An Israeli minister with responsibility for the administration of the occupied West Bank drew condemnation on Monday after he said there was no Palestinian history or culture and no such thing as a Palestinian people. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who triggered global outrage earlier this month when he called for …
Read More »Giant bank deal triggers political backlash in Switzerland
Switzerland's two biggest political parties sharply criticized UBS's (UBSG.S) takeover of Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) saying multi-billion state support for the deal created enormous risks for the country. Swiss authorities announced on Sunday that UBS (UBSG.S) had agreed to buy rival Swiss bank Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) in a shotgun merger aimed …
Read More »Indian state extends internet ban in hunt for Sikh separatist
Indian authorities extended a mobile internet blackout across a state of about 30 million people on Monday as police hunted a Sikh preacher. The blackout extension came as supporters of Amritpal Singh were filmed vandalising India’s consulate in San Francisco, not long after similar disturbances in London. Authorities in the …
Read More »New Delhi summons British diplomat over flag vandalism in London
The Indian government summoned the United Kingdom's senior-most diplomat to protest the taking down of its national flag at the Indian High Commission (HC) in London by pro-Khalistan demonstrators. In a video shared on social media platforms, a Sikh protestor can be seen mounting the building in London before managing to …
Read More »Biden tells Netanyahu he backs compromise on Israel judicial overhaul
US President Joe Biden on Sunday told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that democratic values were a hallmark of US-Israeli ties and said he supported finding a compromise over a highly-contested judicial overhaul. Netanyahu, according to his office, assured Biden that Israel's democracy was healthy. Since being reelected late last year …
Read More »Israel, Palestinians pledge moves to curb violence ahead of Ramadan
Israeli and Palestinian officials agreed on Sunday to establish a mechanism to curb violence and incitement, in talks that stressed the need to prevent any disruptive actions at Jerusalem's holy sites when Ramadan starts later this week. In a joint statement following talks in Egypt attended by U.S., Egyptian and …
Read More »Putin to welcome Xi to Moscow under shadow of Ukraine war
Russian President Vladimir Putin will expect Chinese President Xi Jinping to show solidarity against Western hegemony when he arrives in Moscow on Monday, while Xi will present China as a global peacemaker intent on brokering an end to the Ukraine war. Xi will be the first world leader to shake …
Read More »China touts Saudi-Iran deal as new hope for ME peace
The Chinese-brokered diplomatic deal between the two major Middle East powers — Iran and Saudi Arabia —has breathed new life into the hopes for the resolution of regional conflicts, while registering China as the leading conciliator on the global stage. Wang Di, the director-general at the Department of West Asian …
Read More »Funding shortfall forces food ration cuts for millions of hungry Afghans
The UN World Food Programme has been forced to cut rations to four million Afghans this month, it said in a statement late on Friday, due to a funding shortfall in the midst of the country’s severe humanitarian crisis. “Due to funding constraints, at least four million people will receive …
Read More »Iran’s President Raisi ‘welcomes’ invitation by Saudi king: official
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has “welcomed” an invitation from Saudi Arabia’s King Salman to visit the kingdom following the reconciliation deal between the two countries, an Iranian official said on Sunday. “In a letter to President Raisi … the king of Saudi Arabia welcomed the deal between the two brotherly countries …
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