Vance hails ‘historic’ US-Iran talks as Trump warns Tehran over Lebanon ‘proxies’
US and Iranian negotiators opened talks in Switzerland amid renewed tensions over Lebanon, with both sides linking progress to regional...
Geostrategy
Middle East conflict exposes hydrogen supply risks: IEA
Dubai, UAE -- The conflict in the Middle East has disrupted production and trade in hydrogen-based products, exposing vulnerabilities in...
Geostrategy
Geostrategy
Iran says replaced air defence systems damaged during 12-day war with Israel
Iran's air defence network includes systems like the domestically built Bavar-373 and Khordad-15, designed to counter missiles and aircraft, in...
- Israel launched an unprecedented surprise bombing campaign against Iran in mid-June, prompting Tehran to respond with drone and missile attacks
- Israel's strikes dealt a significant blow to the Islamic republic's air defences, which were repeatedly activated in the capital Tehran and across the country throughout the war
Geostrategy
Thousands in Morocco call for end to Gaza war, normalization deal with Israel
Rabat, Morocco -- Tens of thousands of Moroccans demonstrated Sunday in the capital Rabat against the dire humanitarian situation in...
- Protesters gathered in the city center, brandishing Palestinian flags and placards calling for the free flow of aid to the war-ravaged Palestinian territory.
- "It's a disgrace, Gaza is under fire", "Lift the blockade", "Morocco, Palestine, one people" and "no to normalization", chanted the demonstrators.
Geostrategy
European powers plan fresh nuclear talks with Iran
Berlin, Germany -- Britain, France and Germany are planning to hold fresh talks with Iran on its nuclear programme in...
- Britain, France and Germany "are in contact with Iran to schedule further talks for the coming week".
- Iran's Tasnim news agency also reported that Tehran had agreed to hold talks with the three European countries, citing an unnamed source.
Geostrategy
Global gas flaring surges again, costs $63bn in lost energy: WB
Washington, UAE -- Global gas flaring surged for a second year in a row, wasting about $63 billion in lost...
- Flaring, the practice of burning natural gas during oil extraction, reached 151 billion cubic meters (bcm) in 2024, up 3 bcm from the previous year.
- While some countries have reduced flaring, the top nine largest-flaring countries continue to account for three-quarters of all flaring.
Geostrategy
Syrian govt says fighting in Sweida halted after tribal forces pull out
Druze fighters had pushed out rival armed factions from the city on Saturday, a monitor said, after the government ordered...
- Sweida was "evacuated of all tribal fighters, and clashes within the city's neighborhoods were halted", Syria's interior ministry spokesman Noureddine al-Baba said.
- More than 900 people have been killed in Sweida since last Sunday as sectarian clashes between the Druze and Bedouin drew in the Islamist-led government, Israel and armed tribes..
Geostrategy
Thai wildlife hospital treats Sunbears, elephants
Edwin Wiek founded Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand (WFFT) facility in 2001 with two macaques and a gibbon. It now spans...
- The light-filled hospital only opened this month, replacing a previous "tiny" clinic, said WFFT founder Edwin Wiek.
- Wiek once had tendentious relations with Thai authorities, even facing legal action, but more recently has become a government advisor.
Geostrategy
Restoring sea floor after mining may not be possible, researchers warn
Kingston, Jamaica -- Scientists present at the latest effort to hash out international rules for deep-sea mining say it's unclear...
- The sea floor is a coveted frontier for companies and countries eager to access minerals that are in high demand for emerging technologies such as electric cars.
- Particularly coveted are potato-sized nodules containing cobalt, nickel, copper and manganese, that are found in abundance on the seabed in the central Pacific Ocean.
Geostrategy
Ceasefire order fails to halt fighting in Syria’s Druze heartland
Sweida, Syria - Syrian Bedouin and their allies fought Druze fighters in the community's Sweida heartland for a seventh day...
- AFP correspondents reported clashes in the west of the provincial capital as Druze fighters battled armed Bedouin supported by tribal gunmen from other parts of Syria
- The interior ministry announced that internal security forces had begun deploying in Sweida province and AFP correspondents saw them manning checkpoints
Geostrategy
Israeli fire kills 39 and wounds more than 100 Gazans near two aid centers
UN has said it had recorded 875 people killed in Gaza while trying to get food, including 674 in the...
- The World Food Programme said nearly one in three people in Gaza were not eating for days at a stretch and "thousands" were "on the verge of catastrophic hunger".
- Civil defense agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal said the deaths happened near a site southwest of Khan Yunis and another center northwest of Rafah
Geostrategy
New clashes rock Syria’s Druze heartland as tribal fighters reinforce Bedouin
Armed tribes supported by Syria's Islamist-led government clashed with Druze fighters in the community's Sweida heartland on Friday, a day...
- The United Nations called for an end to the "bloodshed" and demanded an "independent" investigation of the violence, which has claimed nearly 600 lives since Sunday
- It was Sharaa who ordered government forces to pull out, saying that mediation by the United States and others had helped avert a "large-scale escalation" with Israel
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Vance hails ‘historic’ US-Iran talks as Trump warns Tehran over Lebanon ‘proxies’
US and Iranian negotiators opened talks in Switzerland amid renewed tensions over Lebanon, with both sides linking progress to regional...
Geostrategy
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Zelensky to meet Trump in Florida on Sunday for talks on how to end the Russian invasion
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is to meet US President Donald Trump in Florida on Sunday for talks on how to...
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China’s high-speed rail network passes 50,000km mark
Beijing, China -- China's sprawling high-speed rail network passed 50,000 kilometers (31,000 miles) in total operating distance with the opening...
Geostrategy
Yemen separatists say Saudi air strikes will not deter them
A Yemeni military official said around 15,000 Saudi-backed fighters were amassed near the Saudi border -- but were not given...
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Saudi Arabia urges Yemen separatists to cede seized territory
The Kingdom said the military movements in the governorates of (Hadramawt and Al-Mahra), recently conducted by the Southern Transitional Council,...
- "These movements resulted in an unjustified escalation that harmed the interests of the Yemeni people with all of its segments," it added.
- The 11-year war in Yemen has pitted the Iran-backed rebels against the internationally-recognized government, backed by a Saudi-led coalition that includes the UAE.
Geostrategy
Iran Guards seize foreign-crewed oil tanker in Gulf: state media
Iran's Revolutionary Guards on Wednesday seized an oil tanker in the Gulf carrying more than a dozen foreign crew members,...
- Iranian forces regularly announce the interception of ships it says are illegally transporting fuel in the Gulf
- They regularly target tankers that Tehran accuses of being part of the illicit trade in the Strait of Hormuz
Geostrategy
Israel to invest $110 billion over the next decade to develop its own independent arms industry
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that Israel would invest $110 billion over the next decade to develop its own...
- In a controversial speech, Netanyahu said Israel was becoming increasingly isolated and had to adopt a "super-Sparta" approach
- In 2026, Israel will allocate about 16 percent of its public budget to defence -- around $35 billion out of an overall budget of $208 billion