Yemen separatist leader fled to UAE: Saudi-led coalition
Aidaros Alzubidi was accused of high treason and removed from Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council on Wednesday, while the coalition bombed...
Geostrategy
Oil prices gain, as equities extend record run higher
Oil prices have experienced choppy trading since the surprise US raid Saturday on Caracas that saw Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro...
Business
Geostrategy
Drone strike blamed on Turkey kills three in Iraq
Arbil, Iraq - A drone strike in northern Iraq killed a Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) commander, Kurdish authorities said, raising the...
- Turkey often carries out ground and air operations in northern Iraq against positions of the PKK, which has waged a decades-long insurgency against the Turkish state.
- In the past 25 years Turkey has operated several dozen military bases in northern Iraq in its war against the PKK, which Ankara and its Western allies consider a "terrorist" group.
Geostrategy
Iran hits out at UN experts report on 2022 protests
TEHRAN, IRAN – Tehran on Saturday strongly condemned a UN report on the Islamic republic's response to mass protests in 2022,...
- International experts said the repression of mostly peaceful protests beginning in September 2022 have led to "crimes against humanity".
- The UN Human Rights Council mandated the experts' investigation following massive protests after the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini.
US-led coalition shoots down 15 Yemen rebel drones: CENTCOM
CENTCOM and coalition forces determined that the drones "presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels, US Navy and coalition ships...
- US Central Command, or CENTCOM, said the "large-scale" Houthi attack occurred before dawn into the Red Sea and adjacent Gulf of Aden
- On January 9, US and British forces shot down 18 drones and three missiles fired by the rebels toward ships in the Red Sea, the US military said at the time
Erdogan says March local elections will be his ‘last’
It was the first time that Erdogan, who has been in power since 2003, has spoken about leaving office. The...
- The 70-year-old leader expressed confidence that his conservative Justice and Development (AKP) party would nonetheless remain in power even after he has left office
- Erdogan said that the results of the March 31 local elections would be "a blessing for the brothers who come after me and there will be a transfer of confidence"
Geostrategy
Asif Ali Zardari: ‘Artful dodger’ returns as Pakistan president
He has spent more than 11 years in jail, a long time even by the standards of Pakistani politicians, with...
- Initially a background character as Bhutto's consort, Zardari was stained by a bevy of corruption and other allegations
- Between 2008 and 2013, he ushered in constitutional reforms rolling back presidential powers, and the 68-year-old's second term will see him steer a largely ceremonial office.
Canada to resume funding UN agency for Palestinians
Canada has reviewed the investigation's interim report and "we were reassured by the contents," Minister of International Development said. He...
- UNRWA has been at the center of controversy since Israel accused 12 of its employees in January of involvement in the October 7 attack
- About 15 countries, including the United States, Britain, Germany and Japan, suspended funding to UNRWA at the end of January
Geostrategy
Italy begins probe into OpenAI’s new video tool Sora
ROME, ITALY – The European country's data protection watchdog - Italian Data Protection Authority - said on Friday it has launched...
- The Italian Data Protection Authority said it was concerned over “the possible implications for the processing of personal data of users.”
- The watchdog said OpenAI -- which also makes chatbot ChatGPT and the image-generating DALL-E -- has 20 days to provide information.
Geostrategy
US plan for Gaza aid transfer through sea dismissed by UN expert
In his annual State of the Union address to Congress, President Joe Biden said the US military would "lead an...
- But Michael Fakhri, the United Nations special rapporteur on the right to food, dismissed the measure.
- Neither a pier, nor the increasing airdrops over Gaza would "prevent starvation and famine by any definition", Fakhri said.
Geostrategy
Zelensky to discuss war, Black Sea security during Turkey visit
NATO member Turkey has sought to maintain good relations with Moscow and Kyiv throughout the two-year war, with Erdogan pitching...
- NATO member Turkey has sought to maintain good relations with Moscow and Kyiv throughout the two-year war, with Erdogan pitching himself as a key go-between.
- A Turkish diplomatic source told AFP that Ankara "will once again emphasize that our strong support for the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine.
Geostrategy
Muslims pray for end to Palestinian suffering as Ramadan nears
Other parts of the Islamic world may be grappling with their own challenges, from conflicts to high inflation. But many...
- While international mediators were hoping for a truce in time for Ramadan, no breakthrough had come by Friday.
- Much of the territory of 2.4 million people has become a hellscape of bombed-out neighborhoods, emaciated children and mass graves.
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Yemen separatist leader fled to UAE: Saudi-led coalition
Aidaros Alzubidi was accused of high treason and removed from Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council on Wednesday, while the coalition bombed...
Geostrategy
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Hezbollah vows to fight disarmament as Lebanon PM slams civil war ‘threats’
Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem vowed Friday to fight government plans to disarm his group, with Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam...
Geostrategy
World plastic pollution treaty talks collapse with no deal
Negotiators from 185 nations worked beyond Thursday's deadline and through the night in an ultimately futile search for common ground....
Geostrategy
‘Like hell’: Indoor heat overwhelms Saudi Arabia’s cooks, bakers
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- Baker Eid Ahmed just can't get away from Saudi Arabia's notorious heat: he makes bread next...
Geostrategy
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Hezbollah chief thanks Iran for ongoing support to face Israel
Beirut, Lebanon - Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem has thanked a senior Iranian official for his country's ongoing support in confronting...
- Tehran has been the main backer of the Shiite Muslim group, which emerged badly weakened from last year's war with Israel
- Larijani's visit came after the Lebanese government tasked the army with drawing up a plan to disarm Hezbollah by the end of the year
Geostrategy
Israeli far-right minister backs contentious West Bank settlement plan
Israel's finance minister on Thursday backed plans to build 3,400 homes in a particularly contentious area of the occupied West...
- Israel has long had ambitions to build on the sensitive parcel of land east of Jerusalem known as E1, but the plan has been frozen for decades amid international opposition
- Israeli NGO Peace Now, which monitors settlement activity, denounced the E1 plan as "deadly for the future of Israel and for any chance of achieving a peaceful two state solution
Geostrategy
Expectations high as Trump, Putin set to meet at Alaska: What each side wants
In a draft peace plan published in June, Russia called on Ukraine to withdraw its forces from the Kherson, Lugansk,...
- For Putin, who has faced years of isolation from the West since the invasion, the summit is an opportunity to press Russia's hardline demands for ending the conflict
- In addition to territory, Russia wants Ukraine to ensure the "rights and freedoms" of the Russian-speaking population and to prohibit what it calls the "glorification of Nazism".