OpenAI faces backlash over Pentagon AI deal
OpenAI is facing online backlash after signing a deal with the United States Department of Defense to deploy its AI...
Geostrategy
India to US: 8 nations issue Middle East travel advisories amid Iran tensions
Several governments have urged their citizens to leave Iran immediately, while others are pulling non-essential embassy personnel from sensitive locations,...
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Ahead of Netanyahu visit, Trump vows to block Israel annexation of West Bank
Trump voiced optimism about ending nearly two years of devastating war, echoing the confidence expressed a day earlier on the...
- Netanyahu will address the United Nations on Friday and later meet Trump in Washington as Israeli ministers muse of annexing the West Bank
- Trump met Tuesday at the United Nations with the leaders of key Arab and Muslim nations who warned him of consequences if Israel moved ahead
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Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas tells UN no role for Hamas in state
Abbas, who addressed UN General Assembly by video after the US took the unusual step of denying him a visa...
- Abbas took a moderate tone in his speech as he directly took up key concerns of Israel and the United States -- notably on Hamas, which is based in Gaza.
- He distanced himself from the Oct 7, 2023 attack by Hamas, as well as frequent accusations by Israel's supporters that the Palestinians are denying the rights of Jews.
Geostrategy
Meta activates Facebook ‘teen accounts’ worldwide
Paris, France -- Meta said Thursday it was activating so-called "teen accounts" with additional protections for adolescent Facebook and Messenger...
- Meta's teen accounts, which offer additional security settings, content restrictions and parental controls for users aged 13 to 17, were first introduced on Instagram last year.
- The company said in April that it had extended them across Facebook and the social network's Messenger private chat service in the US, Canada, Australia and Britain.
Geostrategy
Palestinian leader to address UN as the US weighs whether to stop Israel’s Gaza annexation
Steve Witkoff, Trump's golfing friend turned roving global negotiator, said that Trump in a separate meeting with a group of...
- US President Donald Trump's administration adamantly rejected statehood and, in a highly unusual step, barred Abbas and his senior aides from traveling to New York
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed not to allow a Palestinian state and far-right members of his cabinet have threatened to annex the West Bank
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‘A child killed every hour’: UN humanitarian chief slams impunity in face of Gaza ‘horror’
After nearly two years of war, Israeli military operations have killed at least 65,419 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to the...
- In recent weeks Israel has launched a major air and ground offensive on Gaza City in a bid to root out Hamas, exacerbating already dire humanitarian conditions there
- Large parts of Gaza have been laid to waste, and last month a body backed by the United Nations officially declared famine in part of the territory
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Yemen drone attack wounds 22 in Israeli resort town: army, rescuers
Israel's military said a drone launched from Yemen struck the southern resort town of Eilat on Wednesday, with rescuers reporting...
- A military statement said the drone "fell in the area of Eilat" on the Red Sea coast after air defences had failed to intercept it, in the second such incident within days
- Israel's Magen David Adom emergency medical service said its teams had treated 22 casualties, including two men, aged 26 and 60, who were in serious condition with shrapnel wounds
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Palestinians rally in West Bank to celebrate statehood recognition
Crowds of people rallied in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, waving flags and holding posters of president Mahmud Abbas...
- Nationalist slogans blared from loudspeakers across the central square in the city of Ramallah, where a crowd of more than 100 clutched Palestinian and European flags
- High-ranking officials from Abbas's political movement, Fatah, and the Palestinian Authority -- which exerts limited control in the West Bank -- shook hands and smiled
Geostrategy
UN experts urge FIFA, UEFA to suspend Israel over Gaza genocide
"Sports must reject the perception that it is business as usual," the eight independent UN experts the in a statement....
- Their comments came after the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry (COI) said that "genocide is occurring in Gaza" and that Israel was to blame.
- The experts said countries that host international organizations and sporting competitions with Israel must not "remain neutral in the face of genocide".
Geostrategy
‘The time for peace has come:’ Macron recognizes Palestinian state at landmark UN summit
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed not to allow a Palestinian state and far-right members of his cabinet have...
- Macron, speaking at a summit that Israel and its chief backer the United States did not attend, called for an end to the war in Gaza
- "The time for peace has come, as we are just moments away from no longer being able to seize it," Macron said in an address in the General Assembly
Geostrategy
Hamas releases video of Israeli-German hostage seen alive
Hamas' armed wing released a video on Monday showing an Israeli-German hostage alive, the second such footage of him shared...
- Hostages and Missing Families Forum and the captive's family identified him as Alon Ohel, who was abducted by Palestinian militants during their October 7, 2023 attack
- In the video Ohel, 24, dressed in a black t-shirt, appeals to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to secure the release of all captives still held in Gaza
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Revenue from Saudi cinema may exceed $1bn by 2030KSA, UAE play well as e-gaming trends across GCCExclusive: Middle East’s retail sector rides on AR and hybrid shopping to become $600bn digital economyTECOM Group profit soars 13%UAE startups eye Saudi Arabia for growth, expansionSaudi Arabia leads GCC AI healthcare raceDisparity remains as Saudis, Emiratis see wealth gains
OpenAI faces backlash over Pentagon AI deal
OpenAI is facing online backlash after signing a deal with the United States Department of Defense to deploy its AI...
Geostrategy
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Israel’s recognition of Somaliland ‘threat’ to regional stability: Somali president
Somaliland declared independence from Somalia in 1991 and has for decades pushed for international recognition. A self-proclaimed republic, it enjoys...
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A saint, a monk, a rock: Bulgaria’s euro coin designs
Sofia, Bulgaria -- Ancient rock art, a patron saint and a monk will be emblazoned on euro coins from Thursday,...
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Iraqis cover soil with clay to curb sandstorms
Samawah, Iraq -- Deep in Iraq’s southern desert, bulldozers and earthmovers spread layers of moist clay over sand dunes as...
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Zelensky to meet Trump in Florida on Sunday for talks on how to end the Russian invasion
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is to meet US President Donald Trump in Florida on Sunday for talks on how to...
- The meeting to discuss new peace proposals comes amidst Trump's intensified efforts to broker an agreement to end the conflict
- The latest plan is a 20-point proposal that would freeze the front line but open the door for Ukraine to pull back troops from the east
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China’s high-speed rail network passes 50,000km mark
Beijing, China -- China's sprawling high-speed rail network passed 50,000 kilometers (31,000 miles) in total operating distance with the opening...
- The country has the world's largest rail network -- one-fifth longer than the circumference of the earth.
- China's rail network has expanded by around 32 percent compared to 2020, state-owned China Railway added Friday in a statement.
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Yemen separatists say Saudi air strikes will not deter them
A Yemeni military official said around 15,000 Saudi-backed fighters were amassed near the Saudi border -- but were not given...
- There were no immediate reports of casualties in the air strikes, which came amid a dramatic escalation in the decade-long conflict.
- The strikes came as a Yemeni government official in Riyadh told AFP that Saudi may be considering military action against the separatists if talks fail.