Use of eco-friendly rice bricks surges in water-scarce Kyrgyzstan
Rice blocks require less cement, which is responsible for approximately eight percent of global carbon dioxide emissions, according to 2023...
Geostrategy
Hosting BRICS, Brazil’s Lula hits out at ‘genocide’ in Gaza
"We cannot remain indifferent to the genocide carried out by Israel in Gaza, the indiscriminate killing of innocent civilians and...
Geostrategy
Geostrategy
Macron says abandoning Gaza ‘will kill’ West’s credibility
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday that abandoning war-torn Gaza to its fate and giving Israel a "free pass"...
- "If we abandon Gaza, if we consider there is a free pass for Israel, even if we do condemn terrorist attacks, we will kill our credibility," Macron told defence forum in Singapore
- European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday denounced attacks in the past days on civilian infrastructure in Gaza as "abhorrent" and "disproportionate."
Geostrategy
UN declares Gaza the hungriest place on earth, says entire population risks famine
Negotiations to end nearly 20 months of war have so far failed to achieve a breakthrough, with Israel resuming operations...
- Negotiations to end nearly 20 months of war have so far failed to achieve a breakthrough, with Israel resuming operations in Gaza in March, ending a six-week truce
- Thousands of Palestinians rushed into a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation centre on Tuesday, as Israel implemented a new distribution system that bypasses the UN
Geostrategy
Saudi foreign minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan to make rare West Bank visit
Prince Faisal will head a delegation to Ramallah, the first such trip since Israel first occupied the Palestinian territory in...
- Prince Faisal's trip was announced as Israel vowed to build a "Jewish Israeli state" in the West Bank, after doubling down on plans to expand settlements there.
- Saudi Arabia sent a lower-level delegation to Ramallah in September 2023, its first since 1967, not long before Hamas's October 7 attack triggered the Gaza war.
Geostrategy
No permit, no hajj: Saudi intensifies crackdown after heat deaths
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- Saudi Arabia is ramping up a crackdown on unregistered worshippers at next week's hajj pilgrimage, a...
- Regular raids, drone surveillance and a barrage of text alerts are aimed at rooting out unauthorized visitors hoping to mingle among the crowds in and around Makkah.
- The simple message, "No hajj without a permit", is being blared out in a relentless campaign promoted nationwide at shopping centers, on billboards and across media platforms.
Geostrategy
UAE orders all companies to monitor emissions in new climate law
Under the new law, companies are required to report and reduce their emissions of the greenhouse gases that are responsible...
- "By institutionalizing emissions monitoring and climate adaptation, the UAE is setting a compelling example for countries across the region," she said.
- Public and private companies now have to regularly monitor emissions and take steps to reduce them, or risk fines of up to two million dirhams ($545,000).
Geostrategy
Turkey says Ukraine, Russia want ceasefire ahead of possible talks
NATO member Turkey, which has strove to maintain relations with both Kyiv and Moscow, has become a key mediator amid...
- NATO member Turkey, which has strove to maintain relations with both Kyiv and Moscow, has become a key mediator amid US President Donald Trump's push for a deal
- At negotiations in Istanbul on May 16, Ukraine said Russia threatened to accelerate its ground offensive into new regions and made a host of hardline demands
Geostrategy
Islamic State claims first attack on new Syria forces since Assad fall: monitors
The Islamic State (IS) group on Thursday claimed its first attack on Syria's new government forces since the fall of...
- In a statement picked up by SITE Intelligence Group, IS said it had planted an "explosive device" on a Syrian forces' vehicle in the southern province of Sweida.
- Reported attacks by the group in areas controlled by the Islamist-led government, which took power after Assad's ouster in December, have been scarce
Interview
Generative AI’s most prominent skeptic doubles down
Vancouver, Canada -- Two and a half years since ChatGPT rocked the world, scientist and writer Gary Marcus still remains...
- Marcus's criticism centers on a fundamental belief: generative AI, the predictive technology that churns out seemingly human-level content, is too flawed to be transformative.
- The large language models (LLMs) that power these capabilities are inherently broken, he argues, and will never deliver on Silicon Valley's grand promises.
Geostrategy
With AI and more shade, Saudi Arabia set for a searing hajj
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- With artificial intelligence, more shade and misting machines, Saudi authorities are preparing to welcome more than...
- Saudi Arabia's hajj minister Tawfiq al-Rabiah told AFP on Thursday that efforts to mitigate the searing desert heat remained a top focus among authorities.
- This year, Rabiah said authorities have mobilized more than 40 government agencies and 250,000 officials and doubled their efforts to mitigate heat-related risks.
Economy
Global economic outlook worsens, AI emerges as both catalyst and risk
Geneva, Switzerland – The global economic outlook has worsened since the start of the year, as rising economic nationalism and...
- Nearly all the chief economists (97 percent) place trade policy among the areas of highest uncertainty, followed by monetary policy (49 percent) and fiscal policy (35 percent).
- This uncertainty is expected to weigh on key economic indicators, including trade volumes (70 percent), GDP growth (68 percent) and foreign direct investment (62 percent).
Use of eco-friendly rice bricks surges in water-scarce Kyrgyzstan
Rice blocks require less cement, which is responsible for approximately eight percent of global carbon dioxide emissions, according to 2023...
Geostrategy
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Conflicts and related fatalities triple since 2000, fueling extreme poverty: WB
Washington, United States -- Conflicts and related fatalities have more than tripled since the early 2000s, fueling extreme poverty, the...
Geostrategy
US Supreme Court curbs power of individual judges to block Trump
In a 6-3 ruling stemming from Trump's bid to end birthright citizenship, the court said nationwide injunctions issued by district...
Geostrategy
UAE top court upholds life terms for 24 convicted in mass trial
Dubai, United Arab Emirates -- The UAE supreme court has jailed 24 people for life after upholding their convictions for...
Geostrategy
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Geostrategy
WHO delivers its first medical aid to Gaza since March 2
The shipment of supplies, plasma and blood will be distributed among hospitals in the Palestinian territory in the coming days,...
- Israel imposed a total blockade on the Gaza Strip on March 2. More than two months later, it began allowing some food in, but no other aid items until now.
- Last week the WHO said only 17 of Gaza's 36 hospitals were minimally to partially functional, with the rest unable to function at all.
Geostrategy
Iran strikes damage hard to assess under Israeli military censorship
Such regulations are nothing new in Israel, where any written or visual publication deemed potentially harmful to the loosely defined...
- But with the recent missile barrages from Iran that managed to breach Israel's vaunted air defenses and kill 28 people, the restrictions were further tightened.
- Most of the government's communication during the war focused on its military successes, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday praising a "historic victory" over Iran.
Geostrategy
US hits back at accounts Iran moved enriched uranium before bombing
Trump, seeking credit for ordering military action and then quickly announcing a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, has lashed out...
- Trump has lashed out angrily at media accounts of a classified report that doubted the extent of damage to Iranian nuclear sites
- Vice President JD Vance, asked about the uranium on Sunday, had sounded less definitive and said the United States would discuss the issue with Iran