Seven children killed in Syria’s as explosive device goes off
Damascus, Syria - Seven children were killed in southern Syria's Daraa province on Saturday when an "explosive device" detonated, state media...Geostrategy
Biden exhorts Egypt, Qatar to press Hamas on hostage deal
US, Egypt and Qatar have been engaged in weeks of behind-the-scenes talks in a bid to secure a temporary truce...Geostrategy
Kuwait heads to polls yet again to break political deadlock
Polls opened on Tuesday in Kuwait's seventh general election in just over a decade, following repeated political crises that have...Amid a persistent impasse with the executive branch that has deterred investment, Kuwait's emir called the vote last month after he dissolved parliament
Many human rights activisits felt that it was important to cast a ballot in spite of the widespread frustration with the political elite of the country
Israeli soldiers to join Moroccan war games for first time
Israel participated in the event last year, however only as international military observers, without soldiers taking part on the ground....A delegation of 12 soldiers and commanders from the Golani Reconnaissance Battalion" has been sent to participate alongside some 8,000 soldiers from 18 countries
According to the Moroccan Royal Armed Forces (FAR), the war games include exercises in operational planning and fighting weapons of mass destruction
Qatar minister to lead ILO’s yearly decision making event
Geneva, Switzerland - Qatar's labor minister was on Monday appointed without a vote to head the International Labour Organization's annual decision-making...Asian and Pacific nations, which according to a regional rotation had dibs this year on selecting the president of the two-week event, had proposed Ali Bin Samikh Al-Marri.
Qatar has long faced harsh criticism over labor rights, especially in the lead-up to last year's football World Cup.
Blinken urges Saudi-Israel normalcy, pledges no nukes for Iran
"The United States has a real national security interest in promoting normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia. We believe we can...Blinken said the Biden administration has "no illusions" that bringing about a full Saudi-Israel normalization can be done quickly or easily.
"Integration and normalization efforts are not a substitute for progress between Israelis and Palestinians, and they should not come at its expense," he said.
US, India agree on defense industry cooperation plan
The United States and India agreed a roadmap for military industrial cooperation, as New Delhi seeks to reduce its reliance...Moscow and New Delhi have been allies for decades, with Russia by far India's biggest arms supplier.
India is looking to diversify, both by broadening its sources of imports and ramping up domestic production.
Iran says will reopen embassy in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday
Iran is set to reopen its embassy in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday following a seven year closure, Tehran and a...Iran's diplomatic mission will return under the leadership of Alireza Enayati, who previously served as the ambassador to Kuwait.
Saudi Arabia has yet to confirm when it will reopen its embassy in Tehran or its pick for ambassador.
Iran calls for expansion of ties between Tehran and Ankara
Tehran, Iran-- Iran has called for expansion of ties between Tehran and Ankara after the victory of the incumbent president...The Iranian foreign minister said that Tehran hopes to achieve close cooperation between the two neighbors during Turkish president's new term
The Turkish foreign minister emphasized continuity in relations between Turkey and Iran, adding that he will do his best to help develop bilateral relations
US official meets UAE diplomats to discuss climate change
DUBAI, UAE - US special climate envoy John Kerry has met senior Emirati officials in Abu Dhabi, including the head of...Oil producers have for year touted carbon capture as a potential global warming solution.
With little investment, carbon capture technology is nowhere near the scale needed to make a significant difference.
NATO urges Turkey to pass Sweden’s NATO membership plea
Istanbul, Turkey - NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg on Sunday called on Ankara to drop its opposition to Sweden's bid to join..."Sweden has taken significant concrete steps to meet Turkey's concerns," NATO chief Stoltenberg told reporters after meeting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Erdogan has accused Sweden of being a haven for "terrorists", especially members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a group blacklisted by Turkey.
Protesters in Morocco demand government act on cost of living
CASABLANCA, MOROCCO - Hundreds demonstrated on Sunday in Morocco's economic capital Casablanca to protest against the surging cost of living in...Morocco has seen months of rising prices, particularly of food, fuel and other basic staples, in part due to recurrent drought.
Year-on-year inflation slowed in April to 7.8 percent, after 10.1 percent in February and 8.2 percent in March, according to official figures.