Palestinian leader to address UN as the US weighs whether to stop Israel’s Gaza annexation
Steve Witkoff, Trump's golfing friend turned roving global negotiator, said that Trump in a separate meeting with a group of...
Geostrategy
‘The time for peace has come:’ Macron recognizes Palestinian state at landmark UN summit
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed not to allow a Palestinian state and far-right members of his cabinet have...
Geostrategy
Paris summit to push for global debt and climate reform
France says the two-day summit, which begins on Thursday and will bring together some 50 heads of state and government,...
- Emmanuel Macron has said the Summit for a New Global Financial Pact is aimed at building a "new consensus" to meet the interlinked global targets
- Ideas on the table range from taxation on shipping, fossil fuels or financial transactions, to innovations in lending and a structural rethink of IMF and World Bank
Geostrategy
Iran-Saudi relations ‘are based on mutual respect’
"Efforts are underway to reopen diplomatic and consular missions between Saudi Arabia and Iran, including the reopening of Iran's embassy...
- Efforts are being made to reopen diplomatic missions, including embassies and consulates, between Saudi Arabia and Iran
- Resumption of normal relations is set to foster joint cooperation and positively impact both countries, says Saudi minister
Geostrategy
Kuwait forms new government led by Sheikh Ahmad Nawaf al-Sabah
Kuwait - Kuwait on Sunday formed a new government led by the Prime Minister, Sheikh Ahmad Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah....
- Saad Al Barrak was named as oil minister, replacing Bader Al-Mulla and Manaf Abdulaziz Al Hajri was reappointed as Finance Minister.
- The outgoing government had resigned following parliamentary elections held earlier this month in the Gulf OPEC oil producer
Geostrategy
Netanyahu vows to continue with controversial judicial reforms
JERUSALEM- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Sunday to advance the government's controversial judicial reforms, which have seen his...
- The reform package unveiled in January has been waylaid in recent months by demonstrators who have gathered weekly in their tens of thousands.
- Speaking Sunday, Netanyahu pledged to press forward with the judicial reforms "in a measured and responsible way" without giving further details.
Arts & Culture
Iraq displays Italy returned ancient stone tablet
The tablet- whose text is written in cuneiform, the Babylonian alphabet- bears the insignia of Shalmaneser III, the Assyrian king...
- The tablet arrived in the 1980s in Italy, where the police seized it, said LM Hussein, director of Baghdad's council of antiquities and heritage.
- The Italian authorities handed it over to Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid during a visit to Bologna over the past week.
Geostrategy
Algeria court increases prison term for media leader
An Algerian court of appeal increased to seven years the prison term issued to a prominent media boss, but suspended...
- Ihsane El Kadi did not receive any money from "foreigners or a foreign" group as claimed by authorities, the defense attorney said.
- The verdict adds two years to an initial sentence handed down to El Kadi in April by a lower court for "foreign financing of his business".
Geostrategy
Macron special envoy heads to Lebanon in bid to end crisis
Paris, France -- President Emmanuel Macron's new special envoy for Lebanon heads to Beirut in the coming week as France seeks...
- Former foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, appointed by Macron to the role earlier this month, is to fly to Beirut on Wednesday, the source told AFP, asking not to be named.
- Another source close to the issue also said Le Drian would leave on Wednesday but it was not clear how long he would stay in Beirut or who he would meet.
Geostrategy
Rivals in Yemen discuss possible prisoner swap in Jordan, says Red Cross
DUBAI, UAE - Yemen's government and Iran-backed Houthi rebels are locked in talks in Jordan to set the ground for a...
- The fighting has since killed hundreds of thousands of people directly or indirectly.
- A six-month truce brokered by the UN expired in October last year, but fighting has largely remained on hold.
Geostrategy
Israelis keep up protests against halted judicial reforms
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hard-right government's proposals would curtail the authority of the Supreme Court and give politicians greater powers...
- Opposition leaders suspended their participation in the talks, after parliament failed to elect a member of the coalition to committee to select judges
- In Tel Aviv, where the largest rally took place, Ami Bluzer said that Prime Minister Netanyahu was stalling to wear down opposition, but "we'll stop him"
Geostrategy
Blinken begins high-level talks in China to ease bilateral tensions
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Beijing for key discussions, marking the first top-level US visit in five...
- Both sides express cautious optimism about improving communication and avoiding conflict
- The two powers are at odds over a range of issues from trade and technology to regional security.
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Palestinian leader to address UN as the US weighs whether to stop Israel’s Gaza annexation
Steve Witkoff, Trump's golfing friend turned roving global negotiator, said that Trump in a separate meeting with a group of...
Geostrategy
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UN experts demand Israel face consequences for alleged Gaza war crimes and genocide claims
The experts called for urgent, independent and thorough investigations into alleged serious violations of international law, saying Israel's continued impunity...
Geostrategy
Former US president Jimmy Carter dies aged 100
Carter had been in hospice care since mid-February 2023 at his home in Plains, Georgia -- the same small town...
New Dawn over Damascus: Residents reclaim Mount Qasyun after years of curbs under Assad’s rule
Mount Qasyun, once closed due to war, reopens as a vibrant community space where Damascus residents gather to reclaim joy,...
Geostrategy
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Syrian war monitor says 17 dead in clashes in Tartus province
17 people were killed Wednesday in clashes in Tartus province after security forces sought to arrest an officer under deposed...
- 14 interior ministry personnel were killed and 10 others wounded
- Clashes in Tartus province erupted after residents refused to allow their houses to be searched
Geostrategy
Ceasefire talks falter as Hamas, Israel clash over conditions, Gaza sees more destruction and deaths
Hamas accuses Israel of stalling the truce with new demands on troop withdrawal and prisoner release, while Netanyahu’s office counters,...
- Indirect negotiations mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States have taken place in Doha in recent days, rekindling hope for an agreement between the two warring parties
- On Wednesday, both sides accused the other of throwing up roadblocks, while Israeli President Isaac Herzog urged the country's leadership to move towards a deal
Geostrategy
Pakistan air strikes kill 46 in Afghanistan: Taliban spokesman
Kabul, Afghanistan - Pakistan air strikes in an eastern border province of Afghanistan killed 46 people, the Taliban government spokesman told...
- Border tensions have risen since the Taliban's 2021 takeover, with Islamabad accusing Afghan-based militants of attacks
- Islamabad has accused Kabul's Taliban government of harbouring militant fighters, allowing them to strike on Pakistani soil with impunity