US strikes southern Iran as Tehran officials head to Qatar for crucial talks
United States forces said they have attacked missile launch sites and mine-laying vessels in southern Iran, in what a US...
Geostrategy
Pakistan encouraging US-Iran talks but says ‘time is of the essence’
Pakistan is continuing to play a behind-the-scenes diplomatic role between the United States and Iran as tensions remain high over...
Geostrategy
Geostrategy
Trump to visit Saudi, Qatar, UAE in May amid tensions over Iran, trade, and security
Saudi Arabia's top diplomat held talks in Washington earlier this month to lay the groundwork for a visit by Trump...
- It will be his second foreign trip since returning to office, following his planned attendance at the Vatican for Pope Francis's funeral on Saturday
- Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, promised in January to pile $600 billion into US trade and investments
Geostrategy
Iran says technical nuclear meeting with US postponed to Saturday
A technical, expert-level nuclear meeting between Iran and the United States will be held on Saturday, coinciding with the third...
- Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said the decision to reschedule the meeting was made following Oman's proposal and the agreement of the Iranian and US delegations
- Western countries including the United States have long accused Iran of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons -- an allegation Tehran has consistently denied
Economy
Trump tariffs have increased financial stability risks: IMF report
The IMF's Global Financial Stability Report (GFSR) was published as world financial leaders gather for meetings in Washington under the...
- GFSR's authors found that "global financial stability risks have increased significantly, driven by tighter global financial conditions and heightened economic uncertainty."
- The Fund also warned that geopolitical risk -- including military conflicts -- could raise risks to financial stability.
Geostrategy
US envoy to Israel urges Hamas to sign deal so aid can enter Gaza
The new US ambassador to Israel on Monday called on Palestinian militant group Hamas to accept a deal that would...
- Huckabee's message comes after Hamas on Thursday signalled its rejection of Israel's latest truce proposal, which proposed a hostage-prisoner swap and the entry of aid
- The militants' chief negotiator said the group rejected any "partial" agreements and sought a comprehensive deal including "halting the war" and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza
Geostrategy
Davos meet founder Klaus Schwab steps down from WEF board
Geneva, Switzerland -- The World Economic Forum said on Monday that its founder Klaus Schwab has stepped down from the...
- Schwab told the WEF's board that "as I enter my 88th year, I have decided to step down from the position of Chair and as a member of the Board of Trustees, with immediate effect.
- The WEF said Vice Chairman Peter Brabeck-Letmathe was appointed board chairman in the interim and that a search committee for replacement had been appointed.
Geostrategy
Pope Francis is dead at 88, world leaders pay tributes to the energetic reformer
"Today, we lost a faithful friend of the Palestinian people and their legitimate rights," Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas said, noting...
- His death sets in motion centuries-old traditions that will culminate in the gathering of a conclave of cardinals to choose a successor.
- In the next four to six days the Vatican's cardinals will decide on the pope's funeral date, at which point his coffin will be transferred to St Peter's Basilica.
Geostrategy
West Bank campus a dystopian shelter for Palestinians uprooted again
Jenin, Palestinian Territories - On deserted university grounds in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian children run outside nearly empty buildings,...
- Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been displaced from the northern West Bank since Israel launched the offensive dubbed "Iron Wall" on January 21 in the area
- The United Nations agency, UNRWA, provides aid but recent Israeli legislation barring coordination with Israeli military authorities has complicated its work
Geostrategy
US defense chief shared sensitive information in second Signal chat: US media
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared information on forthcoming US air strikes on Yemen in a private Signal chat group...
- Last month, the Atlantic editor-in-chief was accidentally added to a Signal chat where officials discussed the March 15 strikes
- The information shared "included the flight schedules for the F/A-18 Hornets targeting the Houthis in Yemen," the Times reported
Geostrategy
From tariffs to deportations, Trump’s first 100 days signal imperial shift in US leadership
Trump has also stepped up the sense of an endless reality show in which he is the star, as he...
- Trump has been driven by a sense of grievance left over from an undisciplined first term that ended in the shame of the 2021 US Capitol riots after his election defeat to Joe Biden
- And while Trump freed hundreds of those attackers from jail on his first day back in office, he is taking no prisoners when it comes to consolidating the power of the White House
Geostrategy
Gaza rescuers say Israeli air strikes kill 25 and injure dozens of Palestinians
Gaza City, Palestinian Territories -- Gaza's civil defense agency reported that Israeli air strikes since dawn on Sunday have killed...
- "Since dawn today, the occupation's air strikes have killed 20 people and injured dozens more, including children and women across Gaza," said Mahmud Bassal.
- In a separate statement later, the agency reported that five people were killed in an Israeli drone strike on a group of civilians in eastern Rafah.
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US strikes southern Iran as Tehran officials head to Qatar for crucial talks
United States forces said they have attacked missile launch sites and mine-laying vessels in southern Iran, in what a US...
Geostrategy
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Global trade system ‘at risk of derailment’: UN chief
Geneva, Switzerland -- The rules-based international trade system is in danger, UN chief Antonio Guterres warned Wednesday, amid spiraling debt,...
Geostrategy
ICJ says Israel obliged to allow aid into Gaza as Turkey, Qatar move to protect truce
The ICJ ruling came as aid groups scrambled to scale up much-needed humanitarian assistance into Gaza, seizing upon a fragile...
Geostrategy
JD Vance voices ‘great optimism’ for Gaza truce on Israel visit, meeting with Netanyahu today
Despite concerns in Israel that Hamas has seized on the pause to reassert itself in Gaza, Vance said Washington would...
Geostrategy
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Geostrategy
Saudi Crown Prince to meet Trump in Washington next month
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will meet US President Donald Trump during a three-day...
- The Crown Prince will arrive on November 17 and discuss political, economic and security files with Trump the following day, the source said on condition of anonymity.
- Some media reports suggest Saudi Arabia is hoping for a US security agreement after Trump's executive order this month pledging to defend its neighbor Qatar from attacks.
Geostrategy
Lavrov and Rubio discuss Putin-Trump summit, Zelensky seeks invite to the meeting
Russia's top diplomat Sergei Lavrov and US counterpart Marco Rubio discussed preparations for an upcoming summit between Vladimir Putin and...
- Diplomatic efforts to end Russia's three-and-a-half-year invasion have stalled since Trump and Putin met for peace talks in Alaska in August
- The two announced last week that they would meet in Budapest for a second round of talks, but it was not clear whether Zelensky would attend
Geostrategy
Trump says Hamas will be ‘eradicated’ if group breaches Gaza deal with Israel
Trump, however, insisted that American forces would not be involved in confronting against Hamas, saying dozens of countries that have...
- Vice President JD Vance headed to Israel shortly after Trump's comments, joining two top US envoys after weekend violence threatened to wreck the fragile ceasefire
- Trump helped broker the Gaza deal nearly two weeks ago but it has repeatedly come under threat as Israel accuses Hamas of stalling on handing over dead hostages