United by innovation and progress: The enduring US-UAE partnership
‘’In close partnership, we are working to advance multilateral diplomatic solutions and provide urgently needed humanitarian assistance in Gaza and...Geostrategy
Al Jazeera TV raided in West Bank; ordered to close for 45 days
Global news channel Al Jazeera said armed and masked Israeli forces raided its office in Ramallah in the occupied West...Geostrategy
Maldives: Muizzu expands diplomacy beyond India
Muizzu won last year’s presidential election on the "India Out" platform against Ibrahim Mohamed Solih's "India first" policy.Muizzu won last year’s presidential election on the "India Out" platform against Ibrahim Mohamed Solih's "India first" policy
He has reaffirmed friendly relations with India but has maintained an uncompromising position on the presence of Indian troops
Pakistanis vote with Khan in jail, Sharif tipped to win
The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) is expected to win the most seats in Thursday's vote, with analysts saying its 74-year-old...Adding to the concerns about the integrity of the vote, authorities announced just before polls opened that they had suspended mobile telephone services across the country
Pollsters had predicted a low turnout from the country's 128 million eligible voters following a lacklustre campaign overshadowed by the jailing of former prime minister Imran Khan
Civilians among 11 dead in Israel strikes on Syria: monitor
Four students and a woman and her son were among the dead along with an unidentified civilian, the Observatory said,...Eleven people including seven civilians" and two Hizbollah fighters were killed in "Israeli bombardment" of a building in the Hamra neighborhood of Homs
The strikes completely levelled the building in one of the city's most affluent districts, and also hit other targets linked to Iran-backed groups
Israel PM dismisses Hamas demand for ceasefire, sets sights on Rafah
In Beirut, a senior Hamas official responded, saying Netanyahu's "insistence on continuing the aggression totally confirms that the goal... is...Netanyahu has ordered troops to prepare to move on the city of Rafah in Gaza's far south, where more than one million Palestinians have sought refuge
An official from mediator Egypt told AFP that "a new round of negotiations" would start on Thursday in Cairo aimed at achieving "calm in the Gaza Strip".
Iranian President Raisi accuses US of disrupting Middle East security
"The presence of US forces in our region has no justification," Raisi said in a Tehran ceremony ahead of the...Raisi said the US presence "in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan and the region is in no way creating security. It disrupts the security in the region"
Raisi's remarks to foreign diplomats came while US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was on a regional tour for talks on the Gaza ceasefire deal
Israeli strikes kill 10 including six civilians in Syrian city of Homs
"Ten people, including six civilians and two Hizbollah fighters, were killed in Israeli strikes on a building in the Hamra...Three students and a woman were among the dead, two of whom have yet to be identified, an official said
Two Hizbollah fighters were also among the dead, a source to the Iran-backed Lebanese group confirmed to AFP
Blinken in Israel voices hope for Gaza truce deal to free hostages
"There's a lot of work to be done, but we are very much focused on doing that work and hopefully...UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that if Israel presses into Gaza's far-southern Rafah, it "would exponentially increase what is already a humanitarian nightmare".
AFPTV footage showed frantic scenes of Palestinians running for their lives, many screaming, as gunfire rang out from advancing Israeli forces in a Gaza City neighborhood.
New round of Gaza negotiations to start in Cairo: Egypt source
Cairo, Egypt -- Egypt and Qatar are sponsoring a new round of negotiations to start Thursday in Cairo aimed at achieving...A Hamas source with knowledge of the matter confirmed the Palestinian group had agreed to the talks, with the goal of "a ceasefire, an end to the war and a prisoner exchange deal".
The Egyptian official said Cairo was urging "both parties to show the necessary flexibility" to achieve a truce in Hamas-run Gaza.
Gaza solidarity boycott hits global food chains
As customers in the Middle East shun international restaurants, local businesses report they have benefited from the boycott.Starbucks sales grew at their slowest pace in a year, and profits fell short of Wall Street estimates as a spending slowdown took its toll.
McDonald's shares declined for the second day after the company failed to achieve targeted sales for the first time since 2020 due to the war in the Middle East.
US lawmakers reject US$17.6 billion Israel aid bill
Republicans in the House of Representatives scheduled the vote after the Democratic-led Senate released a bipartisan bill Sunday pairing billions of dollars for...The standalone Israel bill would have provided $17.6bn in military aid for the country
167 Democrats voted no after Biden had threatened to wield his veto