The leader of Turkey's main opposition party has called for a boycott on Wednesday to protest the detention of students rallying in support of Istanbul's jailed opposition mayor.

Brussels, Belgium -- Members of the European Parliament have approved two proposals to provide Egypt and Jordan with loans worth €4 billion ($4.32 billion) and €500 million, respectively. The Parliament adopted the macro-financial assistance to Egypt with 452 votes in favor, 182 against and 40 abstentions. The proposal for Jordan...

Paris, France -- A French court on Monday threw into severe doubt far-right leader Marine Le Pen's 2027 bid for president, handing her a five-year ban on running for office after convicting her over a fake jobs scheme. She was also given a four-year prison term by the Paris court...

"If Russia and I are unable to make a deal on stopping the bloodshed in Ukraine, and if I think it was Russia's fault... I am going to put secondary tariffs on all oil coming out of Russia," Trump said.

A senior Hamas official stated on Saturday that the group had approved a new ceasefire proposal put forward by mediators and urged Israel to support it.

Istanbul, Turkey --  The Turkish opposition on Sunday worked to keep up the momentum of the protest movement triggered by the Istanbul mayor's arrest by pushing for early elections as well as his release, with a Swedish reporter the latest detained in a government crackdown. The arrest on March 19...

At dawn, many Gazans gathered across different parts of the territory to offer traditional morning Eid prayers, an AFP correspondent reported. Some unrolled their prayer mats in the streets amid the rubble, while others prayed inside mosques -- including the once-majestic Omari Mosque, whose walls have now collapsed under the...

Oslo, Norway -- The first orbital rocket launched from continental Europe crashed seconds after blast-off Sunday, in a closely watched test for the continent's bid to build a new space economy. The Spectrum rocket, developed by German start-up Isar Aerospace, started smoking from its sides, then crashed back to Earth...

The talks in Doha started a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened to seize parts of Gaza if Hamas did not release hostages, and Hamas warned the captives would return "in coffins" if Israel did not stop bombing the Palestinian territory.

Quds (Jerusalem) Day commemorations were launched in 1979 by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic republic, which has made support for the Palestinian cause a cornerstone of its foreign policy. The marches, which call for Jerusalem to be returned to the Palestinians, are traditionally held on the last...

Paris, France -- From champagne to steel and now cars: it is getting harder to keep up with US President Donald Trump's growing tariff target list and the retaliatory measures by trade partners. Here is a rundown of what has been implemented, threatened and coming next in an escalating trade...

Washington, United States -- By 2030, Coca-Cola products will account for an estimated 1.33 billion pounds (602,000 metric tons) of plastic waste entering the world's oceans and waterways each year, according to a stark new analysis published Wednesday by the nonprofit Oceana. That's enough plastic to fill the stomachs of...

The breach became public on Monday after The Atlantic magazine's editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg published an article recounting how he was inadvertently invited into the group chat.

Turkey was headed for a fourth straight night of protests late Saturday, as the biggest street unrest the country has seen in over a decade raged on over the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu.

Gaza City, Palestinian Territories -- Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas's Fatah movement called on Hamas on Saturday to relinquish power in order to safeguard the "existence" of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. "Hamas must show compassion for Gaza, its children, women and men," Fatah spokesman Monther al-Hayek said in a message...

Moscow has rejected a joint US-Ukraine proposal of a full and unconditional 30-day ceasefire, instead suggesting just to halt aerial strikes on energy facilities. Despite that offer, both sides have continued to launch aerial attacks in the run-up to the negotiations.

Sam Rose, the senior deputy field director in Gaza for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA, highlighted the psychological shock for already traumatized children to once again find themselves beneath the bombs. This is a "massive, massive trauma for the one million children" living in the Palestinian territory, he...

US President Donald Trump "fully supports" Israel's renewed Gaza operations, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters when asked if he was trying to get a Gaza ceasefire back on track.

Donald Trump spoke to both Russia's Vladimir Putin and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky this week and the US is also due to hold talks with Kyiv in the coming days. "These consultations will take place on Monday, March 24th, in Riyadh," Ushakov said Thursday in comments published by the Kremlin.

Las Vegas, United States -- Tech firms are fighting the scourge of deepfakes, those deceptively realistic voices or videos used by scammers that are more available than ever thanks to artificial intelligence. Ever-improving generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools have become weapons in the hands of bad actors intent on tricking...

During the initial six-week phase of the ceasefire, Hamas released 33 hostages, including eight who were deceased, in exchange for about 1,800 Palestinians captive in Israeli prisons. Hamas also released five Thai captives outside the accord.

Easier commutes with faster, quieter, and eco-friendly vehicles would reduce travel times significantly and reduce stress for urban residents, says Satyanarayanan Chakravarthy, member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on the Future of Autonomous Mobility.

The bigger your vision, the bigger your achievement will be. Will you stumble on the way? Perhaps, but we cannot let fear keep us small, says Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, ruler of Dubai.

The steep 25-percent levies came into place after midnight with no exemptions despite countries' efforts to avert them, in a step up from fresh duties Trump already imposed on Canada, Mexico and China since returning to the White House. The European Commission swiftly unveiled retaliation starting in April, while Canada...

The talks on Tuesday will be the first Ukraine-US meeting since a White House blow-up between Zelensky and US President Donald Trump that led to Washington halting military aid to Kyiv. "We do have a proposal for a ceasefire in the sky and ceasefire at sea," the official told AFP.

