Dubai establishes media committee to unify official narrative
Dubai, UAE -- Dubai has established a new committee to oversee and coordinate the emirate's official media narrative across government,...
Geostrategy
US pounds Iran as regional conflict reignites after attacks on American forces
Iranian authorities reported strikes in several southern provinces, including Hormozgan, Khuzestan, Bushehr and Fars, while residents reported explosions on the...
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US suspends student visa processing in fresh swipe at foreign applicants
President Donald Trump's administration is seeking unprecedented control over leading US universities, including revoking foreign student visas and deporting some...
- The government plans to ramp up vetting of the social media profiles of international applicants to US universities, the cable said.
- Rubio earlier rescinded hundreds of visas and the Trump administration has moved to bar Harvard University from admitting non-Americans.
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Iran president in Oman as nuclear talks progress
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Tuesday began a two-day visit to Oman, which is mediating ongoing nuclear talks between Tehran...
- Pezeshkian travelled to Muscat looking to promote "peace and stability", he said, two days after US President Donald Trump described the latest negotiations as "very, very good".
- "We hope to engage in dialogue to reach a shared perspective and a common voice on promoting peace and stability in the region," Pezeshkian said in a televised speech
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South East Asia, Gulf and China three-way talks ‘response to call of times’
The trade-dependent economies are looking to insulate themselves after US President Donald Trump blew up global trade norms by announcing...
- Though he subsequently instigated a 90-day pause for most, the experience has spurred ASEAN and others to accelerate efforts to diversify their trading networks.
- China is only Southeast Asia's fourth largest source of foreign direct investment, after the United States, Japan and the European Union, noted NUS' Chong.
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US-backed group says it has begun aid distribution in Gaza
A controversial US-backed aid group for Gaza announced Monday that it had begun distributing food in the war-ravaged Palestinian territory,...
- The Gaza Humanitarian foundation (GHF) said in a statement that it commenced operations in Gaza today, delivering truckloads of food to its Secure Distribution Sites
- The United Nations and international aid agencies have meanwhile said they will not cooperate with the GHF, amid accusations it is working with Israel
Israel strikes Gaza, kills 53 people as Witkoff says Hamas didn’t accept 70-day temporary ceasefire
Hamas said Monday it had accepted a new ceasefire proposal by US envoy Steve Witkoff, presented by mediators, but a...
- Israel has in recent weeks expanded its offensive in the Gaza Strip, drawing international condemnation as aid trickles in following a monthslong blockade
- European and Arab leaders meeting in Spain over the weekend called for an end to the "inhumane" war, while humanitarian groups said the trickle of aid was not enough
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Iran rejects push to suspend uranium enrichment to reach nuclear deal with US
The issue has come into focus in recent weeks, with Iran staunchly defending its right to enrich uranium as part...
- The issue has come into focus in recent weeks, with Iran staunchly defending its right to enrich uranium as part of what it says is a civilian nuclear programme
- The negotiations, which began in April, are the highest-level contact between the two sides since the United States quit a landmark 2015 nuclear accord
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Hamas accepts mediators’ latest Gaza ceasefire proposal
The outline of the new potential deal was revealed as Israel ramped up its offensive in the Palestinian territory, and...
- "Hamas has agreed to the new proposal by US envoy Steve Witkoff, which the movement received from mediators," the Hamas source told AFP.
- The deal included "a 70-day truce in exchange for the release of 10 hostages in two batches, and during the truce, negotiations would begin on a permanent ceasefire.
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Due to war, under 5 percent of Gaza cropland useable for farming: UN
Paris, France -- Under five percent of Gaza's farmland is useable due to war, further exacerbating the risk of famine...
- By the end of April, more than 80 percent of the farmland was damaged and 77.8 percent was no longer accessible, leaving barely 4.6 percent of potentially arable land.
- Some 688 hectares (1,700 acres) is all that remains for cultivation, according to the assessment.
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Trump slams ‘crazy’ Putin as Russia pummels Ukraine with massive drone attack
US President Donald Trump called his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin "crazy" on Sunday after Moscow launched a deadly barrage of...
- At least 13 people were killed when Russia launched a record number of drones against Ukraine overnight to Sunday
- Those killed in the latest Russian strikes included victims aged eight, 12 and 17 in the northwestern region of Zhytomyr, officials said
Geostrategy
Turkey, PKK must both change for peace: former militant
"When you try and explain peace to people, there is a very serious lack of trust," said Yuksel Genc, a...
- "The guerillas are sincere, but they don't think the state is," said Genc, her words briefly interrupted by the roar of a fighter jet flying overhead.
- For years, she was a fighter with the Kurdish rebel group, which on May 12 said it would disarm and disband, ending a four-decade armed struggle against the Turkish state
Dubai establishes media committee to unify official narrative
Dubai, UAE -- Dubai has established a new committee to oversee and coordinate the emirate's official media narrative across government,...
Geostrategy
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The armed groups clashing with Hamas in Gaza
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Trump heads for Asia and Xi trade talks
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Ex-Israeli PM accuses Netanyahu of ‘treason’ over alleged Qatar funding to his aides
Former Israeli premier Naftali Bennett, widely regarded as a leading contender in next year's legislative elections, called on Monday for...
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As diplomats gather in Miami, Kremlin denies three-way US-Ukraine-Russia talks in preparation
The Kremlin on Sunday denied that three-way talks between Ukraine, Russia and the United States were on the cards, as...
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Israel’s security cabinet approves 19 new settlements in West Bank, a move to scuttle ‘a Palestinian state’
The decision brings the total number of settlements approved over the past three years to 69, according to a statement...
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China’s rare earths El Dorado gives strategic edge
Ganzhou, China -- Buried in the reddish soil of southern China lies latent power: one of the largest clusters of...
- The hills of Jiangxi province are home to most of China's rare earth mines, with the materials used in a range of products, including smartphones and missile guidance technology.
- The flourishing industry is closely protected by Chinese authorities and media access is seldom granted.
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Gazans mourn six killed in Israeli shelling on shelter
Gaza's civil defence agency, which operates as a rescue force under Hamas authority, initially said on Friday that the Israeli...
- Agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal updated the toll to six, including children, on Saturday, adding that two people were unaccounted for under the rubble.
- The director of Gaza City's Al-Shifa Hospital, Mohammed Abu Salmiya, told AFP the victims were a four-month old infant, a 14-year-old girl, two men and two women.
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German wheelchair user flies into space, a first
Houston, United States -- A German woman engineer on Saturday became the first wheelchair user to blast into space, taking...
- Benthaus suffered a spinal cord injury after a mountain biking accident and now uses a wheelchair.
- "After my accident, I really, really figured out how inaccessible our world still is" for people with disabilities, she said in a video released by the company.