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...
Post-Assad Syria seeks peace; Erdogan pushes anti-terror agenda, US warns on Kurdish conflict
Barbara Leaf, Washington's top diplomat for the Middle East, told Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa of the "critical need to...
Geostrategy
Geostrategy
Gaza war rages as US wants to ‘close’ ceasefire agreement
Doha, Qatar - Top US diplomat Antony Blinken said Wednesday that a truce and hostage release deal to end the Gaza...
- Blinken, in Doha for the last stop of a tour to promote President Joe Biden's Gaza ceasefire roadmap, said the United States would work with regional partners to "close the deal."
- Hamas submitted late Tuesday its response to mediators Qatar and Egypt, and Blinken said some of the proposed amendments "are workable and some are not."
Geostrategy
Houthis claim attack on merchant ship in Red Sea off Yemen
The Houthis, who are at war with a Saudi-led coalition after ousting the government from Sanaa in 2014, have launched...
- The ship was hit about 68 nautical miles (126 kilometres) southwest of the rebel-held port city of Hodeida, maritime security firm Ambrey had said earlier in the day
- The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, which is run by Britain's Royal Navy, said a vessel was "hit on the stern by a small craft" 66 nautical miles southwest of Hodeida
Geostrategy
Fire kills 49 in Kuwait building housing foreign workers
Kuwait City, Kuwait -- A fire killed 49 people in Kuwait when it ripped through a building housing nearly 200 foreign...
- The blaze, which broke out in the six-story building south of Kuwait City at around dawn, also left dozens of people injured, the health ministry said.
- The health ministry had previously announced 43 injured in the blaze in the Mangaf area, which is heavily populated with migrant laborers.
Business
IEA sees ‘major’ oil supply surplus emerging by 2030
Paris, France -- The world is likely to have a "major surplus" of oil by 2030 as production is ramped up...
- Global demand is expected to "level off" at 106 million barrels per day (bpd) toward the end of this decade while overall supply capacity could reach 114 million bpd.
- The forecast comes days after the OPEC+ group of major crude producers signaled they would start to unwind output cuts this autumn.
Geostrategy
Blinken heads to key mediator Qatar after Hamas seeks tweaks to truce deal
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was heading on Wednesday to talks in key mediator Qatar after Hamas gave a...
- Hamas proposed an amended ceasefire timeline and the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops
- Blinken said in Israel on Tuesday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has committed himself to the plan
Oil and gas industry hops on generative AI bandwagon
In recent years the downstream industry, which includes refineries that process crude oil into gasoline, has increasingly relied on so-called...
- Long before the current craze surrounding generative AI, the energy sector employed traditional artificial intelligence through its use of data to identify oil and gas deposits
- The new AI programs can also be employed broadly in the workforce instead of being limited to programmers and data analysts, as has been the case with traditional AI
Geostrategy
Erdogan visits opposition party headquarters first time in 18 years
Istanbul, Turkey - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited the opposition CHP party headquarters on Tuesday, the first time in 18...
- The one-and-a-half-hour meeting between Erdogan and CHP leader Ozgur Ozel in the capital Ankara comes more than a month after their first encounter in May
- Erdogan has signalled "softening" in politics after the March vote observers called his worst defeat since his Islamic-rooted AKP party took power in 2002
Geostrategy
Blinken in Israel to push ceasefire plan for Gaza
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will hold talks with key Israeli opposition figures on Tuesday, a day after he...
- On Monday, the UN Security Council adopted a US-drafted resolution supporting a six-week ceasefire plan,
- Four Israeli soldiers had been killed in fighting in southern Gaza yesterday
Business
Intel suspends expansion of factory plan in Israel
New York, United States - Intel is halting the expansion of a major factory project in Israel, which was going to...
- The chip giant in December said it was going to expand an ongoing $10 billion plan at the Kiryat Gat site, in the south of the country, currently under construction
- Solicited by AFP, Intel on Monday gave no reason for the pause for the next phase and made no link to the ongoing conflict with Hamas in Gaza
Geostrategy
Israeli forces kill 4 Palestinians in West Bank
The Israeli military said it shot at a group of four people who attempted to flee in a vehicle and...
- A general strike was called in Ramallah by Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas in response to the killings, along with a pre-planned rally for Palestinians jailed by Israel
- Israel has occupied the West Bank since the 1967 war and hundreds of thousands of settlers have since moved to the Palestinian territory, in breach of international law
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...
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Saudi hosts Muslim nations to discuss war in the Middle East with Trump in the equation
Arab and Muslim leaders are gathering in Saudi capital city Riyadh to discuss Israeli war against Gaza and Lebanon in...
Geostrategy
Arab, Muslim leaders fly to Saudi Arabia for talks on Gaza, Lebanon
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- Arab and Muslim leaders have begun arriving in Saudi Arabia for a summit scheduled for Monday that...
Geostrategy
Bitcoin hits $80,000 for the first time on Trump return optimism
London, United Kingdom -- Bitcoin soared to a new record high on Sunday, as traders bet that Donald Trump's return to...
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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...
- The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in international prices of a basket of food commodities, reached 127.4 points last month, a 2% increase from September.
- It was the highest since April 2023 but still 20.5 percent lower than the peak reached in March 2022 following Russia's invasion of agricultural powerhouse Ukraine.
Geostrategy
Buried for 14 hours after Israeli strike, Lebanese toddler makes recovery
The strike flattened an apartment complex and killed 15 people, many of them relatives
- "Ali is the sole survivor of his family," said his father's uncle
- "He emerged from the rubble, barely breathing, after 14 hours"
Geostrategy
UN probe says women, children comprise the majority of Gaza war dead
In a fresh report, the United Nations Human Rights Office (OHCHR) detailed a raft of violations of international law. Many...
- "Civilians in Gaza have borne the brunt of the attacks, including through the initial 'complete siege' of Gaza by Israeli forces," the UN said.
- "Conduct by Israeli forces has caused unprecedented levels of killings, death, injury, starvation, illness and disease."