OpenAI halts MLK videos as deepfakes spark outrage
Washington, United States -- OpenAI has suspended its Sora 2 artificial intelligence tool from creating videos of civil rights icon...
Geostrategy
Ceasefire called after new Pakistan-Afghanistan clashes kill dozens
A 48-hour ceasefire between Afghanistan and Pakistan took hold late Wednesday, officials on both sides said, after dozens of troops...
Geostrategy
Geostrategy
UAE, Morocco speakers of parliament discuss ways to enhance cooperation
MARRAKESH, MOROCCO - Speaker of the UAE Federal National Council (FNC) Saqr Ghobash met with Morocco Speaker of the House...
- The two sides discussed ways to enhance their parliamentary cooperation, including the exchange of visits and sharing of best practices.
- The meeting also highlighted the deep-rooted relations between the UAE and Morocco based on mutual respect and appreciation.
Geostrategy
Libya’s Haftar calls for unified government to oversee polls
Last week, both sides agreed on the legal steps to hold the elections following talks in Morocco, but stopped short...
- Libya has been torn by more than a decade of stop-start conflict since a NATO-backed revolt toppled strongman Moamer Kadhafi in 2011
- The country remains split between a nominally interim government in Tripoli in the west, and another in the east backed by Haftar
Geostrategy
Ukraine, Lebanon top agenda as Saudi crown prince meets French president
Saudi Arabia has maintained a cautious stance throughout the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, stopping short of condemning the assault...
- The visit of the 37-year-old Crown PrInce, comes less than a year after his last visit to the Elysee Palace and underlines the warm relationship between Paris and Riyadh
- Crown prince is due to attend a Paris summit on a New Global Financing Pact hosted by Macron on June 22-23 and an official Saudi reception for Riyadh's candidacy for Expo 2030
Geostrategy
Putin meets UAE President Sheikh Mohamed, hails ties
Putin thanked Al-Nahyan for the role the UAE has played in prisoner exchanges between Russia and Ukraine and Russia and...
- "The Emirates are a very good partner," Putin said in televised comments at the start of the meeting, which took place on the sidelines of an economic summit in Saint Petersburg.
- Putin thanked Al-Nahyan for the role the UAE has played in prisoner exchanges between Russia and Ukraine and Russia and the United States.
Gas, infra deals inked as Qatar emir holds Baghdad talks with Iraq PM
Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani was welcomed by Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani at the airport, images broadcast on Iraqi...
- The two sides signed agreements on oil and gas supply to Iraq, the establishment of a joint oil company and the construction of a refinery
- Iraq's National Investment Authority also signed agreements with the Qatari firms working in the property and construction sectors
Sudan war death toll surges past 2,000 as fighting enters third month
Since April 15, the regular army headed by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan has been locked in fighting with paramilitary Rapid Support...
- In long-troubled West Darfur state, the violence killed Governor Khamis Abdullah Abakar, hours after he made remarks critical of the paramilitaries in a telephone interview
- Miller said up to 1,100 civilians have been killed in West Darfur's capital, El Geneina, alone, while the @UN is reporting more than 273,000 have been displaced from the region
Xi Jinping meets with ‘old friend’ Bill Gates in Beijing
Gates -- one of the world's richest men -- is the latest in a string of Western business leaders to...
- The visit is Gates' first to China in four years, and included a rare sit-down between the Chinese head of state and a foreign business leader
- A state media readout also quoted Gates as praising China's efforts in "tackling the Covid-19 pandemic, setting a good example for the world"
Pause, hike, cut: Central banks diverge over regional challenges
The Bank of Japan (BoJ) has gone against the grain set by the Fed and ECB, announcing on Friday that...
- On Wednesday, the Fed paused interest rate hikes after 10 straight increases, bringing its benchmark lending rate from close to zero to a range between 5.0 and 5.25 percent
- On Thursday, the People's Bank of China cut a key lending facility by 10 basis points to 2.65 percent, and extended 237 billion yuan ($33 billion) of fresh funding to lender
UN to adopt high seas treaty Monday
The treaty, officially known as the treaty on "Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction" or BBNJ, also introduces requirements to carry out...
- The landmark high seas treaty would establish a legal framework to extend swathes of environmental protections to international waters
- Following four years of official negotiations, UN member states finally agreed on the text for the treaty in March after a flurry of final, marathon talks
Economy
Sri Lankan economy contracts 11.5 percent in Q1 2023
COLOMBO, SRI LANKA - Crisis-hit Sri Lanka's economy shrank by 11.5 percent in the first quarter just before an IMF bailout...
- The contraction in the first three months compared with shrinkage of 0.5 percent in the corresponding period of 2022.
- A currency crisis from late 2021 led to severe shortages of food, fuel and medicines and triggered months of protests.
OpenAI halts MLK videos as deepfakes spark outrage
Washington, United States -- OpenAI has suspended its Sora 2 artificial intelligence tool from creating videos of civil rights icon...
Geostrategy
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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...
Geostrategy
More than one million Syrians return to their homes: United Nations
Geneva, Switzerland -- More than one million people have returned to their homes in Syria after the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad,...
Geostrategy
Israel army pulls out of Lebanon border villages, holds five positions: source
Israel's army has pulled out of southern Lebanese villages but remains in five positions as a deadline for the withdrawal...
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Business
Saudi Arabia’s sports fund invests in DAZN streaming service
Paris, France - Saudi Arabian sports investment fund SURJ, linked to the kingdom's sovereign wealth fund, has acquired a minority stake...
- SURJ, originally named SRJ, was established in August 2024 by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) "to invest in acquiring and creating new sports events
- SURJ and DAZN will work closely to establish DAZN MENA, a joint venture that will unlock new broadcasting opportunities for Saudi Arabia's growing sports sector
Geostrategy
War-weary Gazans reel from ‘500 days of humiliation’
Gaza City, Palestinian Territories -- For 500 days since an unprecedented Hamas attack on Israel triggered the Gaza Strip's deadliest war,...
- The United Nations has said more than $53 billion will be required to rebuild Gaza and end the "humanitarian catastrophe" that has gripped the territory.
- The Israeli military campaign by land, air and sea has killed at least 48,284 people in Gaza, the majority of them civilians.
Geostrategy
Netanyahu and Rubio align on aggressive strategies toward Hamas and Iran in Jerusalem talks.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have pledged to "open the gates of hell"...
- The pledges came during a joint address to reporters in Jerusalem, where Rubio began his first Middle East trip as secretary of state in President Donald Trump's new administration
- "Hamas cannot continue as a military or a government force... they must be eliminated," Rubio said of the Palestinian group that fought Israel for more than 15 months