Author: Steven Sahiounie

Multiple US-Saudi real estate agreements are set to be signed during a five-day visit by a leading official from the Kingdom to the North American country.

Israel’s economy grew less than expected in the second quarter of 2024, extending a period of volatility since the start of war in Gaza, but the weakness is likely not enough to prompt a central bank rate cut next week given rising inflation.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro has signed a decree prohibiting coal exports to Israel, citing the humanitarian crisis in Gaza caused by Israel’s ongoing military response to the cross-border attack by Hamas last October. 

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez has once again strongly condemned the Israeli occupation’s ongoing military actions in Gaza, accusing the occupying regime of perpetrating a massacre without any intention of addressing the underlying causes of the war. Rodriguez also criticized the United States for its continued support of the Israeli occupation, asserting that this backing allows “Israel” to act with impunity. The Cuban top diplomat highlighted the recent bombings in the Gaza Strip, which resulted in the deaths of at least 10 children, as clear evidence of Israeli aggression. He reiterated Cuba’s condemnation of the “Israeli genocide against the Palestinian people” and…

The UN’s acting humanitarian chief has expressed concern over the increasing “normalisation of violence against aid workers” in a statement released on World Humanitarian Day. Joyce Msuya, the acting director of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), added that the “lack of accountability” for aid worker deaths is “unacceptable, unconscionable and enormously harmful for aid operations everywhere”. More than 280 aid workers have been killed in Gaza since October, including many local employees of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, OCHA said. More than half of the deaths in 2023, or 163, were aid worker…

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the current round of talks on the Gaza Strip is the “last chance” to return hostages and reach a ceasefire in the embattled enclave. “This is a decisive moment — probably the best, maybe the last, opportunity to get the hostages home, to get a ceasefire, and to put everyone on a better path to enduring peace and security,” the Ynet portal quoted him as saying during a meeting with Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Jerusalem. Blinken arrived in Israel the night before; on August 19, he also has meetings scheduled with Prime Minister…

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid on Sunday went after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his performance regarding the Gaza ceasefire talks. A former prime minister himself, Lapid said a premier in pursuit of a ceasefire agreement and the return of captives “does not issue a statement to the media every three hours that makes it difficult for the negotiating team.” “What Netanyahu has been doing this past day is a deliberate and dangerous act of sabotage of the possibility of reaching a hostage deal. He needs to stop with these unnecessary messages,” Lapid added on social media platform X. According…

US Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris was asked about Netanyahu’s willingness to agree to a ceasefire during a campaign stop in Moon, Pennsylvania. “I will not speak for [Netanyahu], but I will tell you that these conversations are ongoing and we are not giving up,” Harris told reporters. “We are going to continue to work very hard on this, we’ve got to get a ceasefire and we’ve got to get those hostages out.” Harris made the comments before travelling to Chicago where she is expected to face protests both inside and outside the Democratic National Convention, over…

Premier of the State Council of China Li Qiang will visit Russia on August 20-22 at the invitation of Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, the Russian Cabinet press service reported. The heads of government will discuss joint projects in industry, agriculture and energy. The statement adds that Li Qiang will also meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Putin and Li Qiang last met in May when the Russian leader paid a state visit to China. At that time, the Russian president extended an open invitation to the Chinese premier to come to Moscow. According to the report, the heads of…

Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs Badr Abdelatty arrived in Riyadh on Sunday for talks on boosting ties with Saudi Arabia, addressing regional challenges, and strengthening the bonds of Arab solidarity in the face of these challenges. According to a Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement, Abdelatty will meet with his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan and Saudi Minister of Commerce Majid Al-Qasabi. He will also hold talks with members of the Egyptian community in the kingdom, the statement added. Source: Ahram Online