Author: Steven Sahiounie

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu summons Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir over threats to resign from the government. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu postponed his speech, which was initially due over four hours ago, due to ongoing disputes among ruling coalition members regarding how to move forward with the judicial reforms. According to Israeli media, Netanyahu summoned Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir following the Police Minister’s threats to resign from Netanyahu’s government if a decision to halt the reforms gets announced. Channel 12 reported that advisors to Netanyahu have suggested he wait until 6:00 pm to see whether the protest called for by the pro-reform coalition would…

According to government opponents, the overhaul plan, which limits the powers of the Supreme Court and puts the executive branch in control of selecting judges, will undermine the democratic foundations of Israeli statehood A protest against the policy of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government gathered 80,000 people in front of the Knesset (Israeli parliament) building in Jerusalem on Monday, the Kan 11 state-owned TV channel reported, broadcasting live from the scene. Widespread protests have been going on in Israel for almost 24 hours. The demonstrations escalated after Netanyahu’s March 26 move to fire Defense Minister Yoav Gallant,…

The move comes after months-long protests across Israel Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced the suspension of the controversial judicial overhaul, after months of massive nationwide demonstrations. In a statement on Monday evening, Netanyahu said that he ordered a “timeout” on the controversial legislation until after the Knesset recess, in order “to give a real opportunity for real dialogue.” He condemned “a minority of extremists that are willing to tear our country to shreds, leading us to civil war and calling for refusal of army service,” which he called “a terrible crime.” Earlier, local media reported that the Israeli PM held lengthy discussions on the…

The Kingdom of Bahrain strongly condemned today Israel’s decision to issue tenders for the construction of new settlement units in the occupied Palestinian territories following the Israeli parliament’s, the Knesset, approval of a bill allowing the return of settlers to four settlements in the occupied northern West Bank that were evacuated in 2005. Bahrain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs reiterated the Kingdom’s firm rejection of Israeli settlements and their expansion in the occupied territories as a violation of international law and international legitimacy, and a threat to the peace process and regional and international efforts aimed at establishing an independent Palestinian state on the borders…

At least six Palestinians were injured this evening after being beaten up and pepper sprayed during an Israeli settlers’ attack against residents in the town of Huwwara to the south of Nablus, the occupied West Bank, according to Ahmad Jibril, the head of the Palestinian Red Crescent Emergency and Ambulance Department in Nablus. He told WAFA that five Palestinians were injured after being attacked by settlers and were taken to a medical center in Huwwara for treatment. He added that settlers tried to prevent the Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance’s access to Huwwara. They further attacked the ambulance while first-aid workers were…

BerlinCNN — Nationwide strikes in Germany — among its worst in decades — are causing huge disruption at the country’s airports, on public transport and its largest port Monday. The walkouts have been called by two major transport unions in Europe’s biggest economy. Ver.di, one of the unions, has demanded a 10.5% pay raise for its members, citing rising energy and food costs. More than 400,000 transport workers are taking part in the industrial action, according to Frank Werneke, the head of Ver.di. Flights at eight major airports, including those in Munich, Frankfurt and Hamburg, have been affected by the strikes. The German…

London/Oakland, CaliforniaCNN — First Citizens Bank is buying most of the business of Silicon Valley Bank, the US tech lender that failed earlier this month. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) said in a statement late Sunday it had agreed that First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company (FCIZP) would buy all of SVB’s deposits and loans that regulators had transferred to a bridge bank in the wake of its collapse. Seventeen former branches of SVB will begin operating as “Silicon Valley Bank, a division of First Citizens Bank,” on Monday, First Citizens said. SVB customers should continue to use their current branch until they receive notice from First…

LondonCNN — European banking stocks rose Monday, boosted by the news that US lender First Citizens Bank would buy most of the business of failed Silicon Valley Bank. The Stoxx Europe 600 Banks index, which tracks 42 big EU and UK banks, ticked up by nearly 1% in morning trade, while London’s bank-heavy FTSE 100 (UKX) was 0.5% higher. Deutsche Bank (DB) rose 6% in early trade, before paring gains to trade 4% higher by mid-morning. Its stock closed down 8.5% on Friday as investors fretted that Germany’s biggest lender might be vulnerable to the crisis of confidence triggered by the collapse of SVB, and the emergency rescue of Credit Suisse (CS).…

Shares of the Swiss bank tumbled after Ammar Al Khudairy warned of a funding cut-off The chairman of Saudi Arabia’s largest lender, the Saudi National Bank (SNB), Ammar Al Khudairy, has resigned his position, the bank announced on Monday. The resignation, officially “due to personal reasons,” came mere days after his comments triggered a share price collapse of Switzerland’s second-largest bank, Credit Suisse. When asked in an interview with Bloomberg TV whether the SNB would be open to providing additional capital to Credit Suisse, Al Khudairy responded, “The answer is absolutely not, for many reasons outside the simplest reason which is…

The country would have continued to use the greenback but sanctions prevent it, the Russian leader has said Russia’s growing use of the Chinese yuan and other currencies in transactions with foreign partners should not be seen as an attack on the US dollar, according to President Vladimir Putin. In a weekend interview with the Russia 24 TV channel, Putin said the decision had been forced on his country by Western sanctions. “We would use the dollar, but they won’t allow us to do that, so how do we make payments? In a currency that is acceptable to our trading…