Trump says Putin wants to end war, US to hold new talks with Ukraine
Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner huddled into the early hours with Putin in the Kremlin but reached...
Geostrategy
The tiring task of repairing Gaza’s tattered banknotes
Nuseirat, Palestinian Territories - With a pot of glue, a blade and a keen eye, Manal al-Saadani repairs tattered banknotes...
Geostrategy
Business
Saudi Arabia launches bus transport project linking 200 cities
RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA – The Kingdom’s Minister of Transport and Logistic Services Saleh bin Nasser Al-Jasser here launched a significant...
- The project will have a capacity to accommodate six million passengers annually.
- It will operate through three international alliances in three concession areas.
Geostrategy
Iran warns of ‘action’ against Israel by ‘resistance axis’
Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian warned in a live broadcast to state TV of the possibility of pre-emptive action by...
- The minister said the "resistance leaders" will not allow Israel "to do whatever it wants in Gaza"
- The Islamic republic celebrated the Hamas assault but was at pains to stress that it was not involved
Geostrategy
Biden to visit Israel, will also meet King Abdullah II, Sisi, Abbas in Jordan
Biden will visit Tel Aviv, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said in Washington. He also announced that Biden would...
- Biden "will hear from Israel what it needs to defend his people as we continue to work with Congress to meet those needs," Blinken said
- US officials said that a new US coordinator on humanitarian aid, David Satterfield, would work with Israel to develop more concrete plans
Geostrategy
Russia returns four Ukrainian children in Qatari deal
Since its invasion of Ukraine in February last year, Russia has been accused of taking thousands of Ukranian chlidren to...
- The children are going back to Ukraine via Qatar, Estonia, Poland, Latvia and Lithuania
- Ukraine has welcomed the return of the four children, describing it an "important day"
Geostrategy
WHO says only 24 hours for aid to enter Gaza before catastrophe
If aid is not allowed into the besieged territory, doctors will have to "prepare death certificates for their patients," WHO...
- With emergency responders overwhelmed, doctors working around the clock and a dire lack of space, "bodies cannot be properly taken care of", WHO official said
- Overcrowding has paralyzed hospitals, where "intensive care units, operating rooms, emergency services and other wings" are all on the brink of collapse, he said
Geostrategy
Iran says time running out for political solution in Gaza war
TEHRAN, IRAN - Iran on Monday said time was running short to reach a political solution in the Israel-Gaza conflict, warning...
- Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on Monday held phone calls with his Russian and Turkish counterparts.
- During his phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Raisi warned of a "possibility of expanding the scope of war and conflict to other fronts".
Economy
UAE invests $36bn in renewable energy projects in 2022, says ADDED Â chairman
ABU DHABI, UAE - Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED) Ahmed Jasim Al Zaabi has said...
- The UAE has successfully enticed a staggering US$23 billion in 2022, up 10 percent from 2021, to be ranked 16th globally in FDI attraction.
- UAE is now the world's fourth-largest recipient of greenfield projects, with nearly a thousand ambitious ventures announced last year.
Geostrategy
Arab groups quit German Book Fair after Palestinian author row
Frankfurt, Germany - The postponement of a Palestinian author's award ceremony at the Frankfurt Book Fair due to the Israel-Hamas conflict...
- Sharjah Book Authority, in the United Arab Emirates, said in a statement that "we champion the role of culture and books to encourage dialogue and understanding between the people.
- Adania Shibli was due to receive the honor for her book "A Minor Detail," a work based on the real events of a 1949 rape and murder by Israeli soldiers.
Geostrategy
Israel says Hamas took 199 people as hostages during attack
Jerusalem, Undefined - The Israeli military on Monday raised the figure to 199 people confirmed to have been abducted by Hamas...
- "We have updated the families of 199 hostages," military spokesman Daniel Hagari told a media briefing, revising up an earlier figure of 155 captives.
- "The efforts on the hostages are a top national priority," Hagari said. "The army and Israel are working around the clock to bring them back."
Geostrategy
China prepares for BRI summit under shadow of Israel-Gaza war
At the top of the invitation list to China's Belt and Road Initiative forum is Russia's President Vladimir Putin, on...
- While China hopes the forum will help boost its international standing, Israel's war with Palestinian organization Hamas will continues to dominate the headlines
- China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi condemned Israel's actions for going "beyond the scope of self-defense" and called for it to "cease its collective punishment of the people of Gaza
Trump says Putin wants to end war, US to hold new talks with Ukraine
Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner huddled into the early hours with Putin in the Kremlin but reached...
Geostrategy
Company News
Risks are interconnected, need collaborative solutions, says WEF’s Mark Elsner
World Economic Forum
Latest News
South East Asia, Gulf and China three-way talks ‘response to call of times’
The trade-dependent economies are looking to insulate themselves after US President Donald Trump blew up global trade norms by announcing...
Geostrategy
US-backed group says it has begun aid distribution in Gaza
A controversial US-backed aid group for Gaza announced Monday that it had begun distributing food in the war-ravaged Palestinian territory,...
Geostrategy
Israel strikes Gaza, kills 53 people as Witkoff says Hamas didn’t accept 70-day temporary ceasefire
Hamas said Monday it had accepted a new ceasefire proposal by US envoy Steve Witkoff, presented by mediators, but a...
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Geostrategy
Hamas accepts mediators’ latest Gaza ceasefire proposal
The outline of the new potential deal was revealed as Israel ramped up its offensive in the Palestinian territory, and...
- "Hamas has agreed to the new proposal by US envoy Steve Witkoff, which the movement received from mediators," the Hamas source told AFP.
- The deal included "a 70-day truce in exchange for the release of 10 hostages in two batches, and during the truce, negotiations would begin on a permanent ceasefire.
Geostrategy
Due to war, under 5 percent of Gaza cropland useable for farming: UN
Paris, France -- Under five percent of Gaza's farmland is useable due to war, further exacerbating the risk of famine...
- By the end of April, more than 80 percent of the farmland was damaged and 77.8 percent was no longer accessible, leaving barely 4.6 percent of potentially arable land.
- Some 688 hectares (1,700 acres) is all that remains for cultivation, according to the assessment.
Geostrategy
Trump slams ‘crazy’ Putin as Russia pummels Ukraine with massive drone attack
US President Donald Trump called his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin "crazy" on Sunday after Moscow launched a deadly barrage of...
- At least 13 people were killed when Russia launched a record number of drones against Ukraine overnight to Sunday
- Those killed in the latest Russian strikes included victims aged eight, 12 and 17 in the northwestern region of Zhytomyr, officials said