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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that he has approved a USD35 billion natural gas export deal to Egypt, the biggest gas deal in Israeli history. The agreement could also help repair relations between the two countries strained during the two-year war in the Gaza Strip. The gas will be delivered to Egypt over the next 15 years by US energy giant Chevron, a key owner of the gas field off Israel's coast in the Mediterranean Sea. Half of the proceeds are expected to go to Israel's state coffers. In a recorded video statement, Netanyahu said the deal "greatly strengthens Israel's position as a regional energy power, and it contributes to stability in our region. Egypt, which borders both Israel and Gaza, has served as a key mediator between Israel and the Palestinian militant Hamas group leading up to the US-brokered ceasefire that was agreed on in October. Cairo has also has been a vocal critic of Israel's offensive, which has killed tens of thousands of ...
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday spoke with his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu and discussed ways to further strengthen the strategic partnership between the two nations. Netanyahu called Modi and shared views on the situation in West Asia. "PM Modi reaffirmed India's support for efforts towards a just and durable peace in the region, including early implementation of the Gaza Peace Plan," a statement from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said. It said both leaders expressed satisfaction at the continued momentum in India-Israel Strategic Partnership and reaffirmed their commitment to further strengthening these ties for mutual benefit. "The two leaders strongly condemned terrorism and reiterated their zero-tolerance approach towards terrorism in all its forms and manifestations," the statement said. The two leaders also agreed to remain in touch, it added.
Two tankers were struck and caught fire in the Black Sea, Turkish authorities reported, prompting rescue operations. Crew members on board both vessels were reported to be safe. The OpenSanctions database, which tracks people or organisations involved in sanctions evasion, described the vessels as shadow fleet or vessels used to evade sanctions imposed on Russia following its 2022 invasion of Russia. Turkey's Directorate General of Maritime Affairs said the first tanker, the Gambian-flagged Kairos, caught fire in the Black Sea, approximately 45 km off the coast of Turkey's Kocaeli province. It blamed on the fire on an external impact, without providing details. The Kairos was sailing empty toward Russia's Novorossiysk port, it said. Within the hour, the maritime authority reported that a second tanker, Virat, was struck while sailing in the Black Sea about 35 nautical miles off the Turkish coast. It did not provide further details. Rescue teams were dispatched to the scene to pro
Saudi Arabia appointed a prominent ultraconservative scholar late Wednesday as the country's new grand mufti, the kingdom's top religious scholar. Sheikh Saleh bin Fawzan al-Fawzan, 90, took over the position, the state-run Saudi Press Agency reported. The decision came from King Salman, based on the recommendation of his son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the report added. Sheikh Saleh, reportedly born Sept 28, 1935, in Saudi Arabia's al-Qassim province, studied the Quran with a local imam after his father's death. He became a prominent scholar, speaking to the faithful via the Noor ala al-Darb, or Light the Way, radio show and via multiple books he's authored and his television appearances. His fatwas, or religious orders, have been shared via social media as well. Sheikh Saleh has faced criticism in Western media in the past for some of his pronouncements. Human Rights Watch in 2017 reported Sheikh Saleh, when asked if Sunni Muslims should view Shiite as their brothers, ...
Lebanon's president said Monday that his country and Israel should negotiate to solve pending problems between them since war didn't lead to any positive results. The comments by President Joseph Aoun came after U.S. counterpart Donald Trump brokered a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas in the more than two-year war, which started when the Palestinian militant group led an attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage. A day after the Israel-Hamas war began, Lebanon's Hezbollah started attacking Israeli military posts along the border in what it called a backup front for Gaza. The Israel-Hezbollah conflict intensified into full-blown fighting nearly a year later, during which the Lebanese group suffered heavy losses and many of its political and military commanders were killed. Since the 14-month Israel-Hezbollah war ended with a U.S.-brokered ceasefire in November, Israel has carried out almost daily airstrikes on Lebanon that left .
