Author: Steven Sahiounie

“The North Atlantic Alliance does not have the necessary status to reproach China or put pressure on it,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning pointed out The US and military alliances such as NATO should bear responsibility for the crisis in Ukraine, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told a news conference on Thursday in the wake of statements by the alliance’s Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg about the consequences for China in case of arms supplies to Russia. “As far as the responsibility for the Ukrainian problem is concerned, I believe it should be borne by the United States and military…

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Al Ansari Financial Services made its trading debut on the Dubai Financial Market Thursday. Shares surged over 17% for the family-owned remittances and money exchange firm, which marks the first IPO for Dubai this year. The Al Ansari family sold 750 million shares in the offering, which is equal to a 10% stake in the company. Al Ansari Financial Services’ Group CEO Rashed Ali Al Ansari told CNBC’s Dan Murphy the sheer size of the organization pushed the company to decide to list publicly. “We were extremely pleased that there was a great acceptance from the…

Dmitry Peskov specified that the meeting “addressed the implementation of major projects on the two countries’ [joint] agenda, including the Akkuyu [project]” Russian President Vladimir Putin has met with Turkish Presidential Spokesman Ibrahim Kalin, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday. “Such a meeting has indeed taken place,” he said, commenting on reports of Kalin’s meeting with Putin for a discussion of bilateral cooperation pertaining to the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant. Peskov specified that the meeting “addressed the implementation of major projects on the two countries’ [joint] agenda, including the Akkuyu [project].” “The parties discussed the need to carry…

The Arab Lawyers Union condemned the repeated incursions of the Israeli occupation forces into al-Aqsa Mosque and the brutal attacks on the worshipers who are stationed there. The Union denounced the international silence regarding the occupation’s crimes against the Palestinian people, Wafa News Agency said. The Arab Lawyers Union also called upon the Arab and Islamic countries to take serious steps and firm measures against the occupation in response to its brutal and repeated assaults on worshipers in al-Aqsa Mosque, including women, according to the agency. The Union hailed the sacrifices offered by the men and women stationed at the…

The International Monetary Fund said in a Wednesday report that global tensions could disrupt overseas investment and eventually lead to a long-term loss of 2% of the world’s gross domestic product. Companies and policymakers across the globe are exploring ways to make their supply chains more resilient by “moving production home or to trusted countries,” the IMF warned in its report, adding that this will lead to fragmenting foreign direct investment. The IMF pointed to recent bills adopted against the backdrop of rising tensions between the U.S. and China, such as Washington’s Chips and Science Act. Japan recently imposed its own restrictions on 23 types…

South Africa condemned the Israeli occupation forces’ attacks on worshippers at al-Aqsa Mosque, calling on the occupation authorities to abide by international laws and human rights and stop their violations. South Africa’s Foreign Ministry said, in a statement reported by Wafa news agency, that the use of stun grenades and poisonous gas by occupation forces against worshippers is outrageous, calling for the immediate withdrawal of the occupation forces from al-Aqsa. The Foreign Ministry stressed that al-Aqsa Mosque belongs to the Palestinians, Arabs and Muslims, and they do not need permission or approval from the occupation government to enter it or…

The surprise output cut by OPEC and its allies sent oil prices rallying — and analysts say major oil importers like India, Japan and South Korea will feel the most pain if prices hit $100 per barrel, as some have predicted. On Sunday, OPEC+ announced a production cut of 1.16 million barrels per day, in a move that oil markets were not expecting. “It’s a tax on every oil importing economy,” said Pavel Molchanov, managing director of private investment bank Raymond James. “It’s not the US that would feel the most pain from $100 oil, it would be the countries that have no domestic petroleum…

Despite having announced the plan two weeks ago, the EU continues to struggle to finalize the implementation plan as ambassadors fail to agree on the fine print. The European Union has yet to sort out the legal specifics of how to implement a historic agreement announced about two weeks ago regarding delivering piles of ammunition to Ukraine. According to Sputnik, which cited diplomats knowledgeable of the negotiations, the plan to jointly buy and supply Ukraine with ammunition has been stalled since EU ambassadors, who reportedly met on Wednesday, failed to make any significant progress. The subject of conflict is whether these arms…

Beijing has demanded that Washington stops all contacts with Taipei “at once” The Taiwan issue is the “first red line” that should not be crossed in relations between China and the US, Beijing has told Washington. The warning from the Chinese Foreign Ministry came early on Thursday, hours after Taiwanese leader Tsai Ing-wen met with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and other lawmakers in California. “China firmly opposes and strongly condemns” the high-profile meeting that took place on American soil, the ministry said in a statement. “It seriously infringes upon China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and sends an egregiously wrong signal to the ‘Taiwan…

The Bureau of the United Nations General Assembly’s Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People condemned in a statement the raid by Israeli occupation forces inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound/Al-Haram Al-Sharif Tuesday, which resulted in hundreds of Palestinian worshippers beaten, injured and detained while also causing damage to the building of the al-Qibli mosque. This violence is particularly egregious during a time of heightened religious sensitivity with the observance of Ramadan, Passover, and Easter, it said. “Israel’s illegal policies and practices have continued to entrench its illegal occupation of the Palestinian Territory it has occupied…