Author: Steven Sahiounie

As president, Donald Trump went well beyond his predecessors in fulfilling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s top wishes from the United States. Yet by the time Trump left the White House, relations between the two had broken down after Netanyahu rapidly congratulated Joe Biden on his 2020 presidential victory.On Friday, the two men will meet face-to-face for the first time in nearly four years in a test of whether the relationship can be mended. Both have an interest in getting past their differences.For Trump, now the Republican presidential nominee, the meeting could cast him as an ally and statesman, as…

The Palestinian Prisoners’ Affairs Commission and the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club have confirmed that Sheikh Mustafa Abu Arra, a 63-year-old administrative detainee, was martyred following his transfer from the Israeli “Ramon” prison to “Soroka” hospital due to a severe deterioration in his health. The two Palestinian institutions focused on prisoners’ affairs explained in a statement that Sheikh Mustafa Abu Arra, from the town of Aqqaba in the Tubas District of the West Bank, was a leader in the Hamas movement and a former detainee in Israeli prisons. He had been arrested multiple times since 1990, with a cumulative detention period of…

The UAE’s economy is expected to grow by 3.9 percent in the current year, 2024, rising to 6.2 percent in 2025, according to the Arab Monetary Fund (AMF).

The world’s second-biggest bullion consumer slashed import duties on gold and silver on Tuesday to 6% from 15%.

Kuwait registered a deficit of 1.6 billion dinars ($5.23 billion) in fiscal year 2023/24 from a surplus of 6.4 billion dinars in the previous year

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is scheduled to visit China for five days in her first official visit since she took office two years ago, Beijing said in a statement on Thursday. “At the invitation of Premier Li Qiang of the State Council, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will pay an official visit to China from July 27 to 31,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said, adding that meetings with both President Xi Jinping and Premier Li have been set. Reportedly, Meloni and the Chinese leaders will discuss bilateral relations between Italy and China, as well as “issues of common concern”,…

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Thursday condemned those applauding Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the US Congress, branding them as endorsers of a “bloody criminal.” Those who applauded Netanyahu have gone down in history as supporters of “bloody criminal,” marking complete collapse of moral standards witnessed by all humanity, Hakan Fidan said on X. Despite war crimes in Gaza, Netanyahu received a standing ovation from US lawmakers when he came to address a joint session of Congress, seeking to garner support for his deadly war on Gaza. The comments come amid escalation of Israeli forces bombardment of the…

Jordan’s House of Representatives was dissolved on Thursday by royal decree, the Royal Hashemite Court has announced. King Abdullah ordered elections to be held for the House of Representatives on April 24 and visited the Independent Election Commission to check on preparations to administer and oversee the electoral process on the same day. The IEC has set Sept. 10 as the date for the parliamentary elections. Source: Arab News

Russia’s State Duma today condemned Israel’s Knesset’s a resolution rejecting the establishment of a Palestinian state. “The delegates of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation resolutely condemn the stance of the State of Israel’s Knesset, expressed in the July 18, 2024 Knesset declaration against the establishment of the state of Palestine,” the Duma said in a statement. “By groundlessly and baselessly claiming that the very establishment of the State of Palestine would pose a threat to Israel and its citizens and would render the Israeli-Palestinian conflict intractable and destabilize the region, the Israeli Parliament blatantly violates…

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday he was ready to work with Joe Biden for the rest of his presidency, as the two leaders met for the first time at the White House for talks on a Gaza ceasefire.“I want to thank you for the 50 years of public service and 50 years of support for the state of Israel,” Netanyahu said after they shook hands in the historic setting of the Oval Office.“And I look forward to discussing with you today and working with you in the months ahead.”Biden stunned the world Sunday when he announced that he…