UNRWA says some Gaza staff starving as malnutrition soars
UNRWA said that shortages in the Palestinian territory had caused food prices to increase by 40 times, while the aid...Geostrategy
Global gas flaring surges again, costs $63bn in lost energy: WB
Washington, UAE -- Global gas flaring surged for a second year in a row, wasting about $63 billion in lost...Economy Energy Geostrategy Climate Change
Israel continues Gaza bombing as US blocks UN truce bid
Israel bombarded targets in Gaza after the United States blocked an extraordinary UN bid for a ceasefire in the war...Iran, which backs Hamas, warned about the possible "uncontrollable explosion in the situation of the region" after the US move.
Many of the 1.9 million Gazans displaced by the war have headed south, turning Rafah near the Egyptian border into a vast camp.
Mahsa Amini’s family blocked from leaving Iran for EU rights prize
PARIS, FRANCE - The family of Mahsa Amini, the Iranian Kurdish woman who died in custody, have been banned from traveling...Her family's lawyer in France, Chirinne Ardakani, said that Amini's parents and brother had been prohibited from boarding a flight.
She said the family had been banned from leaving Iran despite having a valid visa, and their passports had been confiscated.
Iran warns of ‘explosion’ after US veto on Gaza war
Tehran, Iran - Iran warned Saturday of the threat of an "uncontrollable explosion" of the situation in the Middle East, after...On Friday, the United States vetoed a Security Council resolution that would have called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza
Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, the top diplomat of the Islamic republic, also appealed for the immediate opening of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt
Iran foreign minister, Hamas chief discuss Gaza developments
Tehran, Iran - Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian held a phone conversation with Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh on Friday night...During the call, Amir-Abdollahian praised the invocation of Article 99 of the UN Charter by the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres
Iranian top diplomat told the Hamas chief that the crisis in Gaza had been a central feature of discussions between Iranian President and his Russian counterpart Putin
Three Lebanese soldiers wounded in Israeli attack
According to a medical source quoted by media, Israeli artillery fire targeted the " vicinity of a Lebanese army post...Soldiers were seen lying on stretchers, exhibiting signs of breathing difficulties but with no open wounds
Violence on Israel-Lebanon border has killed at least 120 people in Lebanon, mostly Hizbollah fighters
US vetoes Security Council resolution calling for Gaza ceasefire
Guterres had convened an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council after weeks of fighting left more than 17,487 people...Washington dashed a growing clamor for an immediate ceasefire that had been led by UN chief Antonio Guterres and Arab nations
American envoy Robert Wood said the resolution was "divorced from reality" and "would have not moved the needle forward on the ground."
COP28 president Sultan Jaber pushes for rapid fossil fuels draft deal
Climate campaigners have viewed Jaber with deep suspicion due to his position as the head of UAE national oil firm...Despite disagreements over the future of fossil fuels, Jaber voiced optimism that the talks hosted by the oil-rich UAE can finish with a historic deal
A draft deal was released on Tuesday but negotiators failed to produce another text on Wednesday before heading into the break
Azerbaijan clears key hurdle to host UN climate summit in 2024
Dubai, UAE -- Petro-state Azerbaijan has cleared a key hurdle to host next year's UN climate summit despite the controversy over...Bulgaria, which had also sought to host COP29 but was opposed by Russia, also formally ended its bid and backed Azerbaijan.
COP, or the Conference of the Parties under the UN climate body, takes place each year in a different region, with Asia choosing Dubai.
Arab world to be center for global change in 2024, says Russian intelligence chief
MOSCOW, RUSSIA - The chief of Russia’s foreign intelligence service, or SVR, believes the Arab world will take center stage...The Russian official said that the change has manifested itself in strong, sovereign leaders coming to power in a number of Arab countries.
The rapid growth of anti-US and, more broadly, anti-Western sentiment in the region is one of the outcomes of this change, he said.
UN Security Council to consider urging Gaza ceasefire
In a letter to the council on Wednesday, Guterres took the extraordinary step of invoking the UN charter's Article 99,...Even though the civilian death toll in the Palestinian territory is mounting amid Israel's bombardment, the outcome of the session is up in the air
The bloodiest ever war between Israel and Hamas is now in its third month, with the death toll in Gaza soaring above 17,000
