Blinken to Saudi as window shrinks on Middle East mega-deal
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's visit to Riyadh comes nearly seven months after the eruption of war in Gaza...Geostrategy
Israel thanks US Senate for approving military aid
Israel's foreign minister on Wednesday thanked the US Senate for approving $13 billion in military aid that he said sent...Geostrategy
Truce holds in Libya after deadly clashes leave 55 dead
Fighting raged from Monday night between the influential 444 Brigade and the Al-Radaa, two of the myriad of militias that...The clashes with rocket launchers and machine guns followed the detention of the 444 Brigade head, Colonel Mahmud Hamza, by the rival Al-Radaa Force on Monday
During the fighting, 234 families were evacuated from frontline areas in Tripoli's southern suburbs, along with dozens of doctors and paramedics trapped while caring for wounded
Risk of renewed conflict in Yemen: UN sounds alarm
The poorest country on the Arabian peninsula, Yemen's economy has collapsed in the eight years of war between Iran-backed Houthis...UN special envoy for Yemen warned of "public threats to return to war" in the Middle Eastern nation while the US and UK warned of escalating attacks and threats from Houthi rebels
US Ambassador said Washington "strongly" condemns "senseless" maritime attacks by Houthis "on maritime shipping which are also exacerbating the humanitarian crisis"
Syria doubles salary of civil servants, military personnel
In a separate statement late Tuesday, the commerce ministry announced the total lifting of subsidies on petrol and a partial...In two decrees issued late Tuesday, Assad doubled the salaries and pensions of those currently and formerly employed in the civil service and military
Prior to the decision, the monthly salary of civil servants had been between around $10 and $25, depending on the Syrian pound's street value
Economists convened by COP28 lay out steps to reform global climate finance
ABU DHABI, UAE - A two-day meeting of world leading economists and finance leaders convened by the COP28 Presidency has...Particular areas of focus for the new framework will include addressing debt distress in vulnerable countries.
Group said that private finance flows need to grow much faster to meet the $2.4 trillion investment estimated nnually.
Caspian Sea water levels hit 30-year low
Estimates reveal a 9-meter decline in Caspian Sea water levels, shrinking the area by 24 percent, as the northern half...Estimates reveal a 9-meter decline in Caspian Sea water levels, shrinking the area by 24%, as the northern half witnesses a more significant drop than the southern part.
The Caspian Sea supports a vital fishery, provides water for agriculture, and is home to several threatened species, including 90% of the world's last-remaining sturgeon.
Russian defense officials meet Saudi Arabian, Iranian counterparts
MOSCOW, RUSSIA - The 11th Moscow Conference on International Security, held at the Patriot Congress and Exhibition Center here, saw...The conference saw participation from over 800 delegates from 76 countries, including China, India, South Africa, Israel, Turkey, Mexico, the UAE, Saudi Arabia.
Representatives from eight international organizations, including the UN, CSTO, SCO, ASEAN, Arab League, and the African Union took part in the conference.
Syrians bank on smugglers on their treacherous journey to Europe
Twelve years after conflict broke out when President Bashar al-Assad repressed peaceful pro-democracy protests, Syrians are still trying to escape...Omar, 23, from Daraa province, borrowed $8,000 to be smuggled to Libya and then Italy this year, saying he was desperate to leave "a country with no future"
More than 1,800 migrants of various nationalities have died crossing the central Mediterranean towards Europe this year, according to IOM
US beefs up military presence in Gulf over Iran oil tanker ‘threat’
Three thousand additional US personnel on troop-landing warships have already passed through the Red Sea, and US-led maritime forces are..."There is a heightened threat, a heightened risk to regional mariners in terms of seizures" by Iran in the strait, said Tim Hawkins, spokesman for the US Navy's Fifth Fleet.
Less than a week earlier, 3,000 US Marines and sailors arrived in the Red Sea on board the USS Bataan and USS Carter Hall warships, which can ferry troops ashore by aircraft.
Clashes between rival factions in Libya capital kill 27: medics
Some 234 families were evacuated from front line areas in the capital's southern suburbs, along with dozens of doctors and...The clashes erupted over the detention of the head of the 444 Brigade by the rival Al-Radaa Force
Social council in Soug el-Joumaa said a ceasefire would follow the transfer of the force's commander
Nearly 40 migrants rescued, others found dead off Cape Verde
The boat was spotted on Monday almost 200 miles from the island of Sal by a Spanish fishing boat, which...Media reported that the "pirogue" style boat common in the region left Senegal a month ago
Senegal's foreign ministry said that 38 people were rescued from the migrant boat off the Cape Verde coast