Israel revokes leave for all combat units amid Iran threat
Jerusalem - The Israeli army has suspended leave for its combat units, it said on Thursday, amid the Gaza war...Geostrategy
Pope expresses ‘deep sorrow’ over killing of Gaza aid workers
Vatican City, Holy See - Pope Francis expressed his "deep sorrow" on Wednesday for the deaths of seven charity workers killed...Geostrategy
Austria to stop TikTok use on government devices
Vienna, Austria - Austria said on Wednesday it will ban TikTok on federal employees' work phones, joining a growing list of..."The federal government has decided to ban the private use and installation of TikTok on work devices of federal employees," said Austrian government.
Similar measures have recently been taken by the United States, Britain, Australia, France, the Netherlands and the European Commission.
Global warming raises risk of heat-related deaths among workers
The Occupational Heat Stress conference in Qatar, which focused on climate change and how rising temperatures threaten workers' health, heard...There is no international standard for temperatures for outdoor working, but climate change has forced new scrutiny.
Last year's World Cup in Qatar drew attention to workers toiling in temperatures that can top 50 degrees, prompting Qatar to ban outdoor working from 10am to 3.30pm.
Oman to ramp up ‘military and defense industry’ ties with Iran
Tehran, Iran-- Oman is keen to improve the military and defense ties with Iran in order to ensure the security...Sultan of Oman underscored the importance of developing military and defense industry cooperation between the two countries
The visiting Iranian Major General Mohammad Bagheri termed Tehran-Muscat relations as stable and positive
Saudi diplomats to return to Damascus to restore broken ties
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was politically isolated in the region since the conflict began, but a flurry of diplomatic activity...The kingdom would seek to develop joint Arab action, Saudi foreign ministry said, two days after Syria was readmitted to the Arab League
The move comes weeks after Syrian President Bashar al-Assad met in Damascus with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan
Ukraine peace talks seem a remote possibility, says UN chief
CUACOS, SPAIN - UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said peace negotiations to end the conflict in Ukraine were "not possible at this...UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he hoped it was possible "in the future" to bring Russia and Ukraine to the negotiating table.
The UN chief's statement came as the leaders of Russia and Ukraine called for victory during events commemorating the end of World War II.
Israel defends Gaza attacks even as its rights record criticized
Israel told the UN it was justified in carrying out strikes on Gaza, even as its overall human rights record...The Israeli army said that in its Gaza air strikes, it had targeted three leaders of Islamic Jihad, which it considers legitimate target.
Gaza health ministry said four children were among those killed and 20 people were wounded, some of them in serious or critical condition.
Syrian, Turkish foreign ministers meeting boost for Erdogan
The sides will "exchange views on the normalization of relations between Turkey and Syria, discuss humanitarian issues... and the voluntary,...The top diplomats of Russia and Iran will also be a part of the meeting in Moscow, Turkey's foreign ministry said in a statement.
Erdogan had turned into one of Assad's fiercest opponents when the violent repression of protests set off Syria's civil war in 2011.
Global tourism industry is on track to reach pre-pandemic levels
MADRID, SPAIN - The World Tourism Barometer published its second report of the year, which showed that international tourism is...During Q1 2023, twice as many people traveled internationally than in the same period of 2022, with 235 million estimated tourists.
The report revealed that international arrivals have reached 80 percent of pre-pandemic levels in the first quarter of 2023.
UN says over 700,000 displaced within Sudan since beginning of conflict
Heavy fighting in Sudan has displaced 700,000 people within the country since the middle of April, the United Nations said,...Even before the beginning of the fighting, 3.7 million people were registered as internally displaced in Sudan.
Another 150,000 people have fled Sudan since the beginning of the conflict, as per numbers released by the UN refugee agency.
UAE and US climate farming fund swells to US$13 billion
Thanks to the jump in the fund, the Agriculture Innovation Mission (AIM) for Climate, launched in 2021, now surpasses its...Projects such as greener fertilizers are underway that use less fossil fuels to create, and returning to so-called "regenerative agriculture" practices that restore biodiversity
US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and his Emirati counterpart Mariam bint Mohammed Almheiri, are co-hosting an AIM for Climate Summit in Washington this week