Author: Steven Sahiounie

The global supply of natural gas will remain tight this year amid a wide range of uncertainties, the International Energy Agency (IEA) warned on Thursday. For now, the pressure on global gas markets has eased, as there was a reduced need for storage withdrawals in Europe and the US due to the mild winter, the IEA wrote in its latest Gas Market Report. In the first quarter of the year, spot prices for liquefied natural gas (LNG), which has served as a replacement for the Russian pipeline gas, fell below the levels seen in the summer of 2021, though they…

The world is at risk of splitting into rival economic blocs, Kristalina Georgieva believes The managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned that the world is on the edge of geo-economic fragmentation, which she believes could add more “cold water” to already anemic global growth. Speaking by video-link at the Brussels Economic Forum on Wednesday, Kristalina Georgieva called for cooperation at a time when growth across the globe is extremely weak by historical standards. “After decades of increasing global integration, there is a growing risk that the world may split into rival economic blocs,” the IMF chief said. “And that’s a…

Ukraine is planning to impose a complete ban on imports from neighboring Moldova, in a tit-for-tat response to restrictions introduced this week by Chisinau on Ukrainian grain. On Saturday, Moldova’s agriculture minister, Vladimir Bolea, said that the nation had joined a month-long EU embargo on some Ukrainian grains, while allowing their transit. Bolea claimed the country’s warehouses are already full and local farmers are under pressure from an influx of Ukrainian grain. “They are worried that they will not have spaces for the new harvest,” he explained. Criticizing the move, Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Agriculture Taras Kachka said…

The young Palestinian was pronounced a martyr shortly after arriving at a hospital in Afula. An Israeli occupation settler murdered a Palestinian youth on Saturday in Al-Nasirah, a city located within the 1948 occupied territories. Local sources said that the settler shot and killed 20-year-old Palestinian Diyar Omari at the entrance of the “Gan Ner” settlement. Martyr Omari, who is from the town of Sandala, was declared dead due on arrival shortly after arriving at HaEmek Medical Center in Afula. Later, Sandala witnessed a demonstration to protest the martyrdom of the young Palestinian. The Hamas movement mourned Omari in a…

Berlin police had restricted the use of the national symbol near Soviet memorials during WWII Victory Day celebrations A Berlin administrative court has lifted the police ban on the displaying of Ukrainian flags, as well as the playing and singing of Ukrainian military songs near Soviet memorials during World War II Victory Day celebrations on May 8 and 9. Berlin police said on Saturday they would not appeal the decision. The ban on Russian flags remains in place. Police prohibited the display of the flags of both countries on Friday, citing security concerns. The orange-and-black St. George ribbons – a…

The agreement, which allows the safe export of Ukrainian grain though the Black Sea, is set to expire on May 18 Another round of talks aimed at prolonging the Black Sea grain deal has ended in deadlock, Farhan Haq, the deputy spokesperson for UN secretary-general, told the media. Technical personnel from Russia, Türkiye, Ukraine, and the UN met in Istanbul on Friday, ahead of a senior-level meeting scheduled for next week. According to the UN spokesperson, the parties failed to agree on the authorization of new vessels to join the Black Sea shipments. Nevertheless, daily inspection work on the previously…

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune affirmed that Syria is a founding member of the Arab League, and cannot be deprived of its rights. “We have not changed with respect to Syria, and Syria has not changed for us. What we are doing is based on the fact that Syria is a founding member of the Arab League and cannot be isolated or set aside its rights” Tebboune said during a meeting with representatives of the national press. President Tebboune pointed out that Algeria’s aid to its sister Syria during the earthquake was a donation from the heart that is not subject…

The Watan Document Foundation and National Records & Archives Authority in the Sultanate of Oman signed a memorandum of cooperation, with the aim of boosting and developing cooperation and consolidating the bonds of Arab ties between Syria and Oman, in the presence of Social Affairs Minister Louai Emad El-Din al-Munajjid. The memo , which was signed at the Foundation’s headquarters, stipulated the exchange of experts in the fields of historical documentation, document management, and cooperation in the field of oral history, in a way that serves the interests of the peoples of the two countries. Dr.Bouthaina Shaaban,Head of the Board…

The Chechen leader considered that Wagner’s withdrawal from the city would count as a loss of an experienced combat unit. The Chief of Russia’s Wagner Group Private Military Company, Evgeny Prigozhin, submitted a request to Moscow on Saturday to allow him to hand over his forces’ positions in Bakhmut to the Akhmat battalion, led by Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov. “I ask you to issue a combat order before 00:00 on May 10 concerning the transfer of the positions of the Wagner paramilitary units in Bakhmut and its periphery, to the units of the Akhmat battalion,” he said in a letter to…

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian expressed concern about the “worrying” situation in Sudan created by foreign interference. “Sudan situation is so worrying. If proper measures are not taken, Sudan territorial integrity is jeopardized with ramifications for the region,” Amirabdollahian said in a post on his Twitter account on Friday. He expressed regret over foreign interference and provocation in Sudan, urging domestic dialogue and understanding to resolve the crisis. “Domestic dialog & understanding seem to be the most viable option to end crisis,” the top Iranian diplomat tweeted. Deadly violence broke out on April 15 between Sudan’s de facto leader Abdel…