Israel PM Says Bodies of Two Hostages Retrieved From Gaza

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that the bodies of two Israeli-Americans killed in Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack and held in Gaza had been returned to Israel. "In a special operation by the (security agency) and the (military) in the Gaza Strip, the bodies of two of our hostages held by the murderous terrorist ...

US Stocks Retreat on Heightened Tariff Tensions

US stocks mostly slipped Monday on global trade tensions, with China rejecting Washington's accusations that it violated a pact to de-escalate tariffs, while President Donald Trump's plans to double steel levies added to strain with the EU. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.4 percent to 42,109.92, while the broad-based S&P ...

IMF: Three Billion to Bury 85 Billion? No, Thank You.

The International Monetary Fund wants to lend $3 billion to Lebanon. On paper, it’s an "opportunity" to get a devastated country back on its feet. In reality, it’s a cruel joke. Lebanon is staring into an $85 billion abyss - a gaping hole dug by decades of mismanagement, clientelism, and public governance as cynical as it is incompetent. In ...

Japan Urges Universities to Accept Students Hit by US Block

The Japanese government has asked local universities to consider accepting international students enrolled at US universities as President Donald Trump seeks to force Harvard to submit to unprecedented oversight. The Trump administration moved last week to block Harvard from enrolling foreign students, but on Friday a judge suspended the order ...

Lebanon, the Doormat of Syria’s Sanctions Lift

Bashar al-Assad has been out of the picture for almost six months now. No one seems to miss him. The chapter is firmly closed. Enter Ahmad el-Chareh – once an Islamist, now a man of compromise – captured smiling alongside Donald Trump in Riyadh. Syria is reinventing itself, trying to appear more approachable. At least, that’s the ...

South Lebanon: Israeli Drone Strike Kills One in Tyre Caza

On the road linking the localities of Mansouri and Majdel Zoun, in the caza of Tyre, a motorcycle was targeted by a drone strike on Tuesday morning. The strike killed one person believed to be a member of Hezbollah, according to the Israeli Army. Lebanon’s Ministry of Health states that nine people were wounded, according to a ...

UAE Says to Invest $1.4 Trillion in US over 10 Years

The president of the United Arab Emirates on Thursday said his country planned to invest $1.4 trillion in the United States over 10 years, lauding a "strong partnership" that flourished under US President Donald Trump. Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed announced the "UAE's plan to invest $1.4 trillion in the United States... over the ...

Donald Trump Calls for a “New Middle East” During his Visit to Saudi Arabia

On an official two-day visit to Saudi Arabia, U.S. President Donald Trump called for a fundamental reshaping of the geopolitical balance in the Middle East. In a speech delivered to an audience of Arab leaders, Trump advocated for an expansion of the Abraham Accords and increased cooperation in addressing regional threats, particularly those ...

Protection Racket? Asian Semiconductor Giants Fear Looming Tariffs

Inside one of South Korea's oldest semiconductor research institutes, the cleanrooms and workshops are calm and immaculate, but outside the Seoul National University campus, a chip storm is brewing. Last month, Washington announced a national security probe into imports of semiconductor technology, which could put the industry in the crosshairs ...

Riyadh Rolls Out the Red Carpet for Trump

Donald Trump will begin his Gulf tour in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, where he is set to receive a grand welcome in Riyadh. The visit will focus on boosting investments in defense, energy and artificial intelligence. However, rising tensions with Iran and the ongoing crisis in Gaza loom large over the trip.  

UK Charity Under Scrutiny for Alleged Hezbollah Ties

Since Saturday, the names of Hussein Harake and Zeinab Basma have been at the center of a growing controversy in the United Kingdom. The pair—Harake, a former British Airways security employee at Heathrow Airport, and Basma, an NHS doctor—are accused of raising hundreds of thousands of pounds for Lebanon through a group alleged to have ties to ...