47078
The Cradle is an online news magazine covering West Asian geopolitics from within.
No West Bank annexation? Nobody is buying Trump's false promises anymore.
Watch on YouTube
British judge throws out 'terrorism' case against Kneecap rapper
The ruling comes during a wider crackdown on Palestine supporters in the UK
Why China's Belt and Road leaves Turkiye in the sidelines
Despite its early support and strategic geography, Ankara has failed to secure a meaningful place in China’s Belt and Road Initiative, exposing deeper rifts between political rhetoric and economic reality.
By Cansu Yigit
BREAKING | Sirens sound in Eilat due to Yemeni drones.
Читать полностью…
UN reports 43 percent surge in foreign firms 'illegally operating' in West Bank since 2023
Israel has approved dozens of new settlement projects in recent months, and is pushing publicly for the annexation of the West Bank
❗️Gaza Ministry of Health:
– "In the past 24 hours, Gaza hospitals have received 47 martyrs and 142 new injuries."
– "From 18 March 2025 until today, the total stands at 12,956 martyrs and 55,477 injuries."
– "In the past 24 hours, 5 martyrs and 33 injuries were recorded while seeking aid, raising the total number of aid-seeking victims who have reached hospitals to 2,543 and more than 18,614 injuries."
Over 40 percent of US citizens believe backing Israel ‘not in national interest’: Poll
The poll shows that half of US voters have a negative view of Netanyahu, while a majority believe Trump has ‘mishandled’ the situation in Gaza
'Psychological warfare': Netanyahu orders loudspeakers into Gaza to blast UN speech
Several hundred diplomats staged a walkout from the UN General Assembly as Netanyahu began his speech
Tony Blair in talks to lead US-backed 'supreme authority' for Gaza: Report
The transitional authority would exclude Palestinians from both Hamas and the Palestinian Authority
❗️Trump urges Turkiye to halt Russian oil purchases, hints at lifting sanctions
US President Donald Trump has urged Europe to halt imports of Russian oil and gas. After two hours of talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday, Trump expressed confidence that Ankara would comply with his request and suggested he might lift US sanctions on Turkiye.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced today that it was Turkiye’s sovereign decision whom to trade with, adding: "If certain types of trade in certain goods are deemed advantageous to the Turkish side, then the Turkish side will continue to do so."
According to LSEG data and traders, Turkish imports of Russian oil fell in September to their lowest level since April. Turkiye, the second-largest importer of seaborne Russian Urals crude after India, bought 1.6 million tons in June, the highest since May 2024, but is expected to import about 1.2 million tons this month.
❗️Russia to build five large nuclear power plants in Iran
Iranian Spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), Behrouz Kamalvandi, announced that negotiations and agreements had been reached with a Russian delegation on constructing five nuclear power plants larger than Bushehr.
The spokesman made the remarks on the sidelines of Russia’s World Atom Week (WAW) Atom Expo 2025 in Moscow, where an Iranian delegation led by AEOI head Mohammad Eslami was present.
He said that during discussions in Russia, "negotiations and agreements were made, especially in the area of building power plants larger than Bushehr with a capacity of 1,200 megawatts, which includes a total of four units with a capacity of nearly 5,000 megawatts in the south of the country."
(IRNA)
❗️Israeli occupation forces deploy dozens of loudspeakers in Gaza.
Читать полностью…
❗️Quds Brigades - Tulkarem:
"At exactly 10:33 am today, our fighters succeeded in detonating a pre-prepared Shujaa-1 explosive device against a military bulldozer in the Nour Shams camp, which has been under occupation control for months, putting it out of service and achieving confirmed hits."
❗️Erdogan says agreement reached with Trump on Gaza ceasefire and 'lasting peace'
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he had reached an understanding with US President Donald Trump on steps to secure a ceasefire and "lasting peace" in Gaza and Palestine following their talks at the White House on Thursday.
"Our meeting was very important in terms of putting forth the will to end the massacres in Gaza. Mr. Trump stated during the meeting the need to end fighting in Gaza and reach lasting peace," Erdogan told reporters, according to a transcript released by his office on Friday.
"We explained how a ceasefire can be achieved in Gaza and the whole of Palestine, and lasting peace afterwards. An understanding was reached there," he added. "We said that the two-state solution was the formula for lasting peace in the region, that the current situation cannot continue."
⭕️ Iraq, KRG reach agreement to restart oil exports to Turkiye
Iraq will resume oil exports from its Kurdish region to Turkiye on Saturday after more than 2 years of suspension, following what Prime Minister Shia al-Sudani described as a historic deal between Baghdad and the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG).
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio praised the agreement, noting that Washington had played a role in facilitating it. "This agreement will strengthen the mutually beneficial economic partnership between the US and Iraq, encourage a more stable investment environment throughout Iraq for US companies, enhance regional energy security, and reinforce Iraq’s sovereignty," Rubio said in a statement.
Iraq's state oil marketer SOMO will handle exports of crude from Kurdish oil fields through a pipeline to Turkiye, according to Reuters. The KRG announced that shipments would restart within 48 hours after the agreement between Iraq's oil ministry, the KRG ministry of natural resources, and producing companies.
