Dushanbe hosts key regional summits amid shifting geopolitical landscape
Dushanbe is preparing for one of its busiest diplomatic weeks in recent memory. From 8 to 12 October, the capital of Tajikistan will host two major in...
U.S. President Donald Trump kicked off his Gulf tour with a high-profile visit to Saudi Arabia, securing a major strategic economic agreement and pledging deep investment ties between the two nations.
U.S. President Donald Trump began his Gulf tour on Tuesday with a ceremonial welcome in Saudi Arabia, where he signed a wide-ranging strategic economic agreement with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The deal, announced during the Riyadh Summit, covers energy, defence, mining, and other key sectors, and is intended to deepen bilateral cooperation as the kingdom pursues economic diversification under Vision 2030.
Saudi state media said the agreement was accompanied by a separate Strategic Economic Partnership Document. The White House confirmed that the kingdom had pledged to invest $600 billion in the United States, including what officials described as the largest-ever defence sales package between the two allies—worth nearly $142 billion.
"I really believe we like each other a lot," Trump remarked during talks with Prince Mohammed, whom he called a friend. The two leaders also participated in the Saudi-U.S. Investment Forum, where the crown prince hosted a lunch attended by high-level U.S. business figures such as Elon Musk, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, Blackstone’s Stephen Schwarzman, and OpenAI’s Sam Altman.
Trump joked that the $600 billion pledge could grow to $1 trillion, echoing comments he made during his 2017 trip to Riyadh, and noted the investment would generate jobs in the United States.
Saudi Investment Minister Khalid al-Falih opened the forum by highlighting the shift from oil dependency to innovation, particularly in frontier technologies. NEOM’s Deputy CEO Rayan Fayez said most of the $1 billion in tech-focused Saudi investment has gone to U.S. firms.
Despite its scale, the event notably did not include a stop in Israel, prompting speculation about changing regional priorities. Israeli officials have expressed concern, especially as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces pressure from Washington to accept a ceasefire and consider a two-state solution amid the ongoing Gaza war.
Meanwhile, Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff said efforts to expand the Abraham Accords were ongoing, though sources say progress with Saudi Arabia is unlikely under the current Israeli stance. Trump is also expected to offer Riyadh an arms package exceeding $100 billion, further cementing defence ties with the kingdom.
Separately, U.S. and Iranian officials met in Oman to discuss Tehran’s nuclear programme, with Trump maintaining the possibility of military action if talks fail. Israeli operations against Hamas and Hezbollah, and the targeted killings of their leaders, have increased pressure on Iran, giving Trump added diplomatic leverage.
Video from the USGS (United States Geological Survey) showed on Friday (19 September) the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii erupting and spewing lava.
At least eight people have died and more than 90 others were injured following a catastrophic gas tanker explosion on a major highway in Mexico City’s Iztapalapa district on Wednesday, authorities confirmed.
At least 69 people have died and almost 150 injured following a powerful 6.9-magnitude earthquake off the coast of Cebu City in the central Visayas region of the Philippines, officials said, making it one of the country’s deadliest disasters this year.
A powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck off Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula on 13 September with no tsunami threat, coming just weeks after the region endured a devastating 8.8-magnitude quake — the strongest since 1952.
Authorities in California have identified the dismembered body discovered in a Tesla registered to singer D4vd as 15-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, who had been missing from Lake Elsinore since April 2024.
Germany will grant police the power to shoot down rogue drones like those that have disrupted airports across Europe and that some European leaders have attributed to a hybrid war being waged by Russia.
Czech Republic election winner ANO hopes to conclude negotiations with two small parties on forming a new government by the beginning of November, party leader Andrej Babis said on Wednesday (8 October).
Türkiye on Wednesday slammed an intervention by Israeli forces against a flotilla attempting to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza as an act of piracy and a violation of international law.
Caretaker French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu struck a cautiously optimistic tone on Wednesday (8 October), saying a deal could potentially be reached on the country's budget by year end, making the risk of a snap election more remote.
Four people have been confirmed dead after a six-storey building collapsed in central Madrid while being converted into a hotel, authorities said, following a 15-hour rescue effort involving drones and sniffer dogs.
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