Fresh Israel-Iran attacks overshadow ceasefire efforts across the region
Air raid alerts sounded across Israel, explosions were reported over Jerusalem, and Iranian state media reported blasts in Tehran, Tabriz...
Geostrategy
Trump signs order allowing US Govt access to AI models before public release
The measure establishes a new cybersecurity clearinghouse involving federal agencies and industry partners, reflecting growing concerns about advanced AI systems'...
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Geostrategy
Iran-US nuclear talks set for Rome this week: Oman mediator
Iran and the United States will hold the next round of talks on the Islamic republic's nuclear programme in Rome...
- The arch-foes have held four rounds of nuclear talks since April 12, the highest-level contact between them since US President Donald Trump abandoned the 2015 nuclear deal
- Western countries, including the United States, have long accused Iran of seeking to acquire atomic weapons, while Iran insists its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes
Geostrategy
Gazans mourn at dawn after night of intense Israeli strikes
Gaza's civil defence agency said that more than 20 air strikes hit Khan Yunis and its surroundings overnight, with the...
- First responders have reported dozens of deaths daily since Israel intensified its attacks in the coastal territory, home to 2.4 million Palestinians
- Every morning, the civil defence agency has provided death tolls for overnight air strikes that often hit houses in rural areas or apartment buildings
Geostrategy
Rubio sees more Arab states normalizing with Israel this year
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggested Wednesday that more Arab nations could forge ties with Israel this year, as...
- Saudi Arabia was in advanced talks on normalization, backed by then-president Joe Biden's administration, before the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas on Israel
- Saudi Arabia is considered the ultimate prize by Israel considering the kingdom's role as the guardian of Islam's two holiest shrines and its influence within the Arab and Islamic
Geostrategy
US accepts Boeing jet from Qatar for use as Air Force One
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has accepted the Boeing 747 that the Gulf emirate of Qatar offered to President Donald...
- "The Secretary of Defense has accepted a Boeing 747 from Qatar in accordance with all federal rules and regulations," Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement
- The US Constitution prohibits government officials from accepting gifts "from any King, Prince or foreign State," in a section known as the Emoluments Clause
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Israeli ‘warning’ fire at diplomats sparks outcry amid Gaza pressure
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas urged Israel to hold to account those responsible for the shooting near Jenin, a...
- The Palestinian foreign ministry accused Israel of having "deliberately targeted by live fire an accredited diplomatic delegation".
- The incident came as international pressure intensified over the war in Gaza, where Palestinians were desperate for supplies after a two-month aid blockade was eased.
Geostrategy
Oil prices jump on report of Israel prepping Iran strike
Both main crude contracts jumped around one percent after CNN reported multiple US officials as saying the government had received...
- There are fears that such a sharp escalation could tip the Middle East into a war, with tensions already high over Israel's strikes on Gaza.
- While safe haven gold pushed higher, the news from CNN appeared to be having little detrimental effect on Asian equities, with most extending the previous day's rally.
Geostrategy
Iran says talks with US unlikely to ‘lead to any outcome’
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Iran could have civilian nuclear power while importing enriched uranium but that...
- "We don't think it will lead to any outcome. We don't know what will happen," said Khamenei during a speech, adding that denying Iran's right to enrich uranium was "a big mistake".
- Iran currently enriches uranium to 60 percent, far above the 3.67-percent limit set in the 2015 deal and close though still short of the 90 percent needed for a nuclear warhead
Geostrategy
EU to lift all economic sanctions on Syria to help the war-torn country
EU countries agreed Tuesday to lift all their remaining economic sanctions on Syria in a bid to help the war-torn...
- The move from the European Union comes after US President Donald Trump announced last week that Washington was lifting its sanctions against Syria.
- The country's new rulers have been clamouring for relief from the crushing international punishment imposed after Assad's crackdown on opponents
Geostrategy
US asking countries for ‘voluntary’ Palestinian relocation: Rubio
Israel has again warned the population of Gaza -- nearly entirely displaced since the war broke out over the October...
- President Donald Trump has repeatedly mused about displacing Gaza's two million people to make way for reconstruction.
- Responding to a question in testimony to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Rubio said: "There's no deportation."
Geostrategy
UK halts trade talks with Israel, summons envoy over Gaza
Foreign Secretary David Lammy accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government of "egregious actions and rhetoric" over its expansion of...
- Lammy said Britain "cannot stand by in the face of this new deterioration" in Gaza and was pausing negotiations with Israel on a new free-trade agreement.
- Israel was the country's 44th-largest trading partner last year, with the two countries exchanging 5.8 billion pounds ($7.8 billion) in goods and services.
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Fresh Israel-Iran attacks overshadow ceasefire efforts across the region
Air raid alerts sounded across Israel, explosions were reported over Jerusalem, and Iranian state media reported blasts in Tehran, Tabriz...
Geostrategy
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Iran vows to rebuild nuclear sites ‘stronger than before’
"By destroying buildings... we will not be set back," said Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, in a visit to the country's...
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OPEC+ looks set to further hike oil output
Since April, the V8 group -- comprising Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria and Oman...
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UN Security Council backs Morocco plan for W. Sahara autonomy
The UN Security Council voted Friday in favor of a resolution backing Morocco's autonomy plan for Western Sahara as the...
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Trump stirs global tensions with surprise nuclear test order
The announcement came in the wake of Russia saying it had tested a nuclear-powered and nuclear-capable torpedo, as well as...
- The last US nuclear test explosion was in September 1992, a 20-kiloton underground detonation at the Nevada Nuclear Security Site.
- Then-president George H.W. Bush imposed a moratorium on further tests in October 1992 that has been continued by successive administrations.
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Saudi Arabia’s next play: Capital to capability
FII 2025 marked Saudi Arabia’s shift from spectacle to scaffolding — pivoting from oil power to systemic force in energy,...
- What distinguished this edition was not the staging but the facts now pointing the same way.
- Multilaterals and the government upgraded growth projections. The sovereign wealth fund flagged a strategic pivot.
Geostrategy
Israel says received bodies of two Gaza hostages from Red Cross
Not including the latest two, Hamas have so far given back the remains of 15 of the 28 deceased hostages...
- Israel launched a wave of strikes on Gaza overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday after an attack that left an Israeli soldier dead in the south of the Palestinian territory.
- Hamas has said its fighters had "no connection to the shooting incident in Rafah" and reaffirmed its commitment to the truce.