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US bypasses congressional review for military sales of $8.6 billion to Middle East allies

United States President Donald Trump’s administration has bypassed congressional review to approve military sales totalling over $8.6 billion to Middle Eastern allies Israel, Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The State Department announcements on Friday came as the US and Israel’s war against Iran marked nine weeks since its start and more than three weeks since a fragile ceasefire came into effect. The State Department said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio determined that an emergency existed that required immediate sales to those countries and waived the congressional review requirements for the sales. The announcements included approving military sales to Qatar of Patriot air and missile defence replenishment services costing $4.01bn and of Advanced Precision Kill Weapon Systems (APKWS) costing $992.4 million. They also included approval of the sale to Kuwait of an integrated battle command system costing $2.5bn and to Israel of...
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Hezbollah's fibre-optic drones pose new challenge for Israel's military

Hezbollah’s cheap fibre-optic drones are creating new challenges for Israeli troops in southern Lebanon, forcing the military to adapt its tactics against an increasingly lethal threat. The Israeli military — considered one of the most advanced in the world — has confirmed two soldiers and one civilian contractor killed in explosive drone attacks in under a week, with several others wounded despite a ceasefire in place since mid-April. The devices are small, cheap and readily available, like “children’s toys”, explained Orna Mizrahi, a senior researcher at Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies (INSS). The military “does not have nowadays any response for that, because they didn’t prepare themselves for such low-tech explosives”, she told AFP. Israel has been fighting Hezbollah since early March, invading the neighbouring country’s south to confront the group. Since then, violence has continued, with both sides accusing eac...
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Abuse of women journalists made ‘easier and more damaging’ by AI

ISLAMABAD: Reports of online violence against women journalists have doubled since 2020, with serious impacts on their health and well-being, according to a study published ahead of ‘World Press Freedom Day,’ which is marked annually on May 3. The report by UN Women and partners highlights how online violence targeting women in public life is becoming increasingly technologically sophisticated, invasive, and damaging in the era of artificial intelligence (AI). The survey findings indicate that these forms of abuse, which were considered relatively rare just a few years ago, now account for a significant portion of the broader ecosystem of online violence. Overall, 12 per cent of the women surveyed reported experiencing the non-consensual sharing of personal images, including sexually explicit or intimate image-based material, and 6pc reported being targeted by deepfakes or other manipulated imagery. “AI is making abuse easier and more ...
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Why has the UAE left Opec and what impact will its departure have?

The United Arab Emirates said on Tuesday that it was quitting Opec, dealing a heavy blow to the oil-exporting cartel and its de facto leader, Saudi Arabia, at a time when the Iran war has caused a historic energy shock and rattled the global economy. But what is Opec, and how does it impact consumers? What is Opec? Founded in 1960, the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) is a bloc of oil-exporting nations that coordinate their oil and gas policies as a means of managing the oil market. The founding members were Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela, but in 2016 the group expanded into OPEC+, which now comprises 23 countries. The bloc controls slightly over 50 per cent of global crude production, Jorge León, head of geopolitical analysis at Rystad Energy, told Reuters . What is the purpose of Opec? Opec’s main purpose is to reduce volatility in oil markets, León said. He used the example of the Covid-19 pandemic, when oil demand dropped by 20 milli...
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