News without the noise
Geopolitics: wars, alliances, sanctions, trade and the decisions between governments that shape the world.
1265 articles · page 21 of 27
The United States has bombed five Iranian oil tankers in retaliation for an attack on its navy, according to Al Jazeera video footage. The strike adds to a volatile stretch across the Middle East, with Jordan intercepting an Iranian missile barrage and Saudi-backed Yemeni forces targeting Houthi positions on the western coast.
Australia has declined to join a coalition of G7 nations — including the United Kingdom, Canada and France — in imposing trade sanctions on goods produced in Israeli settlements in the West Bank, marking a significant departure from its closest allies as Britain formally declared the occupation unlawful.
Jordanian air defences intercepted an Iranian missile barrage, according to Al Jazeera reporting published September 9, a day after the outlet said the United States bombed five Iranian oil tankers following an attack on its navy.
Argentina has announced it will file criminal charges against Navitas Petroleum for operating in waters off the Falkland Islands, escalating a renewed sovereignty dispute with the United Kingdom. The move follows a speech by Argentine President Javier Milei in which he described oil exploration in the archipelago as a "clear and urgent danger" to Argentine sovereignty.
The United States has banned imports of Canadian alcoholic spirits, select dairy products and motorbikes, hours after Canada's retaliatory tariffs on American goods came into force. President Donald Trump signed executive orders on Tuesday accusing Canada of 'discriminating' against US commerce, with the import ban set to begin on September 29. No new trade talks have been scheduled since negotiations collapsed in late August.
US forces have sunk a vessel linked to an Ecuadorian criminal gang, while separately, reports indicate the US bombed five Iranian oil tankers following an attack on its navy, marking a significant escalation in regional tensions.
The United Kingdom, along with 11 other countries including France, Spain and Canada, has announced a ban on trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, triggering what analysts describe as the lowest point in British-Israeli relations in decades. Israel retaliated by closing the UK's consulate in East Jerusalem — which serves the West Bank and liaises with the Palestinian Authority — and removing British representatives from the International Gaza Support Centre, a body coordinating relief efforts in the Gaza Strip.
Britain has banned trade with illegal Israeli settlements and Washington says it will not join the measure, according to Al Jazeera's September 8 newsfeed — which also reported Israeli strikes displacing families in Gaza, a Lebanese city reduced to a 'ghost town,' and a museum heist of Renoir paintings worth $10.5 million.
The United Kingdom has imposed a ban on goods originating from illegal Israeli settlements, a move described as "important but a bit too late" by observers. The United States, through Secretary of State Marco Rubio, has confirmed it will not join the ban. Meanwhile, Israeli military strikes continue to devastate homes and displace families in Gaza and have transformed a Lebanese city into a ghost town.
Russia pummelled Kyiv with drones and missiles on Tuesday, resuming air attacks on the Ukrainian capital after a brief halt for the visit of US peace negotiators, killing at least five people and wounding nearly 30, officials said.
Israeli date farmers in the occupied West Bank are bracing for the impact of new UK sanctions that ban imports from settlements, as the British government frames the move as part of a ‘comprehensive reset’ of policy toward Israel. The sanctions, announced alongside similar steps by more than a dozen European nations, have drawn sharp condemnation from Israel and cautious support from Palestinians.
Yemen's Houthi movement launched strikes on four Saudi Arabian cities on Tuesday, setting fire to oil facilities and injuring more than 70 people, including women and children, as the war in the Middle East enters its sixth month.
Canada’s retaliatory tariffs on $27.6 billion worth of American products took effect on Tuesday, marking the latest escalation in an ongoing trade dispute between the United States and its northern neighbour, two weeks after President Trump imposed 50 percent levies on a similar volume of Canadian goods.
Britain, France and Canada have announced bans on imports from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, prompting Israel to close the British consulate in East Jerusalem and take further diplomatic actions that threaten to escalate into a broader crisis.
Hungary has ordered 10 Russian diplomats to leave the country for engaging in what the foreign minister described as 'unacceptable' activities, sharply reversing the close relationship Budapest had maintained with Moscow under previous leadership.
Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi movement launched a large-scale drone and missile attack on Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, injuring 73 people and striking energy facilities in four south-western cities, according to Saudi authorities. The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen has vowed to respond to what it called a 'dangerous escalation,' while the Houthis described the operation as retaliation for recent Saudi strikes on areas they control in north-western Yemen.
Amnesty International has called for formal investigations into three American and Israeli airstrikes on densely packed suburbs of Tehran, arguing the choice of weapons and devastating civilian toll — at least 41 people killed — may constitute war crimes. The advocacy group's report, released Monday, examined strikes in March and found that while the intended military targets may have been legitimate, the predictable harm to surrounding civilians and infrastructure should have prompted commanders to abort or alter the attacks.
The UK has announced a far-reaching trade ban on goods from illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, with Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband accusing settlers of 'ethnic cleansing' and describing the measures as the strongest stance ever taken by a British government against Israel's settlement policy.
At least two people are dead and ten injured after Russian drone strikes resumed on Kyiv early Tuesday, ending a three-day pause agreed to allow US special envoy visits. The attack came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he expected the war to continue into winter, following unproductive talks with Trump envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.
Houthi attacks on southern Saudi Arabia have injured dozens, according to Saudi officials, while the Houthi-run news agency in Yemen said the militia would issue a statement about a ‘large-scale’ military operation in the kingdom.
Israel has retaliated against the United Kingdom's announcement of sanctions on illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank by ordering the closure of the British consulate in East Jerusalem, dramatically escalating a diplomatic rift between the two countries.
Somali piracy has returned to levels not seen in a decade, with eight hijackings of cargo ships and dhows since late April, fueled by disruptions from the US-Israeli war against Iran and a resurgence of political instability in Somalia, according to reports.
President Donald Trump has threatened to block Bombardier from selling its aircraft in the United States unless the Canadian company moves its manufacturing to America, escalating a trade dispute hours before Canada is set to impose $20bn in retaliatory tariffs on US goods.
Canada's retaliatory tariffs on billions of dollars' worth of American imports took effect at midnight Tuesday, escalating a trade dispute with the United States as President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Mark Carney remain at odds and Washington warns of further duties.
Israel has opened a trade office in the Bosnian Serb entity of Republika Srpska, according to a report from Al Jazeera. The development highlights ongoing tensions over Bosnia’s complex post-war political structure.
Russia has ordered the closure of Germany's Consulate-General in Saint Petersburg by September 18, retaliating against Berlin's decision to close the Russian consulate in Bonn and a Russian cultural centre. The move deepens a diplomatic crisis already inflamed by Germany's accusation that Moscow orchestrated a drone attack at Leipzig/Halle Airport last month, an allegation Russia has dismissed as an absurd fabrication.
Israeli strikes on the southern Lebanese town of Kfar Rumman have killed at least 12 people, including two children and four women, Lebanon's health ministry said, in one of the deadliest days of bombardment since a June ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.
Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, envoys for President Trump, traveled to Kyiv on Sunday to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, following discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The visit did not produce a breakthrough, but may help restart the peace process, according to reports.
Russia and North Korea have opened the first road bridge linking the two countries, a project Pyongyang state media says will facilitate trade and tourism but which Ukrainian analysts warn could serve as a covert military logistics corridor supporting Russia's war in Ukraine.
Kyiv is experiencing more daily air raid alerts than at any point since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, according to a BBC Verify analysis of government data. Russia's new tactic of striking Ukraine's capital around the clock — including during daytime — has forced residents to shelter as many as 13 times a day, with alerts lasting from minutes to over four hours.
A leaked text message from Australia's High Commissioner to Solomon Islands, Jeffrey Roach, has revealed the federal government has promised more than $980 million in additional funding under a landmark new treaty, as Canberra moves to lock in the agreement before the Pacific nation's November budget session.
