Author: Steven Sahiounie

Twenty Palestinians were killed in the early hours of Tuesday in Israeli air strikes on Rafah and central parts of the Gaza Strip, Gaza health officials said.In the southern Gaza city of Rafah near the Egyptian border, where over 1 million Palestinians have sought shelter, 14 people were killed and dozens others wounded in strikes that hit several houses and apartments, Gaza medical officials said.Six more people died in another air strike on a house in Al-Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza Strip, they added.In Deir Al-Balah, a town in central Gaza about 14 km (8.6 miles) south of Gaza…

RIYADH: Foreign investors can now officially be classified as Saudis under the Nitaqat Saudization program following the approval of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to discuss post-war plans “ensuring Hamas can no longer govern” Gaza. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is scheduled to make his sixth Middle East trip since last October coming from the Philipines, to visit Saudi Arabia and Egypt and discuss several key issues, primarily the ongoing Israeli war in Gaza, increasing aid entry to the besieged Strip, and ceasefire efforts. Blinken will also discuss “a political path” for the Palestinian people with “security assurances with Israel, and an architecture for lasting peace and security in the region,” a State Department spokesperson…

RIYADH: Telecommunication companies in the Gulf Cooperation Council region are redefining themselves as technology firms to diversify their revenue streams, S&P Global said. 

The voting results in the Russian presidential election at overseas polling stations show Vladimir Putin’s victory, Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov said. “Any vote was important. We see that Putin has won abroad as well,” he said, commenting on the voting at polling stations outside Russia. “Results are varying in various geographical locations. But in general, Putin won there as well,” he stressed, adding that these votes contributed to Putin’s ultimate victory “by an unprecedented score.” He refused to dwell on why the majority of Russians had opted to vote for the incumbent president. “Putin answered this on the voting…

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index edged up for the third consecutive day, as it gained 31.54 points to close at 12,804. 

Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr al-Busaidi has highlighted Iran’s influential position in the West Asia region, saying the Islamic Republic’s engagement for de-escalation and bringing peace to the whole world is “very important” and a “prerequisite.” Busaidi said to reduce the likelihood of a conflict in the region everyone must be engaged. “Iran is part of the region, and I think engaging with all the regional countries is a very important element, a prerequisite for de-escalation and for bringing a common goal of peace for the whole world,” he said in an interview with CNN television news channel broadcast on Monday.…

RIYADH: Investors eyeing opportunities in Saudi Arabia’s mining sector stand to gain from a new incentive package totaling nearly SR685 million ($182 million) in financial facilitation.

Iran’s Constitutional Council has approved the results of the recent parliamentary and Assembly of Experts elections across the country, the spokesman for the council said. Speaking to the state TV on Monday night, Hadi Tahan Nazif said the Constitutional Council has confirmed the correctness and validity of elections in 208 polling areas for the parliamentary elections and in all of polling areas of the Assembly of Experts voting in 31 provinces across the country. He also noted that the run-off parliamentary elections will be held on May 10. The countrywide elections for the Parliament and the Assembly of Experts were…

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has soared in an annual global ranking of sovereign wealth organizations, thanks to a 55 percent increase in assets under management.