Hamas said its representatives met with mediators in Cairo at the weekend, emphasizing the need for humanitarian aid to re-enter the besieged territory "without restrictions or conditions",

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- Saudi Arabia on Friday welcomed a meeting between the United States and Ukraine due next week in Jeddah, describing it as part of the kingdom's efforts "to end the Ukrainian crisis". Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had announced he would travel to Saudi Arabia on Monday to...

"Release all of the Hostages now, not later, and immediately return all of the dead bodies of the people you murdered, or it is OVER for you," he wrote on his Truth Social platform after meeting freed hostages. "This is your last warning! For the leadership, now is the time...

A draft version of the Egyptian plan seen by AFP lays out a five-year roadmap with a price tag of $53 billion -- about the same amount the United Nations estimated Gaza's reconstruction would cost.

Dubai, UAE -- TRENDS’ yearly Special Issue is out. This year’s edition, titled Future of Humanity, explores key global shifts and brings together expert insights on old and new forces shaping our world. The edition delves into transformative themes such as GCC’s leadership in urbanization, smart cities, and logistics, as...

Washington, United States -- More than fifty years passed between the last Apollo mission and the United States' return to the lunar surface, when the first-ever private lander touched down last February. Now, starting Sunday, two more missions are set to follow within a single week, marking a bold push...

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said the "unspeakable" row "underlined that a new age of infamy has begun". Friedrich Merz, likely to become the country's next chancellor, said: "We must never confuse the aggressor and the victim in this terrible war", while outgoing head of state Olaf Scholz also backed...

Mediator Egypt say Israeli, Qatari and US delegations were already in Cairo for "intensive" talks on the next stage of the ceasefire, after a first phase only reached following months of grueling negotiations.

The video, which racked up more than 15 million views on Instagram and was shared thousands of times on Trump's Truth Social network by Wednesday morning, prompted some commenters to question whether the president's accounts had been hacked.

Mediators have revived a deal for Israel to release Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the bodies of four Israeli hostages, marking a renewed effort to uphold the fragile Gaza ceasefire agreement

Sigrid Kaag, the UN envoy for the peace process in the region, also warned against calls for Israel to annex the occupied West Bank. "The Middle East today is undergoing rapid transformation -- its scope and impact remain uncertain, but it also presents a historic opportunity," Kaag told the UN...

Geneva, Switzerland -- More than one million people have returned to their homes in Syria after the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad, including 280,000 refugees who came back from abroad, the UN said on Tuesday. Assad was toppled in December in a rebel offensive, putting an end to his family's decades-long grip...

Gaza City, Palestinian Territories -- For 500 days since an unprecedented Hamas attack on Israel triggered the Gaza Strip's deadliest war, Mohammed Abu Mursa has grappled with "humiliation, suffering and bloodshed" in his fight for survival. Abu Mursa and his family have been displaced more than a dozen times since the...

Cairo, Egypt -- Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi told the head of the World Jewish Congress Ronald Lauder on Sunday that the establishment of a Palestinian state is "the only guarantee" for lasting peace in the Middle East. During his meeting with Lauder in Cairo on Sunday, Sisi called for starting...

The talks come a day after Trump said he could "conceivably" halt billions of dollars in US aid to both Jordan and Egypt if they refuse to take in Palestinians that he says should be moved out from their homeland. The meeting also comes as the Gaza ceasefire appears increasingly...

Trump told Fox News Channel’s Bret Baier that "I would own it" and that there could be as many as six different sites for Palestinians to live outside Gaza -- under the plan which the Arab world has rejected.

Cairo, Egypt -- Egypt will host a summit of Arab nations on February 27 to discuss "the latest serious developments" concerning the Palestinian territories, its foreign ministry said in a statement on Sunday. The "emergency Arab summit" comes as Egypt has been rallying regional support against US President Donald Trump's plan...

The United Nations and the European Union also urged Trump on Friday to reverse the decision ordering asset freezes and travel bans against ICC officials, employees and their family members, along with anyone deemed to have helped the court's investigations.

Davos, Switzerland -- In an age where artificial intelligence is reshaping our lives, the World Economic Forum's Arts and Culture program showcased the cohabitation of technology and human creativity with a key focus on our shared humanity. TRENDS sat down with Joseph Fowler, Head of Arts and Culture at the...

Davos, Switzerland -- The Middle East, Africa, and India have an important role and influence in shaping the evolving world order and driving innovation, particularly in technology adoption and sustainable practices, said Ram Ramachandran, Senior VP India, Middle East, and Africa at Tech Mahindra, India’s leading provider of technology consulting and...

The Israeli military launched a major offensive in the West Bank on January 21 aimed at rooting out Palestinian armed groups from the Jenin area, which has long been a hotbed of militancy. On Sunday, the army said that it had killed at least 50 militants since it launched the...

Davos, Switzerland – Mark Elsner, Head, Global Risks Initiative, World Economic Forum sat with TRENDS during WEF’s summit in Davos to discuss the key issues addressed in The Global Risks Report 2025 with insights from over 900 experts who identified state-based armed conflict as the most immediate risk for 2025. Misinformation and disinformation...

By comparison, the share of electric cars in Europe was just 13.6 percent in the full-year 2024, a decline for the first time since 2020.

Davos, Switzerland -- In the next five years, millions of jobs will be created. Governments, employers, and education institutions, therefore, need to ready themselves for taking advantage of this opportunity, says Till Leopold, Head of Work, Wages and Job Creation at the World Economic Forum. Leopold spoke with TRENDS at...

Davos, Switzerland -- The world labor market is nearing the pre-Covid levels but gender gap and other concerns remain, International Labor Organisation (ILO) Director-General Gilbert F Houngbo told Trends in an interview. “In terms of the job trends, the ILO has issued its world economic and social outlook two weeks...