Trump gives Hamas ultimatum of ‘three to four days’ on Gaza deal
The plan calls for a ceasefire, the release of hostages by Hamas within 72 hours, a disarmament of Hamas and...
Geostrategy
US unveils 21-point peace proposal: Israel to withdraw from Gaza, Hamas to disarm
While the plan offers several concessions to Palestinians, it also carries provisions favorable to Israel — including Hamas’ demilitarisation and...
Geostrategy
Geostrategy
Israeli court orders government to release seized Palestinian boat
GAZA CITY, PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES - Israel returned a boat to a Gaza fisherman it had seized for allegedly breaching the limits...
- Israeli authorities had called for the vessel, belonging to fisherman Mohammad al-Hissi, to be permanently confiscated.
- However, a Haifa court last month ordered that the boat be returned to Hissi even as legal proceedings continued.
Geostrategy
Iraq, Syria pledge to enhance cooperation, counter terrorism
They discussed "reinforcing cooperation between the two countries in various sectors... in addition to joint efforts to fight back against...
- Despite the conflict Iraq maintained diplomatic ties with its neighbor Syria and on Sunday Assad hosted Iraqi Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani for talks in Damascus.
- They discussed "reinforcing cooperation between the two countries in various sectors... in addition to joint efforts to fight back against terrorism".
Business
Production restarts at Libya oil fields after protests end
Tripoli, Libya - Oil production has resumed at two major Libyan oil fields, the oil ministry said Sunday, after a brief...
- Demonstrators had been protesting against the arrest of a former minister Faraj Abderrahmane Boumtari.
- Members of his Zouaya tribe on Thursday threatened to block oil terminals in the east if he was not released. He was released Saturday.
Geostrategy
Iraq detects first captagon producing lab near Saudi border: Ministry
Baghdad, Iraq -- Iraq said Sunday it has found a site in a province bordering Saudi Arabia where captagon is produced,...
- Iraq has long been a transit country for captagon, the amphetamine-like stimulant plaguing the Middle East, but officials say it has also become a consumer market for the drug.
- The vast majority of the region's captagon, which derives its name from a once legal drug use to combat narcolepsy, is produced in Syria -- another Iraqi neighbor -- and Lebanon.
Economy
UNDP says over US$14bn needed to mitigate global surge in poverty
NEW YORK, US – In the last three years, poverty rates in low-and lower-middle-income countries have surged, with the number...
- UNDP has called for adaptive social protection and a debt-poverty pause to redirect debt repayments toward critical social expenditures.
- Almost all of these financially hit people live in low - and lower-middle-income economies, with the poorest 20 percent in low-income countries
Geostrategy
Saudi Arabia, Japan sign 26 new cooperation deals
The deals signed during Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's official visit to Saudi Arabia reflect the shared commitment to the...
- The deals signed during Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's official visit to Saudi Arabia reflect the shared commitment to the Saudi-Japanese Vision 2030
- The two nations' trade volume reached $47.489 billion in 2022 as Saudi Arabia continues to be a key energy partner to Japan, providing 40 percent of its oil needs
Geostrategy
Fears over Syria’s proposed control on aid to rebel-held areas
They worry over the fate of residents in Syria's last remaining rebel strongholds, in the north and northwest, after the...
- But expiry of the UN mechanism, as well as Syria's decision to change course on the delivery of aid to those areas, has sparked fears and questions among the humanitarian community
- The crossing is the main entry point for aid to rebel-held areas, though it also occasionally trickles in from areas under the control of Damascus.
Geostrategy
MBRGI joins UAE delegation, takes part in UN forum on sustainable development goals
DUBAI, UAE - Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives (MBRGI) joined the UAE delegation to the United Nations High-Level...
- Established in 2012, the High-Level Political Forum is the UN’s central platform for the follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda for SDGs at the global level.
- The UAE delegation discussed ways to bolster mutual collaboration, strategic partnerships and knowledge-sharing, in line with MBRGI’s mission.
Morocco, Shell sign 12-year natural gas deal: ministry
Morocco has sought to diversify its energy sources particularly since neighbouring Algeria stopped supplying natural gas via the GME in...
- The agreement includes the annual delivery of 500 million cubic meters of LNG to Morocco, the value of the 12-year deal has not been disclosed
- In the initial years, the gas will be delivered through Spanish ports and the Maghreb GME, It will eventually be delivered through planned Moroccan LNG terminals
Iraqi Christian leader leaves Baghdad as tensions with president soar
Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako, the patriarch of Iraq's Chaldean Catholic Church and architect of Pope Francis' historic visit to the...
- Kildani is the leader of the Babylon Movement, whose armed wing is part of Hashed al-Shaabi - a network of largely pro-Iran paramilitaries that were integrated into Iraqi forces
- In a statement on Saturday, the cardinal condemned the government's "silence" over what he described as a campaign against him by the Babylon Movement
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Trump gives Hamas ultimatum of ‘three to four days’ on Gaza deal
The plan calls for a ceasefire, the release of hostages by Hamas within 72 hours, a disarmament of Hamas and...
Geostrategy
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Mediators hope for end to conflict as next phase of Gaza ceasefire talks in Cairo begins
Mediator Egypt say Israeli, Qatari and US delegations were already in Cairo for "intensive" talks on the next stage of...
Geostrategy
Hamas, Israel prisoner swap advances as talks for ceasefire’s next phase loom
Israeli authorities received four hostage bodies from Hamas, while Palestinian prisoners were welcomed in Ramallah, as ceasefire negotiations involving Egypt,...
Geostrategy
Clip of Gaza as seaside resort posted on Trump social media accounts
The video, which racked up more than 15 million views on Instagram and was shared thousands of times on Trump's...
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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