Baghdad and Arbil agree to resume Kurdish oil exports: government
Baghdad, Iraq -- The Iraqi government announced Thursday an agreement to resume crude exports from the autonomous Kurdistan region after...
Geostrategy
AI-powered ‘nudify’ apps fuel deadly wave of digital blackmail
Washington, United States - After a Kentucky teenager died by suicide this year, his parents discovered he had received threatening...
Investigation
Geostrategy
US denies hints it is delaying Iran nuclear talks
Denying suggestions that it is stalling a potential agreement to resurrect the Iran nuclear deal, State Department spokesman Ned Price...
- EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, who is leading the effort to bring the United States and Iran together in agreement, suggested Washington was now slowing the process
- Iran and major global powers struck a deal in 2015 to limit Tehran's nuclear program with the aim of preventing it from obtaining nuclear weapons
Market Report
Stocks slide as traders mull Fed outlook, gas price spike
World stocks sank Monday and the dollar rallied on concern the Federal Reserve will stick to its interest rate-hiking plans...
- The euro is under pressure after Russia's Gazprom said late Friday that the Nord Stream pipeline would be closed for maintenance.
- Oil slumped on speculation over an Iran nuclear deal that could ease a supply crunch caused by producer Russia's invasion of Ukraine, as well as recession fears.
Geostrategy
EU says Iran nuclear deal meeting likely this week
A meeting on resurrecting the Iran nuclear deal could be held 'this week' after Tehran submitted its response to an...
- Earlier this month, after more than a year of talks, the EU submitted what it called a "final" text.
- The document aims at fully restoring the nuclear deal by bringing the United States back into it, after then-president Donald Trump had Washington withdraw in 2018.
Arts & Culture
Spiritual leader of Israeli ultra-Orthodox party dies
Cohen, who headed the Council of Torah Sages, the highest body in the Shas party, had been at the Hadassah...
- Born in Jerusalem in 1930, Cohen succeeded the highly influential Rabbi Ovadia Yossef who died in 2013
- Tens of thousands are expected to attend a funeral service later on Monday for the spiritual leader
Business
Vodafone agrees to sell Hungary unit for 1.8 bn euros
The London-listed giant added in a statement that the proposed sale would create Hungary's second largest fixed-line and mobile telecoms...
- A Vodafone spokesman said proceeds will be used to deleverage its balance sheet, or cut debt, as it looks to build scale in other markets
- European heavyweight Vodafone, which has been restructuring for several years, expects the sale to complete at the end of 2022
Geostrategy
After six months of war, what’s next for Ukraine?
Russian President Vladimir Putin announces on February 24, 2022 a "special military operation" to protect the Russian-speaking self-declared separatist republics...
- Kyiv and Moscow on July 22 sign a UN-Turkey mediated deal in Istanbul to resume grain exports in a bid to relieve a global food crisis
- On August 5, Russia and Ukraine accuse each other of shelling the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine that is under Russian military control
Economy
Europe prepares for winter without Russian gas
Many believe Russian President Vladimir Putin is using energy supplies as a strategic weapon to put pressure on nations that...
- Berlin has accused Moscow of halting supplies over Western sanctions imposed over Russia's invasion of Ukraine
- The European Union has told its 27 member countries that they will have to cut their gas consumption by 15 percent
Economy
China slashes lending rates to spur economic growth
Battered by the government’s zero-Covid policy and a slump in the property market, China’s central bank cut benchmark loan rates...
- Analysts had been expecting cuts to the LPR rates, but said they may not be enough to rescue the property sector
- China's economic growth came in at just 0.4 percent on-year in the second quarter -- its slowest rate since the Covid crisis began in 2020
Economy
Most Asian markets down as traders eye key Powell speech
All eyes are on a symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming where Fed boss Jerome Powell will deliver a speech that...
- The optimism has slowly been eroded in recent weeks as Fed officials have warned that the battle against inflation was far from won
- Jonathan Millar of Barclays said it was unlikely Powell would signal a slowdown in rate hikes this week.
Business
Pegasus spyware firm to focus on NATO countries, CEO to step down
The indebted, privately owned company also said it would focus sales on countries belonging to the NATO alliance. In July...
- CEO Shalev Hulio will step down and the firm's chief operating officer Yaron Shohat will now "take the lead" and manage the reorganisation process,
- Pegasus spyware is used to infiltrate mobile phones and extract data or activate cameras or microphones.
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Baghdad and Arbil agree to resume Kurdish oil exports: government
Baghdad, Iraq -- The Iraqi government announced Thursday an agreement to resume crude exports from the autonomous Kurdistan region after...
Geostrategy
Company News
Latest News
Thousands trapped in Gaza hospital surrounded by Israeli tanks
Gaza's health ministry said Israeli troops were shooting and firing "shells and (conducting) violent raids in its surroundings in preparation...
Olympics tech firm Atos posts huge loss
The company posted a net loss of US$3.7 billion for 2023.
Business
Hamas leader Haniyeh visits Iran: state media
Haniyeh's visit comes after a resolution adopted by the UN Security Council on Monday called for an "immediate ceasefire" for...
Geostrategy
Most Read
Economy
Regulated dollar transactions on the rise in Iraq, says central bank
With dollars dominating the country's economy, Baghdad has imposed a series of restrictions on the use of American greenbacks domestically....
- Transactions through the Central Bank electronic platform -- which ensures compliance with SWIFT -- have considerably increased, the bank's vice governor Ammar Khalaf told
- "At the beginning of 2023, transactions were at $50 million per day. Now, we have around $200 million, which is consistent with the size of Iraq's economy," he added
Geostrategy
No let-up in Gaza war despite UN ceasefire resolution
The resolution demanding an "immediate ceasefire" was adopted Monday after Israel's closest ally the United States abstained. Washington insisted that...
- Israel reacted furiously to the US abstention, as it allowed the resolution to go through
- The Israeli military said Monday it was battling fighters around two hospitals in Gaza
Geostrategy
Hamas-allied official escapes Israeli strike in Lebanon
According to a security source, who did not want to be identified, the target was Mohammad Assaf of Jamaa Islamiya,...
- A strike in January widely blamed on Israel killed Hamas's deputy leader Saleh al-Aruri in Beirut
- Since October the cross-border violence has killed at least 326 people in Lebanon