PARIS: FIFA president Gianni Infantino on Thursday underlined the body&#39;s commitment to making sure the World Cup goes ahead &quot;as scheduled&quot; with &quot;all teams&quot; taking part amid doubts about Iran&#39;s presence at the tournament.&nbsp;&quot;FIFA is looking forward to all teams participating at the World Cup to compete in a spirit of fair play and mutual respect,&quot; Infantino said from Zurich during an online FIFA Council meeting.&nbsp;&quot;We have a schedule. We will soon have the 48 competing teams confirmed, and we want the World Cup to go ahead as scheduled.&quot;&nbsp;Iran&#39;s participation has been shrouded in doubt due to the conflict in the Middle East.&nbsp;They are due to play group games in the United States, against New Zealand and Belgium in Los Angeles and in Seattle against Egypt.&nbsp;However, Iranian football federation president Mehdi Taj indicated that as a result of the US-Israeli attacks on his country he wanted its matches moved to one of the other host nations ,Canada and Mexico will host the World Cup with the United States.&nbsp;&quot;We will be preparing for the World Cup. We will boycott the United States but not the World Cup,&quot; Taj said in the video released on Wednesday.&nbsp;Iran&#39;s football federation says it has opened talks with FIFA about potentially relocating its matches.&nbsp;Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Tuesday that her country is prepared to host Iran&#39;s first-round matches if required.&nbsp;&quot;FIFA can&#39;t solve geopolitical conflicts, but we are committed to using the power of football and the World Cup to build bridges and promote peace as our thoughts are with those who are suffering as a consequence of the ongoing wars,&quot; added Infantino.

Football

FIFA said the World Cup will go ahead as scheduled with all teams, despite uncertainty over Iran’s participation, as Tehran seeks to move its US matches elsewhere and Mexico says it is ready to host them.

FIFA planning for World Cup to 'go ahead as scheduled' amid Iran uncertainty

WASHINGTON: Social media platform X announced Tuesday it would suspend creators from its revenue sharing program for 90 days if they post AI-generated videos of armed conflicts without disclosing they were artificially made, the company said.&nbsp;The policy change, announced by an X executive on the Elon Musk-owned platform, targets what the company described as a threat to information authenticity during wartime, as generative AI tools make it increasingly easy to produce misleading footage.&nbsp;&quot;During times of war, it is critical that people have access to authentic information on the ground,&quot; X&#39;s head of product Nikita Bier said, adding that current AI technologies make it &quot;trivial to create content that can mislead people.&quot;

Artificial Intelligence

Social media platform X said it will suspend creators for 90 days from its revenue-sharing program if they post AI-generated armed conflict videos without disclosure. The move aims to protect information authenticity during war time, amid growing misuse of generative AI tools.

X suspends revenue sharing for undisclosed AI war videos

RIYADH: The US embassy in Riyadh on Tuesday warned of an imminent attack in the eastern Saudi city of Dhahran, home to much of the kingdom&#39;s energy installations along the Gulf coast.&nbsp;&quot;There is a threat of imminent missile and UAV attacks over Dhahran. Do not come to the US Consulate&quot; the embassy wrote on its official X account.&nbsp;The warning came just hours after the US mission in Riyadh was attacked by two drones that sparked a small fire on the embassy grounds, as Iran pressed on with retaliatory strikes across the Gulf.&nbsp;On Monday, the massive Ras Tanura refinery on Saudi Arabia&#39;s Gulf coast went into partial shutdown after a strike by drones.&nbsp;The complex run by the Saudi state oil giant Aramco is home to one of the largest refineries in the entire Middle East and a cornerstone of the kingdom&#39;s energy sector.&nbsp;Saudi Arabia is the world&#39;s biggest oil exporter, with most of its oil fields and petroleum infrastructure located along its eastern coast, across the Gulf from Iran.

Americas

Asia

The US embassy in Riyadh warned of imminent missile and drone attacks over Dhahran after two drones struck the mission. A strike also partially shut Ras Tanura refinery, highlighting threats to Saudi Arabia’s vital eastern oil infrastructure.

