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...
Geostrategy
UAE’s Wadi Wurayah inscribed on UNESCO World Heritage List
The reserve is the country's third World Heritage Site and the first recognized specifically for its outstanding natural value.
Geostrategy
Economy
Moody’s downgrades US credit rating on rise in govt debt
Moody's on Friday downgraded the United States's credit rating from the top triple-A level, citing rising levels of government debt...
- The downgrade to Aa1 from Aaa adds to the bad news for the US president, coming on the same day his flagship spending bill failed to pass a key vote in Congress
- Moody's decision to downgrade the United States from its top credit rating reflects a recent surge in US borrowing costs, which was further fueled by the Covid-19 pandemic
Geostrategy
Trump reshapes US Mideast policy. Can deals work instead?
The Israeli military said Saturday it had launched "extensive strikes" as part of a fresh offensive in Gaza, after rescuers...
- Trump vowed during his swing through Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates that there would be no more "lectures on how to live."
- In an extraordinary rupture with his predecessors, Trump then lambasted what he called the "neo-cons" that oversaw bloody US military interventions in the region
Geostrategy
Arab League to meet in Baghdad to discuss regional crises, key leaders may give it a miss
The Arab League is meeting in Baghdad on Saturday to discuss Gaza and other regional crises, but some key leaders...
- The war in Gaza is expected to dominate the agenda, especially after Israel approved plans to expand its offensive and spoke of the "conquest" of the territory
- United Nations chief Antonio Guterres will attend the summit, and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is expected to address it as a guest
Geostrategy
Israel launches ‘initial stages’ of new Gaza operation, threatens Huthi leaders after striking Yemen ports
The operation is part of "the expansion of the battle in the Gaza Strip, with the goal of achieving all...
- The offensive, known as "Operation Gideon's Chariots", comes as Israel faces pressure to lift a sweeping aid blockade in return for a US-Israeli hostage released by Hamas
- Israel resumed its military offensive in Gaza on March 18 after a two-month truce in its war against Hamas, triggered by an attack by the Palestinian group in October 2023
Geostrategy
No Israel stop for Trump on Mideast tour shows shifting ties
Jerusalem, Undefined -- US President Donald Trump's decision to skip over Israel in his Middle East tour was just the...
- The United States in early May sealed a ceasefire with Yemen's Houthi rebels that has left Israel out of the picture.
- The deal was announced just hours after a missile fired by the rebels landed within the perimeter of Tel Aviv's international airport, leading to the cancellation of flights.
Geostrategy
World Bank announces plans to restart Syria operations
Washington, United States -- The World Bank on Friday said it would restart operation in Syria following a 14-year pause,...
- The Bank's operation in Syria were halted when the civil war broke out in 2011, preventing the country from gaining access to its development loans, grants, and technical expertise
- Earlier this week, Saudi Arabia and Qatar paid off Syria's outstanding debts of around $15.5 million to the Washington-based institution.
Geostrategy
Gaza strikes kill 120 as Hamas says aid entry ‘minimum requirement’ for talks
Aid to Gaza has been cut off since March 2, a tactic Israel has said is intended to force concessions...
- Hamas warned that Gaza was not "for sale" hours after Donald Trump, on a visit to the region, again floated taking over the territory and turning it into "a freedom zone.'
- Israel's aid blockade preceded a resumption of military operations on March 18, ending a ceasefire that had largely halted hostilities since mid-January
Geostrategy
Iran, European powers to hold nuclear talks in Turkey
The Istanbul meeting follows Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi's warning of "irreversible" consequences if the European powers move to reimpose United...
- The Istanbul meeting follows Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi's warning of "irreversible" consequences if the European powers move to reimpose UN sanctions on Iran
- Trump effectively torpedoed the deal during his first term in 2018, by unilaterally abandoning it and reimposing sanctions on Iran's banking sector and oil exports
Geostrategy
Trump caps Gulf tour in Abu Dhabi with dizzying investment pledges, deal worth $1.4 trn signed
US President Donald Trump on Friday capped off a Gulf tour in Abu Dhabi that has seen the securing of...
- On his first foreign tour of his second term, Trump oversaw a $200 billion order from Qatar Airways for Boeing jets and a $600 billion investment from Saudi Arabia
- Trump also expressed optimism over reaching a new agreement with Iran over its nuclear programme, and in a seismic diplomatic shift, decided to lift decades-long sanctions on Syria
Geostrategy
Gaza air strikes kill over 100 as manhunt unfolds in West Bank
Palestinian rescuers reported more than 100 people killed Thursday in Israeli strikes on blockaded Gaza, where a US-backed organisation said...
- In the occupied West Bank, raids were ongoing and roads blocked after Israel's military chief vowed to find the perpetrators of an attack that killed a pregnant Israeli woman
- "Israel's blockade has transcended military tactics to become a tool of extermination", Human Rights Watch executive director Federico Borello said in a statement Thursday
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...
Geostrategy
Company News
Latest News
Publishers fight back against US book bans
Geostrategy
Trump imposes full travel bans on seven more countries, Palestinians
Other countries newly subjected to the full travel ban came from some of Africa's poorest countries -- Burkina Faso, Mali,...
Geostrategy
Global coal demand expected to hit record in 2025: IEA
In its annual report on the coal industry, the International Energy Agency said demand was on course to rise by...
Geostrategy
Israeli army to demolish 25 residential buildings in West Bank camp: local authorities
The Israeli army is to demolish 25 residential buildings in the north West Bank's Nur Shams refugee camp later this...
Geostrategy
Most Read
Geostrategy
Gunmen kill 11 at Jewish festival on Australia’s Bondi Beach, one of the biggest tourist draws
Police declared the shooting a "terrorist incident" and said they had found suspected "improvised explosive devices" in a vehicle near...
- The shooting took place during an anncual "Hanukkah by the Sea" event at Bondi Beach which police said was attended by over a thousand people
- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Australia's government of having fuelled anti-Jewish sentiment in the period leading up to the shooting
Geostrategy
US envoy Witkoff to meet Zelensky, Europe leaders in Berlin at weekend
US President Donald Trump's special envoy will meet with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky and other European leaders in Berlin this weekend,...
- Ukrainian officials said they recently sent Washington an updated plan building on Trump's original 28-point peace proposal to end the war
- Trump's plan, publicly revealed last month, was accused of echoing Moscow's key demands, including Ukraine giving up crucial territory to Russia
Geostrategy
Erdogan pushes Putin on ‘limited ceasefire’ at ports, energy facilities in Russia-Ukraine war
Speaking on the sidelines of a summit in Turkmenistan, Erdogan told Putin that efforts to end the war were valuable,...
- Erdogan's remarks came on the heels of several attacks on Russia-linked tankers in the Black Sea, some of which were drone attacks claimed by Kyiv
- The attacks sparked harsh criticism from Ankara, which summoned envoys from both Russia and Ukraine, warning the strikes amounted to a "worrying escalation."