Author: Steven Sahiounie

Nasser Kanaani sympathized with the families of the victims and the Kuwaiti government and people. He also wished divine blessing for those killed and swift recovery for the injured, the Iranian Foreign Ministry’s website reported. At least 49 people were killed in Kuwait on Wednesday after a fire broke out in a building housing foreign workers, with Kuwait’s deputy prime minister accusing property owners of committing violations that contribute towards such incidents. Most of those who died are said to be Indians. India’s ambassador visited hospitals where workers were being treated for injuries sustained in the fire. An Egyptian who…

 Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi and Norway’s Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide Wednesday discussed an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and unhampered delivery of aid across the Strip. Safadi and Eide discussed Jordan-Norway ties and keenness to enhance cooperation to strengthen regional stability and security. Safadi valued Norway’s decision to recognise Palestine based on the two-state solution, Security Council resolutions and international legitimacy, praising the country for supporting the Palestinian economy through its chairmanship of the liaison committee dedicated to coordinating international aid provided to the Palestinian people (AHLC). Safadi called for an “immediate” end to the Israeli war on Gaza,…

Türkiye applauds Brazil’s stance on the ongoing crisis in the Gaza Strip, the country’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Wednesday in a joint news conference with his Brazilian counterpart Mauro Vieira in the capital Ankara. Fidan expressed Ankara’s appreciation for Brazil’s solidarity with Palestine, adding that Brasilia was “actively working for the official recognition of Palestine as a full UN member.” He said that the “fundamentalist government” of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continued its “systematic massacre,” of Palestinians, adding: “Türkiye will not stand idly by the ongoing massacre in Gaza.” Underlining the importance of a two-state solution, Fidan said…

The state of Palestine participated in the seventeenth session of the Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, held in New York. Palestinian Minister for Social Development, Samah Hamad, said the community of persons with disabilities in Palestine carries a disproportionate share of the suffering; noting that the number of persons with disabilities doubled in the last eight months as a result of the ongoing Israeli aggression, including among children, mothers, fathers and the elderly, whose life has changed irreversibly. She called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and to put an end…

Secretary of State Antony Blinken vowed Wednesday to strive for a Gaza ceasefire agreement, saying not all Hamas demands were acceptable but voicing hope gaps could be closed.Consulting with key mediator Qatar on the Hamas response to US President Joe Biden’s plan, Blinken said the Palestinian group could have given a “clear and simple yes” but voiced guarded hope for moving forward.“We believe that some of the requested changes are workable and some are not,” Blinken told reporters in Doha.“And so we have to see on an urgent basis over the course of the coming days whether those gaps are…

Jordan strongly condemned ongoing and increasing incursions by extremist settlers into Al-Aqsa Mosque – Al-Haram Al-Sharif compound, with the latest incident occurring on Wednesday under the protection of Israeli police. “These provocative actions within Al-Haram Al-Sharif violate its sanctity and were marked by a significant presence of extremists in the Old City of occupied Jerusalem and at the gates of Al-Haram Al-Sharif, restricting the entry of worshipers into the mosque,” a statement from the Jordanian foreign ministry read. Jordan is universally regarded as custodian of the holy sites in Jerusalem. The ministry described such actions as part of “a systematic…

Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday received the head of UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) Philippe Lazzarini in Ankara, the Communications Directorate said. The closed-door meeting was held at the presidential complex. Further information on the meeting was not immediately available. Source: Anadolu Agency

Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa today discussed with the World Food Program (WFP) Deputy Executive Director Carl Skau the intensification of relief efforts for the Gaza Strip. During a meeting at the Prime Minister’s Office in the occupied West Bank of Ramallah, Prime Minister Muatafa and Skau, who also serves as the WFP Chief Operating Officer, discussed the intensification of relief efforts and increasing the volume of relief aid allowed into the war-torn Strip in addition to the coordination of joint action in the West Bank and Gaza. Prime Minister Mustafa learned from Skau about the WFP’s efforts aimed at providing…

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s pioneering electric vehicle brand, Ceer, has secured a monumental SR8.2 billion ($2.18 billion) agreement with Hyundai Transys, a South Korea-based company, to supply “EV Drive Systems” for its vehicles.

RIYADH: Global growth is expected to stabilize at 2.6 percent in 2024, holding steady for the first time in three years, according to a new World Bank report. The analysis warns that safeguarding trade, supporting green and digital transitions, delivering debt relief, as well as improving food security, are all needed to help deliver robust growth. The report indicates that any stability will come despite geopolitical tensions and high interest rates, the latter being led by Washington – with the US Federal Reserve keeping the benchmark level at a 23-year high to combat inflation. “The global economy is stabilizing, following…