Author: Steven Sahiounie

The president of the World Bank has told the BBC that he is concerned about some of the loans China has been making to developing economies in Africa. David Malpass says the terms and conditions need to be “more transparent”. It comes amid worries that countries including Ghana and Zambia are struggling to repay their debts to Beijing. China says that any such lending is done within international rules. Developing countries often borrow money from other nations or multilateral bodies to finance sectors that will grow their economies such as infrastructure, education and agriculture. However steep increases in interest rates…

“Israel” carries out an air aggression from Lebanese airspace, targeting locations in the Syrian city of Homs and its countryside. Al Mayadeen’s correspondent in Lebanon reported that an Israeli aggression targeted at dawn Sunday military sites in the western and eastern countryside of Homs, adding that Syrian air defenses intercepted the missiles. Our correspondent mentioned that the sounds of explosions were heard in the Bekaa Valley as a result of the Syrian air defenses’ interception of Israeli missiles in the vicinity of the city of Homs. A military source told SANA, that at “around 00:35 a.m., the Israeli enemy carried out an air…

Sri Lankan Transport Minister Bandula Gunawardana said his country plans to sell the national airline, Sri Lankan Airlines, adding that a potential buyer could be from Russia. “Yes, I can confirm that the Sri Lankan authorities are planning to sell SriLankan Airlines,” Gunawardana said in an interview with “Novosti” agency. “There are many business opportunities and a Russian company could be a buyer in this deal.” He stressed that his country wants to find a good buyer for “SriLankan Airlines”. He stated that this company does not currently carry out flights to Russia due to insurance issues, explaining: “The airline…

Washington could ‘distance itself’ from Europe and the Ukrainian conflict in the wake of the 2024 elections, Boris Pistorius said European NATO members may face big trouble in continuing to support Kiev in its conflict with Russia after the US elections in 2024, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has warned. Washington’s aid to Ukraine is likely to be reduced regardless of the voting results, he told Welt am Sonntag newspaper in an interview published on Saturday. The US will have to pay more attention to the Indo-Pacific region after 2024, even if a “pro-European” president wins the elections next year, Pistorius believes.…

Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov said Russia’s Aerospace Forces downed a Ukrainian MiG-29 aircraft and an Mi-8 helicopter in the Donetsk People’s Republic, Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov said at a briefing on Saturday. “The Russian Aerospace Forces’ fighter jets downed an MiG-29 aircraft of the Ukrainian Air Forces near the Koptevo settlement in the Donetsk People’s Republic. A Ukrainian Mi-8 helicopter was downed near the Novovasilyevka settlement in the Donetsk People’s Republic,” he pointed out. Source: Tass

Somali troops manage to neutralize all Al-Shabaab militants who took part in an attack on an army camp. The government forces of Somalia neutralized 14 militants of the Al-Qaeda-affiliated group Al-Shabaab, who tried to attack a Somali army base in the region of Bay, Mustaqbal Media news outlet reported on Saturday, citing sources. The engagement took place 4.3 miles south of the city of Baidoa, the report said, confirming that the Somali troops managed to neutralize all militants that took part in the attack on the army camp. In late January, 39 Al-Shabaab militants were killed by Somalia’s army in retaliation to an attack…

The sister of North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un says Zelensky is gambling with the fate of his country and people with his nuclear ambitions that only serve his self interests. Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un, considered that the ambitions of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to host American nuclear weapons in his country or produce his own arsenal of nuclear weapons is part of his “authorities’ sinister political plot.” Her comments came in response to an online petition published on Zenelsky’s website last Thursday calling to “deploy US nuclear weapons on Ukrainian territory or…

The Higher Follow-up Committee in the occupied Palestinian territories in 1948 condemns the cold-blooded execution of a 26-year-old Palestinian in Al-Aqsa Mosque. The Higher Follow-up Committee in the occupied Palestinian territories in 1948 announced a general strike to be held on Sunday to condemn the cold-blooded execution of Palestinian youth Mohammad Al-Osaibi, 26, at the hands of Israeli occupation forces in Al-Aqsa Mosque. On Friday evening, Israeli occupation forces opened fire at Al-Osaibi, from the town of Hura in Al-Naqab, at Bab Al-Silsilah, adjacent to Al-Aqsa Mosque. The occupation forces detained the martyr’s body in an unknown area. The Israeli occupation claimed…

Finland receives unanimous approval from NATO members after long months of tough negotiations and leaves behind its neighbor Sweden. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan issues a decree approving the parliament’s decision to accept Finland’s NATO accession bid, according to the decree published by the state’s Resmi Gazete on Saturday. “It was decided to consider the approval of the protocol of July 5, 2022, on Finland’s accession to NATO expedient,” the decree read. The Turkish parliament on Thursday unanimously backed Finland’s bid to join the US-led NATO alliance only two weeks after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan openly blessed the bid. Turkey’s ratification meant that…

There’s a corner of the market gaining traction among ETF investors, according to The ETF Store’s Nate Geraci. The firm’s president finds international ETFs are experiencing stronger inflows. “There is a little bit of performance chasing going on here, because broad international stocks have fairly significantly outperformed U.S. stocks since about the beginning of the fourth quarter of last year,” he told CNBC’s “ETF Edge” this week. “Investors are looking at that performance and perhaps reallocating there.” BofA Global Research’s latest market data out late this week appears to support Geraci’s thesis. It shows emerging markets are seeing strong inflows…