Category: English

French President Emmanuel Macron has secured the delivery of an additional 200,000 tonnes of diesel per month from the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain during a tour of the Gulf, the French presidency said on Tuesday. He obtained commitments for around 100,000 tonnes per month from the Emirates, while an additional 100,000 tonnes monthly will be secured during the stop in Bahrain, the Elysee Palace said. With the addition of deliveries from Saudi Arabia, France has commitments for 295,000 tonnes per month, representing just over 10 per cent of its…

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Saudi forces on Tuesday said they had intercepted a Houthi ballistic missile aimed at the kingdom’s capital, after authorities issued a danger warning and AFP journalists reported hearing blasts. The kingdom “intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile launched by the terrorist Houthi militia towards Riyadh”, said Turki Al-Malki, a spokesman for the Saudi-led military coalition backing Yemen’s government in its war against the Houthis. Riyadh was shaken by two blasts, according to AFP journalists in the capital. “A warning has been issued by the National Early Warning Platform in Riyadh…

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British fighter planes will be deployed to help Saudi Arabia defend itself against increasing attacks from Yemen’s Houthi rebels, the UK government announced on Tuesday. The defence ministry said the deployment formed part of “additional defensive military support” to Riyadh. “The UK will fly defensive counter air missions to support the protection of Saudi cities and critical national infrastructure against aerial attack, using RAF Typhoon fighter jets,” the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said in a statement. “These aircraft will operate in a defensive role and will not conduct offensive strikes…

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Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir arrived in Tehran on Tuesday at the head of a high-level Pakistani delegation to meet senior Iranian officials, Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency reported. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei confirmed the visit earlier during his weekly press conference, saying the talks would relate to ongoing negotiations but would focus mainly on bilateral relations and strengthening cooperation. According to Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency, Field Marshal Asim Munir is scheduled to meet Iranian Foreign Minister…

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Multiple Google Cloud services ​experienced disruptions in the company’s London ‌region on Tuesday, according to its service status page, while British digital bank ​Revolut also reported a service outage. A ​person familiar with the matter told ⁠Reuters that Revolut’s service outage ​was related to the Google Cloud service ​disruption. Revolut’s status page showed most of its services were unavailable or partially unavailable, including card ​payments and ATM withdrawals. “We are ​currently experiencing a service disruption affecting multiple services. ‌We ⁠can confirm that all our customers’ money and data are safe,”…

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A suspect accused of killing a 15-year-old orphan by running him over with a car in Multan was assaulted by lawyers during his appearance before a local court in Multan, prompting police to intervene and take him to safety. The court approved four days of physical remand for the suspect, identified as Tauqeer Nazir, in the case involving the death of Waseem Abbas. According to eyewitnesses and sources present at the court, lawyers attacked the suspect, tore his clothes and took him outside the court premises while beating him. Police…

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Israeli property investment and the spread of short-term tourist rentals are fuelling tensions in Exarchia, a central Athens neighbourhood known for its left-wing politics and strong solidarity with Palestinians, as residents say rising rents and property speculation are driving local families out. Tonia Katerini, a 69-year-old architect who has lived in Exarchia since 1986, has spent months mapping foreign property purchases with a group of neighbours using public records. Their map shows a growing concentration of acquisitions across the neighbourhood. The group estimates that Israeli investors account for more than…

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Michael Dell’s fortune increased by $4.3 billion on Monday, allowing the technology entrepreneur to overtake Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg and reclaim his position as the world’s fifth-richest person, according to Forbes. Dell’s net worth stood at approximately $241.3 billion as of 1.15pm, after shares in Dell Technologies climbed 2% amid a recovery in technology stocks following last week’s market downturn. Shares in chipmaker Broadcom, in which Dell also holds a significant stake, rose about 2.4% during Monday’s trading session, further boosting his wealth. Meanwhile, Meta shares fell around 1.1%,…

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Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Tuesday that it had intercepted and destroyed a US MQ-9 drone over the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency reported. The IRGC said the drone was downed early Tuesday while flying over the strategic waterway, claiming it was the 54th US MQ-9 drone it had destroyed, according to the agency. The incident comes amid tensions between Washington and Tehran following the US-Israeli war against Iran, which began on February 28. Iran responded with missile and drone attacks across the region…

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Voters in Canada’s Alberta province have overwhelmingly backed remaining in the country, with early referendum results showing 77% opposed to beginning a process towards separation. With more than one million votes counted, 23% supported starting the process to separate from Canada, according to unofficial results from Elections Alberta. The referendum was not a direct vote on independence. A victory for the separatist side would have set the province on a path towards a future vote on separation. “Albertans made a clear choice,” Prime Minister Mark Carney said. “They chose unity,…

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