UAE summons Israel envoy over ‘cowardly’ Qatar attack, condemns Netanyahu’s statements
The UAE, along with Bahrain, was the first Gulf country to normalize ties with Israel in 2020 and has been...Geostrategy
EU lawmakers back push for action against Israel over Gaza
The EU chief said Wednesday in her keynote annual address to the European Parliament that she would propose those steps...Geostrategy
Thousands in Morocco call for end to Gaza war, normalization deal with Israel
Rabat, Morocco -- Tens of thousands of Moroccans demonstrated Sunday in the capital Rabat against the dire humanitarian situation in...Protesters gathered in the city center, brandishing Palestinian flags and placards calling for the free flow of aid to the war-ravaged Palestinian territory.
"It's a disgrace, Gaza is under fire", "Lift the blockade", "Morocco, Palestine, one people" and "no to normalization", chanted the demonstrators.
European powers plan fresh nuclear talks with Iran
Berlin, Germany -- Britain, France and Germany are planning to hold fresh talks with Iran on its nuclear programme in...Britain, France and Germany "are in contact with Iran to schedule further talks for the coming week".
Iran's Tasnim news agency also reported that Tehran had agreed to hold talks with the three European countries, citing an unnamed source.
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...Flaring, the practice of burning natural gas during oil extraction, reached 151 billion cubic meters (bcm) in 2024, up 3 bcm from the previous year.
While some countries have reduced flaring, the top nine largest-flaring countries continue to account for three-quarters of all flaring.
Syrian govt says fighting in Sweida halted after tribal forces pull out
Druze fighters had pushed out rival armed factions from the city on Saturday, a monitor said, after the government ordered...Sweida was "evacuated of all tribal fighters, and clashes within the city's neighborhoods were halted", Syria's interior ministry spokesman Noureddine al-Baba said.
More than 900 people have been killed in Sweida since last Sunday as sectarian clashes between the Druze and Bedouin drew in the Islamist-led government, Israel and armed tribes..
Thai wildlife hospital treats Sunbears, elephants
Edwin Wiek founded Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand (WFFT) facility in 2001 with two macaques and a gibbon. It now spans...The light-filled hospital only opened this month, replacing a previous "tiny" clinic, said WFFT founder Edwin Wiek.
Wiek once had tendentious relations with Thai authorities, even facing legal action, but more recently has become a government advisor.
Restoring sea floor after mining may not be possible, researchers warn
Kingston, Jamaica -- Scientists present at the latest effort to hash out international rules for deep-sea mining say it's unclear...The sea floor is a coveted frontier for companies and countries eager to access minerals that are in high demand for emerging technologies such as electric cars.
Particularly coveted are potato-sized nodules containing cobalt, nickel, copper and manganese, that are found in abundance on the seabed in the central Pacific Ocean.
Ceasefire order fails to halt fighting in Syria’s Druze heartland
Sweida, Syria - Syrian Bedouin and their allies fought Druze fighters in the community's Sweida heartland for a seventh day...AFP correspondents reported clashes in the west of the provincial capital as Druze fighters battled armed Bedouin supported by tribal gunmen from other parts of Syria
The interior ministry announced that internal security forces had begun deploying in Sweida province and AFP correspondents saw them manning checkpoints
Israeli fire kills 39 and wounds more than 100 Gazans near two aid centers
UN has said it had recorded 875 people killed in Gaza while trying to get food, including 674 in the...The World Food Programme said nearly one in three people in Gaza were not eating for days at a stretch and "thousands" were "on the verge of catastrophic hunger".
Civil defense agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal said the deaths happened near a site southwest of Khan Yunis and another center northwest of Rafah
New clashes rock Syria’s Druze heartland as tribal fighters reinforce Bedouin
Armed tribes supported by Syria's Islamist-led government clashed with Druze fighters in the community's Sweida heartland on Friday, a day...The United Nations called for an end to the "bloodshed" and demanded an "independent" investigation of the violence, which has claimed nearly 600 lives since Sunday
It was Sharaa who ordered government forces to pull out, saying that mediation by the United States and others had helped avert a "large-scale escalation" with Israel
Hamas armed wing says Israel blocking ceasefire and hostage release talks
The armed wing of the Palestinian militant group Hamas on Friday accused Israel of blocking a deal in talks for...Negotiators from both sides have been in indirect talks in Qatar since July 6 to try to agree on a 60-day truce in the conflict, which would see 10 captives freed.
But after nearly two weeks, there has been no breakthrough and each side has blamed the other for refusing to budge on their key demands
