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'Putin has lost the monopoly of force,' EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said

EU Fears 'Weaker Putin'

The European Union warned Thursday that Russia has become more dangerous after a brief mutiny by its Wagner mercenaries that the bloc said exposed President Vladimir Putin as weaker than previously thought.
People visit the graves of loved ones at a cemetery on the first day of the Muslim feast of Eid al-Adha in Syria's rebel-held northwestern city of Idlib on June 28, 2023

UN General Assembly Creates Body To Probe Fate Of Syria's Missing

The UN General Assembly on Thursday created an independent body to "clarify" the fate of thousands of people who remain missing in Syria since war broke out in 2011, overriding objections from Damascus. "This draft clearly reflects flagrant interference in our internal affairs and provides new evidence of the hostile approach being pursued by certain Western States against Syria," ambassador Bassam Sabbagh said, pointing in particular to the United States.
The Koran burning came as the annual hajj pilgrimage to Mecca was ending

Muslim Nations Denounce Koran Burning In Sweden

Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern nations on Thursday condemned the burning of the Koran by an Iraqi living in Sweden, warning such acts "inflame" the feelings of Muslims around the world.
Saudi security forces patrol the area of the US consulate in Jeddah early on June 29, 2023 after a security guard and a gunman were both killed in an exchange of gunfire outside

Guard, Gunman Dead In Shooting At US Consulate In Saudi

Saudi authorities were investigating Thursday after an assailant and a security guard were killed in an exchange of gunfire outside the US consulate in Jeddah, the gateway city for the massive hajj pilgrimage taking place in Mecca.
The UAE funded a solar farm next to Vanuatu's parliament

Gulf Oil States On A Pacific Charm Offensive

Since 2015, the UAE says it has spent at least $50 million on infrastructure projects throughout the Pacific islands, typically focused on renewable energy. Emirati petrodollars have funded a wind farm in Samoa, water storage facilities in the Marshall Islands, and solar power projects in Kiribati, Tuvalu and Solomon Islands. One of the most conspicuous examples sits smack in the middle of Vanuatu's leafy capital Port Vila, where a UAE-funded solar farm keeps the lights on inside the country's parliament.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has cautioned there is no new nuclear agreement in the offing with Iran despite quiet new diplomatic overtures, as he called on Tehran to avoid escalating tensions

Blinken Says No Nuclear Deal On Table With Iran

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday that no new nuclear agreement was on the table with Iran, after quiet new diplomacy between the adversaries. President Joe Biden took office with hopes of returning to a 2015 nuclear accord with Iran scrapped by his predecessor Donald Trump. But EU-mediated talks collapsed and mass protests in Iran made Washington increasingly hesitant to strike a deal with the clerical state.
US President Joe Biden says 'pariah' Vladimir Putin is losing his war in Ukraine

'Pariah' Putin 'Clearly Losing' Ukraine War: Biden

US President Joe Biden said Wednesday that "pariah" Vladimir Putin is "losing" the war in Ukraine, but it is too early to tell whether the Russian president has been weakened by the mercenary Wagner group's aborted rebellion.
UAE flag flies over a boat at Dubai Marina

COP28: UAE, UK Agree On 'Closer Co-Operation' To Tackle Climate Change

"I would say that the difference that we see in our engagement with leadership from the beginning of the year to now is night and day. We've put in a lot of hard work as a presidency to get everybody on track to saying where we're going forward and what we're going to do to respond to the global stocktake," Director general of Cop28, Majid Al Suwaidi said.
The EU is the first major jurisdiction to implement the final elements of the bank reforms

EU Agrees Tougher Rules On Banks

The EU struck a deal on Tuesday to implement internationally-agreed banking reforms intended to avert a repeat of the 2008 financial crisis.
More than 1.8 million pilgrims, most of them from abroad, have joined the first hajj with unrestricted numbers since pre-Covid

Crowds 'Stone The Devil' In Final Hajj Ritual

Massive crowds of robed Muslims gathered for the "stoning of the devil" ritual in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday as the biggest hajj pilgrimage since the pandemic draws to a close. rom dawn, hundreds of thousands of worshippers began pelting pebbles at three concrete monoliths representing Satan, the last major ritual of an event held in severe summer heat. The pilgrims flocked to Mina, near Mecca, a day after enduring temperatures of 48 degrees Celsius (118 degrees Fahrenheit) as they prayed for hours on Mount Arafat.

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