• Jill Biden writes children’s book about ‘First Feline’ Willow

    Washington, United States - The Bidens' dogs grabbed headlines with their bad behavior, but "First Feline" Willow is getting a book all to herself. First Lady Jill Biden has written a children's story about the short-haired tabby's journey from a farm in Pennsylvania to the White House in 2022. With a...
  • Beyonce album highlights the Black women changing country music

    Nashville, United States - "Twenty-three in Music City / With dreams and high-heeled boots / Singin' for a crowd of blue eyes / Will they want me too?" croons Julie Williams at the Blue Room venue in Nashville. The 26-year-old, who is biracial, is one of many Black female artists carving...
  • Qatar says negotiations ‘ongoing’ for Gaza truce

    Doha, Qatar - Mediator Qatar said on Tuesday that talks between Hamas and Israel on a Gaza truce and hostage release are continuing, despite the warring parties trading blame over the lack of headway. Foreign ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari said the talks were "ongoing", adding there had not been "any development...
  • Major US bridge collapses as cargo ship plows into pylon

    Baltimore, United States -- A major bridge collapsed in Baltimore on Tuesday, blocking one of the busiest US commercial harbors, after a heavily laden cargo ship lost power and smashed into a support column despite desperate attempts to stop in time. Six people -- all members of a nighttime construction crew...
  • UN adopts resolution on immediate Gaza truce as US abstains

    All 14 other members voted in favor of the resolution which "demands an immediate ceasefire" for Ramadan. The resolution calls for the truce to lead to a "lasting, sustainable ceasefire" and demands that Hamas and other groups free hostages.
  • The unexplained: Giant Swedish archive logs paranormal phenomena

    The Archives for the Unexplained (AFU) claims to be the world's biggest library of paranormal phenomena, with 4.2 kilometers of shelves running underground.
  • Finland to resume funding to UN agency for Palestinian refugees

    Australia, Canada and Sweden, which were among those states, announced earlier this month they were resuming aid. Ten percent of the Finnish funding will be allocated to risk management, the minister said.
  • IMF chief urges countries to strengthen independence of central banks

    "Financial stability benefits the whole economy and reduces the risk that the central bank becomes reluctant to raise interest rates for fear of causing a financial meltdown," she added.
  • ‘US circulates draft UN resolution calling for immediate truce in Gaza’

    "Of course, we stand with Israel and its right to defend itself... but at the same time, it's imperative that the civilians who are in harm's way and who are suffering so terribly -– that we focus on them, that we make them a priority, protecting the civilians, getting them...
  • Federal Reserve begins two-day talk on interest rates

    Washington, United States - The US Federal Reserve began two days of discussions on Tuesday at which policymakers are expected to hold firm on interest rates, and continue discussions about when to start cutting them. The meeting got under way in Washington at 9am local time (1300 GMT) on Tuesday, the...
  • Fatah rejects Hamas criticism of new prime minister’s appointment

    Ramallah, Palestinian Territories - Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas's Fatah party hit back at criticism by Hamas and other factions over his appointment of a new prime minister they said could deepen divisions as the war with Israel in Gaza rages. Abbas appointed Mohammed Mustafa, a long-trusted adviser on economic affairs, as...
  • G7 vows ‘significant’ new sanctions if Iran sends missiles to Russia

    Washington, US - G7 countries warned Iran on Friday that they will impose "significant" new sanctions if Tehran transfers ballistic missiles to Russia for use in Ukraine. "We reiterate our call on third parties to immediately cease providing material support to Russia's illegal and unjustifiable war of aggression against Ukraine or...
  • European Union to sanction violent Israeli settlers and Hamas

    Britain and the United States have already imposed sanctions on a small number of Israeli settlers accused of committing human rights abuses against Palestinians in the West Bank.
  • Non-oil trade between UAE and US hits $31.4 billion in 2023

    Abu Dhabi, UAE -- Non-oil trade between the UAE and the United States reached $31.4 billion in 2023 and is expected to continue growing at the same pace in 2024, said Danny E. Sebright, President of the US-UAE Business Council. Sebright added, in statements to the Emirates News Agency (WAM),...
  • Former US treasury secretary says preparing buyout of TikTok

    Washington, US - Former US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Thursday said he is putting together a team of investors to buy TikTok from its Chinese owners. On Wednesday, the US House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a bill that would force TikTok to divest from its parent company or face a...
  • US sanctions five Israeli entities including three settlers in West Bank

    Washington, US - The United States sanctioned three Israeli settlers and two farming outposts on Thursday, accusing them of being involved in "undermining stability in the West Bank." The move marks the second time this year that Washington has sanctioned Israeli settlers, as it looks to respond to the rise in...
  • US House of Representatives overwhelmingly passes TikTok ban bill

    The measure requires TikTok's parent company ByteDance to sell the app within 180 days or see it barred from the Apple and Google app stores in the US. The lawmakers voted 352 in favor of the proposed law and 65 against, in a rare moment of bipartisan unity in politically...
  • Germany joins operation to airdrop humanitarian aid into Gaza

