Author: Steven Sahiounie

CAIRO: Startups in Egypt have started to gain momentum with several ventures securing funding to boost expansion efforts to the Kingdom. 

The latest macroeconomic data released by the US Department of Commerce indicates that the country’s economy could be moving towards stagflation, Business Insider has reported. The gloomy signs hint at tough challenges ahead, the outlet added.   

The chief executives of OpenAI, Microsoft and Google are among the high-profile members of a new federal board created to advise the US government on the “safe and secure” development of artificial intelligence.

China reiterated its condemnation of the repeated Israeli aggressions on the territory of Syria, stressing that it is a serious violation of Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Xinhua news agency quoted Geng Shuang, Deputy Permanent Representative of China to the United Nations, as saying before the UN Security Council: “Israel continues its aggressive air raids on Syrian territory, and China, for its part, considers this a matter of great concern,” stressing that “these actions constitute a serious violation of Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and will further push the regional situation out of control. Geng expressed China’s full support to…

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gave a speech in Istanbul to the League of Parliamentarians for al-Quds (Jerusalem) in which he said the Palestinians, “whose lands are being gradually occupied, are subjected to one of the most brutal oppressions in history”. “From here, I once again send my greetings to the Palestinian heroes who, through their struggle, uphold the honour of Jerusalem and all humanity,” he said. He added that anyone looking for “modern pharaohs need not look far; just look at those who have mercilessly killed 35,000 Palestinians in the last 203 days,” referring to Israel’s months-long offensive on…

The extensive amount of rubble left by Israel’s devastating war in the Gaza Strip could take about 14 years to remove, a UN official said on Friday. Pehr Lodhammar, an official with the United Nations Mine Action Service, told a briefing in Geneva that the war had left an estimated 37 million tons of debris in the densely populated territory. According to the media office in Gaza, Israeli attacks have destroyed as many as 70,000 houses, and damaged 290,000 others, rendering them uninhabitable. The structures hit also include government buildings, hospitals, schools, mosques, churches, and historical sites. Israel has pounded…

United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken told NPR that he had discussed regional tensions in the Middle East with Chinese officials during his visit to China. “I’ve had, I think, six conversations with my Chinese counterparts since October 7”, he said. “I actually believe that China could play a constructive role in trying to make sure that conflict doesn’t spread, that we don’t see escalation”. He added that China “has influence with critical countries in the region, including, for example, Iran”. “So what I’m focused on is trying to encourage China to use that influence in a productive way,”…

American university students continue to demonstrate solidarity with Gaza and rejection of Israeli aggression, confirming their rejection of the ongoing attempts to distort the student movement by accusing it of being “anti-Semitic.” Student protests advocating for Gaza and denouncing Israeli aggression persist across American universities. In a recent development, the administration of George Washington University notified protesters that their actions violated university policies. On the other hand, students at the university rebuffed ongoing efforts to misrepresent the student movement by labeling it as ‘anti-Semitic.’ From Washington to New York, New York University students established a new solidarity camp with Gaza…

The foreign minister of Portugal expressed his country’s support for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, calling for collective efforts to relieve the regional tensions. In a telephone conversation with his Iranian counterpart on Friday, Portugal’s newly-appointed Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel called for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. “The Portuguese government supports the formation of an independent Palestinian state and calls on all regional countries to make efforts in order to ease the tensions in the region,” he added. For his part, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian urged that the Zionist regime’s war and genocide in Gaza…

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit Israel next week due to the increased tensions between the two countries over the issue of Gaza civilians, The New York Times reported citing an unnamed Israeli official. Blinken will also discuss the process of negotiations on ceasefire in Gaza, which has reached an impasse, the newspaper says. Israel’s military upcoming operation in Rafah will also be on agenda. The situation has seriously deteriorated in Gaza recently, The New York Times points out, adding that heat is the new problem the people of Gaza face now, in addition to other problems. Combined with the…