Trump speaks with Xi, sees progress on TikTok, says will visit China early next year
US President Donald Trump hailed Friday what he called progress with Chinese President Xi Jinping including on selling blockbuster app...Geostrategy
Qatar meets ICC head as it mulls legal action against Israel
Doha, Qatar -- Qatar has met with the president of the International Criminal Court as it seeks legal action against...Geostrategy
Turkish president Erdogan declares Ankara ‘backs’ Hamas
Ankara, Turkey - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday Ankara "firmly backs" Palestinian group Hamas. "No-one can make us..."No-one can make us qualify Hamas as a terrorist organization," he said in a speech in Istanbul.
Erdogan has been one of the most virulent critics of Israel since the start of the war in Gaza.
Red Cross head says Gaza war ‘ruptured’ shared humanity
Geneva, Switzerland - The war in Gaza has "ruptured any sense of a shared humanity," the head of the International Committee...ICRC head Mirjana Spoljaric called for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza, saying Israel and Hamas must respect international law and protect civilians.
"In the face of such deep suffering", the ICRC called urgently for a ceasefire to allow "a steady, robust flow of humanitarian aid" to reach people in Gaza.
Drone strike blamed on Turkey kills three in Iraq
Arbil, Iraq - A drone strike in northern Iraq killed a Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) commander, Kurdish authorities said, raising the...Turkey often carries out ground and air operations in northern Iraq against positions of the PKK, which has waged a decades-long insurgency against the Turkish state.
In the past 25 years Turkey has operated several dozen military bases in northern Iraq in its war against the PKK, which Ankara and its Western allies consider a "terrorist" group.
Iran hits out at UN experts report on 2022 protests
TEHRAN, IRAN – Tehran on Saturday strongly condemned a UN report on the Islamic republic's response to mass protests in 2022,...International experts said the repression of mostly peaceful protests beginning in September 2022 have led to "crimes against humanity".
The UN Human Rights Council mandated the experts' investigation following massive protests after the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini.
US-led coalition shoots down 15 Yemen rebel drones: CENTCOM
CENTCOM and coalition forces determined that the drones "presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels, US Navy and coalition ships...US Central Command, or CENTCOM, said the "large-scale" Houthi attack occurred before dawn into the Red Sea and adjacent Gulf of Aden
On January 9, US and British forces shot down 18 drones and three missiles fired by the rebels toward ships in the Red Sea, the US military said at the time
Erdogan says March local elections will be his ‘last’
It was the first time that Erdogan, who has been in power since 2003, has spoken about leaving office. The...The 70-year-old leader expressed confidence that his conservative Justice and Development (AKP) party would nonetheless remain in power even after he has left office
Erdogan said that the results of the March 31 local elections would be "a blessing for the brothers who come after me and there will be a transfer of confidence"
Asif Ali Zardari: ‘Artful dodger’ returns as Pakistan president
He has spent more than 11 years in jail, a long time even by the standards of Pakistani politicians, with...Initially a background character as Bhutto's consort, Zardari was stained by a bevy of corruption and other allegations
Between 2008 and 2013, he ushered in constitutional reforms rolling back presidential powers, and the 68-year-old's second term will see him steer a largely ceremonial office.
Canada to resume funding UN agency for Palestinians
Canada has reviewed the investigation's interim report and "we were reassured by the contents," Minister of International Development said. He...UNRWA has been at the center of controversy since Israel accused 12 of its employees in January of involvement in the October 7 attack
About 15 countries, including the United States, Britain, Germany and Japan, suspended funding to UNRWA at the end of January
Italy begins probe into OpenAI’s new video tool Sora
ROME, ITALY – The European country's data protection watchdog - Italian Data Protection Authority - said on Friday it has launched...The Italian Data Protection Authority said it was concerned over “the possible implications for the processing of personal data of users.”
The watchdog said OpenAI -- which also makes chatbot ChatGPT and the image-generating DALL-E -- has 20 days to provide information.
US plan for Gaza aid transfer through sea dismissed by UN expert
In his annual State of the Union address to Congress, President Joe Biden said the US military would "lead an...But Michael Fakhri, the United Nations special rapporteur on the right to food, dismissed the measure.
Neither a pier, nor the increasing airdrops over Gaza would "prevent starvation and famine by any definition", Fakhri said.
