Deal restored: Hamas, Israel finalize exchange of Palestinian prisoners for bodies of Israeli hostages
Mediators have revived a deal for Israel to release Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the bodies of four Israeli hostages,...Geostrategy
Israel army pulls out of Lebanon border villages, holds five positions: source
Israel's army has pulled out of southern Lebanese villages but remains in five positions as a deadline for the withdrawal...Geostrategy
US condemns Iran’s cyberattack on Albania, its ally
US has threatened to launch ‘further action’ against Iran for what it called an ‘unprecedented’ cyberattack against its ally Albania....The incident comes as the United States and European powers struggle to salvage an agreement that would impose strict controls on Iran's controversial nuclear sector
Albania's Prime Minister Edi Rama accused Iran of directing a cyberattack against Albanian institutions on July 15 in a bid to "paralyze public services and hack data"
Tunisia’s opposition alliance to boycott December elections
Tunisia's main opposition alliance said Wednesday its members including the once-powerful Ennahdha party would boycott December polls to replace a...The vote is set for nearly a year and a half after President Kais Saied suspended the Ennahdha-dominated assembly and sacked the government.
Saied was welcomed by many Tunisians tired of what they saw as a fractious and corrupt system established after the 2011 revolution.
Qatar reopens mothballed Doha airport to ease World Cup traffic
The Doha airport has been in semi-retirement since it was replaced in 2014 by the nearby Hamad International Airport, which...Hamad International Airport was used by three million passengers in June alone and 8.42 million in the second quarter of 2022, 18 percent higher than Q1 traffic.
But with 150,000 people a day expected to arrive during the peak days of the World Cup, some aviation analysts have said Hamad airport might struggle to cope.
EU seeks closer ties with gas-rich Qatar, opens office in Doha
The European Union opened an office in Qatar on Wednesday in a sign of the Gulf state's growing influence in solving...Qatar is one of the world's top suppliers of liquefied natural gas and growing requests have been made by Germany and other European nations.
The EU wants closer ties on "the energy sector, economic development, security challenges", EU council president Charles Michel said.
Erdogan says West staging ‘provocations’ against Russia
Erdogan has maintained good working relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin while trying to stay neutral in the conflict and...Erdogan has tried to use his open relations with both Moscow and Kyiv to try to arrange direct talks between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Turkey.
Turkey has not joined the Western sanctions regime against Russia and signed a new economic cooperation agreement with Moscow during a summit between Putin and Erdogan in Sochi.
UN gives Gaza children tablets to connect with world
Children make up nearly half of Gaza's population of 2.3 million. Most of them have never been able to leave...Some 890 tablets are being handed out this week at schools run by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, following a pilot that saw a few dozen devices given to children last year
The 15-year blockade of the enclave led by Israel has crippled Gaza's economy, leaving 74 percent of young graduates unemployed.
Truss to meet cabinet, face MPs on first full day in power
The 47-year-old won an internal ballot of Tory members on Monday, securing 57 percent of the vote, after a grueling...After Cabinet, Truss will travel to the House of Commons to spar with opposition Labor leader Keir Starmer, in the rival pair's first Prime Minister's Questions session
Truss pitched herself to the Tory grassroots as a tax-cutting free-trade champion ready to slash taxes immediately to turbo-charge growth
Russia will stop oil, gas export to countries seeking price cap: Putin
Pointing to rising energy prices in Europe ahead of winter, Putin insisted Russia would supply nothing outside of existing contracts,...Facing growing isolation and deteriorating ties with the West, Moscow is seeking to pivot the country towards the Middle East, Asia and Africa
Putin told the Eastern Economic Forum that "no matter how much someone would like to isolate Russia, it is impossible to do this".
New Israel strikes put Aleppo airport out of service: Syria state media
It is the second reported Israeli strike on the airport in northern Syria in less than a week. "At around...SANA said earlier that Syrian air defences had intercepted some missiles, and reported material damage
Syria's private airline Cham Wings announced that all flights to and from Aleppo would be routed to the capital Damascus due to the strikes
Gulf states warn Netflix over content that ‘contradicts’ societal values
Riyadh--Saudi Arabia and neighbouring Gulf countries on Tuesday accused streaming giant Netflix of broadcasting content that "contradicts Islamic and societal...A statement issued jointly by the Saudi media regulator and the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council, headquartered in Riyadh, did not specifically identify the offending content.
Gulf countries including Saudi Arabia have repeatedly locked horns with US film distributors over content related to sexual minorities, especially in films.
