US envoy Witkoff to meet Zelensky, Europe leaders in Berlin at weekend
US President Donald Trump's special envoy will meet with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky and other European leaders in Berlin this weekend,...
Geostrategy
US-Israel-Qatar meeting seeks to salvage Gaza peace deal amid strain over Israeli strike on Doha
Axios also reported White House envoy Steve Witkoff hosted the meeting, with Mossad spy chief David Barnea representing Israel and...
Geostrategy
Geostrategy
Death toll from IS twin bombings rises to 91, says Iran
TEHRAN, IRAN - A bombing attack in southern Iran claimed by the Islamic State group has killed 91 people, state media...
- The attack is the deadliest in Iran since 1978, when arson killed more than 370 people trapped in a cinema in Abadan.
- The Iranian intelligence ministry said on Friday that "one of the suicide bombers" was "of Tajik nationality".
France and Jordan airdrop seven tonnes of aid to Gaza
The French leader posted a photograph of an airman standing on the cargo ramp of a military plane, with parachutes...
- Jordan and France sent C-130 transport plane with mixed French-Jordanian crews, bringing a total of seven tonnes of "humanitarian and health" aid, the presidency said
- At least 22,600 people have been killed in Gaza in Israel's response to the October 7 attack by Hamas, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry
Iraq PM says determined to end presence of US-led coalition
Sudani, whose government relies on support from Tehran-aligned parties, has repeatedly said in recent weeks he would like to see...
- A US drone strike on Thursday killed a military commander and another member of Harakat al-Nujaba, a faction of Hashed al-Shaabi
- Washington labelled the attack in Iraq's capital an act of self-defence, while Sudani's government decried it as an act of "blatant aggression"
Blinken to tackle Gaza, NATO expansion with Turkey’s Erdogan
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has turned into one of the Muslim world's harshest critics of the scale of death...
- US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Istanbul late Friday for the first leg of a trip that includes visits to Israel and West Bank, along with five Arab states
- Blinken's fourth crisis tour since the start of the Israel-Hamas war three months ago comes with fears mounting that the conflict will engulf swathes of the Middle East
West Bank sees ‘unmatched surge’ in Israeli settlements since Gaza war
Peace Now said in the report published on Thursday there had been an increase in the activities of some settlers...
- The Israeli group Peace Now said in a report that nine outposts had appeared in the occupied West Bank since the start of the Israel-Hamas conflict
- About three million Palestinians live in West Bank, which is also populated by 490,000 Israelis living in settlements deemed illegal under international law
Geostrategy
Houthis hold mass rally for Gaza in Yemen capital
Sanaa, Yemen - Thousands rallied in support of Gaza in the rebel-controlled Yemeni capital Sanaa on Friday, chanting anti-US and anti-Israeli slogans....
- The Houthis have launched more than 20 attacks on merchant ships in the Red Sea in recent weeks, saying they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians in the face of Israel's war
- Since the outbreak of the war on October 7, the Iran-backed rebels have organised weekly protests in Sanaa but Friday's demonstration was the "largest."
Geostrategy
Response to Aruri killing inevitable, says Hizbollah chief
BEIRUT, LEBANON - The head of Lebanon's Iran-backed Hizbollah group warned Israel on Friday that it will respond swiftly "on the...
- Saleh al-Aruri, who was killed in a missile strike widely attributed to Israel, is the most high-profile Hamas figure to be killed during the war.
- Israel has not claimed responsibility for the strike but a US defense official said on Wednesday that Tel Aviv had carried it out.
Business
Dubai Center for Family Businesses issues guidelines
DUBAI, UAE – The Dubai Center for Family Businesses, which operates under the Dubai Chambers umbrella, has released a ‘Sample...
- The ‘Sample Article of Association for Family Businesses’ outlines a set of options for companies to update their contracts.
- The Article of Association takes into account the requirements of family businesses who are registered as limited liability companies (LLCs).
Geostrategy
Gaza focus of German foreign minister’s upcoming Middle East tour
Annalena Baerbock will hold talks with Israel's new Foreign Minister Israel Katz, as well as President Isaac Herzog, foreign ministry...
- Baerbock will subsequently travel to Egypt to meet with her counterpart Sameh Shoukry and also planned to visit Lebanon.
- US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also left Thursday on a diplomatic tour of the Middle East, including Israel, his fourth since the war began.
Geostrategy
Saudi Arabia releases 132 animals in NEOM Nature Reserve
RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA - The National Center for Wildlife, in collaboration with NEOM, has released a total of 132 animals...
- This initiative aims to rehabilitate and ensure the adaptation of these animals to their new environment before releasing them into the wild.
- The released animals consist of 80 Arabian sand gazelles, 12 mountain gazelles, 12 ibexes, and 28 Arabian Oryx.
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US envoy Witkoff to meet Zelensky, Europe leaders in Berlin at weekend
US President Donald Trump's special envoy will meet with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky and other European leaders in Berlin this weekend,...
Geostrategy
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BRICS nations voice ‘serious concerns’ over Trump tariffs
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil -- BRICS leaders meeting in Rio de Janeiro from Sunday are expected to decry US President...
Economy
Britain reestablishes full Syria ties as FM David Lammy visits Damascus
In 2011, Britain was among the first countries to acknowledge rebel groups as the official Syrian government after then-president Bashar...
Geostrategy
Hamas says ready to start Gaza ceasefire talks ‘immediately’ on US-sponsored proposal
"The movement is ready to engage immediately and seriously in a cycle of negotiations on the mechanism to put in...
Geostrategy
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Geostrategy
Syria ready to work with US to return to 1974 disengagement deal with Israel
Syria said on Friday it was willing to cooperate with the United States to reimplement the 1974 disengagement agreement with...
- Washington has been driving diplomatic efforts towards a normalisation deal between Syria and Israel, with envoy Thomas Barrack saying last week that peace between the two was now
- Speaking to The New York Times, Barrack confirmed this week that Syria and Israel were engaging in "meaningful" US-brokered talks to end their conflict
Geostrategy
Settlers and Palestinians clash in West Bank village
Sinjil, Palestinian Territories - Dozens of Israeli settlers and Palestinians clashed Friday in the occupied West Bank village of Sinjil,...
- AFP journalists saw local residents and activists begin their march before locals reported that settlers had appeared on a hill belonging to the village
- Palestinian youths marched towards the hill to drive away the settlers, setting a fire at its base while the settlers threw rocks from the high ground
Geostrategy
Russia brushes off talks after largest ever drone and missile barrage on Ukraine
Russia on Friday said that it sees no immediate diplomatic way out of the war in Ukraine, hours after pummelling...
- The hours-long bombardments sent Ukrainians scurrying for shelters across the country and came after a call between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin
- Trump also said he had made no progress in discussions with Putin on ending more than three years of bitter fighting since the Kremlin ordered its troops into neighbouring Ukraine