UN envoy warns Syria conflict not over yet
United Nations' special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, referring to fighting between the US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and...
Nations step up outreach to Syria’s post-Assad rulers
Governments worldwide are stepping up efforts to engage with Syria's new interim rulers, just over a week after Islamist-led rebels...
Geostrategy
Hamas says ‘ball is completely’ in Israel’s hands in Gaza truce talks
"The negotiating delegation left Cairo heading to Doha. In practice, the occupation (Israel) rejected the proposal submitted by the mediators...
- State-linked Egyptian outlet Al-Qahera News reported Thursday that representatives of both camps left Cairo after two days of negotiations
- Efforts by Egypt and other mediators, namely Qatar and the United States, "continue to bring the points of view of the two parties closer together", the outlet added
Geostrategy
Israel hits Rafah despite US warning on arms transfers
In an interview with CNN on Wednesday, Biden warned he would stop some US weapons supplies to Israel if it...
- An AFP correspondent and witnesses on Thursday reported Israeli strikes on several parts of Rafah, where the United Nations said 1.4 million people were sheltering
- Israel has already defied international objections by sending in tanks and conducting what it called "targeted raids" in the east of Rafah
Geostrategy
Hezbollah says fighters killed after Israeli strike on south Lebanon
The Lebanese security source, requesting anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to the media, said that "four Hezbollah...
- Hezbollah said it launched "an air attack with explosive drones" targeting an Israeli military base and its vicinity in retaliation.
- At least 399 people have been killed in Lebanon in seven months of cross-border violence, mostly militants but also including more than 70 civilians.
Geostrategy
Israel destroys dozens of Bedouin homes in Negev desert
Israeli authorities destroyed around 50 homes belonging to Bedouins in the Negev desert on Wednesday, an AFP journalist reported, with...
- Israel considers the homes built in Wadi al-Khalil to be illegal
- Only 11,000 bedouins remained within Israel's borders after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War
Biden threatens to stop arm shipments if Israel invades Rafah
Biden, a self-described Zionist, had long resisted stopping any of the $3 billion in weapons the United States sends each...
- In an interview with CNN Biden also deplored the fact that civilians had been killed by the dropping of US bombs on the Palestinian territory
- His fresh warning came after the US last week halted a shipment of huge American bombs to Israel as it appeared ready to proceed with a major attack on Rafah
Geostrategy
Empty streets and ‘fear’ in Gaza’s Rafah since Israeli incursion
Rafah, Palestinian Territories - Displaced Gazan Marwan al-Masri, sheltering in Rafah, said on Wednesday "life has completely ceased" since Israeli tanks...
- More than 1.4 million people had crammed into Rafah, a city on the Gaza Strip's southern border with Egypt, as Israeli forces pushed their way southward
- Caught between Israeli shelling from the east, an Egyptian border to the south and the Mediterranean to the west, many fleeing Rafah went north
Geostrategy
South Gaza hospitals have only three days’ fuel left: WHO
Despite international objections, Israel sent tanks into the overcrowded southern city of Rafah on Tuesday and seized the nearby crossing...
- "The closure of the border crossing continues to prevent the UN from bringing fuel. Without fuel all humanitarian operations will stop," said WHO chief Tedros Ghebreyesus.
- Tedros said Al-Najjar, one of the three hospitals in Rafah, was no longer functioning due to the ongoing hostilities in the vicinity and the military operation in Rafah.
Business
Apple’s latest iPad signals the company’s AI-powered future
San Francisco, United States - Apple on Tuesday announced a line of new iPad tablets revamped with a powerful AI chip...
- The latest version of the iPad Pro uses a new chip called the M4, which is stronger than the one currently used for Apple's laptops
- The iPad Pro and ultralight iPad Air are the company's first iPad releases in two years, ending Apple's longest period without upgrades since it launched the tablet in 2010
Geostrategy
Israel seizes Rafah crossing as Gaza truce talks resume
Egypt's state-linked Al-Qahera News reported that mediators from Qatar, the United States and Egypt were meeting with a Hamas delegation.
- A senior Hamas official warned this would be Israel's "last chance" to free the estimated 128 captives still held in Gaza, including 36 officials who are dead
- Israel's offensive has killed at least 34,789 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry
Business
Aramco Q1 profit down 14.5%
Despite lower profit, it will pay $31bn in dividends to Saudi government.
- Net income was 102.27 billion riyals ($27.27 billion), down from 119.54 billion riyals ($31.88 billion) for the same period in 2023.
- Aramco is currently producing roughly nine million barrels per day (bpd), well below its capacity of 12 million bpd.
UN envoy warns Syria conflict not over yet
United Nations' special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, referring to fighting between the US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and...
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Updates: Iran calls on UN Security Council to condemn Israeli strikes amid fresh peace efforts
Iran unlikely to escalate situation with Israel, say experts, as UN chief says destruction in Gaza is "shocking". Netanyahu faces...
Geostrategy
Updates: Israel targets key military sites in Iran amid escalating tensions in Middle East
Explosions sounded across Tehran after Israel’s airstrikes on Iranian military sites, raising fears of a broader conflict in the Middle...
Geostrategy
Saudis part ways with coach Mancini after a run of poor results
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- Saudi Arabia's football body said it was ending the contract of national coach Roberto Mancini after 14...
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Geostrategy
Israel to send negotiators to new Gaza truce talks in Qatar
The head of Israel's Mossad spy agency, David Barnea, will head to Qatari capital Doha on Sunday, the Israeli prime...
- US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that mediators would explore new options after the failure of previous efforts to seal a ceasefire and hostage release deal.
- The US and Qatar were seeking a plan "so that Israel can withdraw, so that Hamas cannot reconstitute, and so that the Palestinian people can rebuild their lives.
Geostrategy
Beirut’s suburbs ravaged by Israeli air raids as Blinken urges de-escalation with Iran
Israeli airstrikes on Hezbollah's southern Beirut stronghold destroyed six buildings in the deadliest assault since the war began, despite U.S....
- In southern Lebanon, Israeli strikes pounded Tyre, leaving swathes of its centre in ruins and sparking a new exodus from the once vibrant coastal city
- Concerns are mounting over tens of thousands of civilians trapped by fighting in Gaza's aid-starved north, where Israel launched a major air and ground assault this month
Business
Troubled Boeing faces investors and awaits strike vote
Boeing, the beleaguered aviation giant announces what is expected to be its biggest quarterly loss in four years, and striking...
- Analysts estimate a loss of US$6.1 billion, its biggest since the fourth quarter of 2020
- On October 15, Boeing announced it plans to raise up to US$25 billion to navigate the period