Author: Steven Sahiounie

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s trade surplus experienced an uptick, registering a growth of 27.47 percent to reach $11.66 billion (SR43.73 billion) in September, marking the second consecutive monthly increase, according to a report released by the General Authority for Statistics. In August, the trade surplus stood at SR34.31 billion, with July and June reporting figures of SR21.8 billion and SR27.21 billion, respectively. Despite a marginal 0.1 percent decrease compared to August, Saudi Arabia showed resilience in its trade performance for September, with overall merchandise exports amounting to SR103.8 billion. However, there was a year-on-year decline of 17.1 percent in overall merchandise…

The Turkish central bank’s rate hike was double economists’ expectations   Türkiye’s central bank hiked its key interest rate to 40% on Thursday in an effort to tackle soaring inflation. The rise by another 500 basis points from the previous 35% is double the increase that economists expected. The projection was for an increase of 250 basis points. The move was seen by the market as a continuation of the central bank’s attempts to tame surging inflation and prop up a falling Turkish lira. Inflation in the country came in at a massive 61% in October. “Really impressive move by…

The territory’s only remaining source of income is foreign aid Israel’s conflict with the Palestinian militant group Hamas has completely destroyed Gaza’s economy, CNBC reported on Thursday, citing experts. According to the report, the current escalation of the conflict, which started on October 7, has deprived the territory of its sole source of income – access to Israel’s labor market. Over the past month, approximately 182,000 Gazans have lost their jobs, representing 61% of its workforce, according to the International Labor Organization. With the enclave’s unemployment rate one of the highest in the world at over 40% even prior to…

The Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, has received a phone call from US President Joe Biden over the developments in the occupied Palestinian territories, says a statement by the Amiri Diwan. The two leaders focused on the implementation of the humanitarian truce agreement between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the joint international efforts to de-escalate tensions, protect civilian lives, and increase the flow of humanitarian aid to the Palestinians in Gaza, the statement said. Qatar, along with Egypt, led efforts at ensuring the continuation of the truce agreement between Hamas and Israel that began on…

Hungary intends to clinch an agreement with a Turkish state-run oil and gas firm by year’s end, foreign minister says Budapest is planning to clinch a gas-supply deal with Turkish state-run energy company Botas, the Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs of Peter Szijjarto has claimed. “Türkiye will continue to play an important part in Hungary’s energy supply, with negotiations underway to sign a gas purchase agreement with Turkey’s largest energy company by the end of the year,” the minister wrote in a Facebook post, according to news agency TASS. Szijjarto had previously said that Budapest was planning to purchase 275 million…

The death toll since October 7, which includes 56 children, accounts for almost 50 percent of Palestinian fatalities in the occupied West Bank for 2023, the UN agency OCHA has said. Source: AlJazeera

Hamas has released the long-awaited list of the second round of Palestinian prisoners expected to be released later on Saturday night. The list includes the names of six women and 33 male children, Majed Al Ansari, spokesperson for Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, confirmed in a post on X. Among the Israeli captives set to be released from Gaza as part of the truce deal are eight children, five women, and seven foreign nationals, he added. Source: AlJazeera

Delegations from Iran and China made preparations for a meeting of the Friendship Association in Tehran aimed at promoting relations between the two nations. The chairmen of Iranian and Chinese political delegations held a meeting in Tehran on Saturday in advance of the 14th meeting of Iran-China Friendship Association. The representative of Iran, Alaeddin Boroujerdi, highlighted the opportunities for mutual and multilateral cooperation between Tehran and Beijing considering Iran’s accession to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and BRICS. For his part, Wanming Yang, the chairman of China’s friendship association with foreign countries, said Iran can work with China in…

In her words, Pakistan has friendly relations with the majority of BRICS members and countries that were recently invited to join the organization Pakistan has filed an official request to join the BRICS group of nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), Pakistani Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch has told reporters. “Yes, I can confirm that Pakistan has made a formal request to join BRICS, which we believe is an important grouping of developing countries,” Baloch said. In her words, Pakistan has friendly relations with the majority of BRICS members and countries that were recently invited to join…

‘The occupation and massacre in Gaza carried out by Israel, which commits war crimes, hurts the global conscience,’ says Turkish Communications Director Fahrettin Altun The Strategic Communications (Stratcom) Summit, organized by the Turkish Directorate of Communications, issued a declaration of intent on the conclusion day on Saturday, condemning the Israeli army’s massacre in Gaza and describing it as war crimes. “The occupation and massacre in Gaza carried out by Israel, which commits war crimes, hurts the global conscience, and openly violates international law,” Communications Director Fahrettin Altun said in a closing speech at the end of the two-day Stratcom Summit…