Israel is rushing to approve new settlements ahead of Donald Trump relinquishing office. The move is also seen as an attempt by the Netanyahu government to win far-right support ahead of the elections

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, faced with elections in March and prospects of a less friendly Biden administration, announced expedited construction of 800 new illegal Jewish homes inside the West Bank

According to the deal Sudan will recognize Israel and will “normalize” relations with it. The UAE and Bahrain had signed the deal in September last year

51 countries including all members of the EU, Australia, News Zealand and Canada were among those who abstained from voting on the UN resolution asking members to eliminate all forms of racism and attempts to glorify Nazism. The resolution was passed with overwhelming support from the third world countries.

In return of US recognition of its rights over Western Sahara, Morocco has agreed to “normalize” its relations with Israel. The United Nations and the majority of the world does not recognize Moroccan claims of sovereignty over the territory.   

The first milestone in the intra-Afghan peace talks, ongoing since September 12, has raised hopes for a comprehensive ceasefire agreement and an end to the Taliban’s offensive against civilian and military installations in the country

The relentless maximum pressure campaign of the Trump administration against Iran which is continuing even after his electoral loss will be tough for a Biden administration to reverse, assuming there is the will to do so

The sanctions mostly target entities and individuals in Iran’s petroleum sector, including the minister of petroleum, Bijan Zangeneh. US sanctions have massively affected Iran’s ability to deal with the outbreak of COVID-19

Russia on Tuesday offered to freeze its current arsenal, and proposed an extension of the treaty by one year. The treaty signed in 2010 capped the number of nuclear warheads by the two countries and its deployment

The two sides had agreed to a prisoner swap deal in Switzerland last month, involving 1,081 prisoners, including 15 Saudi nationals. The deal is being implemented over Thursday and Friday

On Thursday, the US treasury department blacklisted 18 major Iranian banks in the latest assault as part of its so-called maximum pressure campaign against the country

Formed after the second world war, the UN as a multilateral forum to preserve world peace and security is facing the growing challenge of US unilateralism and its complete disregard for international laws