Aid flotilla with Greta Thunberg set to sail for Gaza
The vessels will set off from the Spanish port city to "open a humanitarian corridor and end the ongoing genocide...
Geostrategy
Turkey bars Israeli ships and flights from its territory
Ties between Turkey and Israel have been shattered by Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza, with Ankara accusing Israel of...
Geostrategy
Economy
EU boosts 2023 growth outlook for region
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - The European Commission boosted its 2023 economic growth outlook for the eurozone on Monday but it also raised...
- The EU executive's spring forecast is more optimistic than that issued late last year, despite inflation proving "stickier than expected".
- Brussels also raised the 2024 growth forecast for the 20-country single currency zone by 0.1 points to 1.6 percent.
Geostrategy
Syria’s 11-year exile ends, attends first Arab League meeting
"I... take this opportunity to welcome the Syrian Arab Republic to the League of Arab States," Saudi finance minister Mohammed...
- Earlier this month, the pan-Arab body officially welcomed back Syria's government, securing President Bashar al-Assad's return to the Arab fold.
- Qatar said this month it would not normalize relations with Assad's government but also noted this would not be "an obstacle" to Arab League reintegration.
Economy
French president to meet Elon Musk in Paris to discuss joint projects
Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire gave no details of Monday's talks with Musk, saying simply that "all of today's investments...
- The two men will talk about the "attractiveness of France and its industries", Macron's office announced, with the head of state hoping for fresh investment
- Finance Minister of France told that "negotiations are ongoing" with the Musk, who is in Paris for a meeting of 200 foreign business leaders with the French government
Geostrategy
France pledges more weapons to Ukraine after Zelensky’s Europe tour
In a visit to various European capitals to hold consultations with his allies, Zelensky dined with French President Emmanuel Macron...
- Macron's office said France will supply Ukraine with armour -- without specifying the number of vehicles -- but demurred on sending much-coveted fighter jets
- Volodymyr Zelensky's arrival in Paris followed a visit to Rome on Friday, where he met with Italian leaders and Pope Francis, and a weekend stop in Germany
Newmont snaps up Newcrest for $19bn to create a world-leading gold producer
By swallowing up Newcrest, the US mining giant will cement its position as the world's biggest gold producer, with operations...
- Melbourne-based Newcrest's shareholders will receive 0.4 of the US firm's shares for each Newcrest share, giving them 31 percent of the combined group
- The Newmont expects to deliver US$500 million in annual "synergies" and to generate an estimated US$2 billion in cash flow as a result of the takeover
Thais reject army-backed govt, opposition considers coalition
Thais voted in large numbers after an election campaign pitting a young generation yearning for change against the conservative elite...
- With ballots counted from 97 percent of polling stations, Election Commission data showed MFP on 13.5 million in the popular vote followed by Pheu Thai on 10.3 million
- The progressive Move Forward Party's leader, Pita Limjaroenrat, 42, declared it had "closed the door" on any chance of army-backed parties forming a minority government
Geostrategy
Turkey’s Erdogan and challenger appear headed for runoff election
Appearing before a large crowd of supporters, Erdogan proclaimed himself to be ready to lead the nation for another five...
- The voter turnout touched 90 percent in what is being seen as a referendum on Turkey's longest-serving leader and his Islamic-rooted party
- Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the opposition leader, trailed with 45.0 percent vote, an unlikely outcome for a leader who was shown in the lead in pre-election polls
Economy
Large scale job losses if US defaults, warns government
President Joe Biden's administration again warned of "catastrophic" consequences for the US economy including huge job losses if the country...
- The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office forecast that the country could default on its debts by June 15 if lawmakers fail to agree on a deal.
- Biden has stated he wants a "clean" hike of the debt ceiling, but Republicans are insisting any extension of the country's borrowing authority.
Geostrategy
Iran jails eight for asking workers to strike at gas site
TEHRAN, IRAN - Iranian authorities have arrested eight people for "leading" a workers' strike at a key gas site in the...
- An official said intelligence services arrested eight main leaders of the workers' strike at a gas site in Iran's south.
- The gas site is also knows as having the world's largest reserve and employs around 40,000 people.
Geostrategy
Tehran objects to presence of anti-Iran forces at Kurd event in Iraq
TEHRAN, IRAN- Iran has summoned Iraq's ambassador to protest over the presence of Iranian opposition groups at an official ceremony in...
- Iran reacted sharply to the invitation of what it calls as separatist groups during a function in Iraq's autonomous region of Kurdistan.
- Tehran, which refers to all Kurdish groups who oppose the Iranian government as 'terrorists', summoned the Iraqi envoy over the incident.
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Aid flotilla with Greta Thunberg set to sail for Gaza
The vessels will set off from the Spanish port city to "open a humanitarian corridor and end the ongoing genocide...
Geostrategy
Company News
Latest News
Boeing CEO says company can’t afford another mistake: report
Boeing CEO Ortberg told workers a trade war with China would weigh heavily on Boeing. The meeting came about two...
Hezbollah says Israel ‘cannot impose conditions’ for truce
U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein announced "additional progress" in Lebanon-Israel ceasefire talks, heading to Israel to finalize an agreement amidst escalating...
US vetoes Gaza ceasefire call at UN
The resolution demanded "an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire" in the war between Israel and the Palestinian group, along with...
Geostrategy
Most Read
Iraq holds its first census in nearly 40 years
The Iraqi census is scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, and will provide sorely needed up-to-date demographic data for the country...
- A count conducted in 1997 excluded the three northern provinces that make up the autonomous Kurdistan region
- Demographics are likely to have shifted with the exile of hundreds of thousands
Geostrategy
Iraqis face tough homecoming a decade after IS rampage
Hassan Shami, Iraq - A decade after Islamic State group extremists rampaged through northern Iraq, Moaz Fadhil and his eight children...
- The jihadists seized a third of Iraq, ruling their self-declared "caliphate" with an iron fist, before an international coalition wrestled control from them in 2017
- Seven years on, many of the village's homes are still in ruins and lacking essential services, but Fadhil said he felt an "indescribable joy" upon moving back in August
Geostrategy
Hamas negotiators ‘not in Doha’ but political office not closed: Qatar
Qatar, along with the United States and Egypt, had led months of fruitless negotiations for a truce in the Gaza...
- "The mediation process right now... is suspended unless we take a decision to reverse that which is based on the positions of both sides," spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari said
- "The office of Hamas in Doha was created for the sake of the mediation process. Obviously, when there is no mediation process, the office itself doesn't have any function," he said