US, Israel planned Ahmadinejad return in Iran regime change bid: report
Israeli and US officials had initially viewed former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as a potential figure to lead Iran following...
Geostrategy
Pentagon raises Iran war cost to $29 billion
The Pentagon on Tuesday revised the estimated cost of the war on Iran to nearly $29 billion, roughly $4 billion...
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Geostrategy
Trade war to cut global oil demand: International Energy Agency
Paris, France -- Global oil demand will be lower than previously forecast this year as rising trade tensions weigh on...
- It lowered its forecast for growth in oil demand by 300,000 barrels per day (bpd) -- down from just over one million bpd in its March report to 730,000.
- Trump imposed global tariffs of 10 percent this month but paused higher levies on scores of countries for 90 days.
Geostrategy
Syria, Lebanon leaders in Qatar for first official visits
Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa met with Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani in Doha. Qatar has been a key backer...
- Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, accompanied by foreign minister Youssef Raggi, also touched down in Doha as delegations of two countries held talks.
- Beirut and Damascus have been seeking to improve relations since the overthrow of Assad, whose family dynasty exercised control over Lebanese affairs for decades.
Geostrategy
Disarming Lebanon’s Hezbollah no longer inconceivable: analysts
Beirut, Lebanon - The once unthinkable disarmament of Hezbollah could finally be within reach, as the United States pushes Lebanon...
- Hezbollah was left badly weakened by more than a year of hostilities with Israel, beginning with the group's campaign of rocket fire at its arch-foe in support of ally Hamas
- Israel was meant to withdraw its troops, but it still remains in five points it deems "strategic" and conducts regular strikes on what it says are mostly Hezbollah targets
Geostrategy
Iran’s top diplomat to visit Russia after US nuclear talks
Iran's foreign minister is to visit ally Russia this week to discuss nuclear negotiations with the United States, ahead of...
- On Saturday, Abbas Araghchi held talks with US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff in Oman -- the highest-level discussions since the 2015 nuclear accord collapsed
- Russia, a close ally of Iran and party to the 2015 deal, and China have engaged with Tehran in recent weeks over its nuclear programme
Geostrategy
Trump envoy says Putin open to ‘permanent peace’ deal with Ukraine
US President Donald Trump's special envoy said Monday that Russian leader Vladimir Putin was open to a "permanent peace" deal...
- Trump has been pressing Moscow and Kyiv to agree to a ceasefire but has failed to extract any major concessions from the Kremlin
- Despite a flurry of diplomacy, there has been little meaningful progress on Trump's main aim of achieving a Ukraine ceasefire
Geostrategy
Israel offers 45-day ceasefire if Hamas releases half of remaining Gaza hostages
Hamas has informed the mediators that it is willing to agree to any proposal that includes a permanent ceasefire, a...
- A Hamas official told AFP that Israel had also demanded that the Palestinian militants disarm to secure an end to the Gaza war but that this crossed a "red line".
- "The proposal includes the disarmament of Hamas and all Palestinian armed factions in the Gaza Strip as a condition for a permanent end to the war," the official added
Geostrategy
Qatar plans direct investments worth $7.5 billion in Egypt
"The two sides emphasized the importance of strengthening economic cooperation... they agreed to work toward a package of direct Qatari...
- Egypt, the Arab world's most populous nation, has taken tentative steps to emerge from its worst-ever economic crisis with prices for consumer goods rising by the day.
- The two countries, which have also led mediation efforts for a ceasefire in Gaza, "emphasized the centrality of the Palestinian cause as the foremost Arab issue".
Geostrategy
Qatar to invest $2 billion in Indonesia sovereign wealth fund
Jakarta, Indonesia -- Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto said Qatar is set to invest $2 billion in his country's new sovereign...
- Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto is on a five-nation tour of the Middle East, visiting the UAE, Turkey, Egypt, Qatar and Jordan to boost bilateral ties with the region.
- He said Sunday he had a "productive" meeting with Qatar Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani and that the country would invest in the Danantara Indonesia fund.
Geostrategy
China’s exports beat forecast in March despite trade war woes
China said Monday that exports soared 12.4 percent year-on-year last month, beating expectations as Beijing navigated mounting trade headwinds sparked...
- The figure was more than double the 4.6 percent predicted in a Bloomberg survey, though imports during the same period fell 4.3 percent
- China's top leaders last month set an ambitious annual growth target of around five percent, vowing to make domestic demand its main economic driver
Geostrategy
Trump says Russian strike on Ukraine ‘a horrible thing’
US President Donald Trump on Sunday said a Russian strike on the Ukrainian city of Sumy that killed at least...
- "I think it was terrible. And I was told they made a mistake. But I think it's a horrible thing. I think the whole war is a horrible thing," Trump told
- Asked to clarify what he meant by a "mistake," Trump said that "they made a mistake... you're gonna ask them" -- without specifying who or what he meant
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US, Israel planned Ahmadinejad return in Iran regime change bid: report
Israeli and US officials had initially viewed former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as a potential figure to lead Iran following...
Geostrategy
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Trial opens in Klarna’s $8.3 billion lawsuit against Google
Stockholm, Sweden -- A Swedish court began hearing arguments Monday in a lawsuit brought by Swedish price comparison site Pricerunner,...
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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...
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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...
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13 killed in Gaza as Hamas says Israel devising pretexts to resume attacks
Izzat Al-Rishq, a member of Hamas's political bureau, reaffirmed the group's commitment to the ceasefire and said Israel "continues to...
- Palestinian witnesses told AFP clashes erupted in the southern city of Rafah in an area still held by Israel.
- Hamas had been fighting a local Palestinian gang known as Abu Shabab but the militants were "surprised by the presence of army tanks".
Geostrategy
Protesters out in force for anti-Trump ‘No Kings’ rallies across US
Organizers said seven million people attended protests spanning New York to Los Angeles, with demonstrations popping up in small cities...
- Trump's response to Saturday's events was typically aggressive, with the US president posting a series of AI-generated videos to his Truth Social platform depicting him as a king.
- In one, he is shown wearing a crown and piloting a fighter jet that drops what appears to be feces on anti-Trump protesters.
Geostrategy
China’s power paradox: record renewables, continued coal
Bangkok, Thailand -- Call it the China power paradox: while Beijing leads the world in renewable energy expansion, its coal...
- China accounted for 93 percent of new global coal construction in 2024, the Centre for Research on Energy and Clear Air (CREA) found.
- China wants 3,600 gigawatts of wind and solar by 2035, but that may not meet future demand, risking further coal increases.