Author: Steven Sahiounie

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation has strongly condemned Israeli soldiers in Hebron for strip searching five Palestinian women. An investigation released by Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem on Tuesday revealed that Israeli female soldiers forced Palestinian women to strip naked in front of their children during a night raid on their homes on July 10. Soldiers threatened to unleash K-9 dogs on the families if the women did not comply. The OIC urged international bodies to put pressure on Israel to end its daily breaches of human rights in Palestine and to take legal action with the appropriate international authorities.…

RIYADH: Amid attempts to diversify its economy, Oman’s tourism industry recorded a 47.3 percent year-on-year surge at the end of 2022 to stand at 1.9 billion Omani rials ($4.93 billion). This figure reflects an increase of 600 million rials compared to 1.3 billion rials recorded toward the end of 2021, as reported by the Oman News Agency. This falls in line with the country’s goal of further opening up tourism and encouraging international travelers to visit the country. According to official figures, the tourism sector posted a direct added value of 1.1 billion rials at the end of 2022, up…

Washington has conducted a “routine” test launch of an unarmed Minuteman III The US Air Force has successfully test-fired a Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). The silo-launched missile was fired early on Wednesday from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The launch was described as a “routine” test, intended to “validate and verify the safety, security, effectiveness, and readiness of the weapon system,” according to US Air Force Global Strike Command. “These test launches demonstrate the readiness of US nuclear forces and provide confidence in the lethality and effectiveness of the nation’s nuclear deterrent,” Col. Bryan Titus, who directly commanded the launch, said…

RIYADH: Arabian International Healthcare Holding Co., also known as Tibbiyah, has signed a agreement with Nephrocare Health Services to form a joint venture providing dialysis services in the Kingdom. According to a statement on Tadawul, a limited liability company for dialysis care services will be established in Saudi Arabia as a part of the deal in which 49 percent of shares will be held by Tibbiyah, while the remaining 51 percent will be owned by Nephrocare, also known as NephroPlus. The new company will provide dialysis care services by investing, operating, managing and maintaining departments or divisions of hospitals, medical centers and…

According to the media, the secretary of state will stay in Ukraine for two days and will discuss combating corruption, among other things US Secretary of State Antony Blinken promised to continue the US military aid to Ukraine, in order to provide everything necessary for the counteroffensive and strengthening of its armed forces. “I am here, first and foremost, to demonstrate our ongoing and determined support for Ukraine,” Blinken told reporters during a joint press conference with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba. “We want to make sure that Ukraine has what it needs, not only to succeed in the counteroffensive,…

RIYADH: In a bid to push digitization efforts in Saudi Arabia, the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources has launched a program to implement basic digitization solutions in the industrial sector Part of the Factories of the Future program, it falls under the umbrella of the “Stimulating Local Industry” initiative, which is aimed at enhancing investment in the industrial sector, raising the percentage of local content, and increasing the operational efficiency and production capacity of local factories, as reported by the Saudi Press Agency. According to Jarrah bin Muhammad Al-Jarrah, the official spokesman of the ministry, the “track of applying…

Earlier, Antonio Guterres sent a letter to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov with proposals on restoration of the grain deal The UN currently has no instruments that would make it possible to the Organization to achieve the implementation of the grain deal, says Benon Sevan, former Assistant Secretary-General in the UN Department of Political Affairs, commenting on UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres’ mediation efforts. “Unfortunately, the UN today does not have the power that would allow to implement agreements. This fully applies to the grain deal,” Sevan told TASS. Previously, Sevan chaired UN’s Oil-for-Food Program, which was supposed to soften…

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index slipped on Wednesday, as it shed 112.82 points, or 0.99 percent, to close at 11,298.16. Saudi Arabia’s parallel market Nomu decreased, as it lost 217.47 points to close the day’s trading session at 23,328.28. The MSCI Tadawul Index also lost 15.45 points to finish at 1,459.06. The total trading turnover of the benchmark index was SR6.18 billion ($1.65 billion) as 56 of the stocks advanced, while 163 declined. Al Sagr Cooperative Insurance Co. was the best-performing stock of the day. The company’s share price soared by 9.95 percent to SR19.30. Other top…

The ASEAN leaders emphasized the need for trust-building measures between parties along the South China Sea and reaffirmed the importance of upholding international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea The heads of state and government of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries have called for strengthening peace and security in the South China Sea, according to a joint statement released after the 43rd ASEAN Summit in Jakarta. “We reaffirmed the importance of maintaining and promoting peace, security, stability, safety, and freedom of navigation in and overflight above the South China Sea,” the…

In a meeting today with President Mahmoud Abbas at the presidential headquarters in Ramallah, the Irish Minister of Foreign Affairs and Defense, Michael Martin, affirmed his country’s support for a political settlement based on United Nations resolution and the two-state solution. President Abbas briefed his guest on the latest developments in the Palestinian territories, specifically the ongoing Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people, their land, and their holy places. He stressed that the continuation of unilateral steps by the Israeli occupation authorities, in addition to settler terrorism, increases tension and drags the region into a square of escalation and violence…