Israel pounds Lebanon as Hezbollah vows revenge for device blasts
Israel said it struck hundreds of targets in Lebanon, hours after Hezbollah's leader vowed to retaliate for two "unprecedented" rounds...Geostrategy
UN rights chief demands accountability for Lebanon pager blasts
The explosions that killed 12 people, including two children, and wounded up to 2,800 othersGeostrategy
US shoots down Turkish drone over Syria
US troops observed drones carrying out strikes early Thursday, some of them inside a "restricted operating zone" (ROZ) near Hasakeh,...The shootdown came as Turkey targeted Kurdish forces in Syria following a suicide bombing in Ankara that was claimed by the Kurdistan Workers' Party
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with his Turkish counterpart Yasar Guler on Thursday, urging "de-escalation in northern Syria
UN’s Syria envoy deplores ‘horrific’ bloodshed
"I am gravely concerned by the escalating violence in Syria today," Geir Pedersen, the UN Special Envoy for Syria, said...An attack on a Syrian military academy in Homs killed more than 100 people, a war monitor said, with state media blaming "terrorist organization"
Separately, Turkish air raids in the Kurdish-held northeast killed at least nine people after Ankara had threatened raids in retaliation for a bomb attack
UAE President receives Speaker of Iranian Parliament
Abu Dhabi, UAE – UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Thursday received Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, Speaker of...During the meeting at Qasr Al Shati in Abu Dhabi, the UAE president conveyed his greetings to Iranian president Dr Ebrahim Raisi
The two sides discussed relations between the two countries and ways to enhance ties, especially at the parliamentary level
West responsible for Ukraine war, Russia wants ‘New World’ says Putin
Moscow, Russia - President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that Russia's mission was to create a "new world" and blamed Western hegemony...Putin has portrayed Russia's full-scale military intervention in Ukraine -- launched in February 2022 -- as part of a long-standing confrontation with the West
Putin said the conflict in Ukraine was "not a territorial" one and that Moscow has "no interests from the point of view of conquering some territories"
Middle East economic growth to fall in 2023, says World Bank
WASHINGTON, US - The growth of the economies in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is expected to fall...The region’s gross domestic product is expected to fall to 1.9 percent in 2023 from 6 percent in 2022, due to oil production cuts.
The decline in growth this year is expected to be more pronounced in the oil exporting countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council.
X removes headlines from news articles shared by users
The changes brought a good deal of criticism, journalist Tom Warren of The Verge website posting on X: "It's the...Elon Musk said the change was for "aesthetic" reasons -- news and other links now appear only as pictures with no accompanying text
When the changes to links were first mooted in August, Musk posted: "This is coming from me directly. Will greatly improve the esthetics."
Israeli forces kill two Palestinian fighters in occupied West Bank
Tulkarem, Palestinian Territories - Israeli forces killed two Palestinian fighters in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, the Palestinian health ministry...Israel's military said a gunfight had erupted after soldiers identified a "suspicious vehicle" near the area's Shufa village
The incident came after reports that an Israeli vehicle was shot at in the area, according to the army statement
Qatar, Iran discuss cooperation in free zones, investment
DOHA, QATAR - Minister of State and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Free Zones Authority Ahmad bin...The Qatari minister and the Advisor to the Iranian President discussed reinforcing cooperation between the two countries.
The Iranian leader and accompanying delegation toured the Free Zones at Ras Bufontas and Umm Alhoul Free Zone.
Turkish strikes on Kurdish targets kill two in Syria: monitor
Turkey has also launched strikes on positions of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in northern Iraq since Sunday, when two...One of the strikes on the Kurdish-controlled region of Hasakeh hit a car, killing two people, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights
In another strike, "Turkish drones targeted a factory north of Hasakeh, injuring three workers", said Farhad Shami, the spokesman for the Kurdish-led SDF
Largest climate fund seeks new funding for vulnerable
The Green Climate Fund (GCF) was set up as part of the landmark 2015 Paris Agreement to funnel grants and...The Green Climate Fund says Thursday's conference in Germany will allow it to invest more in a decade it sees as critical for climate action
It has laid out a 50by30 vision to manage $50 billion by 2030, almost triple its current capital of $17bn, to focus efforts on developing countries
