Israel army says shelling Syria after projectiles launched
The Israeli military said it was shelling targets in Syria on Tuesday in response to a pair of projectile launches,...Geostrategy
UN chief calls for probe into deaths near Gaza aid site
Gaza's civil defense agency said Israeli gunfire killed at least 31 people and wounded 176 near the aid distribution site...Geostrategy
Israel offers 45-day ceasefire if Hamas releases half of remaining Gaza hostages
Hamas has informed the mediators that it is willing to agree to any proposal that includes a permanent ceasefire, a...A Hamas official told AFP that Israel had also demanded that the Palestinian militants disarm to secure an end to the Gaza war but that this crossed a "red line".
"The proposal includes the disarmament of Hamas and all Palestinian armed factions in the Gaza Strip as a condition for a permanent end to the war," the official added
Qatar plans direct investments worth $7.5 billion in Egypt
"The two sides emphasized the importance of strengthening economic cooperation... they agreed to work toward a package of direct Qatari...Egypt, the Arab world's most populous nation, has taken tentative steps to emerge from its worst-ever economic crisis with prices for consumer goods rising by the day.
The two countries, which have also led mediation efforts for a ceasefire in Gaza, "emphasized the centrality of the Palestinian cause as the foremost Arab issue".
Qatar to invest $2 billion in Indonesia sovereign wealth fund
Jakarta, Indonesia -- Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto said Qatar is set to invest $2 billion in his country's new sovereign...Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto is on a five-nation tour of the Middle East, visiting the UAE, Turkey, Egypt, Qatar and Jordan to boost bilateral ties with the region.
He said Sunday he had a "productive" meeting with Qatar Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani and that the country would invest in the Danantara Indonesia fund.
China’s exports beat forecast in March despite trade war woes
China said Monday that exports soared 12.4 percent year-on-year last month, beating expectations as Beijing navigated mounting trade headwinds sparked...The figure was more than double the 4.6 percent predicted in a Bloomberg survey, though imports during the same period fell 4.3 percent
China's top leaders last month set an ambitious annual growth target of around five percent, vowing to make domestic demand its main economic driver
Trump says Russian strike on Ukraine ‘a horrible thing’
US President Donald Trump on Sunday said a Russian strike on the Ukrainian city of Sumy that killed at least..."I think it was terrible. And I was told they made a mistake. But I think it's a horrible thing. I think the whole war is a horrible thing," Trump told
Asked to clarify what he meant by a "mistake," Trump said that "they made a mistake... you're gonna ask them" -- without specifying who or what he meant
Israel PM says Macron ‘gravely mistaken’ in promoting Palestinian state
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday lashed out at French President Emmanuel Macron over his plans to recognise a...Netanyahu was addressing Macron's remarks earlier this week in which he said that France could recognise a Palestinian state within months.
Macron, in an interview to France 5 broadcast on Wednesday, stated that France could take the step during a UN conference in New York in June
Iran says talks with US will remain ‘indirect’, to focus solely on nuclear issue, lifting sanctions
Analysts had said the US would push to include on the agenda discussions over Iran's ballistic missile programme, along with...Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff held a first round of talks on Saturday in Muscat
Analysts had said the US would push to include on the agenda discussions over Iran's ballistic missile programme
US Pentagon chief says military ready to ensure Iran never gets a nuclear bomb
Washington, United States -- The US defense secretary reiterated Sunday that the United States hopes for a diplomatic solution to...US and Iranian diplomats opened indirect talks Saturday in Oman in an effort to resolve Western concerns about Iran's nuclear program.
Trump said Wednesday that military action was "absolutely" possible -- in conjunction with Israel -- if the talks in Oman failed.
Syria’s interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa makes first visit to UAE
Damascus, Syria -- Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, whose war-devastated country seeks Gulf financial support, traveled to the United Arab...Nearly a week after rebels toppled Assad in Dec, UAE presidential adviser Anwar Gargash said his government found the Islamist affiliation of Syria's new rulers "quite worrying'.
But in mid-January Sharaa spoke by phone with the Emirati president about ways to reinforce ties and "ensure the stability and development of the region'.
Gaza hospital damaged in Israeli strike: civil defence
There were no reports of casualties in the strike and the Israeli military told AFP they were looking into the...The airstrike came "minutes after the (Israeli) army's warning to evacuate this building of patients, the injured and their companions", the agency said in a statement.
Hospitals, protected under international humanitarian law, have repeatedly been hit by Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas.