US embassy warns of imminent attack in eastern Saudi Arabia

GENEVA: Switzerland said Saturday that Oman would host talks between the United States and Iran in Geneva next week, with Washington pushing Tehran to make a deal to limit its nuclear program.&nbsp;&quot;Switzerland stands ready at all times to offer its good offices to facilitate dialogue between the United States and Iran,&quot; a Swiss foreign ministry spokesman told AFP.&nbsp;On February 6, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi held talks in Oman with US envoy Steve Witkoff and US President Donald Trump&#39;s influential son-in-law Jared Kushner.&nbsp;The talks were indirect, with the Omanis acting as mediators.&nbsp;Trump has recently focused his military threats on Tehran&#39;s nuclear program, which US forces struck last July during Israel&#39;s unprecedented 12-day war with Iran.&nbsp;Trump said Friday that a change of government in Iran would be the &quot;best thing that could happen&quot;, as he sent a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East, ratcheting up military pressure on the Islamic republic.&nbsp;Go-betweenSwitzerland has played a key role in diplomatic relations between Iran and the United States for decades.&nbsp;Renowned for its neutrality, Switzerland has been representing US interests in Iran since Washington broke off relations with Tehran after the 1980 hostage crisis, a year after the Iranian revolution.&nbsp;In its role as the so-called protecting power, Switzerland has for decades allowed the two feuding nations to maintain a minimum of diplomatic and consular relations.&nbsp;The Swiss embassy in Tehran handles all consular affairs between the United States and Iran, including passport requests, altering civil status and consular protection for US citizens in Iran.&nbsp;Under the protecting power mandate, &quot;Switzerland can either offer to act as a go-between on its own initiative or can fulfil this function at the request of the parties concerned, provided that all those involved agree,&quot; the foreign ministry says on its website.&nbsp;The United States will be holding separate talks, also in Geneva next week, between Russia and Ukraine.&nbsp;Moscow and Kyiv will hold US-brokered talks on Tuesday and Wednesday in the Swiss city, both countries have said, announcing the next leg in fraught negotiations seeking to end the four-year war.&nbsp;Trump is pushing to halt the conflict, but two previous rounds of US-mediated talks in Abu Dhabi have not yielded signs of a breakthrough.

Switzerland said Oman will host indirect talks in Geneva between the United States and Iran on its nuclear programme. Switzerland acts as mediator while US increases pressure and military presence in the region.

Swiss say Oman to host US-Iran talks in Geneva next week

Web Desk/AFP

ISLAMABAD: The Pentagon has ordered the deployment of a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East as President Donald Trump weighs taking military action against Iran, AFP quoted what the US media reported on Thursday. Washington and Tehran began indirect talks last week over the future of Iran&#39;s nuclear program, and Trump on Thursday warned of &quot;very traumatic&quot; consequences for the country if it failed to make a nuclear deal. Late last month, Trump sent the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier and accompanying warships to the Gulf as Trump ramped up threats against Iran over its deadly crackdown on anti-government protests. The vessels remain in the region. The USS Abraham Lincoln, however, is from the &lsquo;Nimitz class&rsquo; of US &lsquo;Supercarriers&rsquo;, which are the predecessors of the &lsquo;Ford class&rsquo;.&nbsp;The Ford-class carriers are more advanced, designed to increase sortie generation rates by 25% while reducing crew size by 500&ndash;900, according to the National Security Journal.&nbsp; Key upgrades include electromagnetic catapults (EMALS), advanced arresting gear, triple the electrical power, and a more flexible deck layout.AFP reports that the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford and its escort ships will join that strike group after officials ordered it to the Middle East from its current deployment in the Caribbean Sea, multiple US media outlets reported. The Wall Street Journal, the New York Times and CBS News reported on the Pentagon&#39;s preparations and the expected deployment of the second carrier, citing unnamed officials. The Pentagon did not immediately respond to questions from AFP. The USS Gerald R. Ford initially deployed in June and was soon directed to the Caribbean as part of Trump&#39;s pressure campaign on Venezuela, according to the New York Times. Some of the carrier&#39;s warplanes participated in the deadly January 3 operation in Caracas that led to the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, the New York Times reported. It was not clear how long the USS Ford or the USS Lincoln would remain in the Middle East.

Middle East

US media says the Pentagon ordered the USS Gerald R. Ford to deploy to the Middle East to join the USS Abraham Lincoln amid rising tensions with Iran; Trump warns of “traumatic consequences" if nuclear talks fail.

