Israel hits Rafah despite US warning on arms transfers
In an interview with CNN on Wednesday, Biden warned he would stop some US weapons supplies to Israel if it...Geostrategy
Hamas accepts Gaza truce proposal, Israel urges Rafah evacuation
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said the proposal "is far from Israel's essential demands", but the government will send...Geostrategy
Blinken to pledge quake support on first Turkey visit
Blinken will visit Incirlik air base, through which the United States has shipped aid, and then hold talks in the...US has flown in some 200 rescuers and contributed an initial $85 million in relief for Turkey, deploying Black Hawk and Chinook helicopters to bring supplies to worst-hi
The visit, which was being planned before the February 6 earthquake that has killed nearly 40,000 people in the country and Syria, will be the first by Blinken to Turkey
UN likely to vote Monday on call for Israel to stop settlements
The 15-member council is likely to vote on Monday on the text, drafted by the United Arab Emirates in coordination...The 15-member council is likely to vote on Monday on the text, drafted by the United Arab Emirates in coordination with the Palestinians
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has already expressed deep concern over Israel’s decision to authorize nine Jewish settler outposts in West Bank
US condemns Tunisia arrests of president’s critics
Washington, United States--The United States on Wednesday denounced Tunisia's arrest of critics of President Kais Saied and called for transparent legal...Police have arrested 10 public figures since Saturday, including the director of a popular radio station and a prominent businessman.
The opposition National Salvation Front said that the arrests were an act of vengeance without legal basis
US-GCC Working Group on Iran holds 3rd meeting in Riyadh
The meeting was co-chaired by Sheikh Ahmed bin Hashel Al-Maskari, Head of the Omani Foreign Ministry's GCC Department.The meeting was co-chaired by Sheikh Ahmed bin Hashel Al-Maskari, Head of the Omani Foreign Ministry's GCC Department
The meeting comes within the framework of the strategic partnership between the GCC and the USA
New mechanisms to boost international cooperation in a multipower world, says WEF President Klaus Schwab
Regarding structural transformations to be witnessed in various vital economic sectors, Schwab says there will be about 10 billion people...There is an urgency to develop new mechanisms that strengthen international cooperation in today’s multipower world, says WEF chief Klaus Schwab
Technological transformation and the Fourth Industrial Revolution will impact the world for years to come, adds Schwab while speaking at WGS 23
UAE pledges $50 million more in assistance for quake-hit Syria
Emirati President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan "has ordered the provision of an additional US$50 million as relief aid...The announcement came more than nine days after the 7.8-magnitude quake struck Syria and Turkey.
It also followed an appeal by the United Nations on Tuesday for $397 million to help earthquake victims.
War-scarred Syrian children orphaned by quake
Last week's quake has affected more than seven million children, including 2.5 million in Syria alone, according to James Elder...Hanaa, an eight-year-old girl, keeps asking for news of her family, unaware she is the sole survivor among her immediate relatives.
Disaster has piled more misery on Syrian children who have only witnessed tragedy in their lives because of the war that broke out more than a decade ago.
Saudi Binladin Group fined $5.33m in Makkah crane crash
Dubai, UAE---A court in Makkah has fined Saudi Binladin Group SR20 million ($5.33 million) after the Group was convicted of...A total of 111 people were killed and 394 others injured in the crane crash on Sept 11, 2015 during the Haram expansion project.
The court found seven defendants guilty of negligence and violation of safety rules, the reports said, adding three of the defendants were sentenced to six months in prison.
COP28 host UAE vows ‘inclusive roadmap’ for climate talks
Rights group Amnesty International has said Sultan Al Jaber is "unfit" for the COP28 presidency, being the CEO of state-owned...Al Jaber told a summit event that as "president, I will lay out a roadmap for COP28 that is inclusive, results-oriented and... very far from business as usual".
Al Jaber, 49, is also the UAE's minister of industry and advanced technology and head of a leading renewable energy firm. He is the first CEO to lead the summit.
First UN team since quake crosses into rebel-held Syria
The first UN delegation to visit rebel-held northwestern Syria since last week's earthquake crossed over from Turkey, AFP reported, as...The UN team visited a WFP centre in Syria's Sarmada, near the Turkish border.
They held a 40-minute meeting with officials at the Bab al-Hawa crossing - the only transit point on the Turkish border for UN aid deliveries to rebel-held areas.
