Israel launches deadly Gaza strikes, says ready for new truce talks
Palestinian Territories - Israel launched devastating air strikes on Gaza Thursday, while also expressing readiness to resume stalled talks on...Geostrategy
US and UN ‘shocked’ over Israel’s ban on American news agency AP
After shutting down offices and confiscating equipment of the Al Jazeera news channel in Israel, Netanyahu's government has shut down...Geostrategy
Tunisia dismisses EU official’s ‘looming economic collapse’ warning
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell had warned Monday that if crisis-torn Tunisia "collapses economically or socially then we...Tunisia has suffered over a decade of economic and political crisis since its 2011 revolution, culminating in a July 2021 power grab by President Kais Saied.
Tunis is in prolonged talks with the International Monetary Fund for a $2-billion bailout package to help the heavily indebted treasury balance its books.
China must listen to Ukraine on peace plan: NATO chief
The head of the Western military alliance said he welcomed any proposals that could lead to a "just and sustainable...Putin told Xi he was open to discussing a 12-point position paper put forward by Beijing, which includes a call for dialogue and respect for all countries' territorial integrity
China has sought to portray itself as a neutral party in the Ukraine conflict, but Washington has said Beijing's moves could be a "stalling tactic" to help Moscow
First India-GCC senior officials meeting held in Riyadh
New Delhi, India - The first ever meeting of senior officials of India and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) was...India has been steadily stepping up institutional engagement of the GCC in addition to regular bilateral meetings with its member countries
As a trade bloc, the GCC is the largest trade partner of India with a total trade of US$154 billion during the last financial year
Israel’s ruling coalition amends key judicial reform proposal
Jerusalem--Israel's ruling coalition presented on Monday an amended version of a key element in its contentious judicial overhaul, in hopes...Israel has been hit by weeks of mass demonstrations against the proposed reforms, which are already moving through parliament and would give politicians more power
The White House said that Joe Biden in a call with Netanyahu voiced support for a "compromise" and stressed the importance of "genuine checks and balances"
Jordan king discusses modernization efforts in meeting with EU envoys
Amman, Jordan - Jordan king Abdullah on Monday discussed his country's modernization efforts in a meeting with a number of...The meeting covered Jordan's modernization efforts, with the king reaffirming the Kingdom’s seriousness about political and economic reforms
Discussions also covered the latest developments in the Syrian crisis and the need to step up international efforts to reach a political solution
Saudi-Iran diplomatic pact leads to prisoner swap deal in Yemen
The UN has confirmed that Yemen's Houthi rebels and its internationally recognized government have reached an agreement to exchange more...According to UN special envoy to Yemen Hans Grundberg, the parties "agreed on implementation plans to release 887 conflict-related detainees from all sides"
It is almost a year since the Houthis said they had agreed to a prisoner swap that would see 1,400 rebels freed in exchange for 823 pro-government fighters
Israel minister’s ‘there are no Palestinians’ remarks condemned
"There are no Palestinians, because there are no Palestinian people," far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said at an event..."There are Arabs around who don't like it, so what do they do? They invent a fictitious people and claim fictitious rights to the land of Israel, only to fight Zionist movement.
Palestinian PM Mohammad Shtayyeh said "inflammatory statements are consistent with the first Zionist sayings of 'a land without a people for a people without a land'".
Iraq to hold first provincial elections in a decade on Nov 6
The provincial councils, created by the 2005 constitution following the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime, carry relatively significant power in...Iraqi parliament confirmed Monday date of the elections through a statement as its members agreed on it overnight.
The elections are scheduled to be held in 15 provinces, while three provinces in Kurdistan region will be left out.
$7.5bn pledged for Turkey, Syria quake aid at EU conference
Aid groups urged donors to step up their commitments after the UN complained of the poor level of response to...Turkey's President Recep Erdogan warned that "regardless of its economic standing, it is impossible for any country to fight a disaster of this scale on its own."
The UN had said the appeal for Turkey has so far only been 16 percent fulfilled, while the figure for Syria stands at 72 percent.
‘Rich nations must achieve net zero carbon by 2040’
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called on wealthy countries to move up their goals of achieving carbon neutrality as close...Most rich countries have set their goal at 2050 but some are more ambitious, like Finland (2035), or Germany and Sweden (2045).
Leaders in emerging economies must commit to reaching net zero as close as possible to 2050, he said without naming any specific nation.
