Author: Steven Sahiounie

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia can lead by example when it comes to tackling climate change, as the oil-rich Kingdom pushes for net zero carbon emissions by 2060, France’s climate ambassador has insisted. Speaking to Arab News on the sidelines of the Middle East and North Africa Climate Week, Stéphane Crouzat talked up the important role the Kingdom has in helping the world reach its emission-reduction targets. Crouzat warned that countries are not moving fast enough when it comes to reforming their energy production and consumption, meaning the target of limiting the global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius is set to…

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index maintained its position at 10,575.34 on Monday, with a minimal drop of 0.20 percent or 20.68 points. The total trading turnover of the benchmark index was SR4.98 billion ($1.30 billion) as 129 of the listed stocks advanced, while 90 declined. On the other hand, Saudi Arabia’s parallel market Nomu gained 91.59 points to close at 22,423.39. The MSCI Tadawul Index, however, slipped 0.51 percent to close at 1,356.57. The best-performing stock on the main index was Filing and Packing Materials Manufacturing Co. The company’s share price soared by 10 percent to SR52.80. Other top performers were Thimar Development…

Israel has killed at least 704 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank since October 7, according to the health ministry. In Gaza: In the West Bank: Source: Aljazeera

Eight Palestinians, most of them children, were killed Monday evening in an Israeli airstrike on a civilian house in Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip. WAFA correspondent said that the occupation warplanes targeted a house belonging to the Qanan family, west of Khan Yunis, without prior warning, killing eight Palestinians whose bodies were later transported to Nasser Hospital. The Israeli occupation warplanes continued to launch more airstrikes on the homes of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip for the third day in a row. This evening, they launched hundreds of raids on various institutions, buildings and headquarters in the Al-Rimal…

RIYADH: Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman on Monday unveiled a plan to provide electricity, telecommunication services, e-learning and e-medical care to African countries. The initiative, announced on the second day of Middle East and North Africa Climate Week, will be jointly managed by the Kingdom’s health, energy and communications ministries in cooperation with stc and Dawyiat. Launching the initiative, the minister said: ”It is a moral issue first and foremost. It’s a humanitarian issue. I will speak for hours and hours because this is honestly more important than the entire energy policy of Saudi Arabia.”  Source: Arab News

President Mahmoud Abbas received tonight a phone call from his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, during which they discussed the latest dangerous developments in the Palestinian territories. President Abbas stressed during the phone call the importance of immediate regional and international intervention to stop the Israeli aggression against the Palestinian territories, particularly in the Gaza Strip, before it is too late. President Abbas warned against the Israeli occupation authorities’ announcement of cutting off basic needs of water and electricity, and preventing the entry of food supplies to our people in the Gaza Strip, which constitutes a crime against humanity and…

RIYADH: The global energy markets have not matured enough to replace fossil fuel with renewable energy, some panelists on the second day of MENA Climate Week said. According to the panelists, transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable energy is a complex and multifaceted process involving various economic and technological factors. For instance, many renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar, are intermittent. There is a pressing need for effective energy storage solutions to replace fossil fuels and ensure reliable power supply. “We talk about it (decarbonization), but we don’t stand in with some of its products because the market…

Gaza’s ministry of health said that Israel has extended the scope of its attacks to include medical crews and hospitals. “We ask that a [humanitarian] corridor is opened to allow medical supplies to reach hospitals in the Gaza Strip,” a spokesperson said, warning that the situation in Gaza’s hospitals in critical due to a lack of medicine and fuel. Source: Aljazeera

MARRAKECH: Less than a two-hour drive from where families sleep in tents and earthquake rubble remain in piles, the world’s most powerful financial institutions are gathering for a week of discussions on economic challenges during times of war, inequality and climate change. The International Monetary Fund and World Bank decided in 2018 to host their annual meeting in Marrakech, Morocco, bringing the affair to the African continent for the first time in 50 years.Their original timeline was delayed by the pandemic, but the meeting beginning Monday arrives at an apropos time. After a devastating earthquake last month killed nearly 3,000…

The currency continues to plunge amid record inflation despite several rate hikes by the central bank The Turkish currency continued to decline on Monday, falling below 28 lira against the US dollar, marking its lowest level on record. The currency is down more than 50% against the greenback so far this year. In September, the Turkish central bank increased the key interest rate by 500 basis points to 30%, a fourth straight hike aimed at tackling high inflation as part of a broader policy U-turn. In August, the regulator refused to inject more foreign-exchange reserves to buoy the domestic currency and…