As Trump heads to the region for peace summit, Hamas, Israel set for hostage and prisoner exchanges
Trump's lightning visit to Israel and Egypt aims to celebrate his role in brokering last week's ceasefire and hostage release...
Geostrategy
Morocco’s GenZ 212 says suspending protests temporarily
The weekend pause was "a strategic step to strengthen organisation and coordination, so the next phase of the movement is...
Geostrategy
Economy
UN calls for age limits for AI tools in schools
The UN's education body UNESCO warned that public authorities were not ready to deal with the ethical issues of rolling...
- A UNESCO official said AI can be a tremendous opportunity for human development, but it can also cause harm and prejudice"
- UNESCO guidance said AI tools have the potential to help children with special needs, act as an opponent in "Socratic dialogues"
Geostrategy
EU asks Turkey to address democracy before membership
EU chief Charles Michel said last month that the bloc should get ready to admit new members from eastern Europe...
- Ankara secured a pledge from Brussels to resurrect stalled membership negotiations in exchange for lifting its blockade of Sweden's drive to join NATO.
- But Ankara accuses Brussels of never seriously considering membership for what would be the largest majority-Muslim nation of the 27-nation bloc.
Geostrategy
2023 likely to be hottest year in human history, says EU climate monitor
"2023 is the year that climate records were not just broken but smashed," said Mark Maslin, a professor of climatology...
- The average global temperature in June, July and August was 16.77 degrees Celsius (62.19 degrees Fahrenheit), surpassing the previous 2019 record of 16.48C.
- "The three months that we've just had are the warmest in approximately 120,000 years, so effectively human history," C3S deputy director Samantha Burgess told AFP
Geostrategy
G20 shirking ‘critical’ climate issues: UN climate chief
The G20, which accounts for about 85 percent of the world's economy and greenhouse gas emissions, will meet in New...
- Simon Stiell, the head of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, said technological solutions are within reach to curb the warming that is already showing effects.
- The G20 summit is the next major set of negotiations in a packed calendar of meetings crucial for action on global warming, culminating at the UN COP28 talks in the UAE.
Big power disputes cast shadow on Southeast Asia summits
The 10-member Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN) was holding separate summits with China, Japan, South Korea, the United States...
- Host Indonesia told an ASEAN leaders' summit on Tuesday that the bloc would not become a proxy for big power competition as US-China tensions continue to flare over Taiwan
- Wednesday's meetings will be more regional in scope before an 18-member East Asia Summit on Thursday to be attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov
Geostrategy
Arab-Japan ties to see expansion to cultural, environmental, energy fields
Cairo, Egypt-- Vowing to expand their relations to cultural, educational, environmental, and energy fields, Arab states and Japan have expressed...
- Bahrain's foreign minister said dialogue reflects the strong ties and joint commitment between the Arab and Asian regions to further enhance cooperation
- The minister emphasized the importance of both sides' commitment to supporting pluralism, international law, peace, stability, and prosperity for all
Economy
Israel suspension of Gaza exports risks ‘catastrophe’: businesses
Osama Nofal, of the Gaza economic ministry, put the value of Gaza exports to Israel and the occupied West Bank...
- Israel's army chief on Monday ordered a halt to commercial deliveries from Gaza to Israel after an alleged attempt to smuggle explosives
- The Gaza Strip has been under a crippling Israeli blockade since the Islamist group Hamas seized power in the Palestinian territory in 2007
Geostrategy
‘Multilateralism only option to tackle global crises’
Stressing that “we are in a race against time” on issues from climate change and biodiversity loss to education and...
- Outgoing UN General Assembly President Csaba Kőrösi emphasizes the importance of international cooperation
- Kőrösi also calls for urgent action on climate change, education, gender equality, and sustainable development
Geostrategy
Saudi, Iran exchange ambassadors after years-long rupture
Saudi Arabia's embassy in Tehran resumed operations last month. In June, Iran marked the reopening of its embassy in Riyadh...
- Two countries agreed to resume diplomatic relations and reopen their respective embassies following a China-brokered deal announced in March
- Riyadh and Tehran severed ties in 2016 after Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran were attacked during protests over Riyadh's execution of the cleric Nimr al-Nimr
Geostrategy
Egypt president calls for measures to slow birthrate
Cairo, Egypt -- Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi called Tuesday for measures to slow the birthrate in the Arab world's most...
- "We need 400,000 births per year," said the leader of the country of 105 million inhabitants which recorded nearly 2.2 million births in 2022.
- Sisi intervened when his minister of health and population, Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, told a conference that "having children is a matter of complete freedom".
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As Trump heads to the region for peace summit, Hamas, Israel set for hostage and prisoner exchanges
Trump's lightning visit to Israel and Egypt aims to celebrate his role in brokering last week's ceasefire and hostage release...
Geostrategy
Company News
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Iran says talks with US will remain ‘indirect’, to focus solely on nuclear issue, lifting sanctions
Analysts had said the US would push to include on the agenda discussions over Iran's ballistic missile programme, along with...
Geostrategy
US Pentagon chief says military ready to ensure Iran never gets a nuclear bomb
Washington, United States -- The US defense secretary reiterated Sunday that the United States hopes for a diplomatic solution to...
Geostrategy
Syria’s interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa makes first visit to UAE
Damascus, Syria -- Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, whose war-devastated country seeks Gulf financial support, traveled to the United Arab...
Geostrategy
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Geostrategy
US-funded Arabic network ends broadcasts after Trump cuts
The network went on air in 2004, when US officials were complaining about coverage of the Iraq war from Qatar-backed...
- But it has faced stiff competition from Al-Jazeera as well as Al-Arabiya, which is funded by Saudi Arabia, and more recently UAE-backed Sky News Arabia.
- The Trump administration, in part of a sweeping cost-cutting drive led by Elon Musk, in March said it was ceasing all financial transfers for US government-supported media.
Geostrategy
Osaka Expo 2025 opens: World gathers amidst hope and global tensions
From quirky Hello Kitty algae sculptures to demonstrations of flying vehicles and lunar samples, the Osaka Expo offers a fascinating...
- Encircling dozens of national pavilions is the Grand Ring -- recognized by Guinness World Records as the planet's largest wooden architectural structure.
- So far 8.7 million advance tickets have been shifted, below the pre-sales target of 14 million.
Geostrategy
US in hurry for nuclear deal, Iran says after high-stakes, rare direct talks in Muscat
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who briefly spoke face-to-face with Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff during the indirect meeting in Oman,...
- The long-term adversaries, who have not had diplomatic relations for more than 40 years, are seeking a new nuclear deal after Trump pulled out of an earlier agreement
- Araghchi, a key architect of the 2015 accord, and Witkoff led the delegations in the highest-level Iran-US nuclear talks since the previous accord's collapse