Trump launches Gaza ‘Board of Peace’ with $10 billion pledge, outlines vague ambitions
Speaking in Washington before representatives from nearly 50 countries, Trump said nine member states had committed more than $7 billion...
Geostrategy
Trump signals second carrier deployment as US-Iran prepare to resume talks
In interviews with Israeli media, Trump warned of consequences if negotiations fail. “Either we reach a deal or we'll have...
Geostrategy
Business
Turkey’s Tosyali plans $5bn investment for steel plant in Saudi Arabia: report
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - Turkish-based Tosyali Holding is making nearly $5 billion investment in a new steel plant in Saudi...
- The investment is part of Tosyali Holding's broader expansion strategy, which encompasses ventures in Algeria, Angola, Senegal, and Spain
- In line with their renewable energy efforts, Tosyali Holding plans to boost its solar output from the current 240 megawatts to 2,500 megawatts
Geostrategy
China says willing to mediate between Pakistan and Iran after strikes
"The Chinese side sincerely hopes that the two sides can exercise calm and restraint and avoid an escalation of tension,"...
- Tehran said it had summoned the Pakistani charge d'affaires in response to the attack, which killed at least seven people
- Nuclear-armed Pakistan and neighbouring Iran are both battling simmering insurgencies along their sparsely populated border regions
Geostrategy
Pakistan strikes ‘terrorist hideouts’ inside Iran
Iran and Pakistan routinely blame each other for allowing militants to operate from the other's territory to launch attacks, but...
- Iranian media reported three women and four children were killed in the attack
- The attack comes after Iran confirmed hitting "a terrorist group" late Tuesday in Pakistan
Geostrategy
US, UK launch new strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen
A Houthi military official told the rebels's Al-Masirah TV that fighters will continue to target Israeli ships heading to "the...
- Houthi rebels vowed to continue attacking shipping in the Red Sea in support of Palestinians
- The US and Britain attacked nearly 30 sites in Yemen with more than 150 munitions last week
Geostrategy
Kuwait gets first non-royal foreign minister as ‘reform’ era starts
Abdullah al-Yahya, a former ambassador to Argentina, was named in the coveted role as part of a hand-picked cabinet of...
- In his inaugural speech last month, Sheikh Meshal had strongly criticized the recurring political crises that have long frustrated Kuwaitis.
- The OPEC member, home to seven percent of the world's oil reserves, has the Gulf's most powerful parliament but suffers chronic legislative deadlock
Geostrategy
Record 116 tons of cocaine seized at Belgium’s Antwerp port in 2023
Vlissingen, Netherlands - Cocaine seizures at the Belgian port of Antwerp, the top gateway into Europe for mainly South American drug...
- The cocaine is usually hidden in containers, or sometimes underneath ships in openings below the water line where they are then recovered by divers.
- Belgium, neighboring Netherlands and Spain are the top three European nations for illegal cocaine imports, mostly from Panama, Colombia and Ecuador
Geostrategy
UN warns of ‘bleak future’ facing Gazans after war ends
At least 24,448Â Palestinians, more than 70 percent of them women, young children and adolescents, have been killed in Israeli bombardments...
- "My fear is that we have now a generation of lost kids," said UN official Lazzarini, describing children who are living in "brutal" conditions and are deeply traumatized.
- Also, UN chief Antonio Guterres on Wednesday warned that a "full-fledged confrontation" between Israel and Lebanon would be a "total disaster".
Geostrategy
Israeli army shoots seven Palestinians dead in West Bank
Since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza on October 7, the West Bank has experienced a level of...
- The Palestinian Red Crescent said an Israeli strike killed four people inside Tulkarem camp early in the morning
- In a separate strike near Balata refugee camp, east of Nablus, Palestinian news agency Wafa reported three men were killed
World Economic Forum
WTO head ‘less optimistic’ for world trade due to Red Sea strikes
The head of the international trade body said weaker global economic growth, "worsening geopolitical tensions, the new disruptions we see...
- Before the outbreak of war in Gaza, the WTO had predicted trade would grow by 0.8 percent in 2023 and projected growth of 3.3 percent this year.
- "We think there are a lot of downside risks to the forecasts we had made last year of 3.3% of growth of merchandise volumes this year. So we expect weaker performance," she said.
Geostrategy
Sudan war threatens UNESCO World Heritage Site
The Regional Network for Cultural Rights said it "strongly condemns the incursion by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF)", the paramilitary...
- The Cultural Rights group said the incident, which took place on Sunday, marked the second time since December that fighting had broken out at the religious sites
- State authorities reported "an incursion by the RSF, repulsed by the air force", claiming that "calm has returned" without mentioning whether the sites suffered any damage
Trump launches Gaza ‘Board of Peace’ with $10 billion pledge, outlines vague ambitions
Speaking in Washington before representatives from nearly 50 countries, Trump said nine member states had committed more than $7 billion...
Geostrategy
Company News
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Putin stresses Syrian ‘territorial integrity’ in call with Netanyahu after Druze unrest
Russia, a close ally of Syria's former long-time ruler Bashar al-Assad, who reportedly fled to Moscow with his family, still...
Geostrategy
Food arrives in Gaza after Israel pauses some fighting
Gaza City, Palestinian Territories -- Truckloads of food reached hungry Gazans on Monday after Israel promised to open secure aid...
Geostrategy
Major Israeli rights groups brand Gaza campaign ‘genocide’, a first for Israeli NGOs
Rights groups B'Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights Israel have been frequent critics of Israeli government policies, but the language...
Geostrategy
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Geostrategy
The UN, the Palestinians, Israel and a stalled two-state solution
Ever since the partition of Palestine into Jewish and Arab states in 1947, the United Nations has been inextricably linked...
- In November 1947, the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 181 dividing Palestine - which was then under British mandate - into Jewish and Arab states
- Israel declared independence in May 1948, triggering the Arab-Israeli war which was won convincingly by Israel the following year
Geostrategy
Food airdropped into Gaza as Israel says opening aid routes
UN's World Food Programme said a third of the population of Gaza had not eaten for days, and 470,000 people...
- Since Israel imposed a total blockade on aid entering Gaza, the situation inside the territory has deteriorated sharply. More than 100 NGOs warned this week of "mass starvation".
- Humanitarian officials are deeply skeptical airdrops can deliver enough food safely to tackle the hunger crisis.
Geostrategy
Humanoid robots embodiment of China’s AI ambitions
Shanghai, China -- Serving craft beer, playing mahjong, stacking shelves and boxing, the dozens of humanoid robots at Shanghai's World...
- The Chinese government has poured support into robotics, an area in which some experts think China might already have the upper hand over the United States.
- Tech giant Baidu on Saturday announced a new generation of technology for its "digital humans" -- AI agents modelled on real people.