    "The people in Gaza are lacking the most basic necessities. We want to do our part to ensure that they get access to food and medicine," said Defense Minister Boris Pistorius.
  • Trump, Biden clinch enough delegates for US presidential nomination

    The results in four statewide elections Tuesday, the latest in the months-long march to determine the Democratic and Republican party flagbearers, were essentially a foregone conclusion as incumbent Biden and former president Trump had already seen off all primary challengers.
  • SpaceX Crew-7 returns after six-month mission on Space Station

    Washington, United States - Four astronauts splashed down off Florida in the Gulf of Mexico on their return to Earth early Tuesday, following a more than six-month mission on the International Space Station. The SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft landed in the waters off Pensacola at 5:47 am (0947 GMT), with a...
  • US consumer inflation in Feb up as Federal Reserve mulls rate cut

    The annual consumer price index (CPI) came in at 3.2 percent last month, the Labor Department said, while the "core" measure stripping out volatile food and energy prices edged down slightly to 3.8 percent.
  • Doha Bank bond issue oversubscribed four times

    Doha, Qatar - Doha Bank has successfully issued $500 million in international bonds, garnering a total order book of $2 billion, marking an oversubscription of 4 times. The investor base includes prominent asset managers, banks, private banks, and insurance companies from the United States, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East....
  • US plan for Gaza aid transfer through sea dismissed by UN expert

    In his annual State of the Union address to Congress, President Joe Biden said the US military would "lead an emergency mission to establish a temporary pier in the Mediterranean on the coast of Gaza that can receive large shipments carrying food, water medicine and temporary shelters."
  • US all set for Biden-Trump rematch as Haley bows out of race

    Pointedly declining to endorse the man she has portrayed as chaotic and mentally incompetent, former UN ambassador Haley said Trump would have to earn the support of moderates who backed her longshot campaign. Her withdrawal leaves America facing a battle for the White House between two elderly men that many...
  • Conservatives tipped to win in Iranian elections as counting begins

    Tehran, Iran - Iran began counting ballots on Saturday after a vote for parliament and a key clerical body, with local media estimating a low turnout and conservatives expected to dominate. Friday's elections were the first since widespread protests triggered by the September 2022 death in police custody of Mahsa Amini,...
  • Facebook parent Meta to stop paying Australian news media

    Meta had previously announced it would not renew content deals with news publishers in the United States, Britain, France and Germany. The social media giant had been pushed into paying for news by governments hoping to level the media playing field and support struggling news firms.
  • Former US ambassador to plead guilty to spying for Cuba

    Rocha additionally faces a lawsuit filed Thursday in Florida by the widow of Cuban dissident Oswaldo Paya. She alleges Rocha was responsible for the death of her late husband, the 2002 winner of the European Parliament's Sakharov Prize for human rights, in a car crash in Cuba in 2012.
  • US, Qatar hope for Israel-Palestine truce within days

    Netanyahu has faced increasing public pressure over the fate of the remaining hostages. Itamar Ben Gvir, Israel's far-right national security minister, said Netanyahu should not accept Hamas's "delusional requests" in negotiations, adding that "the war must continue", according to news website Ynet.
  • Chevron $53bn Hess deal in danger

    Rivals' challenge to the control of a key oil asset can derail the acquisition.
  • Palestinian PM resigns over ‘Gaza aggression, West Bank escalation’

    The resignation of the government in the West Bank comes as several countries, including the United States, have called for a reformed Palestinian Authority that would take charge of all Palestinian territories after the war in Gaza ends. "The next stage and its challenges require new governmental and political measures...
  • US says talks came to ‘understanding’ on possible Gaza truce

    "Representatives of Israel, the United States, Egypt, and Qatar met in Paris and came to an understanding among the four of them about what the basic contours of a hostage deal for temporary ceasefire would look like," White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told CNN. "It is still under...
  • US lunar landing a ‘historic achievement’, says Biden

    Washington, US - President Joe Biden on Saturday hailed the landing of a US spacecraft on the Moon as a historic achievement in space research led by the United States. The uncrewed Odysseus lander, built by a private company and funded by NASA, landed near the lunar south pole Thursday, more...
  • Israeli strikes kill dozens in Gaza as truce talks continue in Paris

    The negotiations come after a plan for a post-war Gaza unveiled by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu drew criticism from key ally the United States, and was rejected by Hamas and the Palestinian Authority in the occupied West Bank. They also come alongside deepening fears for Gaza's civilians.
  • Netanyahu plan for post-war Gaza draws US criticism

    The plan lays out that, even after the war, the Israeli army would have "indefinite freedom" to operate throughout Gaza to prevent any resurgence of Hamas activity, according to the proposals. The plan was swiftly rejected by the Palestinian Authority and drew criticism from the United States.
  • Houthi missile attack damages British-owned ship off Yemen

