Author: Steven Sahiounie

The central bank attributed the BoP surplus to “the elevated diversification of the Qatari economy” which achieved targets CAIRO – Qatar reported a balance of payments surplus of 7.9 billion riyals ($2.17 billion) in the second quarter of 2023, the central bank said on Sunday. In its statement, the bank added that its goods and services accounts hit surpluses of 59.6 billion and 31.3 billion riyals respectively. It attributed the BoP surplus to “the elevated diversification of the Qatari economy” which achieved targets. Source: Zawya

The baseline scenario, a reflection of global and local developments, projects revenues at $312bln, offset by expenditures reaching $333bln RIYADH — In light of global and local developments, including geopolitical risks that may impact the world economy, Saudi Arabia has crafted three revenue scenarios for the year 2024.These scenarios, detailed in the preliminary budget statement, include the baseline scenario, which forms the foundation for revenue estimations, and two alternative scenarios building upon the baseline.The baseline scenario, a reflection of global and local developments, projects revenues at SR1.17 trillion, offset by expenditures reaching SR1.25 trillion. Consequently, a deficit of approximately SR79…

State borrowing grew by almost 10% in the first six months of the year Russia’s state debt rose by almost 10% in the first half of the year, as the government needed the funds to support the economy, Izvestia newspaper wrote on Friday, citing Russia’s Accounts Chamber’s report on budget implementation. Government borrowing between January and June soared by 9.8% and is projected to reach 25.1 trillion rubles ($256 billion) by the end of the year, accounting for 16.7% of Russia’s gross domestic product (GDP). The domestic debt increased by $14 billion (+7.4%) in the first six months and has…

Helipay wants to simplify cross-border settlements between businesses Chinese payment company Helipay is in talks with Russian banks to set up cross-border transactions, the company’s development director told the International Banking Forum in Sochi on Friday. According to Rustem Zakirzyanov, the service is looking for a bank that can enable instant payments by Russian customers for Chinese goods. He explained that this is currently problematic, citing payments from Russian clients for Chinese cars, which can take months to process. “When Helipay receives such an opportunity, it will rapidly attract a huge number of small and medium-sized businesses, and other Chinese…

Israeli police today broke into the Qibli/Al-Aqsa Mosque, the main prayer area in the Muslim holy compound in Jerusalem, known as Al-Haram Al-Sharif or Noble Sanctuary, under the pretext of doing a search as hundreds of Jewish fanatics stormed the Muslim site and police assaulted and arrested Palestinian worshippers. Local sources and witnesses said the Israeli police entered the Qibli Mosque in an unusual move, desecrating the holy place, before leaving it again. At the same time, police attacked and forcibly removed two Palestinian women and a man who were worshipping at the Mosque as hundreds of Jewish fanatics walked…

Israeli occupation forces this morning obstructed the arrival of students and teachers to 27 schools east of Yatta in the south of the occupied West Bank, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Education. It said in a statement that soldiers set up checkpoints around Yatta and obstructed the arrival of teachers to their schools located in the city. Source: WAFA

Argentina has been invited to BRICS, Director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Latin American Department Alexander Shchetinin said Russia is holding consultations with Argentina, which has been invited to BRICS, on the work within the framework of this integration, Director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Latin American Department Alexander Shchetinin told TASS on the sidelines of the Russia-Latin America conference. “We have already had contacts with Argentina. Argentina has been invited to BRICS. It’s their turn now,” he said. The BRICS summit took place in Johannesburg under South Africa’s chairmanship on August 22-24. The participants of the summit reached an…

It is reported that the agenda of the meetings includes a wide range of pressing bilateral, regional and international issues Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will hold separate talks with the president and top diplomat of Abkhazia and the president and foreign minister of South Ossetia in Sochi on October 3, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. “On October 3, Sochi will host Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s separate bilateral talks and trilateral negotiations with Abkhazian President Aslan Bzhania and Foreign Minister Inal Ardzinba, as well as with South Ossetian President Alan Gagloyev and Foreign Minister Akhsar Dzhioyev,”…

The BRICS summit took place in Johannesburg under South Africa’s chairmanship on August 22-24 The main task of Russia’s BRICS chairmanship in 2024 will be to define the format of participation of new member states and those who are interested in the integration, Director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Latin American Department Alexander Shchetinin told TASS on the sidelines of the Russia-Latin America conference. “The work will now move towards making sure that all BRICS member states in the new extended format decide on the format of their participation, in what way they will cooperate with BRICS and so on,”…

“The US and the West flatly rejected Russia’s just proposal to conduct an international joint investigation, involving Russia as a directly related party, under the observation of the UN,” Kim Jong Gyu, director general of the Russian Affairs Department of the North Korean Foreign Ministry, has said The US and other Western countries are trying to cover up the traces of their involvement in blasts at Nord Stream gas pipelines, Kim Jong Gyu, director general of the Russian Affairs Department of the North Korean Foreign Ministry, has said. “The US and the West flatly rejected Russia’s just proposal to conduct…