Saudi Arabia, Qatar sign high-speed rail deal to link capitals
The train would reach speeds exceeding 300 kilometers per hour and the trip would take roughly two hours between Riyadh...
Geostrategy
Mediators Egypt, Qatar, others ‘concerned’ about Israel opening one-way Gaza exit
The countries voiced "their absolute rejection of any attempts to expel the Palestinian people from their land" and said they...
Geostrategy
Economy
How China leveraged its rare earths dominance over the US in tariff war
China's stranglehold on the rare earths industry -- from natural reserves and mining through processing and innovation -- is the...
- Rare earths are crucial for the defence sector -- used in fighter jets, missile guidance systems and radar technology -- while also having a range of uses in everyday products
- At a high-stakes meeting in South Korea late last month, Trump and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping agreed to a one-year truce in tariff war between the world's top two economies
Geostrategy
Trump sends Witkoff to Moscow in hopes of finalizing Ukraine deal
An initial US plan which was heavily weighted in Russia's favor has been replaced by one taking in more of...
- Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that there were "only a few remaining points of disagreement" -- but European leaders were skeptical
- He also expressed hope to meet "soon" with Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, "but ONLY when the deal to end this War is FINAL or, in its final stages."
Geostrategy
China’s Xi pushes Taiwan issue in call with Trump
Chinese leader Xi Jinping pressed the ever-sensitive issue of Taiwan in a phone call Monday with US President Donald Trump,...
- China claims Taiwan as part of its territory, and Xi told Trump that its return was an "integral part of the post-war international order."
- Taiwan Premier Cho Jung-tai hit back at Xi's comments, telling reporters on Tuesday that Taiwan "is a fully sovereign state."
Arts & Culture
Fake AI videos have a new generation loving 1980s life
New York, United States - "The 1980s are calling," a teenager with a throwback hairstyle tells viewers as "Everybody Wants...
- The fake montage -- entirely generated using artificial intelligence -- has racked up more than 600,000 "likes" on Instagram and is part of an internet fad known as "AI nostalgia."
- The soft-focused fantasy land comes thanks to generative AI tools like OpenAI's Sora, Google's Veo or Luma AI's Ray that enable creation of strikingly realistic videos
Geostrategy
Hezbollah mourns top commander killed in Israel strike, Iran Guards urge revenge
Haytham Ali Tabatabai is the most senior commander from the Iran-backed group to be killed by Israel since a November...
- Haytham Ali Tabatabai is the most senior commander from the Iran-backed group to be killed by Israel since a November 2024 ceasefire sought to end over a year of hostilities
- Sunday's raid came with Israel escalating its attacks on Lebanon and Washington increasing pressure on the government to disarm the group and cut off its sources of funding
Geostrategy
Tabatabai: Hezbollah military chief who led the group in Yemen, Syria
Beirut, Lebanon - Haytham Ali Tabatabai, Hezbollah's top military chief whom Israel killed on Sunday, had taken the role after...
- He is the most important Hezbollah figure to have been killed since a November 2024 ceasefire sought to end over a year of hostilities between the militant group and Israel
- The strike hit an apartment building in Beirut's densely populated southern suburbs, where the group holds sway, killing five people, according to Lebanon's health ministry
Geostrategy
Trump peace plan: Washington, Kyiv say a peace deal must ‘fully uphold’ Ukraine sovereignty
US President Donald Trump had given Ukraine until November 27 to approve his plan to end the nearly four-year conflict,...
- US President Donald Trump had given Ukraine until November 27 to approve his plan to end the nearly four-year conflict, which began after Russia launched a full-scale invasion
- Kyiv was seeking changes to the draft that accepted a range of Russia's hardline demands, with the 28-point plan requiring the invaded country to cede territory, and cut its army
Geostrategy
G20 grapples with splintering world order
"Too many countries are retreating into geopolitical blocs or the battlegrounds of protectionism," Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney told reporters....
- He and the other leaders at the summit -- which was boycotted by the United States -- held a searching discussion on how the G20 can survive in a fragmenting world.
- The United States is to host next year's G20 summit, with Trump planning to hold it at a Florida golf club he owns.
Geostrategy
Israeli strikes kill 21 in Gaza, dozens more wounded: Civil defense
Mahmud Bassal, spokesman for the civil defense agency, Bassal said one strike hit a house in Deir el-Balah in the...
- The Palestinian foreign ministry, based in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, condemned the strikes.
- It urged the international community to put "immediate pressure" on Israel to "stop the massacres".
Geostrategy
Amazon climate deal a ‘win’ for global unity but fossil fuels untouched
Nearly 200 countries approved the deal by consensus after two weeks of exhaustive negotiations on the fringes of the rainforest,...
- Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who staked political capital on the success of COP30, said the pact was proof that a fractured world could still unite in crisis.
- There was less euphoria in Belem, where defeated European ministers admitted they only took the watered-down deal to keep the entire process from imploding.
Most Read
Revenue from Saudi cinema may exceed $1bn by 2030KSA, UAE play well as e-gaming trends across GCCExclusive: Middle East’s retail sector rides on AR and hybrid shopping to become $600bn digital economyTECOM Group profit soars 13%UAE startups eye Saudi Arabia for growth, expansionSaudi Arabia leads GCC AI healthcare raceDisparity remains as Saudis, Emiratis see wealth gains
Saudi Arabia, Qatar sign high-speed rail deal to link capitals
The train would reach speeds exceeding 300 kilometers per hour and the trip would take roughly two hours between Riyadh...
Geostrategy
Company News
Latest News
10 killed in Aleppo building collapse: Syria state media
The five-story building collapsed in the Ferdaws neighbourhood of Aleppo. Civil defence and local authorities evacuated residents from nearby buildings...
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.
If Europe wants war with Russia, ‘we are ready,’ says Putin as he meets US envoys over Ukraine deal
Washington has presented a 28-point draft to end the conflict, later amended after criticism from Kyiv and Europe, which viewed...
Geostrategy
Amazon tests ‘ultra-fast’ deliveries in two US cities
San Francisco, United States - Amazon on Monday began testing "ultra-fast" deliveries in two US cities, giving some shoppers the...
Business
Bid by Netflix for Warner Bros Discovery signals streaming giant’s ambition to dominate global content production
Streaming giant Netflix has made a mostly cash offer to buy TV and film group Warner Bros Discovery as the...
Business
Most Read
Geostrategy
Trump says US freeze on asylum decisions will last ‘a long time’
US President Donald Trump said Sunday his administration intends to maintain a pause on asylum decisions for "a long time"...
- "We don't want those people," Trump said. "You know why we don't want them? Because many have been no good, and they shouldn't be in our country."
- The Trump administration issued the pause in the aftermath of the shooting in Washington on November 26, that left 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom dead and another guardsman wounded
Geostrategy
Trump optimistic after Ukraine talks as Rubio says ‘more work’ needed to end war
US President Donald Trump said Sunday there was a "good chance" of a deal to end the war in Ukraine...
- An initial 28-point US proposal -- drafted without input from Ukraine's European allies -- would have required Kyiv to withdraw from its eastern Donetsk region
- A source close to the Kyiv delegation in Florida told AFP on Sunday that "the process is not easy because the search for formulations and solutions continues."
Geostrategy
Pope urges Lebanese to stay in their country despite difficulties
Leo emphasized the need for peace, using the word more than 20 times during the address, without mentioning any specific...
- Urging reconciliation, Leo noted that "there are personal and collective wounds that take many years, sometimes entire generations, to heal".
- "If we do not work, for example, to heal memories, to bring together those who have suffered wrongs and injustice, it is difficult to journey towards peace," he said.