UAE says will not arm Sudan paramilitary RSF: White House
Washington, United States -- The United Arab Emirates has informed the United States that it will not arm paramilitaries in Sudan's...
Geostrategy
HRW accuses Israel of ‘acts of genocide’ for restricting Gaza water access
Human Rights Watch (HRW) accused Israel of committing "acts of #genocide" in the Gaza Strip by damaging water infrastructure and...
Boeing to boost 787 production
Business
ECB to cut rates again amid bleak eurozone outlook
The European Central Bank is expected to cut interest rates again this week amid a darkening outlook, with political turbulence...
- The central bank hiked rates aggressively from mid-2022 to tame surging energy and food costs
- Eurozone's anaemic growth rates are weighing down the broader single currency area
Assad’s fall reshapes Middle East politics, redefining power dynamics across the region
The Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham rebels shocked the world by swiftly seizing Aleppo and Damascus, overshadowing global focus on the...
- Assad had for nearly 14 years held off an uprising that many believed had been exhausted, but his downfall followed a series of battlefield convulsions for other allies of Iran
- Israel has all but decapitated the Hezbollah leadership in Lebanon since September, while the killing of Hamas figureheads has dealt major blows to Assad's key backer Tehran
Geostrategy
UK Prime Minister to talk trade, Middle East during Gulf visit
London, United Kingdom -- Britain's leader Keir Starmer makes his first trip to the Gulf as prime minister from Sunday, seeking...
- Starmer will first visit the United Arab Emirates and then travel to Saudi Arabia, before stopping off in Cyprus on his way back to London on Tuesday.
- Starmer's trip comes after Britain last week rolled out the diplomatic red carpet for Qatar's emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani who enjoyed a state visit to the UK.
Geostrategy
Trump touts tariffs, mass deportations and NATO skepticism
In his first formal television interview -- and just six weeks before he takes office -- Trump again signaled that...
- He also stressed that his campaign promises of huge tariffs -- including against top US trading partners Canada, Mexico and China -- would be enacted.
- As to whether Americans would see higher prices as a result of those tariffs, Trump said that "I can't guarantee anything. I can't guarantee tomorrow."
Geostrategy
Celebrations erupt across Syria to mark end of 50 years of Baath party rule
Bashar al-Assad's whereabouts not clear, but his key backer Russia said he had resigned from the presidency and left Syria....
- Protests spread like wildfire in neighbouring provinces, with anti-government demonstrators toppling statues of late president Hafez al-Assad in the Jaramana suburb of Damascus
- The Israeli army said Saturday that its troops were assisting UN peacekeeping forces in the Syrian-controlled part of the Golan Heights in repelling an attack "by armed individuals
Syria: Assad faces stunning setbacks as rebels seize Daraa, Hama, and Aleppo in quick succession
While Aleppo and Hama, the two other main cities taken from government control in recent days, fell to an Islamist-led...
- Since a rebel alliance led by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) launched its offensive on November 27, the government has lost Aleppo and subsequently Hama in central Syria
- Syria's civil war, which began with Assad's crackdown on democracy protests, has killed more than 500,000 people and forced more than half the population to flee their homes
Geostrategy
Turkey confirms Syria talks with Russia and Iran
A meeting was expected on the forum's sidelines between Turkey, and Damascus allies Iran and Russia.
- Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan "will meet with the Russian and Iranian ministers"
- The so-called Astana process involving the three countries was launched by Kazakhstan in 2017
World Bank announces record $100 bn support for world’s poorest countries
The World Bank announced Thursday that it had raised close to $24 billion to provide loans and grants for some...
- The Bank can use this money to borrow on financial markets
- This funding will be deployed to support the 78 countries that need it most
Qatar resumes Gaza mediation: source with knowledge of talks
Doha, Qatar - Qatar has resumed its role as a mediator in efforts to secure a truce in the Israel-Hamas war...
- The Gulf emirate, along with the US and Egypt, had been involved in months of unsuccessful negotiations for a Gaza truce and hostage release after nearly 14 months of war
- In November, Doha announced it had put its mediation on hold, saying it would resume when Hamas and Israel showed "willingness and seriousness".
Syria: Tens of thousands of Alawites flee Homs, fearing rebel advance towards Damascus-coast strategic link
Analysts said they expected the fighters led by Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) to push on towards the city,...
- Khaled, who lives on the city's outskirts told AFP that "the road leading to (coastal) Tartus province was glowing... due to the lights of hundreds of cars on their way out."
- In April 2014, at least 100 people, mostly civilians, were killed in twin attacks in Homs that targeted a majority Alawite neighbourhood
UAE says will not arm Sudan paramilitary RSF: White House
Washington, United States -- The United Arab Emirates has informed the United States that it will not arm paramilitaries in Sudan's...
Geostrategy
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Sudanese journalists form union to safeguard press freedom
The journalists' syndicate held elections on Saturday, the first since ousted president Omar al-Bashir dissolved independent unions after rising to...
Morocco bus crash leaves 23 dead, scores injured
An average of 3,500 deaths and 12,000 injuries have been recorded annually in Morocco, according to the National Road Safety...
Tunisia train accident leaves nearly 100 passengers injured
A head-on collision between two passenger trains injured 95 people on Monday morning in the south of the Tunisian capital,...
Iranian jet fighter crashes, three killed, reports state TV
Jet fighter crashed in a residential area of the northwestern city of Tabriz.
Beyonce, Jay-Z, Grande, and Billie Eilish shortlisted for Oscar
Iran's Asghar Farhad is among a select group of auteurs to have won multiple foreign film Oscars previously again makes...
US Federal Reserve expected to cut rates in last meeting of Biden era
Washington, United States -- The US Federal Reserve is widely expected to announce a quarter point cut to its key lending...
Business
US contacts Syria’s HTS, Turkey reopens embassy, as Assad allies Iran and Russia face setbacks
The United States said Saturday it had made contact with Syria's victorious Hayat Tahrir al-Sham rebels, despite previously designating the...
Geostrategy
Family-friendly ‘Astro Bot’ wins highest award at Oscars of video games
Los Angeles, United States -- Video game "Astro Bot" -- a family-friendly sci-fi adventure -- was named 2024's Game of the...
Business
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Asian markets retreat as China pledges fail to spark excitement
Asian markets fell Friday as China's latest vows to boost the beleaguered economy failed to stir much excitement, while traders...
- Beijing began unveiling in September a raft of policies to reverse a growth slump
- All three main indexes in New York closed in the red
G7 meeting to address Syria’s challenges following Assad’s ouster
Damascus, Syria - G7 leaders will meet virtually Friday to discuss the momentous changes underway in Syria, where the interim government...
- Assad fled Syria after a lightning offensive spearheaded by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group and its allies
- The UN humanitarian agency OCHA said Thursday that 1.1 million people, mostly women and children, had been displaced since the rebels took over
UNRWA warns of ‘apocalyptic’ conditions as Israeli airstrikes target aid, refugee camps, kill 58
The latest bloodshed came despite growing optimism that negotiations for a ceasefire and hostage release deal might finally succeed, with...
- The UN and aid agencies have repeatedly warned about the acute humanitarian crisis in the besieged Gaza Strip, exacerbated by the war that has persisted for over 14 months
- Families of the 96 hostages still in Gaza since the Hamas attack that triggered the war, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead, are pressing for their release