Author: Steven Sahiounie

GCC government spending is expected to continue playing an important role in the near-to-medium term as countries look to achieve their ambitious development, diversification and net-zero targets, a report said.

Latvia significantly increased the volume of grain bought from Russia in the first quarter of 2024, the state revenue service in Riga announced on Monday. The Baltic nation recently announced a ban on some Russian imports, but exempted two key products.

The initiative attracted thousands of foreign investors since 2013, with most buying real estate Spain is planning to scrap its so-called ‘golden visa’ program, which grants residency rights to property buyers from outside the European Union, as Madrid attempts to increase the amount of affordable housing available to locals. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez told reporters on Monday that his cabinet would take the first steps this week towards eliminating the program. Golden visas were introduced in 2013 and have enabled non-EU citizens who spent at least €500,000 ($543,000) on real estate to obtain the right to live and work in…

Geopolitical tensions and political polarization at home threaten “America’s global leadership role,” Jamie Dimon has warned

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke by phone with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Monday, discussing bilateral relations. According to a statement issued by the Directorate of Communications, Erdogan and bin Salman also discussed global and regional issues. During the discussion, Erdogan said: “The Islamic world needs to demonstrate unity in a productive way by making more efforts to end Israel’s attacks on Palestine as soon as possible and to implement the cease-fire decision of the UN Security Council.” During the talks, he also extended his greetings to the crown prince for the upcoming Eid al-Fitr, the…

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock admitted that Germany has no more extra Patriot air defense systems to send to Kiev. “Unfortunately, we have nearly exhausted the arsenals of our own Patriot systems at this point, therefore I made it clear at a NATO foreign ministers meeting that we need to check the availability of all Patriot systems in Europe and globally and that we will make every effort to obtain these systems for Ukraine,” Germany’s top diplomat said at a news conference in Berlin. Germany and its allies will weigh setting up a special fund for this purpose, she added.…

Syria expressed its support for the friendly country of Venezuela to run the presidential elections scheduled next July and its strong opposition to any external interference in this process. “The government of the Syrian Arab Republic expresses its support for the government of the friendly Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in holding the presidential elections scheduled for 07.28.2024 in accordance with the Venezuelan Constitution, and in a way that reflects the desire and will of the friendly Venezuelan people, and strongly opposes any external interference in this process which is considered an interference in Venezuelan internal affairs,” Foreign and Expatriates Ministry…

Russia and China agreed to engage on Eurasian security with allies and follow a policy of “dual opposition” to the West’s “dual deterrence,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a news conference following talks in Beijing with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi. According to the two top diplomats, Moscow and Beijing will join forces to counter attempts to slow down the natural course of history while seeking a way to resolve the Ukraine crisis, taking into account Russia’s interests. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping plan to hold at least two bilateral meetings this year, Lavrov…

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan received Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa in Jeddah, the foreign ministry said on Tuesday. The pair discussed the situation in Palestine, including developments in Gaza and the West Bank, and the efforts being made to reach an immediate and sustainable ceasefire in the besieged enclave. Earlier, the premier was received at the airport by Deputy Foreign Minister Waleed bin Abdulkarim Al-Khuraiji . Source: arab news

Secretary-General of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), Hussein al-Sheikh today received in his office the Norway’s Special Representative for the Middle East Peace Process Hilde Haraldstad, in the presence of the Norwegian Consul General in Jerusalem, Torun Veste. During the meeting, they both tackled the latest developments in the Palestinian arena, the latest of which is the formation of the new government headed by Muhammad Mustafa, and the ongoing efforts to stop the Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people. They further discussed the catastrophic situation in the Gaza Strip after 185 days of the Israeli brutal aggerssion, which has so far…