US accepts Boeing jet from Qatar for use as Air Force One
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has accepted the Boeing 747 that the Gulf emirate of Qatar offered to President Donald...
Geostrategy
US asking countries for ‘voluntary’ Palestinian relocation: Rubio
Israel has again warned the population of Gaza -- nearly entirely displaced since the war broke out over the October...
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Geostrategy
Deal restored: Hamas, Israel finalize exchange of Palestinian prisoners for bodies of Israeli hostages
Mediators have revived a deal for Israel to release Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the bodies of four Israeli hostages,...
- Palestinian militant group Hamas confirmed the agreement, under Egyptian supervision, saying it was part of the first phase of its ceasefire deal with Israel
- On Sunday, Hamas accused Israel of endangering the five-week-old Gaza truce by delaying the release of 600 Palestinian prisoners
Geostrategy
UN warns of last chance for two-state Israeli-Palestinian solution
Sigrid Kaag, the UN envoy for the peace process in the region, also warned against calls for Israel to annex...
- "The people of the region can emerge from this period with peace, security, and dignity. However, this may be our last chance to achieve the two-state solution," said Kaag.
- Kaag called on Hamas and Israel to agree on the second phase of the ceasefire in the Gaza war and avoid a resumption of fighting.
Geostrategy
US, Russia to appoint negotiators for Ukraine talks; Kyiv protests exclusion, Europe awaits role
Washington noted European nations would have to have a seat at the negotiating table "at some point", following the first...
- Some European leaders, alarmed by President Donald Trump's overhaul of US policy on Russia, fear Washington will make serious concessions to Moscow
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky slammed his nation's exclusion from the Riyadh gathering, which lasted for more than four hours, saying talks should involve European nations
Geostrategy
Iran’s Khamenei: US plan to displace Gazans ‘will go nowhere’
Tehran, Iran - Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Tuesday dismissed a proposal by the United States to displace Palestinians...
- Khamenei made the remarks during a meeting in Tehran with Ziyad al-Nakhalah, leader of the Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad
- US President Donald Trump this month proposed a plan for a US takeover of the war-battered Gaza Strip and its Palestinian inhabitants to be relocated elsewhere
Geostrategy
More than one million Syrians return to their homes: United Nations
Geneva, Switzerland -- More than one million people have returned to their homes in Syria after the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad,...
- The returnees include 280,000 Syrian refugees and more than 800,000 people displaced inside the country.
- Syria's war has killed more than half a million people and displaced millions from their homes.
Israel army pulls out of Lebanon border villages, holds five positions: source
Israel's army has pulled out of southern Lebanese villages but remains in five positions as a deadline for the withdrawal...
- Authorities estimate reconstruction costs in Lebanon's South could reach more than US$10 billion
- More than 100,000 remain internally displaced
Geostrategy
Netanyahu commits to Trump’s Gaza plan as Rubio seeks Arab backing in Saudi talks
In a statement on Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was "committed to US President Trump's plan for...
- Arriving in the kingdom after talks in Israel, Secretary of State Marco Rubio - on his first visit to the Middle East - met Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
- A Saudi source had earlier told AFP that Riyadh would host a regional summit later this week "to discuss Arab alternatives" to President Donald Trump's plan for Gaza
Business
Saudi Arabia’s sports fund invests in DAZN streaming service
Paris, France - Saudi Arabian sports investment fund SURJ, linked to the kingdom's sovereign wealth fund, has acquired a minority stake...
- SURJ, originally named SRJ, was established in August 2024 by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) "to invest in acquiring and creating new sports events
- SURJ and DAZN will work closely to establish DAZN MENA, a joint venture that will unlock new broadcasting opportunities for Saudi Arabia's growing sports sector
Geostrategy
War-weary Gazans reel from ‘500 days of humiliation’
Gaza City, Palestinian Territories -- For 500 days since an unprecedented Hamas attack on Israel triggered the Gaza Strip's deadliest war,...
- The United Nations has said more than $53 billion will be required to rebuild Gaza and end the "humanitarian catastrophe" that has gripped the territory.
- The Israeli military campaign by land, air and sea has killed at least 48,284 people in Gaza, the majority of them civilians.
Geostrategy
Netanyahu and Rubio align on aggressive strategies toward Hamas and Iran in Jerusalem talks.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have pledged to "open the gates of hell"...
- The pledges came during a joint address to reporters in Jerusalem, where Rubio began his first Middle East trip as secretary of state in President Donald Trump's new administration
- "Hamas cannot continue as a military or a government force... they must be eliminated," Rubio said of the Palestinian group that fought Israel for more than 15 months
US accepts Boeing jet from Qatar for use as Air Force One
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has accepted the Boeing 747 that the Gulf emirate of Qatar offered to President Donald...
Geostrategy
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Syria state TV relaunches, months after Assad’s ouster
Damascus, Syria - Syrian state television officially relaunched on Monday with a trial broadcast almost five months after the ouster...
Israel cabinet approves plan for Gaza ‘conquest’
Israel resumed major operations across Gaza on March 18 amid deadlock over how to proceed with a two-month ceasefire that...
Geostrategy
Trump eyes Erdogan’s help to end Ukraine war
NATO member Turkey has sought to maintain good relations with both of its Black Sea neighbors since the Russian invasion...
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Geostrategy
Pakistan conducts second missile test, India readies civil defence drills
Islamabad, Pakistan - Pakistan conducted a second missile test and India ordered civil defence drills in an escalating stand-off over...
- New Delhi blames Islamabad for backing an attack on tourists last month - the deadliest against civilians on the Indian-administered side of the Himalayan territory for years
- Pakistan rejects the accusations, and the two sides have exchanged nightly gunfire since April 24 along the de facto border in Kashmir, the militarised Line of Control
Geostrategy
Damascus club shooting sparks fears of restriction on freedoms
A deadly shooting Monday at a Damascus club, days after another attack on the capital's nightlife, has sparked fears, adding...
- Since the fall of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December, the international community has been pressing the new authorities to respect personal freedoms
- The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said gunmen attacked Karawan "with automatic weapons and opened fire, killing a woman and wounding others."
Iran unveils new ballistic missile with 1,200 km range
Iran on Sunday unveiled a new solid-fuel ballistic missile with a range of 1,200 kilometres (745 miles), state television reported,...
- Western nations have raised concerns about Tehran's missile capabilities, accusing it of destabilising the Middle East
- Iran supports the "axis of resistance" network of militant groups opposed to Israel, including Yemen's Huthi rebels