Xi and Putin reaffirm alliance days after Trump’s Beijing visit
Chinese President Xi Jinping hosted Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing on Wednesday, days after US President Donald Trump visited...
Seizure of vessel anchored near UAE coast close to Hormuz raises Gulf tensions
The incident came hours after India condemned an attack on an Indian-flagged vessel off Oman’s coast, calling continued assaults on...
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Geostrategy
Chinese vent anger at Trump’s trade war with memes, mockery
Beijing, China -- While China's leaders use their economic and political might to fight Donald Trump's trade war "to the...
- Defiant posts have shot to the top of most-searched lists on social media, flooding platforms with patronizing comments and jokes.
- In one video, a Chinese internet user opens his hands to reveal what goods he buys from the United States -- nothing.
Geostrategy
Deadly US strikes hit Yemen fuel port used by Huthis
The US military said it had destroyed a key Yemeni fuel port as it targets the country's Huthi rebels, who...
- The attack on the Ras Issa fuel port aimed to cut off a source of supplies and funds for the Iran-backed Huthis, the US military said
- Washington has hammered the Huthis with near-daily air strikes since March 15 in a bid to end their attacks on civilian shipping and military vessels
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Hamas rejects Israel’s truce plan, demands full withdrawal and end of war in Gaza
The Palestinian militants' chief negotiator spoke out after civil defence rescuers in Gaza said new Israeli air strikes killed at...
- A Hamas source told AFP that the group sent a written response Thursday to mediators on Israel's latest proposal for a 45-day ceasefire
- It also called for the freeing of 1,231 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails and the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza
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40 mostly displaced Gazans killed in Israeli strikes
Civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal said two Israeli missiles hit several tents in the Al-Mawasi area of the southern city...
- Bassal said that Israeli strikes on two other encampments killed a further nine people -- seven in the northern town of Beit Lahia, and a father and son near Al-Mawasi.
- Two more attacks in Jabalia -- one that killed at least seven members of the Asaliya family, and another that killed six people at a school being used as a shelter.
Geostrategy
Qatar renews $60 mn grant for Lebanon army salaries
Qatar is to renew a $60 million grant to pay the salaries of Lebanon's army and provide 162 military vehicles,...
- The Lebanese President arrived in Qatar on Tuesday accompanied by foreign minister Youssef Raggi, and departed Doha on Wednesday afternoon
- The gas-rich Gulf state in February pledged support for reconstruction in Lebanon and was already a provider of financial and in-kind support to the Lebanon
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UN watchdog chief says Iran ‘not far’ from nuclear bomb
The United Nations nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi warned on Wednesday that Iran was "not far" from possessing a nuclear...
- Western countries including the United States have long accused Iran of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons, an allegation Tehran has consistently denied
- The UN watchdog was tasked with overseeing Iran's nuclear programme and its compliance with a 2015 nuclear deal which collapsed three years later
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Israel says 30% of Gaza now buffer zone, escalates offensive and maintains aid blockade
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also ordered security chiefs and negotiators to keep pressing for the release of hostages held by...
- Prime Minister Netanyahu also ordered security chiefs and negotiators to keep pressing for the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza
- The Israeli military said that it had "achieved full operational control over several key areas and routes throughout the Gaza Strip."
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WHO countries strike landmark agreement on tackling future pandemics
Geneva, Switzerland -- Years of negotiations culminated early Wednesday with countries agreeing the text of a landmark accord on how...
- Negotiators stumbled over the agreement's Article 11, which deals with transferring technology for pandemic health products towards developing nations.
- During the Covid-19 pandemic, poorer states accused rich nations of hoarding vaccines and tests.
Geostrategy
US approves $825 mn Stinger missile sale to Morocco
The United States on Tuesday announced the approval of an $825 million sale of up to 600 Stinger anti-air missiles...
- The proposed sale will improve Morocco's capability to meet current and future threats, the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said in a statement
- This will contribute to the Moroccan Army's goals of updating capability and further enhancing interoperability with the US and other allies, the statement added
Geostrategy
Netanyahu visits Gaza as Hamas warns hostages may die amid continued Israeli offensive
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited northern Gaza Tuesday, his office announced, as the military kept up the offensive it...
- Hamas said on Monday it had received a new truce offer from Israel that foresees the release of 10 living hostages in exchange for a 45-day ceasefire
- Another Hamas official said Israel had also demanded that the Palestinian militants disarm to secure an end to the Gaza war, but said this crossed a "red line."
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Xi and Putin reaffirm alliance days after Trump’s Beijing visit
Chinese President Xi Jinping hosted Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing on Wednesday, days after US President Donald Trump visited...
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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...
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Brazil greenlights oil drilling in Amazon region
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has come under fire from conservationists who argue his oil expansion plans clash with...
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Southern EU countries call for ‘immediate release’ of Gaza aid
Countries of the so-called MED9 group -- Croatia, Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain -- met on...
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Trump says Gaza ceasefire still in force after Israeli strikes, suggests Hamas leadership didn’t violate truce
Asked by reporters whether the truce was still in effect, Trump said: "Yeah, it is". The US president, who helped...
- The dozens of strikes Israel carried out on Hamas positions in Gaza Sunday came after it accused the militant group of targeting its troops in "a blatant violation" of the truce
- The deal established the outline for hostage and prisoner exchanges, and proposed an ambitious roadmap for Gaza's future, but it has quickly faced challenges to its implementation
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Cash-strapped Gazans left disappointed as first banks reopen
Deir el-Balah, Palestinian Territories -- The Palestinians trying to rebuild their lives in the ruins of Gaza are short of...
- Food is purchased with cash or through bank transfers, which are often complicated due to power and communication outages.
- Gazans have lost a lot of savings and commissions on transfers can reach 40 percent.
Geostrategy
Publishers fight back against US book bans
Frankfurt, Germany -- Escalating attempts to remove works featuring themes such as LGBTQ lifestyles and race relations from US bookshelves...
- In 2020 just under 300 titles faced "challenges" -- demands to restrict access to them or remove them entirely -- across the United States.
- That number began surging the following year, and reached over 9,000 in 2023, said the NGO, whose office for intellectual freedom has been tracking challenges since 1990.