Category: English

The United States has told several Gulf Arab countries to prepare for a “short, intense military campaign” against Iran after the November 3 midterm elections, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing people briefed on the discussions. The messages, conveyed through diplomatic and military channels, are among growing signs that Washington and Israel are preparing for renewed heavy combat operations aimed at weakening Iran and pressuring it to return to negotiations, the report said. The US military is moving a Patriot missile defence system from Texas to the region,…

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Experts at a digital defence firm recently found that an Israeli ad tech company was heavily targeting users of ​Starlink’s satellite internet service in a likely effort to spy on them, according to six people familiar with the matter. Researchers at TrendAI, a unit of Tokyo-based cybersecurity company Trend Micro, ‌concluded the Israeli company Discover-Tech was one of the biggest sources of digital ads shown to users of SpaceX’s Starlink service and that the ads were likely being used to geolocate or otherwise surveil them, according to the six people.…

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Three brothers convicted of exploiting their access to wealth and high society in New York and Miami to ​drug and rape women were each sentenced on Tuesday to ‌30 years in prison. The twins Alon Alexander and Oren Alexander, 39, and Tal Alexander, 40, were sentenced by US District Judge Valerie Caproni in Manhattan, ​seven months after being convicted in a six-week trial of ​multiple sex crimes, including conspiracy to commit sex trafficking. Lawyers for ⁠the brothers did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Caproni ​called the brothers’ conduct…

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Pakistani actor and producer Humayun Saeed has called for the establishment of a local over-the-top (OTT) streaming platform, saying it could help Pakistani dramas reach wider audiences and eventually attract international platforms such as Netflix. In an interview with Ali Salman, Saeed discussed the distinctive style of Pakistani dramas, the challenges facing the country’s streaming industry, the growing role of social media in discovering talent and the lessons he learnt while working on Netflix’s The Crown. Saeed said Pakistani dramas had a distinct identity shaped by their writing, dialogue delivery…

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The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said it intercepted and destroyed a Houthi ballistic missile fired towards the western Saudi city of Taif early Wednesday, as authorities issued emergency alerts in Jeddah and Yanbu. Saudi Civil Defence later issued an all-clear for both areas without specifying the threat that had prompted the warnings. The coalition did not report any casualties or damage from the interception. The latest incident followed damage in Riyadh late Tuesday after Saudi air defences intercepted two Houthi ballistic missiles. Debris struck a building, a construction project and…

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The US military has spent over $47 billion so far to prosecute the war in Iran, more than 25% higher than the Defence Department’s estimate in July, according to Pentagon data obtained by Reuters. The Pentagon did not immediately ​respond to a request for comment on its estimate, which has not been shared publicly. The disclosure ​about the rising cost of the Iran war comes as Republicans wrestle with the ⁠political fallout of the unpopular conflict ahead of the November 3 election that will determine control of ​Congress for the…

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Israeli opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot on Wednesday urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to retire from politics, saying voters had rejected his continued leadership and warning him against using national security for political gain. Addressing supporters at his Yashar party headquarters in Tel Aviv early Wednesday, Eisenkot said Israelis had voted for change and pledged to work with his partners to form a government representing all sections of society. “It would be a mistake to hold another election, and it is my duty to do everything possible to carry out the…

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Oil prices rose on Wednesday after an attack on a refinery in Saudi Arabia, the ​world’s biggest crude exporter, renewed concerns around the ‌risks to supply in the Middle East stemming from the conflict with Iran and its proxies. Brent crude futures rose $1.48, or 1.3%, to $115.36 a ​barrel. US West Texas Intermediate ​crude rose $1.22, or 1.22%, to $101.12. Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis said on Tuesday ⁠they had hit Saudi Arabia’s biggest oil refinery with ​a missile, intensifying their strikes against the world’s second-largest crude ​producer. Saudi authorities did…

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Brazilian Senator Flavio Bolsonaro has left the country for the United States after losing Sunday’s presidential election, three sources said on Tuesday afternoon, with the US State Department due to grant him and his family entry visas. Bolsonaro, ​who has yet to concede to leftist incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, left Brazil after refusing to comply with ‌a Supreme Court order to surrender his passports. The ruling relates to a money laundering probe in which he denies wrongdoing. The location of Flavio, his wife and two daughters was not…

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot vowed to form a government on Wednesday after exit polls showed their rival blocs tied at 51 seats each, with neither securing the 61 seats needed for a majority in the 120-member Knesset. Revised projections by Israel’s public broadcaster and Channel 13 put Arab parties at 18 seats, up from an initial projection of 17, as voter turnout reached 77.7%, the highest since 1999 and 7.1 percentage points higher than in the 2022 election, according to the Central Elections Committee.…

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