Israeli air strikes on the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Roummane have killed at least 12 people, including two children and four women, the Lebanese health ministry says, as Israel steps up attacks after capturing a strategic ridge last week. The rising death toll has sparked warnings from Lebanese President Joseph Aoun that the June ceasefire is in jeopardy.
US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met with Russian President Vladimir Putin before travelling to Kyiv for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has said he expects the war to continue into the European winter despite the latest diplomatic efforts.
Iran is set to announce a restricted zone outside the Strait of Hormuz, while an eight-year-old girl in Gaza was killed by Israeli fire on the first day of school, according to Al Jazeera's video newsfeed. In other developments, Adidas faces a boycott over an amputee campaign featuring an Israeli soldier, an Amazon Prime plane overran a runway at Miami Airport, and Germany's far-right AfD party is poised to potentially form its first state government since World War II.
Iran's top security chief has announced plans to establish a 'prohibited zone' near the strategic Strait of Hormuz, while the country's lead negotiator warned that any further US aggression will be met with a faster and more intense response — as fierce fighting in Yemen between government forces and Houthi rebels killed more than 140 combatants in a single day.
As the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks approaches, analysis from Deakin University's Greg Barton contends the assaults were foreseeable and preventable, and that the subsequent US-led response led to even greater mistakes, reshaping global order for decades.
Al Jazeera's Inside Story program has this week released a series of in-depth episodes covering a range of geopolitical and environmental issues, including Argentina's renewed claims over the Falkland Islands, the question of Europe paying the US for military aid to Ukraine, and the European Union's potential actions against Israel, alongside a look at Nepal's role in climate justice advocacy and a new defence deal between Israel and Greece.
US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Saturday for peace talks that were heavy on symbolism but yielded no immediate breakthrough, just hours after the same officials had sat down with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin. The envoys were forced to travel by train to Kyiv due to the risk of Russian drone attacks, and the meeting took place at Saint Sophia Cathedral, near the site of a Russian drone strike on Ukraine's security service headquarters on Friday.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Sunday that the Trump administration may not be able to secure a nuclear agreement with Iran and that the alternative could be destroying the country's nuclear capabilities, signaling a potential shift toward military action as negotiations remain stalled amid the ongoing US-Israel war on Iran.
President Donald Trump is reportedly considering officially declaring the war against Iran over, even as US forces remain engaged and key war aims—preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, achieving regime change, and reopening the Strait of Hormuz—remain unmet, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal cited by ABC News.
Iran's top negotiator has warned of "a faster, heavier, and more painful response" to US attacks, as hostilities between the two sides escalate nearly a week into renewed fighting following the expiration of a 60-day ceasefire.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has called Germany's accusations that Moscow was behind a drone attack at Leipzig airport 'by and large, the start of a real war,' as Berlin announces a suite of defensive measures including a national 'cyberdome' anti-sabotage shield.
Israeli air strikes on a residential building in the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Reman killed nine people, while a separate drone strike killed two medics, Al Jazeera has reported. The attacks on September 7 come as violence continues in Gaza, where at least four Palestinians were killed in northern Gaza on September 10, including children, despite a United States-brokered ceasefire announced in October.
US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have arrived in Kyiv as part of a renewed push to revive peace talks in Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, following a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Saturday.
The U.S. military has destroyed five Iranian oil tankers linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the Gulf, U.S. Central Command announced Tuesday, marking a significant escalation after American warships came under missile attack in the Strait of Hormuz.
Trade negotiations between the United States and Canada have collapsed, with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney ending comprehensive talks a fortnight ago amid what observers describe as the frostiest atmosphere in memory. The breakdown threatens a $1.2 trillion annual trade relationship already strained by US tariffs on Canadian steel, lumber and automobiles, with President Donald Trump threatening even steeper levies next year.
A senior adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned that the war with Russia is escalating into a dangerous cycle of long-range strikes, placing civilians and infrastructure at growing risk, with neither side able to achieve outright victory.
The US military has struck three Iranian oil tankers, permanently disabling two and destroying a third, after ballistic missiles were launched towards two American warships in the Gulf region, US Central Command (Centcom) said on Saturday.