Author: Steven Sahiounie

The United Nations’ cultural organization UNESCO inscribed the pre-historic site of Tell es-Sultan, near the Palestinian city of Jericho in the occupied West Bank, on its World Heritage List on Sunday.Tell es-Sultan, which predates Egypt’s pyramids, is an oval-shaped tell, or mound, located in the Jordan Valley that contains the prehistoric deposits of human activity.The UNESCO decision, which was posted by the organization on X, formerly Twitter, was taken at its 45th world heritage committee meeting held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.“The property proposed for nomination is the prehistoric archaeological site of Tell es-Sultan, located outside the antique site of Jericho,”…

Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister Waleed Al-Khuraiji on Sunday received Park Joon-yong, the ambassador of South Korea to the Kingdom, in Riyadh. In a separate meeting, Sara Al-Sayed, deputy minister for public diplomacy at the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, received Neil Crompton, the British ambassador to the Kingdom. The parties discussed bilateral relations and other topics of common interest during their meetings. Source: Arab News

The death toll from devastating floods in Libya’s northeastern city of Derna has risen to 11,300, the United Nations has said in a new update. According to the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said, another 10,100 people are still missing in the stricken city. Outside of the city of Derna, the flooding claimed an additional 170 lives, the update said. “These figures are expected to rise as search-and-rescue crews work tirelessly to find survivors,” the UN update said. The update added, “Nearly a week after Storm Daniel hit northeastern Libya, the humanitarian situation remains particularly grim in Derna.” In…

Alexander Matsegora said that there was not much time for this North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s visit was prepared quite swiftly but everything that was planned has been implemented, Russian Ambassador to Pyongyang Alexander Matsegora said on Sunday. “[Everything was] absolutely the way we had planned. Everything was implemented. And when we were seeing Kim Jong Un off, I think he was satisfied,” he said in an interview with the Soloviov Live television channel. “I had, I would say, close cooperation [with North Korean colleagues] during the visit preparations. Frankly speaking, we did not have much time for that.…

The meeting serves as an attempt to maintain a strategic channel of communication and to pursue additional high-level engagement. In the latest attempt to ease efforts between the two major powers, White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Malta, AFP reported citing White House officials. The White House statement noted that one of the meeting’s main takeaways was a commitment from both officials to maintain this strategic channel of communication and to pursue additional high-level engagement. “This meeting was part of ongoing efforts to maintain open lines of communication and responsibly manage the relationship,”…

Russia is considered the second largest fertilizer supplier to the US, followed by Canada which provided for the amount of $2.8 billion during the same time frame. According to data from a US statistical service reviewed by Sputnik, an increase in Russian fertilizers purchased by the US reached a record $944 million in January-July. The last high was back in 2022 when the amount of purchases in seven months hit $900 million, and this year, the value increased by 5%. However, purchases in July fell thrice compared to data in June and almost 40% year-on-year to $54.4 million – the lowest figure…

RIYADH: Oman’s annual inflation rate reached 0.82 percent in August, compared to 2.4 percent in the same month last year, revealed the country’s National Center for Statistics and Information. However, compared with the previous month, Oman’s inflation rate dropped to its lowest level in 28 months to 0.41 percent in July. The primary drivers of this rate in August were key categories within the consumer price index, with the most notable being the sector encompassing food and beverages, which witnessed a 2.9 percent increase. This surge can be primarily attributed to rising prices in several subcategories, including a 11.65 percent hike…

RIYADH: In a bid to strengthen Saudi Arabia’s knowledge exchange with China, the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology has signed cooperation agreements with several institutions in Shenzhen to enhance research, development and innovation. The memorandums of understanding came during a visit to the university by a high-level delegation headed by Shenzhen Mayor Qin Weizhong and 50 representatives from various institutions in the city. These MoUs could strengthen bilateral ties in industrial innovation, technology transfer, research, talent exchange, training programs and entrepreneurship. Representatives of Tsinghua University, Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, and Research Institute of Tsinghua University in Shenzhen…

A 21-year-old woman died when an empty five-story building collapsed in the early hours of Sunday in the Omraniya neighborhood in Giza Governorate, south of Cairo. The woman had been standing on the balcony of her home when the structure opposite collapsed on the building it was facing. Rescue forces and ambulances quickly arrived and the woman’s body was recovered from the rubble. Authorities disconnected gas, water, and electricity services at the collapsed building and neighboring structures. A team from the Public Prosecution in Giza arrived at the scene to investigate and speak to eyewitnesses. A number of buildings have…

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index slipped on Sunday, losing 50.39 points, or 0.45 percent, to close at 11,104.15. The total trading turnover of the benchmark index was SR4.04 billion ($1.07 billion) as 85 of the stocks advanced, while 129 retreated. On the other hand, the Kingdom’s parallel market, Nomu, also slipped 16.60 points, or 0.07 percent, to close at 22,791.81. This comes as 22 of the listed stocks advanced, while as many as 24 retreated. Similarly, the MSCI Tadawul Index also dropped 6.71 points, or 0.47 percent, to close at 1,429.22. Meanwhile, the Saudi exchange has made a significant…