Author: Steven Sahiounie

Only Washington and London have begun discussing the commitments with Kiev to date, the outlet reported Ukraine’s Western backers are unlikely to finalize security guarantees for Kiev by the end of this year, the Wall Street Journal has reported. With only the US and UK having started talks, a lot of question marks still hang over the nature and scope of the future commitments, the media outlet claims. In an article on Monday, the WSJ, citing anonymous European officials, reported that security guarantees are expected to take many months to thrash out, with some of the bilateral arrangements likely to…

Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan was expected to hold talks with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi on the latest developments in Sudan Sudan’s army chief, General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, arrived in the Egyptian coastal town of El Alamein on Tuesday to meet with President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, according to a military statement.It was the first time Burhan had left Sudan since the start of the conflict with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces on April 15.Burhan, chairman of the ruling Sovereign Council, is meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi on the latest developments in Sudan, the council said in a statement. Egypt…

Israeli occupation forces today detained 37 Palestinians, mostly from Hebron, in a large-scale arrest campaign across the occupied West Bank. In north of the West Bank, Israeli occupation forces detained nine Palestinians in Nablus, while in Qalqilya two others were detained. In Jenin, also in north of the West Bank, Israeli forces conducted a military raid into Siris village, south of the city, where they detained two siblings. Another military raid was carried out in the town of Zeita town, north of Tulkarem, and detained an ex-prisoner. Five Palestinians were detained by occupation forces in Ramallah city. In south of…

A Palestinian worker was injured, while dozens suffocated after Israeli occupation police attacked workers at the Eyal checkpoint, north of the occupied West Bank city of Qalqilya. Local sources said that a worker was injured after being assaulted by the occupation police near the aforementioned checkpoint, while dozens of workers suffocated after the police fired stun grenades and tear gas at them. The sources added that hundreds of Palestinian workers closed part of Street 55 this morning, protesting Israeli police taking out the buses that take them to their places of work in the 48-occupied territories. The occupation police deployed their forces…

The heads of state will reportedly discuss both the original grain deal and potential alternatives, including the supplies to countries in need Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expects to hold talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in September, before the 78th session of the UN General Assembly begins on September 19, a political source in Ankara told TASS. “Erdogan and Putin will meet before the [UN] General Assembly opens. No later than that,” the source said, adding that the exact date was still being discussed. The two leaders plan “to thoroughly discuss prospects of a peaceful solution” to the…

Ali Asghar Khaji, a senior aide to the Iranian foreign minister, said in remarks published on Sunday that Iran is not worried that the issue of Arash gas field, known in Kuwait as al-Durra, would become problematic in bilateral relations with Kuwait. He said Iran and Kuwait could settle the dispute over the strategically important gas field through cooperation on the basis of the historical situation of the two countries, Press TV reported. The diplomat said Iran is “very optimistic” about resolving the issue notwithstanding the negative atmosphere that some media outlets seek to use to generate friction among regional…

Profits at China’s industrial firms fell 6.7 percent in July from a year earlier, extending this year’s slump to a seventh month with weak demand squeezing companies as a post-pandemic recovery faltered in the world’s second-biggest economy.Earnings shrank 15.5 percent year-on-year for the first seven months, following a 16.8 percent decline in the first half of the year, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Sunday. Profits were down 8.3 percent in June, according to the bureau, which only occasionally publishes monthly figures.“Commodity prices are running low, the pressure on raw material costs in the midstream and downstream…

India has imposed a $1,200 per ton minimum export price (MEP) on basmati rice shipments, the government said on Sunday, as the world’s biggest exporter tries to calm local prices ahead of key state elections.The south Asian country in July banned exports of non-basmati white rice and on Friday imposed 20 percent duty on the exports of parboiled rice.But after the ban, some traders were classifying non-basmati white rice as basmati to overcome the export restriction, thegovernment said in a statement.The MEP would help authorities ensure that non-basmati rice is not exported as basmati rice, they said.India and Pakistan exclusively grow premium,…

Terry Gou’s candidacy follows his proposal for an opposition party coalition aimed at bolstering the chances of defeating the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). Taiwanese billionaire and Foxconn’s founder, Terry Gou, has announced his bid for the 2024 Taiwan presidential election as an independent candidate, according to reports from Taiwanese media. Gou’s decision comes after he initially sought the nomination from the opposition party Kuomintang (KMT) in April, but the KMT ultimately nominated Hou Yu-ih, the Mayor of New Taipei City, as their candidate. Gou’s independent candidacy follows his proposal for an opposition party coalition aimed at bolstering the chances…

China lowered the stamp duty on stock trades for the first time since 2008, marking a major attempt to restore confidence in the world’s second-largest equity market. The levy charged on stock trades will be halved effective August 28, the government said in a statement Sunday. Trading floors have been abuzz with anticipation of a reduction since Beijing issued a rare pledge last month to “invigorate capital markets and boost investor confidence.” The reduction has the potential to trigger a knee-jerk rally in Chi-na’s $9.6 trillion equity market, which is highly sensitive to policy shifts that impact market liquidity. The…