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...
Business
Ahead of Netanyahu visit, Trump vows to block Israel annexation of West Bank
Trump voiced optimism about ending nearly two years of devastating war, echoing the confidence expressed a day earlier on the...
Geostrategy
Geostrategy
As Gaza death toll hits 9,770, Israel cuts internet and phone lines
Israeli Heritage Minister Amichay Eliyahu was suspended from government meetings "until further notice" for advocating dropping a nuclear bomb on...
- "But it confirms the truth of the racist view Israelis hold against Palestinians. This is the true face of the occupation government," Arab League chief Ahmed Aboul Gheit said.
- Israel cut internet and phone lines in the Gaza Strip Sunday night, for the third time since the start of the Israel-Hamas war on October 7, telecoms firm Paltel said.
Geostrategy
Blinken makes surprise West Bank visit as fierce fighting roils Gaza
Blinken arrived in Ramallah under tight security one day after meeting in Jordan with Arab foreign ministers angered by mounting...
- Blinken last week told a Senate hearing the Palestinian Authority should retake control of Gaza, even though it currently exercises only limited autonomy in parts of the West Bank.
- Blinken faced a rising tide of anger in meetings with Arab foreign ministers in Jordan on Saturday, where he reaffirmed US support for "humanitarian pauses".
Business
Musk teases AI chatbot ‘Grok,’ with real-time access to X
The social network that Musk bought a year ago launched the Premium+ plan last week for $16 per month, with...
- Musk, the tycoon behind Tesla and SpaceX, said the link-up with X, formerly known as Twitter, is "a massive advantage over other models" of generative AI
- "Grok" comes from "Stranger in a Strange Land," a 1961 science fiction novel by Robert Heinlein, and means to understand something thoroughly and intuitively
Geostrategy
Israel forces kill three Palestinians in West Bank: ministry
Further south, a 22-year-old Palestinian was "killed by Israeli occupation bullets in Nuba, northwest of Hebron," the ministry said. Meanwhile,...
- Two men, aged 22 and 20, were killed "in an attack by Israeli occupation forces on Abu Dis", a suburb of annexed east Jerusalem
- One of the two was fatally hit by a "bullet in chest" and "six others were wounded, three seriously", according to a statement
Geostrategy
Hamas govt suspends evacuation of foreigners to Egypt
"No foreign passport holder will be able to leave the Gaza Strip until wounded people who need to be evacuated...
- An Egyptian security source said that "no wounded person or holder of a foreign passport arrived at the Egyptian terminal" of Rafah
- He said the evacuation was suspended "after the bombing of ambulances transporting injured people on their way to the Egyptian terminal"
Economy
Poppy growth down 95% in Afghanistan since Taliban ban: UN
The UNODC warned of potential "humanitarian consequences for many vulnerable rural communities" due to the sudden contraction of Afghanistan's opium...
- UNODC report found that poppy cultivation has collapsed by an estimated 95 percent -- from 233,000 hectares at the end of 2022 to 10,800 in 2023
- Last year, poppy crops accounted for almost a third by value of total agricultural production in Afghanistan, the world's leading producer
Geostrategy
Israelis protest in thousands over government response to Hamas attack
In Jerusalem, hundreds came together outside Netanyahu's residence with more explicit calls for his resignation. The nine months leading up...
- In Israel's commercial hub Tel Aviv, several thousand protesters took to the streets on Saturday evening, including relatives and friends of some of the hostages
- International pressure is growing on Israel to agree to humanitarian pauses in the Gaza fighting, but hostages' loved-ones said they should be released as a precondition
Geostrategy
Turkey recalls envoy to Israel, breaks off contact with Netanyahu
Turkey has hardened its attitude toward both Israel and its Western supporters, particularly the US, as the relentless Israeli attacks...
- Hamas in a statement hailed the decision and urged Turkey to put pressure on Joe Biden
- Israel called the move "another step by the Turkish president that sides with the Hamas"
Geostrategy
Israeli bombing on refugee camp in Gaza kills 30: Hamas
According to a statement posted by Hamas on Telegram, Israel "directly" bombed citizens' home, saying that most of the dead...
- Israel said it was looking into whether its army was operating in the area at the time of the bombing
- Gaza health ministry said more than 9,480 Gazans, mostly women and children, have been killed in Israeli strikes
Geostrategy
Don’t pause Mideast de-escalation over war, says UAE official
Dubai, UAE - Middle East powers should maintain their push to de-escalate the region through trade and economic ties despite the...
- According to UAE presidential adviser Anwar Gargash, countries should maintain that strategy even though the war is sending shockwaves through the region.
- "National actors are basically trying to use economics as a way to de-escalate tension," Gargash told the World Policy Conference in Abu Dhabi,
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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...
Business
Company News
Latest News
Kurdish PKK says held ‘successful’ meeting on disbanding
The outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) held a "successful" meeting this week with a view to disarming and disbanding, a...
Geostrategy
Damascus, Ankara agree natural gas deal for Syria
Damascus, Syria - Syrian Energy Minister Mohammad al-Bashir said Friday Damascus and Ankara had reached a deal for Turkey to...
Economy
US says new foundation to spearhead Gaza aid
Israel has imposed a blockade for two months on Gaza, leading UN agencies and other humanitarian groups to warn of...
Geostrategy
Most Read
Arts & Culture
Cardinals elect a new pope to lead Catholic Church
Cardinals chose a new pope to lead the world's 1.4 billion Catholics on Thursday, sending up white smoke from the...
- Crowds of people rushed towards the square to watch the balcony of the basilica, which has been fitted out with red curtains for the first address to the world by the 267th pope.
- The new pontiff, who succeeds Argentine reformer Pope Francis, will be introduced in Latin with his chosen papal name and address the world for the first time.
Analysis
US truce fails to curb Huthi ambitions: analysts
Paris, France - Yemen's Iran-backed Huthi rebels have emerged bruised but defiant from a blistering US bombing campaign, cementing their...
- US President Donald Trump said the rebels had "capitulated" after the intense, seven-week campaign that came in response to Huthi threats to renew attacks on Red Sea shipping
- Rebel leader Abdulmalik al-Huthi slammed Trump's remarks on Thursday, calling on supporters to celebrate "America's great failure" during Friday demonstrations
Geostrategy
First responders in Gaza say running out of supplies
Gaza City, Palestinian Territories - First responders in Gaza said Thursday that their operations were at a near standstill, more...
- Over 20 independent experts mandated by the UN's Human Rights Council demanded action on Wednesday to avert the "annihilation" of Palestinians in Gaza
- The UN's agency for children, UNICEF, warned that Gaza's children face "a growing risk of starvation, illness and death" after UN-supported kitchens shut down