Trump says Iran wants talks and ‘make a deal’ as US aircraft carrier deploys
A US naval strike force led by an aircraft carrier was in Middle Eastern waters on Tuesday as Iran vowed...
Geostrategy
Saudi Arabia, Qatar, six others accept Trump ‘Board of Peace’ invite: statement
Saudi Arabia and seven Muslim-majority countries including Gaza mediators Qatar and Turkey have agreed to join US President Donald Trump's "Board...
Geostrategy
Geostrategy
US envoy Witkoff to meet Zelensky, Europe leaders in Berlin at weekend
US President Donald Trump's special envoy will meet with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky and other European leaders in Berlin this weekend,...
- Ukrainian officials said they recently sent Washington an updated plan building on Trump's original 28-point peace proposal to end the war
- Trump's plan, publicly revealed last month, was accused of echoing Moscow's key demands, including Ukraine giving up crucial territory to Russia
Geostrategy
Erdogan pushes Putin on ‘limited ceasefire’ at ports, energy facilities in Russia-Ukraine war
Speaking on the sidelines of a summit in Turkmenistan, Erdogan told Putin that efforts to end the war were valuable,...
- Erdogan's remarks came on the heels of several attacks on Russia-linked tankers in the Black Sea, some of which were drone attacks claimed by Kyiv
- The attacks sparked harsh criticism from Ankara, which summoned envoys from both Russia and Ukraine, warning the strikes amounted to a "worrying escalation."
Geostrategy
Israel says Hamas ‘will be disarmed’ after group proposes weapons freeze
Israel said Thursday that Hamas "will be disarmed" as part of the US-sponsored peace plan for Gaza, after a top...
- Top Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal told Qatari news channel Al Jazeera that the militant group is open to a weapons "freeze", but rejects the demand for total disarmament
- Shosh Bedrosian, spokeswoman for the Israeli prime minister's office, said "Israel will continue to follow the 20-point plan. There will be no Hamas inside of the Gaza Strip."
Geostrategy
Hamas proposes weapons ‘freeze’ in return for long-term truce: leader to Al Jazeera
A top Hamas leader told Qatari news channel Al Jazeera on Wednesday that the militant group is open to a...
- "This is the idea we're discussing with the mediators, and I believe that with pragmatic American thinking... such a vision could be agreed," top Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal said
- As for the international peacekeeping force, Meshaal said the group was open to its deployment along Gaza's border with Israel, but was against its operation inside Gaza
Geostrategy
UNRWA chief denounces Israeli police’s seizure of agency’s Jerusalem assets
The compound in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem has been empty of UNRWA staff since January, when the law banning its operations...
- "Today in the early morning, Israeli police accompanied by municipal officials forcibly entered the UNRWA compound in East Jerusalem," Philippe Lazzarini said on X
- Lazzarini has been declared persona non grata by Israeli authorities, who banned his agency from operating inside the country early this year
Geostrategy
US-Israel-Qatar meeting seeks to salvage Gaza peace deal amid strain over Israeli strike on Doha
Axios also reported White House envoy Steve Witkoff hosted the meeting, with Mossad spy chief David Barnea representing Israel and...
- Two sources told US news outlet Axios it was "the highest level meeting between the countries since the deal to end the war in Gaza, for which Qatar served as a key mediator."
- Axios also reported White House envoy Steve Witkoff hosted the meeting, with Mossad spy chief David Barnea representing Israel and an unnamed senior Qatari official in attendance
Geostrategy
Trump says Putin wants to end war, US to hold new talks with Ukraine
Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner huddled into the early hours with Putin in the Kremlin but reached...
- Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner huddled into the early hours with Putin in the Kremlin but reached no breakthrough on halting Europe's worst conflict since World War II
- The Kremlin said afterward it found parts of the US plan to end the war unacceptable, even though the proposal includes Ukraine ceding parts of the eastern Donbas region
Geostrategy
If Europe wants war with Russia, ‘we are ready,’ says Putin as he meets US envoys over Ukraine deal
Washington has presented a 28-point draft to end the conflict, later amended after criticism from Kyiv and Europe, which viewed...
- The comments came as US envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner were in Moscow for high-stakes talks on ending the nearly four-year war
- "They have no peaceful agenda, they are on the side of war," he added, repeating his claim that European leaders were hindering US attempts to broker peace in Ukraine
Geostrategy
Trump warns Israel not to ‘interfere’ in Syria, days after deadly operation killed 13 people
"It is very important that Israel maintain a strong and true dialogue with Syria, and that nothing takes place that...
- "It is very important that Israel maintain a strong and true dialogue with Syria, and that nothing takes place that will interfere with Syria's evolution into a prosperous State,"
- Trump spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and invited him for another White House visit, Netanyahu's office said shortly after Trump issued the warning
Geostrategy
Trump says US freeze on asylum decisions will last ‘a long time’
US President Donald Trump said Sunday his administration intends to maintain a pause on asylum decisions for "a long time"...
- "We don't want those people," Trump said. "You know why we don't want them? Because many have been no good, and they shouldn't be in our country."
- The Trump administration issued the pause in the aftermath of the shooting in Washington on November 26, that left 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom dead and another guardsman wounded
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Trump says Iran wants talks and ‘make a deal’ as US aircraft carrier deploys
A US naval strike force led by an aircraft carrier was in Middle Eastern waters on Tuesday as Iran vowed...
Geostrategy
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Oil prices gain, as equities extend record run higher
Oil prices have experienced choppy trading since the surprise US raid Saturday on Caracas that saw Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro...
Business
US operation in Venezuela undermined international law: UN
"States must not threaten or use force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state," Ravina Shamdasani, spokeswoman...
Geostrategy
Venezuela’s interim leader names commission to handle Maduro’s release
Venezuela's interim president Delcy Rodriguez on Sunday created a commission to seek the release of president Nicolas Maduro and his...
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Geostrategy
US to work with current Venezuela leaders if they make ‘right decision:’ Rubio
The United States is ready to work with Venezuela's remaining leaders if they make "the right decision," Secretary of State...
- "We're going to judge everything by what they do, and we're going to see what they do," Rubio told CBS News' "Face the Nation."
- US commandos snatched Maduro from a compound in Caracas on Saturday in a risky operation involving jets, helicopters, warships and ground troops
Geostrategy
The US and Venezuela’s vast oil reserves: key questions amid sanctions, geopolitics and energy
After a US military operation that seized Nicolas Maduro, President Donald Trump said he wants to allow American oil companies...
- The country has the largest proven reserves in the world, with 303.221 billion barrels, according to OPEC.
- Sanctions imposed in 2019 by Trump during his first term contributed to production plunging to a historic low of 350,000 b/d the following year.
Geostrategy
At least 80 Yemeni separatists killed in fighting, strikes since Friday
At least 152 members of the UAE-backed STC forces were wounded and 130 were taken captive, a military official from...
- Saudi-backed forces began on Friday operations to retake swathes of territory seized by the UAE-backed STC.
- Yemen's presidency on Saturday announced the retaking of resource-rich Hadramawt, following an apparent retreat of the STC.