Israeli minister calls to annex Gaza if Hamas doesn’t surrender
Israel's Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Thursday called on the government to begin annexing parts of the Gaza Strip if...
Geostrategy
Erdogan jubilant as ‘Steel Dome’ air defence system delivered to military, hails it a milestone
Last August, Turkey, a member of NATO, unveiled plans to build a multi-layered air defence system to protect its airspace,...
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Geostrategy
2022 fifth warmest year on record, EU climate report says
The last eight years were the warmest. Average temperatures across 2022 -- which saw a cascade of unprecedented natural disasters...
- Pakistan and northern India were scorched by a two-month spring heatwave with sustained temperatures well above 40 degrees C, followed in Pakistan by massive floods.
- Large swathes of the Middle East, China, central Asia and northern Africa also saw unprecedented warmth averaged across the whole of 2022.
Saudi Arabia lifts restriction on hajj pilgrim numbers
The pilgrimage - one of five pillars of Islam, and which all able-bodied Muslims with the means are required to...
- The number of pilgrims will return to what it was before the pandemic, without any age limit, Minister of Hajj and Umrah Tawfiq al-Rabiah told reporters in Riyadh.
- In 2022, nearly 900,000 pilgrims, including some 780,000 from abroad, were welcomed to Islam's holiest cities of Mecca and Medina
Geostrategy
Israel parliament begins vote on controversial West Bank settler law
The law gives settlers in the occupied West Bank access to civilian law, while their Palestinian neighbours face military courts....
- The legislation, which has been repeatedly renewed since Israel seized the Palestinian territory in the 1967 Six-Day War, hit a stumbling block in June.
- The text will face a second and third reading in parliament before its final approval. Some 2.9 million Palestinians living in the West Bank are subjected to Israeli military law.
Business
Prince Harry’s memoir goes on sale, after months of publicity
Some British stores stayed open late for the midnight release of the biggest royal book since Harry's mother Princess Diana...
- The book contains a claim from Harry that his brother William physically attacked him as they argued about Meghan
- A YouGov poll on Monday found that 64 percent people now have a negative view of the once-popular ginger prince -- his lowest-ever rating
Geostrategy
Iran sends ex-president’s daughter to jail for ‘propaganda’
The 60-year-old former lawmaker and women's rights activist was charged with "collusion against national security, propaganda against the Islamic republic...
- Hashemi was arrested in the capital Tehran on September 27 for encouraging residents to demonstrate amid nationwide protests sparked by Mahsa Amini's death
- Her late father, president between 1989 and 1997 who died in 2017, was considered a moderate and advocated improved ties with the West
Geostrategy
Morocco raises migrants’ jail time over Melilla tragedy: lawyer
More than six months after 23 people died in an attempt to cross into the Spanish enclave of Melilla from...
- The Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH) put the number of dead at 27, while rights group Amnesty International said at least 37 people lost their lives
- Melilla and its sister enclave of Ceuta have long been a magnet for those desperate to escape grinding poverty and hunger
Geostrategy
Israeli tough measures a ‘new war’ against Palestinian Authority: PM
Israel's new right-wing government said Friday it will withhold millions of dollars in tax revenues from the Palestinian Authority. This...
- Israel's new right-wing government said Friday it will withhold millions of dollars in tax revenues from the Palestinian Authority.
- Israel revoked VIP passes for several officials, including Palestinian foreign minister Riyad al-Maliki.
Geostrategy
UAE, Oman education ministers discuss cooperation in the sector
MUSCAT, OMAN - UAE Minister of Education Dr. Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi and Oman Minister of Education Dr. Madiha bint...
- The meeting was held in Muscat and aimed at boosting the coordination and cooperation between the two friendly countries.
- The two sides also discussed the exchange of expertise in the field of curriculum development and international tests
Geostrategy
Global piracy acts drop to 14-year low, says report
Worldwide acts of piracy fell to their lowest level last year since statistics were first established in 2008, a maritime...
- In the Gulf of Guinea, considered a piracy hotspot, just three ships were attacked in 2022 compared to 26 in 2019, the MICA said.
- In the same area, the number of kidnappings dropped to two last year, from 146 in 2019.
Iran sentences three more to death over Amini protests
Iran has sentenced to death three people accused of killing three members of the security forces during the protests triggered...
- The latest sentences, which can still be appealed, bring to 17 the total number of people condemned to death in connection with the more than three months of protests
- On Saturday, Iran executed Mohammad Mehdi Karami and Seyed Mohammad Hosseini for killing a paramilitary force member in November in Karaj west of Tehran
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Israeli minister calls to annex Gaza if Hamas doesn’t surrender
Israel's Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Thursday called on the government to begin annexing parts of the Gaza Strip if...
Geostrategy
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Israel destroys dozens of Bedouin homes in Negev desert
Israeli authorities destroyed around 50 homes belonging to Bedouins in the Negev desert on Wednesday, an AFP journalist reported, with...
Geostrategy
Biden threatens to stop arm shipments if Israel invades Rafah
Biden, a self-described Zionist, had long resisted stopping any of the $3 billion in weapons the United States sends each...
Empty streets and ‘fear’ in Gaza’s Rafah since Israeli incursion
Rafah, Palestinian Territories - Displaced Gazan Marwan al-Masri, sheltering in Rafah, said on Wednesday "life has completely ceased" since Israeli tanks...
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Hamas accepts Gaza truce proposal, Israel urges Rafah evacuation
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said the proposal "is far from Israel's essential demands", but the government will send...
- The Hamas announcement brought cheering crowds onto the street amid tears of happiness, chants of "Allahu Akbar" ("God is greatest") and celebratory shooting in the air
- Israel's military meanwhile reiterated an earlier call for residents of east Rafah to evacuate as it prepares for a "ground operation" in the southern Gaza city
Hamas says delegation heading to Cairo for truce talks
The hawkish prime minister has insisted he will send ground troops into Rafah, despite strong concerns voiced by UN agencies...
- Foreign mediators have been waiting for a Hamas response to a proposal to halt the fighting for 40 days and exchange hostages for Palestinian captives
- A major stumbling block has been that, while Hamas has demanded a lasting ceasefire, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to continue to fight
Geostrategy
EU pledges $1 bn for Lebanon, urges curbs against illegal migration
The EU Commission's spokesman said in Brussels the aid will be disbursed "in grants", with 736 million euros earmarked to...
- "I can announce a financial package of $1 billion for Lebanon that would be available from this year until 2027," the European Commission chief said
- She said the aid was designed to strengthen basic services such as education and health amid a severe economic crisis