Rubio says US ‘optimistic’ for UN resolution on Gaza, backing an international force
US Secretary of State said the United States was speaking with different countries on ways to "balance their interests here,...
Geostrategy
US mediator Kushner and Netanyahu hold talks on the second round of Gaza ceasefire
Kushner, the son-in-law of US President Donald Trump who helped broker the ceasefire, met Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Monday as...
Geostrategy
Geostrategy
Nadia Calvino is now European Investment Bank head
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - Margrethe Vestager is preparing to return to her day job as the European Union's competition chief after a...
- After the EU selected Nadia Calvino, Margrethe Vestager, 55, said she would "resume" her duties at the European Commission, the Eu's executive arm.
- Vestager's star has waned in recent years following a series of setbacks in EU courts against some of the world's biggest companies, including Apple.
Geostrategy
Israel continues Gaza bombing as US blocks UN truce bid
Israel bombarded targets in Gaza after the United States blocked an extraordinary UN bid for a ceasefire in the war...
- Iran, which backs Hamas, warned about the possible "uncontrollable explosion in the situation of the region" after the US move.
- Many of the 1.9 million Gazans displaced by the war have headed south, turning Rafah near the Egyptian border into a vast camp.
Geostrategy
Mahsa Amini’s family blocked from leaving Iran for EU rights prize
PARIS, FRANCE - The family of Mahsa Amini, the Iranian Kurdish woman who died in custody, have been banned from traveling...
- Her family's lawyer in France, Chirinne Ardakani, said that Amini's parents and brother had been prohibited from boarding a flight.
- She said the family had been banned from leaving Iran despite having a valid visa, and their passports had been confiscated.
Iran warns of ‘explosion’ after US veto on Gaza war
Tehran, Iran - Iran warned Saturday of the threat of an "uncontrollable explosion" of the situation in the Middle East, after...
- On Friday, the United States vetoed a Security Council resolution that would have called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza
- Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, the top diplomat of the Islamic republic, also appealed for the immediate opening of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt
Geostrategy
Iran foreign minister, Hamas chief discuss Gaza developments
Tehran, Iran - Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian held a phone conversation with Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh on Friday night...
- During the call, Amir-Abdollahian praised the invocation of Article 99 of the UN Charter by the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres
- Iranian top diplomat told the Hamas chief that the crisis in Gaza had been a central feature of discussions between Iranian President and his Russian counterpart Putin
Geostrategy
Three Lebanese soldiers wounded in Israeli attack
According to a medical source quoted by media, Israeli artillery fire targeted the " vicinity of a Lebanese army post...
- Soldiers were seen lying on stretchers, exhibiting signs of breathing difficulties but with no open wounds
- Violence on Israel-Lebanon border has killed at least 120 people in Lebanon, mostly Hizbollah fighters
Geostrategy
US vetoes Security Council resolution calling for Gaza ceasefire
Guterres had convened an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council after weeks of fighting left more than 17,487 people...
- Washington dashed a growing clamor for an immediate ceasefire that had been led by UN chief Antonio Guterres and Arab nations
- American envoy Robert Wood said the resolution was "divorced from reality" and "would have not moved the needle forward on the ground."
COP28 UAE
COP28 president Sultan Jaber pushes for rapid fossil fuels draft deal
Climate campaigners have viewed Jaber with deep suspicion due to his position as the head of UAE national oil firm...
- Despite disagreements over the future of fossil fuels, Jaber voiced optimism that the talks hosted by the oil-rich UAE can finish with a historic deal
- A draft deal was released on Tuesday but negotiators failed to produce another text on Wednesday before heading into the break
COP28 UAE
Azerbaijan clears key hurdle to host UN climate summit in 2024
Dubai, UAE -- Petro-state Azerbaijan has cleared a key hurdle to host next year's UN climate summit despite the controversy over...
- Bulgaria, which had also sought to host COP29 but was opposed by Russia, also formally ended its bid and backed Azerbaijan.
- COP, or the Conference of the Parties under the UN climate body, takes place each year in a different region, with Asia choosing Dubai.
Geostrategy
Arab world to be center for global change in 2024, says Russian intelligence chief
MOSCOW, RUSSIA - The chief of Russia’s foreign intelligence service, or SVR, believes the Arab world will take center stage...
- The Russian official said that the change has manifested itself in strong, sovereign leaders coming to power in a number of Arab countries.
- The rapid growth of anti-US and, more broadly, anti-Western sentiment in the region is one of the outcomes of this change, he said.
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Rubio says US ‘optimistic’ for UN resolution on Gaza, backing an international force
US Secretary of State said the United States was speaking with different countries on ways to "balance their interests here,...
Geostrategy
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European, Iranian diplomats to meet as Trump mulls joining Israel campaign
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will meet with his French, German, British and EU counterparts in Geneva on Friday to...
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21 Palestinians waiting for aid among 72 killed by Israeli forces in Gaza
Civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that six people were killed while waiting for aid in the southern Gaza...
Geostrategy
MENA Brief | June 19: GCC central banks hold interest rates steady, Diriyah House launched in London
As most currencies in the region are pegged to the US dollar, monetary policy follows the decisions taken in Washington,...
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Geostrategy
Syrians watch Iran-Israel crossfire as government stays silent
For days, Syrians have watched as Iranian missiles and Israeli interceptors light up the skies over their territory, but the...
- Iran was one of former ruler Bashar al-Assad's biggest backers, playing a crucial role in propping up his government by providing military advisers and the support of affiliated ar
- Israel, meanwhile, has occupied the Golan Heights since seizing it from Syria in 1967, and has kept troops in a UN-patrolled buffer zone there since December
Geostrategy
Trump weighs involvement as Israel launches fresh strikes on Iran
The White House said Trump would receive an intelligence briefing on Thursday, a US holiday and top US diplomat Marco...
- As the war entered its seventh day, Israel's military said it was striking Tehran and other parts of Iran, but all eyes were on whether Washington would enter the fray
- Iran's supreme leader Khamenei meanwhile rejected Trump's demand for an "unconditional surrender", despite claims from the US leader that "Iran's got a lot of trouble."
Geostrategy
Khamenei vows Iran will never surrender, warns US of ‘irreparable damage’
Khamenei's speech came six days into the conflict, with US president Donald Trump saying he may or may not intervene...
- Khamenei, in power since 1989 and the final arbiter of all matters of state in Iran, had earlier vowed the country would show "no mercy" towards Israel's leaders.
- Israel's Defence Minister Israel Katz said air force jets had destroyed Iran's internal security headquarters after the army announced it was striking military targets in Tehran.