MENA Brief June 14: Iran-Israel War, Abu Dhabi Summit, Saudi Football Rise, & More
Tensions spiked as Iran fired ballistic missiles at Israel in retaliation for Israeli air raids that killed senior Iranian military...Geostrategy
Nations advance ocean protection, vow to defend seabed
UN Ocean Conference wrapped up Friday with world leaders taking major steps toward marine protection and vowing a showdown when...Geostrategy Climate Change
Firms and researchers at odds over superhuman AI
The belief that human-or-better intelligence -- often called "artificial general intelligence" (AGI) -- will emerge from current machine-learning techniques fuels..."Systems that start to point to AGI are coming into view," OpenAI chief Sam Altman wrote in a blog post last month.
Such predictions help justify the hundreds of billions of dollars being poured into computing hardware and the energy supplies to run it.
From cars to champagne: Trump’s expanding tariffs trigger trade war fears
Paris, France -- From champagne to steel and now cars: it is getting harder to keep up with US President...In early March, Trump imposed a 20 percent tariff on products from China, which has a huge trade surplus with the United States and was already his top target during his first term
Trump announced earlier he would slap 25-percent tariffs on imports from countries buying oil and gas from Venezuela, a punitive measure that could hit China and India.
Israel PM threatens to seize parts of Gaza over fate of hostages
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened Wednesday to seize parts of Gaza if Hamas did not release hostages, while the militant...Israel's resumption of intense bombardment and ground operations across Gaza shattered weeks of relative calm brought by a fragile ceasefire
According to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, 830 people have been killed in the territory since Israel restarted its strikes on March 18
Macron hosts European leaders to discuss Ukraine’s security amid ceasefire talks with Russia
The meeting is seeking to set out what security guarantees Europe can offer Ukraine once a ceasefire deal is agreed,...Speaking alongside Zelensky in Paris on Wednesday ahead of the talks, Macron said this was now a "decisive phase to put an end to the war of aggression"
Macron also announced a new French two billion euro ($2.2 billion) military aid package for Ukraine, with Paris ready to rapidly ship existing hardware from its stocks
Over a billion pounds of Coke plastic waste to enter waterways: study
Washington, United States -- By 2030, Coca-Cola products will account for an estimated 1.33 billion pounds (602,000 metric tons) of...Coca-Cola ranks as the world's top branded plastic polluter, followed by PepsiCo, Nestle, Danone, and Altria, according to a 2024 study published in Science Advances.
Oceana's estimate is based on Coca-Cola's publicly reported packaging data from 2018 to 2023, combined with sales growth forecasts to create a "business-as-usual" scenario.
Japan’s Masaki Kashiwara wins Abel Prize for mathematics
Oslo, Norway -- The prestigious Abel Prize for mathematics was on Wednesday awarded to Japanese mathematician Masaki Kashiwara a specialist...The 78-year-old mathematician was honored for "his fundamental contributions to algebraic analysis and representation theory.
D-modules provided a "new basis for studying systems of linear differential equations", according to the jury.
Turkey protesters defiant despite nearly 1,500 arrests
The protests erupted on March 19 after the arrest of Istanbul opposition mayor Ekrem Imamoglu as part of a graft...Those detained include AFP journalist Yasin Akgul, who the Paris-based agency says was doing his job covering the protests.
President Recep Erdogan, who has repeatedly denounced the protests as "street terror", stepped up his attacks on the opposition.
Russia, Ukraine agree to halt Black Sea strikes in US-brokered talks in Saudi Arabia
With President Donald Trump pushing for a rapid end to the war that has killed tens of thousands of people,...The United States said it would also look for ways to enforce a ban on strikes on energy infrastructure in the two countries
Zelensky told a news conference in Kyiv that the talks also discussed bringing in third parties to oversee a future truce
Syria slams ‘flagrant’ Israeli violation after deadly bombardment
Syria slammed Israeli attacks as a "flagrant violation" of its sovereignty after deadly bombardment Tuesday in the country's south, where...The violence near the UN-patrolled buffer zone on the Golan Heights followed Israeli air strikes in central Syria, the latest in a string of attacks on military sites
Israel has launched hundreds of strikes on military sites since Assad's fall in December, saying it wants to prevent weapons from falling into the hands of jihadists
Houthi PC small group’ leak: Probe underway after sensitive info exposure
The breach became public on Monday after The Atlantic magazine's editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg published an article recounting how he was...On March 14, messages in the group indicated that a US strike was being prepared against Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
The militant group has been trying to interrupt trade via the Red Sea and have targeted US military vessels several times in recent months.