Pentagon 'orders deployment of another aircraft carrier' to Middle East

HONG KONG: Oil prices tanked Monday on easing US-Iran tensions while precious metals swung wildly following last week&#39;s dollar-fueled collapse sparked by Donald Trump&#39;s pick to lead the Federal Reserve. The retreat was also reflected in equity markets, with most regional indexes tracking a retreat on Wall Street and extending Friday&#39;s losses amid fresh concerns over the tech sector. Both main crude contracts shed more than three percent in early Asian trade as the US president said he was hopeful of reaching a deal with Tehran after it warned that any attack on the Islamic Republic would trigger a regional conflict. Washington has hit out at the country&#39;s leadership in recent weeks over its response to anti-government protests last month, with Trump threatening military action while ordering the dispatch of an aircraft carrier group to the Middle East. He has also pushed for an agreement over Iran&#39;s nuclear program.&nbsp;&lsquo;A regional war&rsquo;Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Sunday likened the recent protests to a &quot;coup&quot; and warned that a US attack would trigger a broad conflict. &quot;The Americans should know that if they start a war, this time it will be a regional war,&quot; he said. Asked about the Iranian leader&#39;s warning, Trump told reporters on Sunday: &quot;Of course, he is going to say that. &quot;Hopefully, we&#39;ll make a deal. If we don&#39;t make a deal, then we&#39;ll find out whether or not he was right,&quot; he said.&nbsp;Stronger dollar&nbsp;Oil&#39;s drop was helped by a stronger dollar, which came on the back of news that Trump had tapped Kevin Warsh to take the helm at the US central bank. The president said Warsh, a former Morgan Stanley investment banker and Fed governor, &quot;will go down as one of the GREAT Fed Chairmen, maybe the best&quot;. Traders regard Warsh as the toughest inflation fighter among the final candidates, raising expectations of monetary policy that would underpin the greenback. The choice also eased recent concerns about the Fed&#39;s independence following a series of attacks on incumbent Jerome Powell over his reticence to cut rates as quickly as the president wanted. The dollar surged across the board on the news, having taken a battering for most of last week on concerns the White House was happy to see it weaken. While Warsh is seen as more open to keeping rates higher, Stephen Innes at SPI Asset Management said: &quot;People do not get handed the keys to the most powerful central bank on earth because they plan to drive in the opposite direction of the people who gave them the keys. &quot;The Fed may be independent, but personnel is policy, and this appointment was unlikely to have been made in a vacuum.&quot; The announcement sent dollar-priced precious metals plunging Friday, with gold losing as much as 12 percent and silver more than 30 percent at one point. And the losses mounted on Monday, with gold shedding as much as six percent to touch $4,586, while silver briefly lost around 11 percent to $75.&nbsp; Both bounced back slightly but were well down from their record highs of $5,595 and $121 touched last week.&nbsp;Gold and silver&nbsp;The easing of Iran tensions added to the selling pressure on gold and silver, which are also considered go-to havens in times of turmoil and uncertainty. Most equity markets were in the red following a sell-off on Wall Street that came amid fresh concerns over the wisdom of the vast sums being invested in artificial intelligence and when traders will begin to see returns. Seoul, which has hit multiple records this year thanks to its big tech weighting, sank more than two percent, while Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Singapore, Taipei and Manila were also well down. Tokyo rose.&nbsp;Key figures at around 0230 GMT&nbsp;Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.2% at 53,422.01 (break) Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.7% at 26,919.07 Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.8% at 4,083.84 Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1870 from $1.1856 on Friday Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3693 from $1.3688 Dollar/yen: UP at 155.00 yen from 154.64 yen Euro/pound: UP at 86.68 pence from 86.63 pence West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 3.5% at $62.92 per barrel Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 3.3% at $67.02 per barrel New York - Dow: DOWN 0.4% at 48,892.47 (close) London - FTSE 100: UP 0.5% at 10,223.54 (close)

Business

Both main crude contracts shed more than three percent in early Asian trade as the US president said he was hopeful of reaching a deal with Tehran after it warned that any attack on the Islamic republic would trigger a regional conflict.

Articles tagged with "US-Iran Tensions"

FIFA planning for World Cup to 'go ahead as scheduled' amid Iran uncertainty

X suspends revenue sharing for undisclosed AI war videos

US embassy warns of imminent attack in eastern Saudi Arabia

Swiss say Oman to host US-Iran talks in Geneva next week

Pentagon 'orders deployment of another aircraft carrier' to Middle East

Oil tumbles on Iran hopes, precious metals hit by stronger dollar