Israel says ground troops conducted raids in Syria in the latest border raid since Assad fall
Israel's military said Sunday ground troops had operated in southern Syria, seizing weapons and questioning individuals suspected of arms trafficking,...
Geostrategy
Chaos, Israel-aided gangs and gunfire: Gaza aid fails to reach most needy
Nearly 1,400 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip while waiting for aid since May 27, the majority by...
Geostrategy
Geostrategy
Blinken warns incoming Israeli govt against settlements
Washington, United States— US Secretary of State Antony Blinken vowed Sunday to oppose Israeli settlements or annexation in the West Bank,...
- Netanyahu will return to power after sealing a coalition deal with the extreme-right movements including Religious Zionism
- The November 1 election was Israel's fifth in less than four years and came after the collapse of a motley coalition that tried to keep out the scandal-plagued Netanyahu
Geostrategy
Iranians in Iraq skeptical over end to morality police
Iran may have abolished its feared morality police, but many of its citizens based in Iraq doubt reports that Tehran...
- On Saturday, Iran's attorney general said that the force had "been abolished"
- A 32-year-old journalist, Soma Hakimzada, born in Iraqi Kurdistan to parents who fled Iran, also viewed the move dimly
Economy
UN agency wants FIFA deal for World Cup labour rights role
Doha, Qatar— After fierce criticism of the Qatar World Cup, the head of the UN labour agency on Sunday pressed FIFA's...
- FIFA has faced increased pressure after years of criticism of labour rights in Qatar, ranging from controversy over deaths on mega construction projects to unpaid salaries
- The 2026 World Cup will be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico
Economy
Moroccans protest price hikes and ‘repression’
Hit by the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and inflation, poverty levels are back to where they were in...
- People converged from across Morocco for the protest, which was also called to highlight the cases of several jailed bloggers and journalists
- Consumer price inflation was 7.1 percent year-on-year in October, due in large part to surging food prices triggered partly by an intense drought
Geostrategy
EU head says bloc must act over US climate plan changes
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said the bloc must act to address "distortions" created by Washington's $430-billion plan to...
- EU countries have poured criticism on Washington's landmark Inflation Reduction Act, seeing it as anti-competitive and a threat to European jobs
- The act, designed to accelerate the US transition to a low-carbon economy, contains around $370 billion in subsidies for green energy as well as tax cuts
Geostrategy
OPEC+ to maintain current output level amid uncertainty
Major oil-producing countries led by Saudi Arabia and Russia agreed to maintain their current output levels. Representatives of 13 members...
- OPEC+ decided to stick to their course agreed in October of a production cut of two million barrels per day until the end of 2023.
- On Friday, the EU, G7 and Australia agreed a $60-per-barrel price cap on Russian oil, which will come into effect on Monday.
Geostrategy
Iran says morality police abolished as Mahsa Amini protests continue
The morality police -- known formally as the Gasht-e Ershad or "Guidance Patrol" -- were established under president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad,...
- Women-led protests, labelled "riots" by the authorities, swept Iran since the 22-year-old Iranian of Kurdish origin died on Sept. 16, three days after her arrest by the police.
- "Morality police have nothing to do with the judiciary" and have been abolished, Attorney General Mohammad Jafar Montazeri was quoted as saying by the ISNA news agency.
Arts & Culture
Palestinian Santa lifts spirits in Jerusalem
While Jerusalem is home to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which Christians believe contains Jesus's tomb, the Nativity story...
- Issa Kassissieh transformed the ground floor of his 700-year-old home into a grotto, complete with candy, mulled wine and a chance to sit on Santa's lap
- He displayed a certificate from the Charles W Howard Santa Claus School, and said his training makes him Jerusalem's only accredited Santa
Economy
OPEC likely to hold oil output levels steady
Vienna, Austria— Major oil-producing countries led by Saudi Arabia and Russia look set to maintain their current output levels at a...
- OPEC is due to consult with 10 other oil-producing nations, including Russia, to review their decision in October to cut production by two million barrels per day
- the EU, G7 and Australia agreed a $60-per-barrel price cap on Russian oil, which will come into effect on Monday or soon after
Economy
Morocco reaps windfall from fertiliser supply shock
Morocco is set to chalk up record revenues for a second year running as farmers worldwide scramble for phosphate, made...
- According to Morocco's state-owned phosphates firm OCP, the kingdom controls around 31 percent of the international trade in the substance
- This year Morocco exported half a billion tons of fertilizer to various African countries, either for free, as aid or at preferential prices
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Israel says ground troops conducted raids in Syria in the latest border raid since Assad fall
Israel's military said Sunday ground troops had operated in southern Syria, seizing weapons and questioning individuals suspected of arms trafficking,...
Geostrategy
Company News
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Business
Qantas half-year profits slide
Business
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Nvidia profit soars to US$12.3bn
Business
Hamas says Israel wants ‘endless’ truce negotiations
Hamas had told mediators it "cannot agree to a deal that doesn't that does not secure... a permanent ceasefire and...
Geostrategy
Tunisian Muslim community turns to AI to save heritage
Djerba, Tunisia - In an unassuming house on the Tunisian island of Djerba, Said al-Barouni embarked on a mission to safeguard...
Arts & Culture
Israeli strike in South Lebanon kills one
An Israeli strike targeting a motorcycle in Lebanon killed one person and wounded another, according to the National News Agency...
Geostrategy
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Geostrategy
More than half of Gaza structures destroyed or damaged: UN
Geneva, Switzerland -- Some 55 percent of all structures in the Gaza Strip have been destroyed, damaged or possibly damaged since...
- The analysis showed more than 137,000 buildings affected, UNOSAT, the United Nations satellite analysis agency, said on X.
- Within Deir Al-Balah, the Nuseirat municipality suffered the greatest number of newly damaged structures during that period, at 1,216, UNOSAT said.
Business
Oil prices fall as OPEC+ plans to unwind output cuts later this year
Oil prices slipped after Saudi-led OPEC and its Russian-led allies said Sunday they would maintain output levels but begin to...
- European natural gas prices meanwhile jumped more than 10 percent after the closure of a pipeline linking key producer Norway with Britain.
- Stock markets, meanwhile, mostly rose on renewed hopes for US interest-rate cuts. Among stock markets, European indexes were broadly higher and Wall Street saw gains at the open.
Business
Airlines expect over $30 bn in profits and passengers to hit nearly five billion in 2024: IATA
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced strengthened profitability projections for airlines in 2024 compared with its June and December...
- Total revenues expected to reach $996 billion in 2024, countered by total expenses estimated at $936 billion
- Airlines may not replace pilots with AI but the new tech is already revolutionizing the business