Iran war puts fresh pressure on oil flows, shipping as Tehran asks UN to intervene
Renewed US-Iran hostilities are disrupting energy flows, restricting Strait of Hormuz shipping and intensifying economic pressure as Tehran warns against...
Geostrategy
Iran dismisses new US sanctions threat as ‘same movie’ amid escalating economic war
Araghchi’s comments came as Washington signalled that its next round of measures would go beyond targeting Iran itself, potentially placing...
Geostrategy
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
Geostrategy
Hamas armed wing says Israel blocking ceasefire and hostage release talks
The armed wing of the Palestinian militant group Hamas on Friday accused Israel of blocking a deal in talks for...
- Negotiators from both sides have been in indirect talks in Qatar since July 6 to try to agree on a 60-day truce in the conflict, which would see 10 captives freed.
- But after nearly two weeks, there has been no breakthrough and each side has blamed the other for refusing to budge on their key demands
Iran war puts fresh pressure on oil flows, shipping as Tehran asks UN to intervene
Renewed US-Iran hostilities are disrupting energy flows, restricting Strait of Hormuz shipping and intensifying economic pressure as Tehran warns against...
Geostrategy
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Israel plans ‘Hexagon Alliance’ in Mediterranean, Middle East to counter hostile regional blocs
Speaking ahead of the weekly cabinet meeting, Netanyahu outlined a plan to establish what he called a “hexagon alliance system”...
Geostrategy
Arab Parliament, Muslim nations slam Huckabee’s Middle East remarks
Mohammed bin Ahmed Al Yamahi, Speaker of the Arab Parliament, stressed that any talk of control over the occupied Palestinian...
Geostrategy
No option but to continue resistance, says Hezbollah after deadly Israeli strikes
Mahmud Qamati, a Hezbollah official, described the strike in the Bekaa Valley as “a new massacre and a new aggression”...
Geostrategy
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Geostrategy
Trump launches Gaza ‘Board of Peace’ with $10 billion pledge, outlines vague ambitions
Speaking in Washington before representatives from nearly 50 countries, Trump said nine member states had committed more than $7 billion...
- Five countries — Indonesia, Morocco, Kazakhstan, Kosovo and Albania — have committed troops to a proposed International Stabilization Force (ISF) for Gaza.
- Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim-majority country, has offered to send up to 8,000 troops and take a deputy commander role in the force.
Interview
Gulf startup hubs: Converging strategies, diverging ambitions
Despite fierce branding as rivals, Gulf startup hubs share capital, policy, and talent structures that are quietly shaping distinct, globally...
- Shared infrastructure, capital flows, and policy choices bind these ecosystems together more than they divide them.
- The critical question for Gulf ecosystems is not whether they have capital or talent, but whether both are organized toward genuinely global ambition.
Economy
Battle of the Tech Hubs
The GCC is competing to build world-class technology hubs, investing heavily in AI, infrastructure, and sovereign capital to drive digital...
- The GCC smart cities and digital transformation market reached $145.5 billion in 2024 and is expected to reach $907 billion by 2032.
- Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala, for instance, was the largest sovereign-owned investor globally in 2024, deploying $29 billion across 52 deals, a 67 percent increase from the previous year.