Israel intends to settle score with Qatar for its support to Hamas once the emirate’s mediation role in the hostage exchange is over, says Joshua Zarka, Israeli Foreign Ministry Deputy Director General on Strategic Affairs.

"We will settle score with Qatar, who played its role in everything that is connected to the strengthening of Hamas and its legitimization. We need [Qatar] for the matter of return of the abductees, but, once this process is over, we will come to them for answers," Zarka said on the Israeli army radio.

The UK is sending one of its most lethal warships to the Gulf to deter growing threats to shipping from Iran and Iranian-backed groups in the wake of Israel's war against Hamas.

The deployment of HMS Diamond, a Type 45 destroyer, with the ability to shoot missiles out of the sky, comes after Houthi rebels in Yemen hijacked an Israeli-linked cargo ship in the Red Sea last week and the US military had to rescue another vessel on Sunday.

The Defense Department has ordered an additional aircraft carrier strike group, air defenses, fighter jets and hundreds of troops to the Middle East since the surprise terrorist attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, in an effort to prevent the conflict from spiraling into a regional war.

The problem: Congressional dysfunction means the Pentagon has no money to pay for the buildup.

In the Baltic Sea – home of the twisted wreckage of the Nord Stream pipelines – another pipeline was recently damaged along with telecommunications cables.

Western officials are making escalatory statements and are again floating the idea of closing the “NATO lake” to Russian ships, which would likely be viewed by Moscow as an act of war.

The global financial landscape is witnessing a seismic shift as the United Arab Emirates (UAE) boldly moves away from the US dollar in its oil trade dealings.

This strategic pivot aligns with the broader ambitions of the BRICS economic alliance, of which the UAE is a recent addition.

The changeover, involving the transition to local currencies for oil transactions, marks a significant departure from the long-established dollar dominance in the global oil market.

Mediator Qatar said on Monday a truce between Israeli and Hamas forces in Gaza had been extended by two days, continuing a pause in seven weeks of warfare that has killed thousands and laid waste to the Palestinian enclave.

"An agreement has been reached to extend the humanitarian pause for an additional two days in the Gaza Strip," a Qatari foreign ministry spokesperson said in a post on social media platform X.

A U.S. warship stopped an attempt to seize a commercial tanker off the coast of Yemen, in the latest incident showing heightened tensions in Middle Eastern waters since the start of the Israel-Hamas war.

Zodiac Maritime, which manages the 20,000 metric-ton vessel Central Park, which contained a cargo of phosphoric acid, said the suspected piracy incident in international waters happened about 54 nautical miles off the coast of Somalia in the Gulf of Aden.

Webmaster addition: So it was hot Houthis who tried to hijack the ship but Somali Pirates!

Officials from a Chinese Communist Party conglomerate linked to President Joe Biden’s son and high-level foreign policy advisors to the White House conspired to illegally sell weapons to Qatar – a prominent financial backer of Hamas – and Libya, which has funneled arms to the Palestinian terrorist group.

The ongoing Israel-Palestine war has raised serious questions about the future of the Middle East and how it interacts with global powers.

With the US and a number of western states throwing their unconditional support behind Israel, some Arab countries have found themselves trying to safeguard their interests while appeasing public anger.

Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said Sunday he hopes a meeting of Mediterranean officials will help bridge a gap between Arab and European countries in calling for a humanitarian pause in Gaza to become a permanent cease-fire.