Biden threatens to stop arm shipments if Israel invades Rafah
Biden, a self-described Zionist, had long resisted stopping any of the $3 billion in weapons the United States sends each...Geostrategy
EU pledges $1 bn for Lebanon, urges curbs against illegal migration
The EU Commission's spokesman said in Brussels the aid will be disbursed "in grants", with 736 million euros earmarked to...Geostrategy
US shoots down new mystery object as tensions escalate with China
On Sunday the Pentagon said that it does not yet know what the other three objects -- one shot down...The objects shot down since Friday were detected after US air defense adjusted radar settings to scan for smaller and slower-moving objects, said Assistant Secretary of Defense
Canadian officials described the shot down over Canada's far northwest on Saturday as small and cylindrical, roughly the size of a Volkswagen car
Lebanon’s Hezbollah sends aid to Syria’s quake-hit Latakia
Lebanon has adopted a policy of dissociation from Syria's years-long war but on Wednesday, it sent its first high-level official...The Iran-backed Hezbollah is a key ally of Assad's regime and has openly been fighting alongside his forces since April 2013
Adnan Moqadem, general director of civil defense in Hezbollah's health authority, said first aid convoy "will be followed by others".
Syria’s Assad thanks UAE for aid, emergency response to quake
Damascus, Syria--Syria's President Bashar al-Assad on Sunday thanked the United Arab Emirates for its emergency response and tens of millions pledged...The UAE foreign minister arrived in Syria on Sunday, six days after a devastating earthquake struck Turkey and Syria, killing more than 33,000 people in total
It pledged some $13.6 million to Syria after the disaster before announcing another $50 million in assistance
Israel launches air strikes on ‘underground Hamas complex’
The Palestinian Red Crescent said one person was killed in a pre-dawn Israeli army raid in Nablus in the northern...The strikes were launched were in response to the Saturday rocket launch from Gaza into Israel, the army added in a statement
Since the start of the year, the conflict has claimed the lives of 47 Palestinian adults and children, including militants and civilians
Egyptian President in UAE, to attend World Government Summit in Dubai
The two leaders exchanged discussed "brotherly bilateral ties" and aspects of joint cooperation and ways of furthering themThe two leaders exchanged discussed "brotherly bilateral ties" and aspects of joint cooperation and ways of furthering them
President El-Sisi will outline Egypt's economic and development policies and priorities at World Government Summit
Mahmud Abbas urges world leaders to end ‘Israeli aggression’
Cairo, Egypt - Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas on Sunday accused Israel of having "crossed all red lines" in the occupied West..."Israeli intransigence and practices have crossed all red lines", he said at an Arab League meeting in Cairo.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has seen at least 43 Palestinians -- including attackers, militants and civilians -- killed this year.
UN decries aid failure for Syria, warns quake toll could double
A UN convoy with supplies for northwest Syria arrived via Turkey, but the agency's relief chief Martin Griffiths said much...Syria's President Bashar al-Assad on Sunday thanked the United Arab Emirates for its emergency response and tens of millions pledged in aid to the quake-hit country.
Miraculous tales of survival still emerged, though experts caution that hopes for finding people alive in the devastation dim with each passing day.
Sexting chatbot ban brings AI rules in focus
Given that these bots still make factual blunders, often show bias and could even spout libelous statements, some are clamoring...Regulators in Italy last week barred the firm from gathering data after finding breaches of Europe's massive data protection law, the GDPR.
OpenAI's latest model, GPT-4, is scheduled for release soon and is rumored to be so good that it will be impossible to distinguish from a human.
Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi to visit China: state media
On his upcoming trip, Raisi is expected to hold private talks with Xi, and delegations from both countries are due...Iranian president will set out for Beijing on Monday evening in response to an official invitation by Chinese President Xi Jinping
Ebrahim Raisi will also take part in meetings with Chinese businessmen and Iranians living in the country
In Turkey families race against time to identify quake victims
Monday's 7.8-magnitude tremor struck Kahramanmaras in the country's southeast, unleashing catastrophe in the region and Syria, killing at least 28,000...Families -- who cannot reach their loved ones during the rescue work -- check one by one bodies either in bags or wrapped in blankets.
Turkish Health Minister said on Friday he hoped the missing bodies would be identified and said the government was doing everything it could