President Donald Trump's peace plan for Gaza will allow countries like India to carry out reconstruction activities in the region as New Delhi has been playing a positive role for peace in the Middle-East, Israeli ambassador Reuven Azar said on Tuesday. The envoy also welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's reaction to the 20-point peace plan and said India can contribute significantly to the region. The plan, unveiled after talks between Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, proposes an immediate end to the war in Gaza and release of all the hostages held by Hamas within 72 hours. Hamas has not yet accepted the peace plan. In a post on X, Modi welcomed Trump's announcement of a comprehensive plan to end the Gaza conflict. "It provides a viable pathway to long term and sustainable peace, security and development for the Palestinian and Israeli people, as also for the larger West Asian region," the prime minister said. "We hope that all concerned will come together
JK Foods' snack brand Fun Flips has entered the UAE market, in partnership with Lulu International group, one of the largest retail chains in the Middle East. Through Lulu's retail network, Fun Flips has already achieved strong initial penetration in the UAE and is now gearing up to expand in other GCC markets such as Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Bahrain, according to a joint statement. It has a 'long-term vision' of establishing a strong presence across the entire Gulf region, it added. Commenting on the development, Lulu Group International Chairman and Managing Director Yusuff Ali M A said: "With our wide customer base and retail presence, we believe Fun Flips will gain significant traction in the Gulf market." Chaitanya Singhania, CEO, JK Foods, said: "Lulu's unparalleled retail network and deep understanding of the consumer landscape make them an ideal partner for this journey.
Undersea cable cuts in the Red Sea disrupted internet access Sunday in parts of Asia including India, and West East, experts said, though it wasn't immediately clear what caused the incident. There has been concern about the cables being targeted in a Red Sea campaign by Yemen's Houthi rebels, which the rebels describe as an effort to pressure Israel to end its war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. But the Houthis have denied attacking the lines in the past. NetBlocks, which monitors internet access, said a series of subsea cable outages in the Red Sea has degraded internet connectivity in multiple countries, which it said included India and Pakistan. It blamed failures affecting the SMW4 and IMEWE cable systems near Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The South East Asia-Middle East-Western Europe 4 cable is run by Tata Communications, part of the Indian conglomerate. The India-Middle East-Western Europe cable is run by another consortium overseen by Alcatel-Lucent. Both firms did not immediately ...
Israel has launched a new spy satellite that defence officials described as a strategic cornerstone, saying it will strengthen their surveillance capacity across the Middle East in the years ahead. Military officials and Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Wednesday that the satellite, launched on late Tuesday, will enhance Israel's ability to collect images like the 12,000 gathered over Iran during a 12-day war earlier this year. This is also a message to all our enemies, wherever they may be - we are keeping an eye on you at all times and in all situations, Katz said in a post on X. In addition to monitoring Iran, Israel gains reconnaissance capabilities in other parts of the Middle East as it conducts what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called a seven-front war, with Israeli forces striking targets in Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Iraq throughout the 23 months of war in Gaza. Maj. Gen. Amir Baram said the satellite, called Ofek 19, was part of a broader effort "to maintain .
A landslide wiped out a village in Sudan's western region of Darfur, killing an estimated 1,000 people in one of the deadliest natural disasters in the African country's recent history, a rebel group controlling the area said late Monday. The tragedy happened Sunday in the village of Tarasin in Central Darfur's Marrah Mountains after days of heavy rainfall in late August, the Sudan Liberation Movement-Army said in a statement. Initial information indicates the death of all village residents, estimated to be more than one thousand people. Only one person survived, the statement read. The village was completely levelled to the ground, the group said, appealing to the UN and international aid groups for help to recover the bodies. Footage shared by the Marrah Mountains news outlet showed a flattened area between mountain ranges with a group of people searching the area. The tragedy came as a devastating civil war has engulfed Sudan after tensions between the country's military and th
The government is working on measures to boost India's exports, including targeting 50 countries in regions such as the Middle East and Africa, amid the heavy tariffs imposed by the US on Indian goods, an official said on Monday. These 50 countries account for about 90 per cent of India's exports. The official said that the commerce ministry is working on four pillars including export diversification, import substitution, and export competitiveness "Detailed analysis is underway on these pillars. The ministry is working product by product," the official said. The commerce ministry was already focusing on 20 countries and now 30 more have now been included in the strategy. India's exports remained flat at USD 35.14 billion in June due to global economic uncertainties, while the trade deficit narrowed to a four-month low of USD 18.78 billion during the month. During April-June 2025-26, exports increased 1.92 per cent to USD 112.17 billion, while imports rose 4.24 per cent to USD 17