Heavy battles in Gaza City on eve of new truce talks
Hamas has accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of deliberately stepping up battles in Gaza City and far-southern Rafah to...Geostrategy
Israel says negotiators to hold fresh Gaza truce talks next week
Jerusalem, Undefined - Israel said Friday that "gaps" remained with Hamas on how to secure a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release...Geostrategy
Gaza war derails Palestinian economy, say World Bank
Washington, US - The Israel-Hamas war in Gaza is having a severe impact on the Palestinian economy, according to the World...Gaza's contribution to the overall Palestinian economy had already shrunk from around 36 percent in 2005 to just 17 percent last year.
Whereas the World Bank previously anticipated growth of 3.0 percent in 2024, it now expects an overall contraction of 6 percent.
Under fire Harvard University president to stay after anti-Semitism row
CAMBRIDGE, US - Harvard University's president, under fire over testimony she gave about anti-Semitism on campus, will remain in her job...Claudine Gay has been facing criticism after she declined to unequivocally say whether calling for genocide of Jews violated Harvard's code of conduct.
Over 70 lawmakers including two Democrats called for her resignation even as several high-profile Harvard alumni and donors have called for her departure.
US sanctions China, Turkey firms to curb Russia war efforts
Washington, United States -- The United States unveiled sanctions Tuesday on individuals and companies based in China, Turkey, the United Arab...The latest actions take aim at people and entities accused of supplying Russia’s industry and furthering its ability to wage war against Ukraine.
The Treasury Department imposed sanctions on more than 150 parties, while the State Department did so on over 100, including those engaged in sanctions invasion in third countries.
Digitalization has high environmental costs, says UNCTAD meet
DUBAI, UAE - With global attention on the COP28 climate summit, UNCTAD’s eWeek 2023 highlighted digitalization’s potential to accelerate climate...Data-driven technologies like the Internet of Things, robotics and artificial intelligence can enhance climate change monitoring.
The digital transformation has left its mark on the planet through raw material depletion, energy and water use, pollution and waste.
Middle East leaders grapple with post-war Gaza challenges at Doha
At the annual Doha Forum that ended Monday, Qatar reiterated that no Arab country would send in forces to stabilize...Jordan's Prime Minister Bisher Khasawneh warned that failure to deal with "the day after" the war would mean "uglier scenes in a year or two".
However, concrete policies were lacking at the forum, which did not include high-level representatives from Saudi, Lebanon and Egypt.
WHO says Palestinian patient died due to lengthy Israeli checks
The chief of WHO said the convoy was stopped twice at the Wadi Gaza checkpoint on the way to northern Gaza...WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus did not say in his message who carried out the checks, but a WHO spokesman told AFP they took place at an Israeli army checkpoint.
The UN estimates 1.9 million of the territory's 2.4 million people have been displaced by the war, half of them children.
Global trade likely to decline in 2023 due to changing trade patterns, geopolitics
DUBAI, UAE - The outlook for 2024 remains “highly uncertain and generally pessimistic,” UNCTAD says in the Global Trade Update,...Other elements affecting trade include lower demand in developed countries, less trade in East Asia and an uptick in trade-restrictive measures.
The elements also include an uptick in trade-restrictive measures and lengthening supply chains, particularly between China and the US.
Gaza destruction worse than in World War II Germany: EU’s Borrell
Israel's military response to Hamas's October 7 attacks has resulted in "an incredible number of civilian casualties", Borrell said after..."The destruction of buildings in Gaza... is more or less or even greater than the destruction suffered by the German cities during the World War II," taken proportionally, he said.
He said he had presented a discussion paper to the EU foreign ministers looking at "imposing sanctions against extremist settlers in West Bank".
Additional border crossing to examine Gaza aid, says Israel
International aid organizations have struggled to get supplies to desperate Gazans under Israeli bombardment, with only the Rafah crossing in...Israel said on Monday that no new direct crossings will be opened
The additional checkpoint will screen "trucks containing water, food, medical supplies"
Israeli forces kill 4 Palestinians in West Bank: ministry
The ministry did not provide further details on the fatalities, while the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said they were killed...Israeli forces "continue to storm Jenin camp and ambulance crews are prevented from entering to deal with medical cases," the Red Crescent said
There was no immediate comment on the killings from the Israeli military, which has occupied the West Bank since the 1967 Arab-Israeli War