Israel, Hamas ceasefire begins Sunday, includes hostage deal, phased Israeli withdrawal, more aid for Gaza
The deal, brokered by the U.S., Egypt, and Qatar, includes Hamas releasing 33 hostages and Israel freeing hundreds of Palestinian...Geostrategy
Palestinian Authority suspends Al Jazeera broadcasts
The Palestinian Authority on Wednesday ordered the suspension of broadcasts by Qatar-based Al Jazeera across the Palestinian territories, accusing the...Geostrategy
Inflation-fighting BoE poised to unleash big rate hike
The BoE is tipped to lift its main rate by 0.50 percentage points the biggest amount in more than a...The BoE, granted operational independence from the government over monetary policy in 1997, will reveal its latest rate decision at 1100 GMT on Thursday
Economists meanwhile argue that a large rate hike damages the nation's recovery from the coronavirus pandemic and risks the prospect of recession
US NSA terms China military drills near Taiwan ‘not responsible’
A top US official on Wednesday called China's military drills in response to US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to...US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told NPR that what China is doing here is 'not responsible'
Pelosi, the second in line to the US presidency, departed Taiwan Wednesday morning, having defied a series of increasingly stark threats from Beijing
OPEC+ agrees small oil output rise despite Biden plea
The cartel led by Saudi Arabia and Russia decided to raise production by 100,000 barrels per day for September, much...Biden made a controversial trip to Saudi Arabia in July in part to convince the kingdom to loosen the production taps to curb rampant inflation
Saudi Arabia faced a balancing act between its old ally, Washington, and its OPEC+ partner Moscow, which has been hit by Western sanctions over the Ukraine invasion
Iraq’s Sadr demands new polls as political crisis escalates
Nearly 10 months on from the last elections, the country still has no government, new prime minister or new president,...Parliament can only be dissolved by a majority vote, according to the constitution
In multi-confessional Iraq, government formation has involved complex negotiations
EU representative to discuss stalled nuclear deal with Iran in Vienna
Negotiations between Iran and world powers, which began in late November 2021 to reintegrate Joe Biden's United States into the...In late June, Qatar hosted indirect talks between Tehran and Washington in the hope of getting the process back on track -- but those talks did not lead to a breakthrough.
In a last-ditch effort, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell submitted a compromise proposal last Tuesday and called on the parties to accept it to avoid a 'dangerous crisis'.
OPEC+ meeting in focus as it decides on oil production strategy
After cutting production in 2020 in response to falling prices during the Covid pandemic, OPEC+ began to modestly raise it...The cartel led by Saudi Arabia and Russia has so far resisted US pressure to ramp up production significantly.
Biden visited Saudi Arabia in July to convince the Kingdom about producing more oil and stabilizing market.
UN experts disheartened: Beirut blast victims still await justice
The Aug 4, 2020 mega-blast killed more than 200 people and destroyed thousands of homes in the Lebanese capital. The...The lead investigator, Tarek Bitar, who was chasing after some of the country's top brass, has been barred from proceeding by a series of lawsuits.
The victims' families therefore appealed to the international community to set up an independent investigation under the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
Iran lawmakers ratify prisoner swap treaty with Belgium
Iranian lawmakers voted Wednesday to ratify a prisoner exchange treaty with Belgium, where the deal has been criticized for potentially...Icana news agency reported that Iran's parliament approved the treaty by 195 votes to two
The Belgian parliament just two weeks ago passed it by the much narrower margin of 79 votes to 41
Respite for Erdogan: Turkish inflation stabilizes at under 80 percent
The official annual rate of consumer price increases reached 79.6 percent in July compared to 78.6 percent in June. Turkey...Turkey now has a real interest rate of negative 64.4 percent the lowest in the world by a substantial margin.
This means that Turks have a strong incentive to spend as much as they can before their liras lose even more value.
Justice eludes Beirut couple two years after blast killed daughter
The demonstrations were drained of momentum by a severe economic crisis and the coronavirus pandemic, before the monster explosion presented...International powers have yet to provide Lebanon with satellite images or reports drafted by foreign experts who participated in preliminary investigations
The August 4 mega-blast, blamed on a fire that ignited tons of ammonium nitrate fertilizer at Beirut harbor, was one of the largest non-nuclear detonations ever recorded
