Trump issues stark warning to Israel over annexing West Bank as Rubio begins visit
"It won't happen," Trump said when asked about calls in Israel to annex the Palestinian West Bank which has been...
Geostrategy
Global trade system ‘at risk of derailment’: UN chief
Geneva, Switzerland -- The rules-based international trade system is in danger, UN chief Antonio Guterres warned Wednesday, amid spiraling debt,...
Geostrategy
Economy
Gulf economies pivot towards China: Multi-billion dollar investments strengthen relations
Economic ties between China and the Gulf region's largest economies, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, have surged since President Xi...
- The value of Gulf companies' acquisitions and investments in China this year increased by more than 1,000 percent yearly to $5.3 billion
- Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund, the "Mubadala Investment Company," is expanding its operations in China to attract investments
Geostrategy
Quran burning: Iraqis, Iranians rally as Swedish diplomats leave Baghdad
Baghdad, Iraq -- Demonstrators marched in the Iraqi and Iranian capitals Friday to denounce Sweden's permission for protests that desecrate the...
- Sweden on Friday cited security concerns in a decision to relocate embassy staff after protesters stormed its embassy compound in a pre-dawn attack this week.
- In Lebanon, the leader of the pro-Iran Hezbollah movement Hassan Nasrallah called for expulsion of the Swedish envoy there and the recall of Lebanon's ambassador to Sweden.
Geostrategy
Dutch museum exhibit on Egypt causes anger in North African country
LEIDEN, NETHERLANDS - In a Dutch museum the sound of hip-hop blares out next to sarcophagi and statues, in what curators...
- Egypt's antiquities service said the museum is "falsifying history" with its "Afrocentric" approach, which seeks to appropriate Egyptian culture.
- The museum said there had been a "commotion about this exhibition, because it shows Egyptian culture through the eyes of artists with African roots."
Israel’s Netanyahu to visit Turkey days after Palestinian leader
Netanyahu's office confirmed the visit, the first by an Israeli prime minister since Ehud Olmert in 2008. Turkey's diplomatic drive...
- Benjamin Netanyahu will be received a few days after Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, who is expected on July 25, the Turkish presidency said
- The leaders will discuss Turkey-Palestine relations and the latest developments in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as well as other topical international issues
Geostrategy
Security, trust: Tech titans promise watermarks on AI creations
Representatives from Amazon, Anthropic, Google, Inflection, Meta, Microsoft, and OpenAI were to join US President Joe Biden later Friday to...
- Worry that imagery or audio created by AI will be used for fraud and misinformation has ramped up as the technology improves and the 2024 US presidential election gets closer.
- Commitments by the companies include independent testing of AI systems for risks when it comes to biosecurity, cybersecurity, or "societal effects," according to the White House.
Geostrategy
Tunisia battles forest blaze on Algeria border
TABARKA, TUNISIA - Firefighters in Tunisia are battling a major blaze that has raged for two days in a pine forest...
- Around a dozen families had been evacuated from the affected area near the Mediterranean resort of Tabarka east of the frontier.
- The Malloula border crossing had been "closed temporarily" because of thick smoke from the fire causing visibility problems on the road to Algeria.
Geostrategy
US, Arab League discuss Middle East, Israeli-Palestinian conflict
The US-Arab Strategic Dialogue discussed Middle East peace and the Israeli- Palestinian conflict, among other issues. The dialogue concluded successfully...
- US-Arab League discussed reducing tensions in regional conflicts, climate change and health security.
- The US condemned the attack on the Swedish Embassy in Baghdad and urged the Iraqi government to protect foreign missions.
Israel to permit all United States citizens visa-free entry
Until now, Palestinians with United States citizenship could not enter Israel through Ben Gurion airport without obtaining visas, but had...
- All US citizens, including dual nationals and US citizens living in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, will benefit from the agreement
- State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Wednesday that implementation of the deal would be monitored
Geostrategy
Israel MPs prepare divisive bill for final votes amid protests
Parliament's law committee approved the proposal, which would limit the "reasonability" clause that allows the judiciary to strike down government...
- Parliament's law committee approved the proposal, which would limit the "reasonability" clause that allows the judiciary to strike down government decisions
- If approved next week by the full parliament, it would be the first major component of the government's proposed legal overhaul to become law
Iraqi protesters torch Swedish embassy in Baghdad
Iraqi riot police fired water cannon to disperse demonstrators away from the embassy while security forces armed with electric batons...
- Swedish authorities approved an assembly to be held later Thursday outside the Iraqi embassy in Stockholm, where organisers plan to burn a copy of Koran and Iraqi flag
- Iraqis have been angered by events in Sweden, and Thursday's protest in Baghdad was organised by supporters of the turbulent religious leader Moqtada Sadr
Trump issues stark warning to Israel over annexing West Bank as Rubio begins visit
"It won't happen," Trump said when asked about calls in Israel to annex the Palestinian West Bank which has been...
Geostrategy
Company News
Israeli strike in South Lebanon kills one
Geostrategy
Latest News
Hamas says agrees to new Gaza truce proposal received from mediators but warns its weapons a ‘red line’
The talks in Doha started a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened to seize parts of Gaza if...
Geostrategy
Trump says Iran faces ‘bad, bad things’ if no nuclear deal after Tehran responds to a letter from him
"I sent them a letter just recently, and I said: you have to make a decision, one way or the...
Geostrategy
Pro-Palestine rallies held in many countries on Quds Day
Quds (Jerusalem) Day commemorations were launched in 1979 by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic republic, which has...
Geostrategy
Most Read
Geostrategy
Lawyer complains Turkish student held in US ‘abducted’
A lawyer representing a Turkish university student detained in the United States and facing deportation said Thursday that his client...
- Earlier this week, a video surfaced on social media showing 30-year-old Rumeysa Ozturk being detained by masked, plain-clothed figures near Tufts University in Massachusetts
- The video quickly went viral as a symbol driving the fear and anger gripping US campuses as President Donald Trump clamps down on students accused of holding extremist views
Geostrategy
Palestinian sources say Hamas, mediators in new talks to revive Gaza truce, hostage release deal
Negotiations between Hamas and Israel, mediated by Egypt along with Qatar and the United States, have been deadlocked for weeks...
- Talks are focusing on the possibility of implementing a truce during the Eid al-Fitr and Jewish Passover holidays
- A Palestinian source close to Hamas said that despite the discussions, "no breakthrough" had been achieved so far
Science
Firms and researchers at odds over superhuman AI
The belief that human-or-better intelligence -- often called "artificial general intelligence" (AGI) -- will emerge from current machine-learning techniques fuels...
- "Systems that start to point to AGI are coming into view," OpenAI chief Sam Altman wrote in a blog post last month.
- Such predictions help justify the hundreds of billions of dollars being poured into computing hardware and the energy supplies to run it.