Geneva talks loom as Trump backs regime change and redeploys second US carrier
The Pentagon confirmed that the USS Gerald R. Ford is being moved from the Caribbean toward the Middle East, a...
Geostrategy
The GCC must deploy its ‘strategic advantages’ to lead the transition
The models that once governed aid, CSR, employment, and economic engagement are shifting, and the GCC has an opportunity to...
Opinion
Geostrategy
Made-for-TV pageantry as Trump brings Putin in from cold
Anchorage, United States - Stepping foot on Western soil for the first time since he ordered the invasion of Ukraine,...
- Putin and Trump each flew in their presidential planes to Elmendorf Air Base, the largest US military installation in Alaska that played a key role in monitoring the Soviet Union
- Trump waited in Air Force One until Putin landed and then stepped down to the tarmac, clapping as he saw the Russian leader for the first time since 2019
Geostrategy
Trump, Putin meeting ends in areas of agreement, a renewed friendship but without Ukraine deal
"There's no deal until there's a deal," Trump said after emerging from a meeting with Putin. offering warm words but...
- After an abrupt ending to three hours of talks with aides, Trump and Putin offered warm words but took no questions from reporters - highly unusual for the media-savvy US president
- Putin told Trump he agreed with him that the Ukraine war, which Putin ordered, would not have happened if Trump were president instead of Joe Biden
Geostrategy
Hezbollah vows to fight disarmament as Lebanon PM slams civil war ‘threats’
Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem vowed Friday to fight government plans to disarm his group, with Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam...
- Qassem gave a televised address after meeting with Iran's security chief Ali Larijani, whose country has long backed the Lebanese militant group
- Hezbollah emerged badly weakened from last year's war with Israel, and the Lebanese government -- under US pressure -- has ordered the army to draw up a plan to disarm the group
Geostrategy
World plastic pollution treaty talks collapse with no deal
Negotiators from 185 nations worked beyond Thursday's deadline and through the night in an ultimately futile search for common ground....
- The stalemate was a resounding failure for the environment and for international diplomacy at a time when its frailties are in the spotlight.
- Countries voiced anger and despair as the talks unraveled, but said they wanted future negotiations -- despite six rounds of talks over three years ending in a failure.
Geostrategy
‘Like hell’: Indoor heat overwhelms Saudi Arabia’s cooks, bakers
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- Baker Eid Ahmed just can't get away from Saudi Arabia's notorious heat: he makes bread next...
- In arid Saudi Arabia, summer temperatures regularly reach 50C, leaving streets empty for much of the day.
- To protect laborers, the kingdom bans work under direct sunlight and outside during the hours of most intense heat from mid-June until mid-September.
Geostrategy
At least 1,760 killed while seeking aid in Gaza since late May: UN
"While 994 were killed in the vicinity of GHF (Gaza Humanitarian Foundation) sites, 766 were killed along the routes of...
- The update came as Gaza's civil defense agency said at least 23 people were killed by Israeli fire on Friday, including 12 who were waiting for humanitarian aid.
- The military intends to take control of Gaza City and nearby refugee camps, some of the most densely populated parts of the territory.
Geostrategy
Hezbollah chief thanks Iran for ongoing support to face Israel
Beirut, Lebanon - Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem has thanked a senior Iranian official for his country's ongoing support in confronting...
- Tehran has been the main backer of the Shiite Muslim group, which emerged badly weakened from last year's war with Israel
- Larijani's visit came after the Lebanese government tasked the army with drawing up a plan to disarm Hezbollah by the end of the year
Geostrategy
Israeli far-right minister backs contentious West Bank settlement plan
Israel's finance minister on Thursday backed plans to build 3,400 homes in a particularly contentious area of the occupied West...
- Israel has long had ambitions to build on the sensitive parcel of land east of Jerusalem known as E1, but the plan has been frozen for decades amid international opposition
- Israeli NGO Peace Now, which monitors settlement activity, denounced the E1 plan as "deadly for the future of Israel and for any chance of achieving a peaceful two state solution
Geostrategy
Expectations high as Trump, Putin set to meet at Alaska: What each side wants
In a draft peace plan published in June, Russia called on Ukraine to withdraw its forces from the Kherson, Lugansk,...
- For Putin, who has faced years of isolation from the West since the invasion, the summit is an opportunity to press Russia's hardline demands for ending the conflict
- In addition to territory, Russia wants Ukraine to ensure the "rights and freedoms" of the Russian-speaking population and to prohibit what it calls the "glorification of Nazism".
Geostrategy
Foreign NGOs say new Israeli rules keep them from delivering Gaza aid
According to the joint letter, whose signatories include Oxfam and Doctors Without Borders (MSF), at least 60 requests to bring...
- UK-based Oxfam said that $2.5 million worth of its supplies, including food, were barred from entering Gaza, while CARE said it had not been authorized to bring in aid since March.
- The aid groups complained that the new rules were leaving Gazans without life-saving assistance.
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Geneva talks loom as Trump backs regime change and redeploys second US carrier
The Pentagon confirmed that the USS Gerald R. Ford is being moved from the Caribbean toward the Middle East, a...
Geostrategy
Company News
OPEC+ looks set to further hike oil output
Geostrategy
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China’s Xi pushes Taiwan issue in call with Trump
Chinese leader Xi Jinping pressed the ever-sensitive issue of Taiwan in a phone call Monday with US President Donald Trump,...
Geostrategy
Hezbollah mourns top commander killed in Israel strike, Iran Guards urge revenge
Haytham Ali Tabatabai is the most senior commander from the Iran-backed group to be killed by Israel since a November...
Geostrategy
Tabatabai: Hezbollah military chief who led the group in Yemen, Syria
Beirut, Lebanon - Haytham Ali Tabatabai, Hezbollah's top military chief whom Israel killed on Sunday, had taken the role after...
Geostrategy
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Geostrategy
Trump pushes Ukraine to accept his plan for ending the war ahead of Nov 27 deadline
"He'll have to like it, and if he doesn't like it, then you know, they should just keep fighting," Trump...
- "He'll have to like it, and if he doesn't like it, then you know, they should just keep fighting," Trump told reporters who asked about Zelensky's less-than-enthusiastic response
- "At some point he's going to have to accept something," Trump added during the Oval Office meeting with New York City's future mayor Zohran Mamdani
Geostrategy
Iran says no access to bombed nuclear sites without IAEA deal
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that the UN's nuclear watchdog would not be given access to Iranian nuclear sites...
- The interview with the Khabar Online news agency was conducted before the International Atomic Energy Agency adopted a resolution Thursday demanding access to the sites
- In mid-June, Israel launched an unprecedented bombing campaign against Iran, triggering a 12-day war that the US briefly joined with strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities
Geostrategy
Qatar fears collapse of Israel-Hamas ceasefire after new Gaza strikes leave five Palestinians dead
The new strikes came the morning after one of the deadliest days in the Gaza Strip since the truce began...
- Qatar, a key mediator in the Hamas-Israel war, condemned the latest air strikes as "a dangerous escalation that threatens to undermine the ceasefire agreement,"
- Israel has carried out repeated strikes against what it says are Hamas targets during the ceasefire, resulting in the death of over 312 Palestinians, Gaza health ministry said