US envoy meets Israeli hostage families in Tel Aviv
US envoy Steve Witkoff on Saturday met the anguished families of Israeli hostages still held in Gaza, as fears for...
Geostrategy
US promises Gaza food plan after envoy visit
The visit by Steve Witkoff came as a report from global advocacy group Human Rights Watch accused Israeli forces of...
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Geostrategy
Egypt’s parliament approves major cabinet reshuffle
An emergency session of parliament on Saturday approved several cabinet changes in Egypt's first major reshuffle since 2019, with 13...
- An emergency session of parliament on Saturday approved several cabinet changes in Egypt's first major reshuffle since 2019
- The reshuffle does not include the key defense, interior, finance or foreign ministries. Following parliamentary approval, the new ministers are now expected to be sworn in.
Geostrategy
President invites Swiss President to visit the UAE
President of the Swiss Confederation Ignazio Cassis, has received a written message from President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan...
- The UAE is keen on strengthening bilateral relations with Switzerland
- Sheikh Abdullah has delivered the written message of the UAE President to the Swiss President
United States not going anywhere: US envoy on XI’s Saudi visit
Amid reports of Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Saudi Arabia next week, U.S. President Joe Biden's administration said the...
- There has been speculation about the US's diminishing influence in the region as China and Saudi Arabia seek to strengthen their ties
- Xi Jinping could potentially meet with President Biden in November during his trip to Southeast Asia, as he said to his American counterpart
Geostrategy
US to boost Taiwan trade, conduct air, sea transits
A new trade plan will be unveiled within days, while US forces will transit the Taiwan Strait in the next...
- Taiwan has accused China of using the visit by Pelosi as an excuse to kickstart drills that Taipei called that Taipei called a rehearsal for invasion
- In response to China's drills, the United States is reasserting its involvement in the area, while reiterating its policy of "strategic ambiguity."
Geostrategy
Syria says Israeli shelling wounds two near Golan Heights
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed the attack, adding that the two people, whom it did not identify,...
- Two civilians were wounded when a tank belonging to the Israeli occupation forces fired two shells near the village of Hamidiya
- Israel seized 1,200 square kilometers (460 square miles) of the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War
Geostrategy
Rival sit-ins deepen Iraq political deadlock
The opposing encampments are the latest turn in a standoff between Iraq's rival Shiite blocs which has so far remained...
- The protests reflect months of failed talks by Iraq's political forces to form a new government after inconclusive October elections
- Loyalists of Sadr, a revered Shiite cleric who once led a militia against US and Iraqi government forces, have been demanding fresh elections
Geostrategy
Turkey’s court rules Kurdish politician to stay in jail
Turkey’s top court has rejected a plea for the release of Aysel Tugluk, a Kurdish politician, but ordered that she...
- Many of her supporters believe she developed dementia after witnessing Turkish nationalists attack her mother's funeral in Ankara in 2017
- Tugluk was arrested for her activities with the Democratic Society Congress (DTK), an organization that Turkish authorities consider to be linked to the Kurdistan Workers' Party
Geostrategy
Iran hints it may accept compromise on nuclear deal
Iran may accept the final compromise worked out in Vienna to save the 2015 nuclear agreement, its official news agency...
- The deal meant to curb Iran's nuclear programme has been moribund since the withdrawal of the United States under president Donald Trump in 2018.
- The major powers are awaiting Tehran's response to a proposal submitted on July 26 by EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.
Geostrategy
Iran seeks to commission three more Khayyam satellites
Iran plans to commission three more versions of a satellite launched this week by Russia, Tehran's government spokesman said Friday....
- A Soyuz-2.1b rocket sent the satellite into orbit from the Moscow-controlled Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
- Khayyam, apparently named after the 11th-century Persian polymath Omar Khayyam, will not be the first Iranian satellite that Russia has put into space.
Geostrategy
US continues mediation in Lebanon-Israel maritime border dispute
“Progress towards a resolution can only be reached through negotiation by the two governments,” State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel said.
- “Progress towards a resolution can only be reached through negotiation by the two governments,” State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel said
- Lebanon and Israel are located in the Levant Basin, where a number of big sub-sea gas fields have been discovered since 2009
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US envoy meets Israeli hostage families in Tel Aviv
US envoy Steve Witkoff on Saturday met the anguished families of Israeli hostages still held in Gaza, as fears for...
Geostrategy
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China top diplomat terms war in Gaza a ‘disgrace for civilisation’
The foreign minister said that the catastrophe in Gaza once again reminded the world that "the fact that the Palestinian...
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Envoys push for Gaza truce before Ramadan begins next week
While negotiators in Cairo tried to surmount tough stumbling blocks, fighting again raged in Gaza where the UN warns famine...
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Bulk carrier hit by missile from Yemen, crew says three dead
An anti-ship ballistic missile struck the Barbados-flagged, Liberian-owned M/V True Confidence, after which its crew reported "three fatalities, at least...
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18 killed in suspected IS attack on Syria truffle hunters: Monitor
Beirut, Lebanon - Gunmen thought to be linked to the Islamic State group in Syria killed 18 people searching for truffles...
- The gunmen attacked the group with machine guns, said the Britain-based monitoring group with a network of sources inside Syria
- More than 50 people remained missing after the attack that saw heavy clashes with pro-government forces, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said
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2023 deadliest year in a decade for migrants, says United Nations
"The 2023 death toll represents a tragic increase of 20 percent compared to 2022, highlighting the urgent need for action...
- The IOM said that because safe and regular migration pathways remain limited, hundreds of thousands of people attempt to migrate via irregular routes in unsafe conditions.
- The Mediterranean ocean crossing continues to be the deadliest route for migrants, with at least 3,129 deaths and disappearances registered last year.
Geostrategy
BRICS to create blockchain-based payment system: Kremlin aide
Moscow, Russia – BRICS will work to create an independent payment system based on digital currencies and blockchain, Kremlin aide...
- Ushakov said that the specific task for this year is to increase the role of BRICS in the international monetary and financial system
- The BRICS group of emerging economies has welcomed 2024 by officially adding five developing nations