WHO countries strike landmark agreement on tackling future pandemics
Geneva, Switzerland -- Years of negotiations culminated early Wednesday with countries agreeing the text of a landmark accord on how...Geostrategy Health
Disarming Lebanon’s Hezbollah no longer inconceivable: analysts
Beirut, Lebanon - The once unthinkable disarmament of Hezbollah could finally be within reach, as the United States pushes Lebanon...Geostrategy
UAE first Arab country to get observer status at money laundering group
Vancouver, Canada - The United Arab Emirates has become the first Aarb country to be granted observer status at the...A part of the global network of similar Financial Action Task Force-style Regional Bodies (FSRBs), the APG is the largest in terms of membership numbers and geographical size
The APG plenary is also attended by key international organisations such as the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, OECD, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, etc
Abbas to make landmark Jenin visit after deadly Israeli raid
Twelve Palestinians and one Israeli soldier were killed in the two-day raid on Jenin and its adjacent refugee camp, a...Soon after the raid, several top officials of Abbas's Fatah party, including deputy chairman Mahmoud Aloul, had visited the camp only to be heckled by crowds of angry residents
On Wednesday, Abbas was expected to visit the city as well as the camp to review "progress of work in the reconstruction of the camp and the city", his office said in a statement
Iran president Ebrahim Raisi holds talks with Kenya’s president
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani has described the three-day trip as "a new turning point" which could bolster economic...The visit comes as the Islamic republic tries to shore up diplomatic support to ease its international isolation, with Raisi also due to travel to Uganda and Zimbabwe
In addition to meeting Williams Ruto, Raisi will hold talks with his Ugandan counterpart Yoweri Museveni and Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa
Israel’s thorny judicial overhaul: What are the proposed changes?
Opponents have accused Netanyahu, who is on trial on corruption charge he denies, of trying to use the reforms to...Parliament voted overnight Monday-Tuesday on the so-called "reasonability" clause, which will be put through second and third readings at a later stage.
Netanyahu's coalition also wants to change the system through which judges are appointed, giving the government a de facto majority in the nomination process.
United Nations fails to agree on extending vital Syria aid lifeline
Russia vetoed a nine-month extension of the agreement allowing for the conduit during a vote at the UN headquarters in...Many council members including the US, the UK and France have called for a full-year extension, but they backed a nine-month compromise proposed by Switzerland and Brazil.
The proposal was vetoed by Russia, however, whose six-month offer only secured China's support. US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield called the veto "an act of utter cruelty".
Cash-strapped Pakistan gets $2 billion deposit from Saudi Arabia
The economy has been stricken by a balance-of-payments crisis as it attempts to service crippling external debt, while months of...It brings state foreign reserves to a total of $6.5 billion, an almost 50 percent increase compared to last week's account balance.
Years of financial mismanagement have pushed Pakistan's economy to the limit, exacerbated by the Covid pandemic, a global energy crisis and record floods.
NATO to discuss Ukraine bid to join at summit
German Patriot missile systems and French fighter jets were guarding the skies as NATO leaders gathered in Lithuania, on NATO's...Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to head to Vilnius for the two-day summit to make the case that Kyiv has earned the right to join when the Kremlin's invasion ends
The alliance will draw up a path of reforms that Ukraine will need to undertake in order to eventually join, but without giving a "timetable", White House official said
Libya court sentences 37 traffickers to prison over migrant deaths
A statement from the prosecution said that the appeals court pronounced the verdict against a "criminal gang" whose members organized...According to the prosecutor's office, five of the guilty were sentenced to life in jail and nine other to 15 years
A United Nations report in March said that some migrants had been subjected to sexual slavery
Migrants stranded on Tunisia-Libya border moved: NGO
Racial tensions flared into violence against migrants from sub-Saharan African countries in Tunisia's port city of Sfax last week, with...Refugees International said foreign nations should “suspend security assistance to Tunisia until further expulsions cease and the abuses are investigated"
Tunisia has seen a rise in racially motivated attacks after President Kais Saied in February accused "hordes" of undocumented migrants of bringing violence
Turkey unblocks Sweden NATO bid, setting stage for summit
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's block on Sweden's membership bid had cast a cloud over preparations for Tuesday's meeting, but...Erdogan on Monday upped the stakes, demanding that the European Union revive Turkey's stalled EU membership bid as a precondition for Sweden joining NATO
In a statement after the three-way talks between Erdogan, Kristersson and Stoltenberg, Sweden vowed to boost bilateral trade and anti-terrorism coordination
