War-weary Gazans reel from ‘500 days of humiliation’
Gaza City, Palestinian Territories -- For 500 days since an unprecedented Hamas attack on Israel triggered the Gaza Strip's deadliest war,...
Geostrategy
Lavrov, Rubio pledge to restore dialogue and work on settling Ukraine conflict, says Moscow
The call came ahead of an expected summit between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin amid mounting concern from Ukraine and...
Geostrategy
Geostrategy
Ceasefire talks falter as Hamas, Israel clash over conditions, Gaza sees more destruction and deaths
Hamas accuses Israel of stalling the truce with new demands on troop withdrawal and prisoner release, while Netanyahu’s office counters,...
- Indirect negotiations mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States have taken place in Doha in recent days, rekindling hope for an agreement between the two warring parties
- On Wednesday, both sides accused the other of throwing up roadblocks, while Israeli President Isaac Herzog urged the country's leadership to move towards a deal
Geostrategy
Pope calls for ‘arms to be silenced’ in Christmas appeal
Rome, Italy -- Pope Francis called Wednesday for "arms to be silenced" around the world in his Christmas address, appealing for...
- His voice breathless, the 88-year-old pontiff also appealed for a ceasefire in Gaza and for the freeing of Israeli hostages held there by Hamas.
- Francis also extended his call for peace to Sudan, which has been ravaged by 20 months of brutal civil war and where millions are under the threat of famine.
Economy
Egypt to access $1.2 billion in funding after deal with IMF
Washington, United States -- The International Monetary Fund said Tuesday that it has reached a deal with Egyptian authorities allowing the...
- The deal comes as both sides reached staff-level agreement on the fourth review under the Extended Fund Facility arrangement, the fund said.
- The funding access is subject to executive board approval. The discussions culminating in the deal were held in person from November 6-20 and virtually afterwards.
Geostrategy
Pakistan air strikes kill 46 in Afghanistan: Taliban spokesman
Kabul, Afghanistan - Pakistan air strikes in an eastern border province of Afghanistan killed 46 people, the Taliban government spokesman told...
- Border tensions have risen since the Taliban's 2021 takeover, with Islamabad accusing Afghan-based militants of attacks
- Islamabad has accused Kabul's Taliban government of harbouring militant fighters, allowing them to strike on Pakistani soil with impunity
Geostrategy
Israeli army says intercepted missile from Yemen before it entered Israeli territory
Jerusalem, Undefined - The Israeli army said Wednesday it intercepted a ballistic missile fired towards the country from Yemen.Air raid sirens...
- Air raid sirens sounded over a wide swathe of central Israel as a precaution against falling debris, but the army said it shot down the projectile before it entered Israeli territo
- Yemen's Iran-backed Huthi rebels have repeatedly launched missiles against Israel in solidarity with the Palestinians since the war in Gaza began more than a year ago
Syria authorities say armed groups have agreed to disband
Syria's new leaders announced Tuesday that they had reached an agreement with the country's rebel groups on their dissolution and...
- Absent from the meeting were representatives of the US-backed, Kurdish-led forces
- Turkey has "real economic leverage" thanks to a 900-kilometer border with Syria
Business
Honda shares soar 16%
The surge came after the auto giant announced a $7bn buyback.
- The buyback announcement came as Honda and its struggling rival Nissan agreed on Monday to launch talks on a merger.
- Honda will buy back its own shares worth up to 1.1 trillion yen, or 23.7 percent of the total issued shares, to improve "efficiency of its capital structure".
Business
Musk’s AI startup raises $6bn more, Saudi and Qatari funds among investors
Paris, France -- Billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk's startup xAI said it had raised $6 billion from investors in its latest...
- The firm, whose flagship product is the Grok chatbot, garnered support from US venture capitalists, chipmakers NVIDIA and AMD.
- It also garnered support from investment funds from Saudi Arabia and Qatar among others.
Asian stocks mostly up after US tech rally
Asian stocks were mostly higher on Tuesday after a tech rally on Wall Street, but their gains remained modest in...
- Hong Kong stocks were "consolidating before the long holiday"
- Honda shares soared 16 percent after announcing a buyback of up to $7 billion
Geostrategy
Netanyahu tells Israel parliament ‘some progress’ on Gaza hostage deal, defence minister admits to killing Haniyeh
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal last week, Netanyahu said, however, said he was not going to agree...
- In recent days, indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas mediated by Qatar, Egypt, and the US took place in Doha, rekindling hope of an agreement that has proven elusive
- Negotiations have faced multiple challenges since a one-week truce in November 2023, with the primary point of contention being the establishment of a lasting ceasefire
War-weary Gazans reel from ‘500 days of humiliation’
Gaza City, Palestinian Territories -- For 500 days since an unprecedented Hamas attack on Israel triggered the Gaza Strip's deadliest war,...
Geostrategy
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Trump warns ‘all hell’ will break loose if Gaza hostages not returned after Hamas delays exchanges
The January 19 truce halted 15 months of Gaza fighting, freeing Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, but tensions...
Under US takeover plan, Palestinians will have no right of return to Gaza: Trump
Trump told Fox News Channel’s Bret Baier that "I would own it" and that there could be as many as...
Geostrategy
Egypt to host emergency Arab summit on Palestinians: foreign ministry
Cairo, Egypt -- Egypt will host a summit of Arab nations on February 27 to discuss "the latest serious developments" concerning...
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Geostrategy
Israel orders negotiators to Doha after fifth hostage-captive swap completed under truce deal
Hamas official Bassem Naim warned that Israel’s "procrastination" in implementing the agreement could jeopardize the ceasefire, as negotiations began on...
- Israel confirmed 73 hostages remain in Gaza, with 34 presumed dead
- Hamas defended the hostages' condition, calling it "acceptable" under Gaza’s crisis
Geostrategy
Israel to receive US-made bombs and Hellfire missiles worth $7.4 bn despite past curbs under Biden administration
The State Department has signed off on the sale of $6.75 billion in bombs, guidance kits and fuses, in addition...
- The proposed sale of the bombs "improves Israel's capability to meet current and future threats, strengthen its homeland defense, and serves as a deterrent to regional threats
- And the missile sale would "improve Israel's capability to meet current and future threats by improving the ability of the Israeli Air Force to defend Israel's borders
Geostrategy
Trump condemned for ICC sanctions over Israel, US probes
The United Nations and the European Union also urged Trump on Friday to reverse the decision ordering asset freezes and...
- The sanctions could impact the court's technical and IT operations, including evidence gathering. There are fears victims of alleged atrocities may hesitate to come forward.
- Antonio Costa, who heads the European Council representing the EU's 27 member states, wrote on X that the move "undermines the international criminal justice system".