Netanyahu blasts western recognition of Palestine to near-empty UNGA hall
Hundreds of diplomats walked out from the General Assembly hall as the Israeli prime minister took the podium to deliver his speech
Tehran to end IAEA monitoring if ‘snapback’ sanctions triggered: Larijani
The UN Security Council is set to vote on Friday on a Russian and Chinese draft resolution that would prevent UN sanctions from being reimposed on Iran
Tehran, Moscow expand nuclear energy partnership with $25bn deal
The deal supports Iran’s power needs as the country faces shortages and sanctions pressure
❗️A large-scale walkout by delegations participating in the UN General Assembly took place as Netanyahu began his speech.
Photos from AFP showed the hall nearly empty, in an exceptional scene reflecting international rejection of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.
VIDEO | The moment UN delegations walked out of the UN General Assembly right before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was about to start his speech.
Читать полностью…
❗️Hezbollah MP demands answers over release of Israeli collaborators
Lebanese MP Hassan Ezzedine, from Hezbollah’s Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc, has urged the Justice Minister to explain the release of convicted collaborators with Israel, warning that acquittals and releases represent a grave political and legal breach.
He stressed that the Israeli occupation had used Lebanon’s telecom network through collaborators during recent attacks, and vowed to pursue the matter legally and in parliament to protect judicial independence.
This comes after Lebanon’s Court of Cassation controversially released Israeli collaborator Mehieddine Hasna after just 22 months in detention, despite a 15-year sentence for providing highly sensitive intelligence used in Israel’s deadly attacks on Lebanon, including the pager and walkie-talkie terror attacks.
Another earlier example is Amer Fakhoury — the notorious “Butcher of Khiam” tied to torture and killings at Israel’s Khiam prison — who was freed in 2020 under US pressure and flown out by a military helicopter despite overwhelming evidence of his crimes.
There are many such cases, raising fears of systemic political interference in Lebanon’s judiciary.
‼️ Reuters: Israel-Syria security pact stalls over disputed 'humanitarian corridor'
Efforts to finalize a security agreement between Syria and Israel have faced a last-minute obstacle over Israel’s demand to establish a "humanitarian corridor" to Syria’s southern province of Suwayda, four sources familiar with the discussions told Reuters.
During earlier negotiations in Paris, Israel requested the opening of a land corridor to Suwayda for aid, but Syria rejected the proposal as a violation of its sovereignty. According to two Israeli officials, a Syrian source, and a Washington-based source briefed on the talks, Israel revived the demand at a late stage in the discussions.
The Syrian source and the Washington source said this renewed demand derailed plans to announce a deal this week.
UPDATE | The Israeli loudspeakers that were deployed in Gaza will be used to broadcast Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech at the UN General Assembly in New York.
Читать полностью…
❗️UN report lists over 150 companies operating in illegal occupied West Bank settlements
A report from the UN's human rights office released today revealed that over 150 companies operate in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, which the UN’s highest court has declared illegal.
The human rights office noted that most of the international community accepts the UN’s position and stressed that the 158 companies identified, including 68 added since the database was last updated in June 2023, must ensure they are not contributing to human rights abuses.
"Where business enterprises identify that they have caused or contributed to adverse human rights impacts, they should provide for or cooperate in remediation through appropriate processes," the report stated.
Seven companies previously listed were removed. While most are based in Israel, the database also includes firms from countries such as the United States, Canada, China, France, and Germany.
Kurdish oil exports to Turkiye to resume after 'historic' Baghdad, Erbil deal
The US has been pushing for a deal to resume the Kurdish oil flow as part of an effort to offset Iranian exports
❗️Switzerland to accept around 20 injured children from Gaza for treatment
Switzerland announced today plans to take in around 20 injured children from the Gaza Strip for medical treatment. The timing of the evacuation remains uncertain due to conditions on the ground, but coordination efforts are ongoing, the government said in a statement.
The selection process will be carried out in close cooperation with the World Health Organization (WHO), which keeps patient lists, and will include security checks for the children and their accompanying family members. Upon arrival, they will undergo the asylum process.
The government will fund coordination and transportation costs, while medical expenses will be voluntarily covered by the Swiss cantons hosting the children or by the hospitals themselves.
❗️Israeli settlers deliberately released their livestock into Palestinian olive groves in Sinjil, north of Ramallah, occupied West Bank.
The livestock eat olives, strip bark and trample roots, reducing yields and damaging trees.
Israeli raids hit east Lebanon ahead of first anniversary of Nasrallah assassination
The Israeli army claimed it struck a precision missile manufacturing site in the Bekaa region
⭕️ Starbucks to close hundreds of branches, cut jobs in US and Canada amid 'restructuring' plan
Starbucks said it will shut down hundreds of stores in the US and Canada under a $1bn restructuring plan, cutting 900 jobs and scrapping vacancies, raising total layoffs this year to about 1,900.
The closures will reduce its branches by 1 percent, leaving around 18,300 outlets, as the company struggles with financial pressure amid a growing global boycott over support for Israel and its genocide in Gaza.
Despite the move, its shares saw little change in pre-market trading, highlighting ongoing uncertainty about its future.
❗️Israeli forces arrested freed prisoner Hosni al-Amoudi after storming his home during a raid on Kashika Street in Nablus, occupied West Bank.
Читать полностью…