Israel president meets diplomat expected to serve on Trump’s Gaza peace board
Israel's President Isaac Herzog on Thursday met with former UN Middle East envoy Nickolay Mladenov, whom media reports say is...
Geostrategy
US energy secretary says will control Venezuelan oil sales ‘indefinitely’
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Wednesday that Washington will control sales of Venezuelan oil "indefinitely," a day after President...
Geostrategy
Fake AI videos have a new generation loving 1980s life
Arts & Culture
Geostrategy
Sweeping UN sanctions loom for Iran after nuclear talks fail
Sweeping UN sanctions loomed for Iran late Saturday for the first time in a decade, after last ditch nuclear talks...
- President Masoud Pezeshkian said the United States had offered Iran only a short reprieve in return for handing over its whole stockpile of enriched uranium
- An 11th-hour effort by Iran allies Russia and China to postpone the sanctions until April failed to win enough votes on the Security Council on Friday
Geostrategy
Concluded days after Israeli strikes on Qatar, Pakistan-Saudi defence pact oozes with unknowns
The new mutual defence pact signed by Pakistan and Saudi Arabia this month surprised many and came just days after...
- The agreement comes at an especially volatile time in the wake of both Iranian and Israeli strikes on Doha, and uncertainty over the future of Tehran's nuclear programme
- "Even those accustomed to dramatic developments in the Middle East and South Asia were caught off guard by the announcement," said Joshua White from the Brookings Institution
Business
Trump’s granddaughter launches clothing brand from White House
Washington, United States - US President Donald Trump's granddaughter has unveiled a clothing brand bearing her name, with promotional photos...
- Don Jr.'s daughter stood near the 79-year-old Republican on Friday wearing one of her brand's pullovers, as he answered reporters' questions outside the White House
- "This is Kai, by the way," he told the Washington press corps, introducing his 18-year-old granddaughter who had given a short speech at last year's Republican National Convention
Geostrategy
Iran sanctions look set to return despite last-ditch China, Russia effort to secure a delay
China and Russia at a Security Council session on Friday put forward a draft resolution, seen by AFP, that would...
- European powers were urging Iran to reverse a series of steps it took after Israel and the United States bombed its nuclear sites in June.
- Complaining that Iran has not complied with a landmark but moribund deal, the Europeans have triggered a return of sweeping UN sanctions
Geostrategy
Netanyahu says Palestinian state would be ‘national suicide’ for Israel and reward for Hamas
Netanyahu, who said his speech was being partially broadcast on Israeli military loudspeakers in Gaza, vowed to "finish the job"...
- Netanyahu, who said his speech was being partially broadcast on Israeli military loudspeakers in Gaza, vowed to "finish the job" against Hamas
- Days after Britain, France and other Western powers recognized a state of Palestine, Netanyahu said that they had sent "a very clear message that murdering Jews pays off."
Business
Turkish Airlines inks big Boeing deal after Erdogan visits US
Istanbul, Turkey -- Turkish Airlines announced on Friday a deal to buy up to 225 Boeing jets, one day after...
- Erdogan-Trump meet raised Ankara's hopes of seeing Washington lift sanctions that since 2020 have blocked it from buying American F-35 fighter jets.
- The measures were imposed in retaliation for Turkey's purchase of the Russian S-400 missile defense system.
Geostrategy
Tehran, Moscow sign $25 bn deal to build nuclear plants in Iran: state media
Tehran, Iran -- Iran and Russia signed a $25 billion deal to build nuclear power plants in the Islamic republic,...
- Iran has just one operational nuclear power plant in Bushehr in the south, with a capacity of 1,000 megawatts.
- Each plant will have a capacity of 1,255 megawatts, though no details were provided on the timeline.
Geostrategy
UN identifies 158 firms linked to Israeli settlements
While several companies including Alstom and Opodo had been removed from the non-exhaustive database, major firms such as Airbnb, Booking.com,...
- UN rights chief Volker Turk has condemned as a war crime Israel's policy of settlements on Palestinian territory in the occupied West Bank.
- While most of the companies were based in Israel, others were based in Canada, China, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Britain and the United States.
Geostrategy
Microsoft trims service to Israel over Gaza surveillance
San Francisco, United States - Microsoft on Thursday said it cut an Israeli defense unit's access to some cloud services...
- Microsoft reviewed the decision with the Israel Ministry of Defense along with steps the tech firm is taking to ensure compliance
- The move followed a two-month Microsoft probe into a Guardian report that the Israeli Defense Force used Azure to store phone call data from surveillance in Gaza and the West Bank
Economy
Trump announces steep new tariffs on pharmaceuticals, big-rig trucks, furniture, reviving trade war
US President Donald Trump announced Thursday punishing tariffs on pharmaceuticals, big-rig trucks, home renovation fixtures and furniture, reviving his global...
- The announcement is the harshest trade policy by the president since last April's shock unveiling of reciprocal tariffs on virtually every US trading partner across the globe
- Earlier this year, the Trump administration launched a so-called Section 232 probe into imports of trucks to "determine the effects of national security."
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Israel president meets diplomat expected to serve on Trump’s Gaza peace board
Israel's President Isaac Herzog on Thursday met with former UN Middle East envoy Nickolay Mladenov, whom media reports say is...
Geostrategy
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Fake AI videos have a new generation loving 1980s life
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Hamas proposes weapons ‘freeze’ in return for long-term truce: leader to Al Jazeera
A top Hamas leader told Qatari news channel Al Jazeera on Wednesday that the militant group is open to a...
Geostrategy
Trump says US will allow sale of Nvidia AI chips to China
Washington, United States - President Donald Trump said Monday he had reached an agreement with President Xi Jinping to allow...
Business
UNRWA chief denounces Israeli police’s seizure of agency’s Jerusalem assets
The compound in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem has been empty of UNRWA staff since January, when the law banning its operations...
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Geostrategy
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...
- A direct flight between the cities clocks in at around 90 minutes.
- The project, set to be completed in six years, expects to serve 10 million passengers per year, the statement said.
Economy
Palestine, Syria celebrate reaching Arab Cup quarter-finals
Celebrations erupted on the pitch and in the stands in Doha on Sunday when both Palestine and Syria made it...
- For both sides, reaching the knockout stage in the regional tournament hosted by Qatar was magnified by the all-too recent memory of conflict in their homelands
- For both sides, reaching the knockout stage in the regional tournament hosted by Qatar was magnified by the all-too recent memory of conflict in their homelands
Geostrategy
US-Israel-Qatar meeting seeks to salvage Gaza peace deal amid strain over Israeli strike on Doha
Axios also reported White House envoy Steve Witkoff hosted the meeting, with Mossad spy chief David Barnea representing Israel and...
- Two sources told US news outlet Axios it was "the highest level meeting between the countries since the deal to end the war in Gaza, for which Qatar served as a key mediator."
- Axios also reported White House envoy Steve Witkoff hosted the meeting, with Mossad spy chief David Barnea representing Israel and an unnamed senior Qatari official in attendance