Turkey, Israel must ease tensions in Syria: analysts
Six months after Bashar al-Assad's fall, Turkey and Israel are both operating in Syria with starkly opposing agendas, stoking fears...Geostrategy
Trump eyes Erdogan’s help to end Ukraine war
NATO member Turkey has sought to maintain good relations with both of its Black Sea neighbors since the Russian invasion...Geostrategy
Kuwait and China sign raft of agreements to bolster ties
Looking to shore up ties between the two countries, Kuwait and China have signed cooperation agreements across a range of...The two leaders also discussed avenues to further strengthen ties for the mutual prosperity of the two nations
They deliberated on regional and international developments and expressed desire to solidify strategic partnership
Iran criticizes US statement on islands dispute with UAE
Iran said it had called in the Swiss envoy to deliver a protest over a “provocative” US statement on its...The islands of Abu Musa and Greater and Lesser Tunb lie near the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran gained control of the islands under the rule of the Western-backed shah in 1971.
UAE-Saudi non-oil trade reaches US$159bn in 2018-22
ABU DHABI, UAE - The volume of trade exchange between the UAE and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia grew by...The volume of trade between the UAE and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia grew by 28 percent in 2022.
The year 2021 saw growth, reaching $33.9 billion (AED 124.65 billion), compared to $28 billion (AED 103.91 billion) in 2020.
US and China seek improved ties via new working groups
Chinese state broadcaster CCTV also announced the launch of an "Economic Working Group" and "Financial Working Group," saying both will...The formation of the groups was agreed during talks in July between US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in Beijing.
The Economic Working Group will discuss macroeconomic issues, while the Financial Working Group will focus on regulatory and financial stability issues.
India cancels sports minister’s trip to Asian Games in visa row
China had discriminated against some of the Indian athletes "in a targeted and pre-meditated manner", India's foreign ministry spokesman Arindam...Three women martial arts fighters from the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh were approved to take part in Hangzhou Asian games.
But the wushu fighters were unable to download their accreditation cards, which act as visas to enter China, local media reports said.
Netanyahu at UN issues ‘nuclear’ threat to Iran, later retracted
Netanyahu, who has repeatedly used the UN stage to issue dark warnings about Tehran, briefly gave pause at the General...His office soon afterward said that Netanyahu had misspoken and that his prepared text said "credible military threat" instead of "credible nuclear threat."
"It was misread as credible nuclear threat. The prime minister stands by the original text of the speech," the prime minister's office said.
EU readies to pay Tunisia for stopping irregular migration
The EU is to start releasing money to Tunisia under a pact aimed at stemming irregular migration from the country,...The EU deal, strongly supported by Italy's far-right government, aims to bolster Tunis's coastguard to prevent boats leaving its shore
A first payment of US$135 million will be disbursed "in the coming days," a commission spokeswoman, Ana Pisonero, said
Iran, Djibouti resume diplomatic ties after 7 years
Iran announced the restoring of diplomatic ties with Djibouti over seven years after it joined other regional nations in severing...The move followed Iranian foreign minister Amir-Abdollahian's meeting with his Djiboutian counterpart Mahamoud Ali Youssouf in New York.
Djibouti cut ties with Iran in January 2016 after attacks on Saudi missions during protests over Riyadh's execution of a Shiite cleric.
Xi announces ‘strategic partnership’ with Syria after meeting Assad
Assad is on his first official trip to China in almost two decades as he seeks financial support to rebuild...Analysts expect Assad's visit to China will focus, in part, on funds for reconstruction. It also comes as China's influence in the Middle East grows.
This year Beijing brokered a deal that saw longtime regional rivals Saudi Arabia and Damascus-backer Iran agree to restore ties and reopen their respective embassies.
Sudan army chief warns UN that war could spill over in region
General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the de facto ruler of Sudan since a 2021 coup, alluded to the rival Rapid Support...Burhan has increasingly been traveling around the world in what are seen as efforts to burnish his legitimacy
At the United Nations, he urged world powers to designate the Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, as a terrorist group
