UAE says retraction of Dubai ‘explosions’ report will not halt probe
Dubai, UAE -- The government has said that Reuters' decision to withdraw and apologise for a report claiming explosions were...
Geostrategy
Global support for refugees remains strong, but skepticism over asylum claims persists: Ipsos
Thirty-four percent of respondents in the Ipsos survey said genuine refugees should seek asylum in the first safe country they...
Geostrategy
Geostrategy
Bridges in the Gulf: wealthy states mediate crisis after crisis
Dubai, United Arab Emirates - When US and Iranian negotiators meet in Oman on Saturday they will be just the...
- Oman is a long-established venue for Iranian talks, while promoting peace is a pillar of Qatar's foreign policy and even enshrined in its constitution
- More recently Saudi Arabia has caught on, hosting Ukraine ceasefire talks including the latest round in a lavish hotel in Riyadh last month
Geostrategy
Trump warns of military option; Iran threatens to end UN nuclear inspections before Oman talks
Last month, Trump sent a letter to Khamenei, who has the final say in matters of state in Iran, calling...
- AÂ senior adviser to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned that Iran could expel UN nuclear watchdog inspectors over "threats."
- US Secretary of State Marco Rubio voiced hope Thursday that the US-Iran nuclear talks in Oman this weekend could lead to "peace."
Geostrategy
European Union and UAE agree to launch trade deal negotiations
Emirati President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan "and I just decided to launch negotiations on an EU-UAE free trade agreement,"...
- Sheikh Zayed said that the CEPA would create new avenues for cooperation between the UAE and EU, increase trade and investment flows.
- The EU is the UAE’s second-largest trading partner, accounting for 8.3 percent of the UAE’s total non-oil trade, which hit $67.6 billion in 2024.
Geostrategy
Turkey opposition to fight Erdogan ‘until the end’: leader tells AFP
The Turkish opposition will fight "until the end" against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the leader of the opposition CHP party...
- Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Ozgur Ozel demanded snap polls that would show the "biggest no confidence vote in history" against Erdogan
- Imamoglu's arrest sparked the biggest opposition protests to grip Turkey since 2013 although the rallies have dipped in intensity over the past 10 days
Geostrategy
US reiterates support for Morocco on Western Sahara
Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday renewed US support for Morocco's sovereignty and political plan for Western Sahara, a...
- Trump, during his first term in office, in 2020 recognized Morocco's claim to the vast desert territory after the kingdom normalized relations with Israel
- Morocco mostly controls the former Spanish colony but has been challenged for decades by the Algeria-backed Polisario Front
Geostrategy
Israel seizes Gaza territory as Macron signals imminent French recognition of Palestinian statehood
French President Emmanuel Macron meanwhile said that France plans to recognise a Palestinian state in the "coming months", a move...
- Israel's Defence Minister Katz said that "large areas are being seized and added to Israel's security zones, leaving Gaza smaller and more isolated."
- Katz emphasised that Israel would keep increasing pressure on Gaza "until the hostages are freed and Hamas is defeated."
Geostrategy
Saudi foreign minister in US to prepare for Trump visit
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- Saudi Arabia's top diplomat is in Washington to lay the groundwork for US President Donald Trump's...
- Last month, Trump said he may visit Saudi Arabia as early as April in a reprisal of 2017, when the kingdom was the first destination of his first term in office.
- Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan arrived in Washington on Tuesday, aiming to "prepare for Trump's visit to Riyadh", the source close to the Saudi government said.
Economy
Iraq signs deal with US firm to produce 24,000 MW of electricity
Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani oversaw "the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding as part of a strategic cooperation framework...
- The signing comes at the conclusion of a visit to Iraq by a high-level US delegation comprising of representatives from 60 private firms.
- Despite sitting on large reserves of petrol and natural gas, decades of conflict and instability have ravaged Iraq's energy infrastructure.
Geostrategy
Hamas official says ‘necessary to reach a ceasefire’ in Gaza
A Hamas official told AFP on Tuesday that it was "necessary to reach a ceasefire" in the Gaza Strip, three...
- "This war cannot continue indefinitely, and it is therefore necessary to reach a ceasefire," Hossam Badran, a member of Hamas's political bureau, told AFP
- US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a day earlier said that new negotiations were in the works aimed at getting more hostages freed
Geostrategy
Amid Israeli warning of military action, Iran says deal can be reached if US shows goodwill
Trump made the surprise announcement that his administration would open talks with Iran during a White House meeting on Monday...
- Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran's principal aim remained the lifting of sweeping US sanctions
- Their reimposition by President Donald Trump in 2018 has dealt a heavy blow to the Iranian economy
UAE says retraction of Dubai ‘explosions’ report will not halt probe
Dubai, UAE -- The government has said that Reuters' decision to withdraw and apologise for a report claiming explosions were...
Geostrategy
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Turkey issues genocide arrest warrant against Netanyahu, senior officials in his govt
The announcement was met with a firm rebuttal from Israel. Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said Israel "firmly rejects, with contempt"...
Geostrategy
Chinese ship scouts deep-ocean floor in South Pacific
Beijing, China -- A Chinese research vessel docked in the Cook Islands Saturday as it probed the Pacific nation's deep-sea...
Geostrategy
At COP30, nations target the jet set with luxury flight tax
Rooted in the idea that a small elite of premium flyers should pay more for their outsized contribution to global...
Geostrategy
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Geostrategy
Embracing heritage, Mamdani marks watershed for South Asian Americans
Washington, United States - In a victory speech capping his meteoric rise, New York's mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani quoted at length...
- As he left the stage to a cheering cross-section of the metropolis, the song on the speaker was not one of the many well-worn tunes about New York but the beats from Bollywood
- Mamdani, winning a mandate with a left-wing agenda focused on making New York more affordable, has made history as the first South Asian to lead America's largest city
Geostrategy
Gaza hospital says received 15 Palestinian bodies under ceasefire exchange deal
They were returned in exchange for the latest hostage body handed back from Gaza on Tuesday, that of Israeli-American soldier...
- At the start of the truce, Hamas held 48 hostages in Gaza -- 20 alive and 28 deceased.
- Hamas have since released all the surviving captives, as well as 21 of the deceased's remains.
Geostrategy
Long-shot socialist and Trump foe Mamdani becomes next New York mayor
The self-proclaimed socialist, who has been re-elected three times, forged an image that has become his trademark -- a progressive...
- Since his surprise victory in the Democratic Party primary in June, New Yorkers have become used to seeing his bearded, smiling face on television
- The 34-year-old election winner was born in Uganda to a family of Indian origin and has lived in the United States since he was seven, becoming a naturalized US citizen in 2018