China’s Xi calls on BRICS countries to ‘resist all forms of protectionism’
Beijing, China -- Chinese President Xi Jinping called on the 11-nation BRICS bloc to "resist all forms of protectionism" at...
Geostrategy
Saudi launches Damascus area reconstruction project
Damascus, Syria -- Saudi Arabia announced on Sunday humanitarian projects for Syria including the removal of wartime rubble around Damascus,...
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UAE, Qatar least corrupt Arab nations
The 2022 Corruption Perception Index says corruption is undermining democratic processes and fueling violence in the Middle East and North...
- The CPI ranks180 countries and territories around the world by their perceived levels of public sector corruption on a scale of 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean).
- With a score of 90 and 87 respectively, Denmark and Finland top the CPI, while Somalia and Syria hit rock bottom with a score of 13 and 12 respectively.
Geostrategy
Russia agrees to grain export deal extension for 60 days
Russia has agreed to extend the Ukraine grain export deal following talks with the United Nations - but only for...
- The grain export deal has helped ease the global food crisis triggered by Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
- The invasion saw Ukraine's Black Sea ports blocked by warships until a deal signed in July allowed for the safe passage of exports of critical grain supplies.
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Enforcement alone is no fix for cross-channel migration woes: UN
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and French President Emmanuel Macron last Friday agreed a new pact worth over 500 million...
- More than 3,000 migrants have arrived in Britain in small boats across the Channel so far this year, and the backlog of asylum claims now exceeds 160,000.
- The deal will see Britain step up funding to France to allow hundreds more French police to patrol the Channel and also establish a new detention cent as a further deterrent.
Geostrategy
Tunisia swears in new parliament with truncated powers
Tunisia inaugurated a new parliament largely stripped of its powers, after a vote that saw a paltry turnout amid boycotts...
- The new parliament was elected after a new constitution was passed in a July 25, 2022 referendum granting President Kais Saied unchecked powers.
- The referendum was held exactly a year after he froze the previous legislature and dismissed Tunisia's government, before assuming wide-ranging powers.
Geostrategy
Would welcome restoration of ties with Bahrain, says Iran
Iran said it would welcome restoring ties with Bahrain to end seven years of ruptured relations, following the China-brokered deal...
- Iran and Saudi Arabia support rival sides in several conflict zones including Yemen.
- Some of Saudi Arabia's Gulf Arab allies have already sent envoys back to Iran.
Geostrategy
UN investigators hit out at lackluster help for Syria quake victims
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND - The world failed to act quickly enough to rush life-saving aid to Syrians in desperate need following the...
- Almost 6,000 people were killed in Syria by the 7.8-magnitude tremor that struck the country and neighboring Turkey.
- The UN estimates that five million people need basic shelter and non-food assistance in the quake-hit part of Syria.
Geostrategy
UNHCR urges more support for Turkey, Syria earthquake survivors
ISTANBUL, TURKEY - United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) president Filippo Grandi concluded a five-day visit to earthquake-devastated areas...
- UNHCR president reviewed and discussed the immediate humanitarian response with authorities in Turkey and Syria.
- UNHCR has delivered tens of thousands of tents, beds, mattresses, thermal blankets to the quake survivors in the two countries.
Geostrategy
Belarus, Iran vow to boost ties amid Russia’s Ukraine war
Lukashenko said he had observed "with great respect the perseverance with which the (Iranian) people resist external pressures, attempts to...
- Ex-Soviet state Belarus serves as a rear base for Russian troops, and Iran is accused of supplying Moscow with armed drones
- Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi hailed three decades of close ties with Belarus after talks with his counterpart Alexander Lukashenko
Geostrategy
Video: Leaders find ways to unite fragmented world
Efforts were made to bring together a divided world and find solutions to the ongoing global crises during the World...
- Efforts were made to bring together a divided world and find solutions to the ongoing global crises during the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting held in Davos earlier this year
- Despite the ongoing pandemic and continuing restrictions, the meeting in Davos garnered heightened interest due to the conflict in Ukraine, and its economic repercussions
Geostrategy
Boat capsizes off Libya, nearly 30 migrants feared drowned
Italy's coastguard said the boat in distress was in Libya's search-and-rescue zone, and that the deadly episode laid bare "the...
- Seventeen migrants were saved and a search was underway for the missing after the early-morning attempted rescue in Libya's search-and-rescue zone, the coastguard said
- On Saturday, the Italian coastguard brought more than 1,300 rescued migrants safely to Italian ports after three packed boats ran into bad weather
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China’s Xi calls on BRICS countries to ‘resist all forms of protectionism’
Beijing, China -- Chinese President Xi Jinping called on the 11-nation BRICS bloc to "resist all forms of protectionism" at...
Geostrategy
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US orders carrier group to hasten Middle East arrival
He said Austin, who spoke with his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant on Sunday, had also ordered the USS Georgia guided missile...
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Israel faces anger over Gaza school strike rescuers say killed 93
Mahmud Bassal, spokesman for the civil defence agency, said 11 children and six women were among the 93 who died...
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Hamas names Sinwar new chief as region braces for Iran retaliation against Israel
Iran blames Haniyeh's death on Israel and has vowed to avenge him, while Hamas's Lebanese ally Hizbollah has also pledged...
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US in ‘around-the-clock’ push against Mideast war
Biden called King Abdullah II of Jordan, which helped down Iranian drones and missiles in an earlier showdown in April,...
- Biden and Blinken engaged in diplomacy to try to ease tensions sparked by a suspected Israeli attack that killed Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh
- Biden had been hoping in his final months in office to end the Gaza war and work on clinching a landmark deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia
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US personnel injured in rocket attack on Iraq base
US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were briefed on the attack, the White House said. "They discussed...
- The rocket fire is the latest in a series of attacks targeting Ain al-Assad base in western Iraq, which hosts American troops as well as personnel from the US-led coalition
- An Iraqi military source had earlier said that multiple rockets were fired at the base, with some landing inside it and another hitting a nearby village but not causing damage
Geostrategy
Biden to meet national security chiefs as Mideast war fears grow
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told his counterparts from the G7 nations that any attack could happen within 24...
- The United States has deployed extra fighter jets and warplanes to the region to support Israel
- The tensions also appeared to have torpedoed US hopes of any immediate ceasefire