrupt society
Pezeshkian accused the United States and Israel of "trying to escalate this unrest with regard to the economic discussion and...
Geostrategy
Business
OpenAI big chip orders dwarf its revenues – for now
New York, United States - OpenAI is ordering hundreds of billions of dollars worth of chips in the artificial intelligence...
- In less than a month, the San Francisco startup behind ChatGPT has committed to acquiring a staggering 26 gigawatts of sophisticated data processors from Nvidia, AMD, and Broadcom
- Silicon Valley-based Nvidia has announced plans to invest up to $100 billion in OpenAI over several years to build the world's largest AI infrastructure
Geostrategy
Trump says Gaza ceasefire still in force after Israeli strikes, suggests Hamas leadership didn’t violate truce
Asked by reporters whether the truce was still in effect, Trump said: "Yeah, it is". The US president, who helped...
- The dozens of strikes Israel carried out on Hamas positions in Gaza Sunday came after it accused the militant group of targeting its troops in "a blatant violation" of the truce
- The deal established the outline for hostage and prisoner exchanges, and proposed an ambitious roadmap for Gaza's future, but it has quickly faced challenges to its implementation
Geostrategy
Cash-strapped Gazans left disappointed as first banks reopen
Deir el-Balah, Palestinian Territories -- The Palestinians trying to rebuild their lives in the ruins of Gaza are short of...
- Food is purchased with cash or through bank transfers, which are often complicated due to power and communication outages.
- Gazans have lost a lot of savings and commissions on transfers can reach 40 percent.
Geostrategy
Publishers fight back against US book bans
Frankfurt, Germany -- Escalating attempts to remove works featuring themes such as LGBTQ lifestyles and race relations from US bookshelves...
- In 2020 just under 300 titles faced "challenges" -- demands to restrict access to them or remove them entirely -- across the United States.
- That number began surging the following year, and reached over 9,000 in 2023, said the NGO, whose office for intellectual freedom has been tracking challenges since 1990.
Geostrategy
13 killed in Gaza as Hamas says Israel devising pretexts to resume attacks
Izzat Al-Rishq, a member of Hamas's political bureau, reaffirmed the group's commitment to the ceasefire and said Israel "continues to...
- Palestinian witnesses told AFP clashes erupted in the southern city of Rafah in an area still held by Israel.
- Hamas had been fighting a local Palestinian gang known as Abu Shabab but the militants were "surprised by the presence of army tanks".
Geostrategy
Protesters out in force for anti-Trump ‘No Kings’ rallies across US
Organizers said seven million people attended protests spanning New York to Los Angeles, with demonstrations popping up in small cities...
- Trump's response to Saturday's events was typically aggressive, with the US president posting a series of AI-generated videos to his Truth Social platform depicting him as a king.
- In one, he is shown wearing a crown and piloting a fighter jet that drops what appears to be feces on anti-Trump protesters.
Geostrategy
China’s power paradox: record renewables, continued coal
Bangkok, Thailand -- Call it the China power paradox: while Beijing leads the world in renewable energy expansion, its coal...
- China accounted for 93 percent of new global coal construction in 2024, the Centre for Research on Energy and Clear Air (CREA) found.
- China wants 3,600 gigawatts of wind and solar by 2035, but that may not meet future demand, risking further coal increases.
Geostrategy
Israel receives bodies of two more hostages returned by Hamas
The issue of hostage bodies still in Gaza has become a sticking point in the ceasefire implementation, with Israel linking...
- Relief agencies have called for the Rafah border crossing from Egypt to be reopened to speed the flow of food, fuel and medicines.
- Gaza rescuers, meanwhile reported fresh violence in some areas despite the truce.
Geostrategy
Iran says no longer bound by ‘restrictions’ on its nuclear programme
Iran said on Saturday that it was no longer bound by restrictions on its nuclear programme as a landmark 10-year...
- The 2015 deal -- signed in Vienna by Iran, China, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and the United States -- saw the lifting of international sanctions against the Islamic republic
- But the pact had already been in tatters after Washington unilaterally withdrew during President Donald Trump's first term, with Iran later pulling back from its commitments
Geostrategy
US envoy Witkoff felt ‘betrayed’ by Israeli attack on Hamas in Qatar
Washington, United States - US envoy Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump's chief negotiator on the Middle East, has said that...
- "I think both Jared and I felt, I just feel we felt a little bit betrayed," Witkoff told the CBS news program "60 Minutes" in excerpts released Friday
- At the time, the strike halted the indirect negotiating process to end the fighting in the devastated Gaza Strip, triggered by Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel
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Starlink services disrupted in Iran amid expanding protests and broader measures affecting internet access
Widespread jamming of the Starlink satellite internet service used by some Iranian opposition members is a likely first in peacetime but...
Geostrategy
Company News
Latest News
Billionaire Ellison offers personal guarantee for son’s Warner Bros bid
Washington, United States -- Oracle tech tycoon Larry Ellison is offering a $40.4 billion personal guarantee to back Paramount's hostile...
Business
Pressure on Morocco to deliver as Africa Cup of Nations kicks off
Morocco carry a huge weight of expectation into their opening game at the Africa Cup of Nations on Sunday as...
Economy
As diplomats gather in Miami, Kremlin denies three-way US-Ukraine-Russia talks in preparation
The Kremlin on Sunday denied that three-way talks between Ukraine, Russia and the United States were on the cards, as...
Geostrategy
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Geostrategy
Macron meets UAE leaders to deepen strategic partnership, discuss defense, AI, trade and drug trafficking
Macron is due to meet with UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to discuss "strengthening the strategic partnership" between...
- The French president traditionally celebrates the end-of-year holidays with troops deployed abroad, of whom there are more than 900 in the UAE.
- France cooperates with the UAE on areas including artificial intelligence and trade, and now wants to secure the Gulf state's support in its war on drug trafficking.
Geostrategy
China’s rare earths El Dorado gives strategic edge
Ganzhou, China -- Buried in the reddish soil of southern China lies latent power: one of the largest clusters of...
- The hills of Jiangxi province are home to most of China's rare earth mines, with the materials used in a range of products, including smartphones and missile guidance technology.
- The flourishing industry is closely protected by Chinese authorities and media access is seldom granted.
Geostrategy
Gazans mourn six killed in Israeli shelling on shelter
Gaza's civil defence agency, which operates as a rescue force under Hamas authority, initially said on Friday that the Israeli...
- Agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal updated the toll to six, including children, on Saturday, adding that two people were unaccounted for under the rubble.
- The director of Gaza City's Al-Shifa Hospital, Mohammed Abu Salmiya, told AFP the victims were a four-month old infant, a 14-year-old girl, two men and two women.