Saudi, Qatar airlines adjust flights as regional tensions disrupt travel
Dubai, UAE -- Airlines has extended the suspension of flights to several Gulf destinations as regional tensions continue to affect...
Geostrategy
Iranian Missiles Hit Tel Aviv, Cause Damage and Injuries
Iranian missiles struck parts of Tel Aviv and other areas of Israel on Tuesday, damaging residential buildings, setting vehicles on...
Geostrategy
Israel orders army to prepare Gaza exodus plan as Trump rules out US troop deployment in the territory
Israel's Defence Minister Israel Katz ordered the military to prepare a plan for voluntary" departures from Gaza, saying Palestinians could...
- Trump proposes U.S. control of Gaza but rules out deploying American troops
- UN warns forced displacement of Palestinians would amount to ‘ethnic cleansing
World Economic Forum
UNFPA and corporate partners drive reproductive justice in workplaces
Mariarosa Cutillo, UNFPA Chief of the Private Sector and Civil Society Branch, says businesses need to provide adequate maternal health...
- UNFPA emphasizes that corporate strategies can empower vulnerable communities, particularly women, by driving positive change in workplaces, Cutillo said
- UNFPA's presence in 150 countries allows us to work with women and implement these targeted initiatives effectively, she added.
Geostrategy
Saudi Arabia says no Israel normalization without Palestinian state
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - Saudi Arabia said Wednesday it will not formalize ties with Israel unless a Palestinian state is established,...
- Both US President Donald Trump and his predecessor Joe Biden have backed Israel and Saudi Arabia having diplomatic relations
- Riyadh paused tentative talks on the matter early in the Gaza conflict and hardened its rhetoric as the war continued
Geostrategy
Trump doubles down on Gaza shock plan, says Israel will turn over the territory to US
Trump said that by the time of the handover, Palestinians "would have already been resettled in far safer and more...
- Trump first made the stunning proposal to audible gasps during a joint press conference with Netanyahu on Tuesday, whom he was hosting at the White House for talks
- Suggesting "long-term ownership" by the US, Trump said he would make Gaza the Riviera of the Middle East, and that "this could be something that could be so magnificient".
Geostrategy
West Bank’s Jenin camp going in ‘catastrophic direction’: UNRWA
The Israeli military launched a major offensive in the West Bank on January 21 aimed at rooting out Palestinian armed...
- The operation has also seen troops levelling buildings in a refugee camp adjacent to Jenin, according to UNRWA spokeswoman Juliette Touma.
- "Large parts of the camp were completely destroyed in a series of detonations by the Israeli forces. It is estimated that 100 houses were destroyed or heavily damaged," she said.
World Economic Forum
Risks are interconnected, need collaborative solutions, says WEF’s Mark Elsner
Davos, Switzerland – Mark Elsner, Head, Global Risks Initiative, World Economic Forum sat with TRENDS during WEF’s summit in Davos...
- The Global Risks Report 2025, with insights from over 900 experts, identifies state-based armed conflict as the most immediate risk for 2025.
- The report was circulated ahead of the Davos meeting, which serves as a platform for advancing dialogue, cooperation, and partnerships.
Geostrategy
Trump, Netanyahu to discuss Gaza ceasefire, regional stability in White House meeting
Trump has floated a controversial plan to relocate Palestinians to neighboring countries, but Egypt, Jordan, and ceasefire mediator Qatar have...
- Netanyahu is in Washington for talks with the new Trump administration on a second, longer-term phase of Israel's fragile truce with the Palestinian group Hamas
- Trump has meanwhile repeatedly touted a plan to "clean out" Gaza, calling for Palestinians to move to neighboring countries such as Egypt or Jordan
Business
OPEC+ sticks to oil output plan after Trump’s price demand
In a bid to boost prices, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) headed by Saudi Arabia and Russian-led allies...
- In December, eight OPEC+ countries announced they would start phasing out 2.2 million bpd of voluntary supply cuts from April.
- The decision to stick to the alliance's timetable to unwind cuts comes after Trump said last month that he would ask Saudi Arabia and OPEC to lower oil prices.
Geostrategy
Syrian President’s first foreign trip to Saudi Arabia signals Syria’s shift away from Iran’s influence.
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh, marking his first foreign visit and signaling...
- Al-Sharaa’s visit signals Syria’s pivot away from Iran and closer ties with the Gulf states
- Saudi Arabia is leading efforts to reintegrate Syria into the regional fold and push for sanctions relief
World Economic Forum
Maori-led AI initiative can revolutionize language preservation, says Peter-Lucas Jones
Davos, Switzerland -- Peter-Lucas Jones, a Kaitaia native, who has been listed in the prestigious Time100 AI 2024 List, was...
- Peter-Lucas Jones, a Time100 AI 2024 List honoree, discussed AI's role in preserving the Te Reo Maori language at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
- His team at Te Hiku Media developed Te Reo Maori natural language processing tools and an automatic speech recognition model.
Saudi, Qatar airlines adjust flights as regional tensions disrupt travel
Dubai, UAE -- Airlines has extended the suspension of flights to several Gulf destinations as regional tensions continue to affect...
Geostrategy
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Sisi discusses Middle East peace with World Jewish Congress chief
Cairo, Egypt -- Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi told the head of the World Jewish Congress Ronald Lauder on Sunday that...
Geostrategy
BRICS summit planned for July in Rio, says current chair Brazil
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - Leaders of the countries known as BRICS will hold a summit in Rio de Janeiro in...
Geostrategy
Lavrov, Rubio pledge to restore dialogue and work on settling Ukraine conflict, says Moscow
The call came ahead of an expected summit between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin amid mounting concern from Ukraine and...
Geostrategy
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Geostrategy
Saudi Arabia to host Arab summit on Trump’s Gaza plan, Egypt, Jordan, Qatar and the UAE to attend
Trump sparked a global outcry with his proposal for the United States to "take over" the Gaza Strip and to...
- Arab countries have come together in a rare united front, outraged by the idea of displacing the Palestinians en masse
- For Palestinians, any forced displacement evokes memories of the mass displacement of their ancestors during Israel's creation in 1948
Geostrategy
Hezbollah supporters protest banning Iranian planes from landing in Beirut
Beirut, Lebanon - Hezbollah supporters blocked the Beirut airport road and burned tyres on Thursday to protest a decision barring two...
- Some of the young men raised Hezbollah's yellow flag and held pictures of Nasrallah, killed in an Israeli strike in September
- Israel has repeatedly accused Hezbollah of using Lebanon's only airport to transfer weapons from Iran
Geostrategy
Trump eyes summit with Xi-Putin, shaking up world order, Macron warns against ‘capitulation’
US president's remarks on Russia and China mark a seismic shift after more than a decade of US policy which...
- With Kyiv and European capitals still stunned by Trump's surprise call with Putin, the US president also said he would "love" to have Russia back in the G7
- Trump - who has cast himself in his second term as a global peacemaker - also said he would consider a summit with Putin and China's Xi Jinping "when things calm down."