Author: Steven Sahiounie

A free trade deal between the Gulf Cooperation Council and the UK remains on course to be completed by the end of 2024 despite the change of government in London

World oil demand decelerated in the second quarter, with growth easing to 710,000 barrels per day year-on-year

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s transformational journey has placed it as the second-best country in the world for expats, outperforming the US, the UK, and Belgium, a new survey reveals. 

The G7 foreign ministers condemned on Thursday “Israel’s” decision to greenlight five outposts in the West Bank, criticizing the move alongside the occupation’s plans to expand existing settlements and create new ones. “We, the G7 Foreign Ministers… join the UN and the European Union in condemning the announcement by Israeli Finance Minister (Bezalel) Smotrich that five outposts are to be legalized in the West Bank,” read a statement that also rejected the Israeli occupation’s decision to declare over 3,100 acres as “state lands”. In the statement, the G7 foreign ministers dubbed the latest land grab “the largest such declaration of…

Abdelatty and his Jordanian counterpart agreed in their talks, held in Cairo, on the importance of continuing efforts to pressure regional and international partners and the international community into acting seriously, per Security Council resolutions (the latest being 2735), to stop the ongoing violence instead of merely condemning Israeli violations and aggression. “The catastrophic humanitarian and health situation in Gaza highlights the importance of unconditional and unrestricted access to humanitarian aid amidst blatant violations of international humanitarian law that prevent the delivery of such aid,” Abdelattey said. Both ministers confirmed their complete rejection of Israeli control over the Rafah crossing…

Lilium NV is close to selling 100 electric flying taxis to Saudi Arabia’s state-owned airline, formalizing a framework deal arranged in late 2022.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu demanded Thursday that Israel retain control of key Gaza territory along the border with Egypt as part of any accord to suspend the war with Hamas.The condition conflicts with Hamas’s position that Israel must withdraw from all Gaza territory after a ceasefire.Speaking after the return of Israeli negotiators from talks with mediators in Qatar, Netanyahu said Israel needed control to stop weapons reaching Hamas from Egypt — one of four conditions for a deal with the Palestinian militants.He did not say if the measure would be permanent. But it is the first time Israel has insisted…

China’s top leadership is set to meet on Monday to thrash out plans to boost growth, but the country’s economy remains weakened by sluggish consumption, a property sector in crisis and deflation fears.

Iran’s president-elect Masoud Pezeshkian assures Hamas’ Political Bureau Chief Ismail Haniyeh of Palestinians’ eventual victory in the face of the Israeli regime’s genocidal war against the Gaza Strip. Pezeshkian made the remarks in a message that he addressed to Haniyeh on Wednesday as means of responding to the Palestinian resistance movement leader’s earlier congratulation of his victory in the Islamic Republic’s run-off presidential vote. “I am certain that, under the aegis of the resisting people of Palestine and the oppressed and strong Gaza’s historic steadfastness, and the heroic diligence of the fighters of the Palestinian resistance in the ongoing war,…

Japan’s Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa and the Arab League’s Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit held talks late Wednesday on boosting economic ties, and the security and stability of Middle East nations. At a working dinner on the sidelines of the 5th Japan-Arab Economic Forum in Tokyo, Kamikawa urged all parties involved in the war on Gaza to abide by international human rights laws. Tokyo wants the release of all hostages and a ceasefire as soon as possible, she said. Kamikawa added that Japan was encouraging Southeast Asian nations to support the work of the UN’s Conference on Cooperation among East Asian…