South Korea’s Yoon: from star prosecutor to president facing arrest
Yoon is under investigation for his martial law declaration and faces criminal charges of insurrection, which could result in life...
Indian workers replace Palestinians in Israel’s construction sector amid post-war labour void
Indians, long employed in Israel as caregivers, diamond traders, and IT professionals, are now increasingly recruited for the construction sector...
Economy
Arts & Culture
‘A matter of pride’: Saudis rejoice as World Cup bid approved
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- Fireworks and drones depicting the iconic golden World Cup trophy lit up the sky in Saudi Arabia's...
- Sports are a major component of the Vision 2030 reform agenda overseen by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, which aims to diversify the economy of the world's top oil exporter.
- Sports Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal said Saudi Arabia was "opening up to the world" and could help football grow globally.
54 journalists killed in 2024, a third by Israel: media group
Fifty-four journalists were killed worldwide while carrying out their work or because of their profession in 2024, a third of...
- Israeli forces were responsible for the deaths of 16 journalists in Gaza and two in Lebanon
- Israel admits that some have been killed in air strikes on military targets
Geostrategy
Transition in Syria: New PM says will ‘guarantee’ rights of all religious groups
With Assad's overthrow plunging Syria into the unknown, its new rulers have sought to assure religious minorities that they will...
- Assad fled Syria after a lightning offensive spearheaded by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group and its allies, which ended five decades of rule by his clan
- Syrians across the country and around the world erupted in celebration, after enduring a stifling era during which anyone suspected of dissent could be thrown into jail or killed
Business
Google unveils its most advanced Artificial Intelligence model, Gemini 2.0
San Francisco, United States -- Google on Wednesday announced the launch of Gemini 2.0, its most advanced artificial intelligence model to...
- CEO Sundar Pichai said the new model would be marking what the company calls "a new agentic era" in AI development.
- Gemini 2.0 is initially being rolled out to developers and trusted testers, with plans for broader integration across Google's products.
Geostrategy
Crunch time for Saudi-hosted drought, desertification talks
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- Landmark talks on desertification are set to conclude in Saudi Arabia this week amid doubts that pledged funds...
- The 12-day UNCCD COP16 meeting has announced billions in funding for drought response and land restoration.
- The UNCCD said 1.5 billion hectares (3.7 billion acres) of land must be restored by decade's end and that at least $2.6 trillion in global investments were needed.
South Korean police raid president’s office
#South #Korean police raided President #Yoon Suk #Yeol's office as part of the investigation into his declaration of #martial law....
- The deeply unpopular Yoon is already under a travel ban
- Yoon survived an impeachment motion in parliament on Saturday
New Syrian rulers pledge stability, accountability, and reconstruction after Assad’s ouster
Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, the Islamist leader who headed the rebel offensive, had previously announced talks on a transfer of power...
- The rebels appointed Mohammad al-Bashir as the transitional head of government to run the country until March 1, a statement said
- Assad fled Syria as an Islamist-led opposition alliance swept into the capital Damascus over the weekend, bringing to an end five decades of brutal rule by his clan
Business
Air passenger numbers to top five billion for the first time in 2025: IATA
Geneva, Switzerland -- Air passenger numbers are forecast to top five billion for the first time next year and the sector's...
- Total industry revenues are forecast at $1.007 trillion, helped by falling oil and fuel prices, "the first time that industry revenues top the $1 trillion mark," IATA said.
- Airlines have been hit by rising fuel costs since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022 but IATA said it expected this factor to ease next year.
Syria rebel leader vows to pursue former officials for torture, war crimes
Syria's Islamist rebel leader on Tuesday vowed to pursue former senior government officials responsible for torture and war crimes, a...
- Israel continued launched air strikes destroying the former government's military capabilities
- Baath party said it will support "a transitional phase in Syria aimed at defending the unity of the country."
Geostrategy
European countries suspend Syrian asylum decisions after Assad’s fall
While Berlin and other governments said they were watching the fast-moving developments in the war-ravaged nation, Vienna signaled it would...
- World leaders and Syrians abroad watched in disbelief at the weekend as Islamist-led rebels swept into Damascus
- The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees had imposed a freeze on decisions for ongoing asylum decisions
South Korea’s Yoon: from star prosecutor to president facing arrest
Yoon is under investigation for his martial law declaration and faces criminal charges of insurrection, which could result in life...
Company News
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Honda shares soar 16%
Business
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...
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...
Geostrategy
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...
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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