Slower growth expected in MENA region in 2025: IMF
"Growth is still projected to increase in 2025 and 2026, but at a considerably slower pace than anticipated last October,"...
Economy
Syria FM says wants to ‘strengthen relations’ with China
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani expressed on Monday his government's willingness to build a "strategic partnership" with China, a key...
Geostrategy
Syrian war monitor says 17 dead in clashes in Tartus province
17 people were killed Wednesday in clashes in Tartus province after security forces sought to arrest an officer under deposed...
- 14 interior ministry personnel were killed and 10 others wounded
- Clashes in Tartus province erupted after residents refused to allow their houses to be searched
Geostrategy
Ceasefire talks falter as Hamas, Israel clash over conditions, Gaza sees more destruction and deaths
Hamas accuses Israel of stalling the truce with new demands on troop withdrawal and prisoner release, while Netanyahu’s office counters,...
- Indirect negotiations mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States have taken place in Doha in recent days, rekindling hope for an agreement between the two warring parties
- On Wednesday, both sides accused the other of throwing up roadblocks, while Israeli President Isaac Herzog urged the country's leadership to move towards a deal
Geostrategy
Pakistan air strikes kill 46 in Afghanistan: Taliban spokesman
Kabul, Afghanistan - Pakistan air strikes in an eastern border province of Afghanistan killed 46 people, the Taliban government spokesman told...
- Border tensions have risen since the Taliban's 2021 takeover, with Islamabad accusing Afghan-based militants of attacks
- Islamabad has accused Kabul's Taliban government of harbouring militant fighters, allowing them to strike on Pakistani soil with impunity
Geostrategy
Israeli army says intercepted missile from Yemen before it entered Israeli territory
Jerusalem, Undefined - The Israeli army said Wednesday it intercepted a ballistic missile fired towards the country from Yemen.Air raid sirens...
- Air raid sirens sounded over a wide swathe of central Israel as a precaution against falling debris, but the army said it shot down the projectile before it entered Israeli territo
- Yemen's Iran-backed Huthi rebels have repeatedly launched missiles against Israel in solidarity with the Palestinians since the war in Gaza began more than a year ago
Syria authorities say armed groups have agreed to disband
Syria's new leaders announced Tuesday that they had reached an agreement with the country's rebel groups on their dissolution and...
- Absent from the meeting were representatives of the US-backed, Kurdish-led forces
- Turkey has "real economic leverage" thanks to a 900-kilometer border with Syria
Geostrategy
Netanyahu tells Israel parliament ‘some progress’ on Gaza hostage deal, defence minister admits to killing Haniyeh
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal last week, Netanyahu said, however, said he was not going to agree...
- In recent days, indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas mediated by Qatar, Egypt, and the US took place in Doha, rekindling hope of an agreement that has proven elusive
- Negotiations have faced multiple challenges since a one-week truce in November 2023, with the primary point of contention being the establishment of a lasting ceasefire
Geostrategy
Post-Assad Syria seeks peace; Erdogan pushes anti-terror agenda, US warns on Kurdish conflict
Barbara Leaf, Washington's top diplomat for the Middle East, told Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa of the "critical need to...
- On a recent tour to the region, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had stressed the need to prevent a resurgence of Islamic State group (IS) jihadists
- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who backed Assad's opponents, has stressed reconciliation and restoration of Syria's territorial integrity and unity
HRW accuses Israel of ‘acts of genocide’ for restricting Gaza water access
Human Rights Watch (HRW) accused Israel of committing "acts of #genocide" in the Gaza Strip by damaging water infrastructure and...
- "Systematic nature" to deprive Gazans of water has "likely caused thousands of deaths"- HRW
- Israel also cut electricity supplies, attacked repair workers and blocked imports of repair materials
Geostrategy
UN urges ‘free and fair’ elections in Syria post-Assad ouster amid ongoing challenges
Turkey's Foreign Minister warned Syria's new government to address Kurdish militancy, signaling potential intervention if unresolved with tensions rising with...
- UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher called for a massive aid boost by donor countries to respond to "this moment of hope" for Syria
- Years of civil war have also left the country heavily dependent on aid, deeply fragmented and desperate for justice and peace
UN envoy warns Syria conflict not over yet
United Nations' special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, referring to fighting between the US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and...
- Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes on Syrian military assets since Assad's overthrow
- Large-scale returns of refugees to Syria could destabilize the country further
Slower growth expected in MENA region in 2025: IMF
"Growth is still projected to increase in 2025 and 2026, but at a considerably slower pace than anticipated last October,"...
Economy
Company News
Latest News
Iran’s top diplomat to visit Russia after US nuclear talks
Iran's foreign minister is to visit ally Russia this week to discuss nuclear negotiations with the United States, ahead of...
Geostrategy
Trump envoy says Putin open to ‘permanent peace’ deal with Ukraine
US President Donald Trump's special envoy said Monday that Russian leader Vladimir Putin was open to a "permanent peace" deal...
Geostrategy
Israel offers 45-day ceasefire if Hamas releases half of remaining Gaza hostages
Hamas has informed the mediators that it is willing to agree to any proposal that includes a permanent ceasefire, a...
Geostrategy
Most Read
Geostrategy
Qatar to invest $2 billion in Indonesia sovereign wealth fund
Jakarta, Indonesia -- Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto said Qatar is set to invest $2 billion in his country's new sovereign...
- Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto is on a five-nation tour of the Middle East, visiting the UAE, Turkey, Egypt, Qatar and Jordan to boost bilateral ties with the region.
- He said Sunday he had a "productive" meeting with Qatar Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani and that the country would invest in the Danantara Indonesia fund.
Geostrategy
China’s exports beat forecast in March despite trade war woes
China said Monday that exports soared 12.4 percent year-on-year last month, beating expectations as Beijing navigated mounting trade headwinds sparked...
- The figure was more than double the 4.6 percent predicted in a Bloomberg survey, though imports during the same period fell 4.3 percent
- China's top leaders last month set an ambitious annual growth target of around five percent, vowing to make domestic demand its main economic driver
Geostrategy
Trump says Russian strike on Ukraine ‘a horrible thing’
US President Donald Trump on Sunday said a Russian strike on the Ukrainian city of Sumy that killed at least...
- "I think it was terrible. And I was told they made a mistake. But I think it's a horrible thing. I think the whole war is a horrible thing," Trump told
- Asked to clarify what he meant by a "mistake," Trump said that "they made a mistake... you're gonna ask them" -- without specifying who or what he meant