Author: Steven Sahiounie

The US Justice Department informs the Israeli occupation that the FBI has opened an investigation into the murder of Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh. Israeli officials confirmed on Monday that the US Justice Department informed its Israeli counterpart that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has opened an investigation into the murder of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh. In response, Israeli occupation Security Minister Benny Gantz described the FBI’s decision as “a grave mistake”, adding that “Israel” will not cooperate in this regard. “The US Justice Department decision to investigate the tragic death of Shireen Abu Akleh is a grave…

Some members of Congress want to turn Taiwan into a Ukraine-style “formidable military force” US lawmakers are seeking to flood Taiwan with as much American weaponry and military training as possible, the Washington Post reported on the eve of President Joe Biden’s planned face-to-face meeting with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping If successful, the bipartisan effort would enable the Pentagon to tap its own weapons stocks, including Javelin and Stinger missile systems, to accelerate a military buildup in Taiwan, the newspaper wrote on Sunday, citing US officials. The report, however, noted that approval for taxpayer-funded military assistance to Taipei may hinge on…

The interior minister claims the woman acted on behalf of “Kurdish terrorists” in Syria Turkish authorities have released images of a woman, arrested for allegedly planting a bomb that killed six people and injured 81 in Istanbul on Sunday. Ankara has accused Kurdish militias in Syria of masterminding the plot. The arrest was announced earlier on Monday by Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu, who said the suspect was arrested in a hideout by Istanbul police. Images shown by Turkish media include footage of the police operation, showing the suspect and several other individuals being detained and escorted by armed officers. There…

China hopes France will push the European Union to an independent and constructive policy on China, Chinese President Xi Jinping said at a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali. “After many years of development, China and Europe have formed strong symbiotic economic relations. The sides should expand bilateral trade and investment, maintain the stability and continuity of global production chains and supply chains, and protect international trade and economic rules and order,” Xi said as quoted by China Central Television. He expressed hope that “France will push the EU toward the…

The law allows Egyptians with a valid residency abroad to import a passenger car for personal use exempted from customs taxes and fees, in exchange for an amount transferred in US dollars to the Ministry of Finance’s account at the National Bank of Egypt (NBE) under the number 173100167. Under the law, cars shall be imported from the car’s original owner, or their manufacturing date shall be in 2019 or later. Any extraordinary tools or equipment in imported cars shall be reported and cars that have prohibited features in Egypt shall not be covered by the law. As for exports…

The majority of Russian entrepreneurs say they have adjusted to Western sanctions and continue to work as usual, according to a recent poll. The survey was conducted in October by a research team working for the Russian Ombudsman for Entrepreneurs’ Rights and polled 5,760 business leaders from all regions of the country. A total of 55.4% of respondents said that they had completely adapted to the restrictions or were getting used to the new conditions. “That is, most of the [business] community has endured the aftermath of the sanctions. Only 10.5% of the respondents said they could not cope with…

France risks running short of electricity for several days this winter as a result of lower-than-usual nuclear plant availability, Bloomberg reported on Monday, citing the country’s grid operator. According to Electricite de France (EDF), repairs and maintenance on almost half of its nuclear plants may turn the country, a traditional power exporter, into an importer this year. Under this scenario French customers would have to pay a premium to their neighbors, where prices have been soaring lately, the report said. The French government has called on businesses and households to conserve energy to avoid blackouts. In the event of a…

RIYADH: The demand for green funding is set to triple to $3 trillion by 2030, creating a huge funding gap that can only be filled through greater public-private participation, said a top economist of a global body. The ideal partnership the public and private sector can have during the green transition, as PPP is very crucial to meet the gap the world is trying to accomplish, said Alvaro Pereira, G20 deputy finance and acting chief economist at OECD. He said the core of today’s global energy crisis is “energy security”, and in the medium to long term, the key to…

Oil giant Saudi Aramco used the gathering of business leaders ahead of the Group of Twenty summit of world leaders to sign an agreement with Indonesia’s energy firm Pertamina to explore collaboration across the hydrogen and ammonia value chain. The memorandum of understanding was inked on the sidelines of the so-called B20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, as both Saudi Arabia and the host nation eye achieving the net-zero target by 2060. The MoU involves a pre-feasibility study that aims to assess the possibility of cooperation related to the development of a clean ammonia and hydrogen value chain. The understanding also…

LONDON: The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, or OPEC, on Monday cut its forecast for 2022 global oil demand growth for a fifth time since April and also trimmed next year’s figure, citing mounting economic challenges including high inflation and increases to interest rates. Oil demand in 2022 will rise by 2.55 million barrels per day (bpd), or 2.6 percent, the OPEC said in a monthly report, down 100,000 bpd from the previous forecast. “The world economy has entered a period of significant uncertainty and rising challenges in the fourth quarter of 2022,” OPEC said in the report. “Downside…