Global food prices reach 18-month high, vegetable oil cost soars
Paris, France -- Global food prices rose in October to their highest level in 18 months, with a sharp increase in...
Geostrategy
Lebanon MPs demand UN protection of heritage sites from Israel attacks
The Lebanese MPs called on Azoulay to "urgently prioritize the protection of these historic sites by mobilizing UNESCO’s authority.
Geostrategy
Business
Algeria signs gas field deal with oil giant ExxonMobil
Algiers, Algeria - Algeria's state oil company announced Thursday it signed a memorandum with ExxonMobil to develop two gas fields, a...
- The two companies plan to "study the existing opportunities to develop the hydrocarbon resources in the Ahnet basin and the Gourara basin" in southern Algeria
- The agreement was signed in Algiers by Sonatrach's chief executive Rachid Hachichi and the head of exploration at ExxonMobil, John Ardill
Geostrategy
Medic says Gaza hospital under Israeli siege for fifth day
Soldiers are present in the hospital's courtyard and in nearby houses," said hospital's acting director, Dr Mohammad Saleh, adding that...
- "The hospital was stormed and staff were forced to leave. At the moment I have only 13 staff, 11 patients and two women accompanying wounded children," Saleh said.
- WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on social media platform X that 140 staff, patients and accompanying adults were inside the hospital when troops stormed it.
Economy
One out of three Lebanese poverty-stricken: World Bank
Beirut, Lebanon -- A third of Lebanese people are impoverished with poverty rates tripling in a decade, the World Bank said...
- The poverty rate reached as high as 70 percent in the northern region of Akkar which borders Syria.
- The poor were also "nearly four times as likely to have an adult member restrict their food intake to feed their children," the WB report said.
Geostrategy
Tens of thousands bid farewell to Iran’s Raisi ahead of burial
Men and women thronged the main boulevard of Mashhad, Iran's second city in the northeast where Raisi was born, bidding...
- Posters of Raisi were raised along the streets of Mashhad, particularly around Raisi's final resting place
- Massive crowds had gathered for a funeral procession in the Iranian capital on Wednesday to pay their final respects to the president
Economy
Asian shares mixed after Fed minutes, while Nvidia provides support
Asian markets diverged Thursday after minutes from the Federal Reserve's most recent policy meeting indicated officials would keep interest rates...
- Federal Reserve's most recent policy meeting indicated officials would keep interest rates elevated
- Nvidia showed it turned a profit of $14.9 billion in the first quarter
Business
Amazon to invest $17bn in Spain Â
The investment will be made in data centers in Aragon region.
- The investment will create around 17,500 indirect jobs in local companies and contribute 21.6 billion euros to Spain's gross domestic product during the period.
- A pioneer of e-commerce, Amazon's AWS also dominates cloud computing with 31 percent of the market at the end of 2023, according to Stocklytics.
Business
Palestinians optimistic but wary after recognition moves
The agreement signed with Khaldoon Al Mubarak, managing director of the Abu Dhabi government-controlled fund Mubadala, opens "a new era...
- The Palestinian Authority says that 142 of the 193 UN member countries already recognize a Palestinian state.
- In the West Bank and Jerusalem, people AFP spoke to were optimistic but wanted more tangible acts towards Palestinian sovereignty.
Norway, Ireland, Spain to recognize Palestinian state
The announcement is the second diplomatic blow this week after the International Criminal Court prosecutor said he would seek arrest...
- Norway, Ireland and Spain announced that they will recognize a Palestinian state
- The three nations hope other countries will follow but Europe remains split over the issue
Geostrategy
Israel furious as 3 European countries recognize Palestinian state
Israel reacted with fury after three European countries said Wednesday they would recognize a Palestinian state, more than seven months...
- Ireland, Norway and Spain said they would formally recognize the State of Palestine on May 28.
- Israel strongly opposes the move, arguing that it amounts to "rewarding terrorism"
Geostrategy
Medics, WHO say north Gaza hospitals barely operational
North Gaza's last two functioning hospitals, Al-Awda and Kamal Adwan, are barely operational, doctors and the World Health Organization said...
- Israeli forces had fired on the facilities and that snipers had been deployed near one of them.
- Israel's military accuses Hamas of using hospitals as command centers to plan and launch attacks against its forces
Global food prices reach 18-month high, vegetable oil cost soars
Paris, France -- Global food prices rose in October to their highest level in 18 months, with a sharp increase in...
Geostrategy
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Lebanon urges DNA tests to identify missing in Israel strikes
Families should head to centers affiliated with the Judicial Police "to conduct DNA tests", the police said in a statement....
Geostrategy
Israel targets Palestinian group in first strike on Beirut center
Israel hit a Beirut apartment block on Monday, killing three members of a Palestinian armed group in its first strike...
Geostrategy
Israel and Hezbollah: A complex history of decades-long conflict and tensions
Nicosia, Cyprus - Israel and Lebanon's Shiite Muslim movement Hezbollah, whose leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli air strike...
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Geostrategy
How Israel killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah?
Israel has been planning for months to kill Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in south Beirut. Reports say Israeli PM approved...
- Exploding devices, which Israel has not claimed, killed at least 39 people, wounded almost 3,000 and "threw Hezbollah's communications back to the stone age
- Senior officials say that "more than 80 bombs were dropped over a period of several minutes to kill" Hassan Nasrallah
Geostrategy
UN sends emergency food aid for one million Lebanese amid fresh Israeli attacks
The World Food Program says it had launched an emergency operation to provide meals for one million people affected by...
- Lebanon's health ministry said Israeli air strikes killed 21 people on Sunday in east Lebanon
- "During the intelligence-based strikes, the (air force) struck approximately 120 Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon"
Business
Lebanon may be seeing ‘largest displacement’ ever: PM
Prime Minister Najib Mikati said that "the estimated number is very high and may reach one million" -- which would...
- On Friday, Israel killed Hezbollah's leader Hassan Nasrallah in a move many fear risks destabilizing Lebanon and the wider region.
- Since Monday, intense Israeli attacks across Lebanon's east, south and on southern Beirut have killed hundreds of people and forced many to flee their homes.