    Dubai, United Arab Emirates - Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels fired two missiles at a British-owned cargo ship passing through the Gulf of Aden on Thursday, causing one minor injury and damage to the vessel. The rebels, who control much of Yemen, have carried out months of attacks on merchant vessels in...
  • US urges UN court not to order Israel out of Palestinian lands

    The International Court of Justice is holding a week of hearings after a request from the UN, with an unprecedented 52 countries giving their views on Israel's occupation. Most speakers have demanded that Israel end its occupation, which came after a six-day Arab-Israeli war in 1967, but Washington came to...
  • US draft UNSC resolution supports temporary Gaza truce: Report

    Dubai, UAE -- The United States has proposed a rival draft resolution at the United Nations Security Council, emphasizing its support for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza, Reuters reported. The proposed resolution echoes the language US President Joe Biden's said he used in his recent discussions with Israel's Prime Minister...
  • ‘160-year-old story’: Abraham Lincoln pardoned Joe Biden’s ancestor

    The "slender sheaf of 22 well-preserved pages of his trial transcript, unobtrusively squeezed among many hundreds of other routine court-martial cases in the National Archives, reveals the hidden link between the two men -- and between two presidents across the centuries," Gerleman wrote.
  • Prospects dim for truce as Israel rejects calls to spare Rafah

    Mediator Qatar acknowledged that separate ceasefire talks had also hit an impasse after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected some Hamas demands as "ludicrous". Israel has concentrated its military operations in Khan Yunis, the hometown of Hamas's Gaza leader Yahya Sinwar, whom it accuses of masterminding the October 7 attack.
  • Iran unveils air defense systems amid rise in Middle East tensions

    Tehran, Iran - Iran unveiled two new air defense systems on Saturday, state media reported, with tensions high in the Middle East amid the war in Gaza. "The Arman anti-ballistic missile system and the Azarakhsh low-altitude air defense system, built by the ministry of defense, were unveiled this morning," the official...
  • Israel faces fresh US calls against attack on Rafah

    Palestinian Territories - Israel faced renewed calls from key ally the United States on Friday against launching a large-scale attack on Gaza's southern city of Rafah, where nearly 1.5 million Palestinians are trapped. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted he would push ahead with a "powerful" operation in the...
  • 99 journalists killed in 2023, 72 in Israel-Hamas war alone

    "The immense loss suffered by Palestinian journalists in this war will have long-term impacts for journalism not just in the Palestinian territories but for the region and beyond. Every journalist killed is a further blow to our understanding of the world." CPJ has previously attacked what it calls "persecution" of...
  • US private firm targets moon landing

    Intuitive Machines, the Houston company, hopes to become the first non-government entity to achieve a soft touchdown on the Moon.
  • Britain sanctions ‘Israeli settlers’ in West Bank

    London, UK - Britain on Monday announced sanctions on four "extremist Israeli settlers" accused of committing human rights abuses against Palestinians in the West Bank, following a similar move by the United States earlier this month. The curbs follow what the UK called "unprecedented levels of violence by extremist settlers in...
  • Hamas, Saudi warn of calamity if Israeli troops attack Rafah

    Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week said he had ordered troops to prepare to go in to the city, crowded with displaced Palestinians, as it hunts down those responsible for the deadly October 7 attacks on southern Israel. The announcement has prompted concern from foreign governments including the United States...
  • Moody’s downgrades Israel’s credit rating due to Hamas conflict

    Fitch -- which is the last of the big three US ratings agencies -- placed Israel on negative watch over risks from the conflict. "The weakened security environment implies higher social risk and indicates weaker executive and legislative institutions than Moody's previously assessed," the ratings agency said Friday in the...
  • Palestinian official says Hamas still seeks truce despite Israeli denial

    "We expect the negotiations to be very complex and difficult but Hamas is open to discussions and the movement is keen to reach a ceasefire," added the official, who is familiar with the negotiations. "The two parties will hold several rounds of negotiations indirectly," he said on condition of anonymity
  • US strikes destroy two Houthi missile systems in Yemen

    Washington, US - The United States military confirmed on Thursday its forces conducted multiple strikes against Houthi missile systems as the Yemen-based rebel group prepared to launch attacks that threatened US Navy and merchant ships. Late Wednesday Sanaa time US Central Command forces "conducted self-defense strikes against two Houthi mobile anti-ship...
  • Saudi Arabia to US: No Israel ties until Palestinian statehood within 1967 borders

    Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - Saudi Arabia on Tuesday explicitly conveyed to the United States its stance on diplomatic relations with Israel, making it clear that such ties will not be established without significant progress on the Palestinian issue. The Kingdom insists on the recognition of an independent Palestinian state within...
  • OECD predicts rise in global economy amid Middle East ‘risk’

    The OECD raised its 2024 world economic growth forecast Monday but warned that the Middle East conflict posed a risk, with disruptions in Red Sea shipping threatening to increase consumer prices. Global growth "proved unexpectedly resilient" in 2023, reaching 3.1 percent as inflation declined faster than anticipated..
  • McDonald Q4 profit up

    McDonald's cited war in the Middle East as a drag.