US treasury secretary signals deal to ease trade war with China
Washington, United States -- US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Sunday signaled a tentative deal with China to de-escalate their...Geostrategy
Afghanistan, Pakistan seek to firm up truce in Istanbul talks
Afghan and Pakistani negotiators were locked in talks to hammer out a lasting ceasefire Saturday, with Islamabad warning that if...Geostrategy
Accumulating bitcoin a risky digital rush by companies?
London, United Kingdom - US President Donald Trump's media group and Tesla, the electric carmaker owned by tech billionaire Elon...Companies frequently own bitcoin to take part in sector activities such as "mining", which refers to the process of validating transactions in exchange for digital tokens
Other players who had core operations totally unrelated to cryptocurrency, such as Japanese hotel business MetaPlanet, have switched to buying bitcoin
US toughens terrorism ban of Pakistan separatist fighters
The United States on Monday toughened its terrorist designation of separatist militants in Pakistan's southwest Balochistan province who were behind...The State Department listed the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) as a foreign terrorist organization, which makes it a crime in the United States to provide support to the group
Washington had already listed the BLA under the less severe label of specially designated global terrorists, which targets financial resources
UN, media groups condemn Israel’s deadly strike on Al Jazeera team in Gaza
Dozens of Gazans stood amid bombed-out buildings in the courtyard of Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City to pay their respects...Hospital director Mohammed Abu Salmiya said a sixth journalist, freelance reporter Mohammed Al-Khaldi, was killed in the strike that targeted the Al Jazeera team.
Mourners including men wearing blue journalists' flak jackets carried their bodies, wrapped in white shrouds with their faces exposed, through narrow alleys to their graves.
Norway sovereign fund drops investments in 11 Israeli companies
Oslo, Norway -- Norway's sovereign wealth fund, the world's largest, said Monday that it was selling its investments in 11...Nicolai Tangen, chief of Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), which manages the fund, said the decision was taken "in response to extraordinary circumstances".
Norway's wealth fund is the biggest in the world with a value of around $1.9 trillion, with investments spanning the globe.
Netanyahu announces plan to allow foreign reporters into Gaza
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Sunday a plan to allow more foreign journalists to report inside Gaza with...Israel has blocked most foreign correspondents from independently accessing the territory since it launched its campaign there
"We have decided and have ordered, directed the military to bring in foreign journalists, more foreign journalists, a lot," Netanyahu said
Netanyahu says new Gaza plan ‘best way to end the war’ as criticism intensifies
UN says 'if these plans are implemented, they will likely trigger another calamity in Gaza, reverberating across the region and...The premier has faced regular protests over the course of the war, with many rallies calling for the government to strike a ceasefire and hostage-release deal.
Netanyahu, however, has also come under pressure from the far right to go harder on Hamas, with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich slamming the new plan as half-hearted.
Jordan says to host Syria-US meeting on reconstruction
The meeting, which will be attended by Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani and US special envoy for Syria Thomas Barrack,...It is a continuation of discussions held between the officials in Amman on July 19 about deadly clashes in the Druze-majority Syrian province of Sweida.
The violence between Druze fighters and Sunni Bedouins in July ultimately drew the intervention of government forces and tribal fighters as well as Israeli forces.
Salah criticizes UEFA for ‘Palestinian Pele’ tribute: ‘Tell us how he died’
Obeid, 41, was killed on Wednesday when Israeli forces "targeted people waiting for humanitarian aid in the southern Gaza Strip", the...UEFA posted on X: "Farewell to Suleiman al-Obeid, the 'Palestinian Pele'. A talent who gave hope to countless children, even in the darkest of times."
Born in Gaza City, Obeid was married and had five children. He played 24 international matches for team Palestine.
Thousands protest in Tel Aviv against Israeli govt move to expand Gaza war
Demonstrators waved signs and held up pictures of hostages still being held in the Palestinian territory as they called on...A group representing the families of hostages said as many as 100,000 people participated.
Out of 251 hostages captured during Hamas's 2023 attack, 49 are still being held in Gaza, including 27 the military says are dead.
Russia cautious on Armenia-Azerbaijan deal, Iran reject border corridor
Russia cautiously welcomed a US-brokered draft deal between Armenia and Azerbaijan on Saturday, but Moscow's regional ally Iran rejected the...The two former Soviet republics signed a peace deal in Washington on Friday to end a decades-long conflict, though the fine print and binding nature of the deal remained unclear
The US-brokered agreement includes establishing a transit corridor through Armenia to connect Azerbaijan to its exclave of Nakhchivan, a longstanding demand of Baku
