Author: Steven Sahiounie

Jordan’s King Abdullah discussed the latest developments in Gaza with other leaders in the region on Monday. During a telephone call with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, the king emphasized the important need to allow more aid to flow into all parts of the territory, the Jordan News Agency reported. He also thanked Egypt for its ongoing efforts to secure a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, and stressed the need to avoid any potential escalation of tensions at Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem during Ramadan. Jordan’s foreign minister, Ayman Safadi, told state media on Monday that Israeli restrictions on access to the…

China’s export and import growth in the January-February period beat forecasts, suggesting global trade is turning a corner in an encouraging signal for policymakers as they try to shore up a stuttering economic recovery.

Speaking to reporters at a weekly presser on Monday, Nasser Kanaani said the delivery of aid supplies for the Gaza Strip has been at the top of the agenda. Highlighting Iran’s efforts and its extensive consultations with Egypt, he said the consignments of Iranian aid for Palestinians have been shipped to Egyptian ports after coordination between the Red Crescent societies of the two countries. “It is not possible for Iran to send aid supplies to Palestine directly. The Egyptian government has also announced in its consultations (with Iran) that sadly the (Israeli) regime does not permit the transit of aid,…

Preserving the territorial integrity of Sudan and ending the country’s civil war are priorities of the Arab League, according to its Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit. He expressed the league’s readiness to assist the Sudanese parties in resolving the crisis by bringing factions together. Aboul Gheit emphasized the importance of supporting any initiative to find a solution for the Sudanese state, while speaking during a meeting in Cairo with a delegation of the Sudanese Coordination of Civil Democratic Forces — known as Taqaddum — led by former Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok. Hamdok presented a plan for achieving a ceasefire and political…

Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said on Monday he hoped the situation on the country’s southern border with Israel would not deteriorate after five months of hostilities between Hezbollah and the Israeli forces. “We are maintaining contact with all relevant parties locally and internationally to prevent war in Lebanon. Despite the suffering our country has endured, particularly in terms of the number of martyrs, we pay homage to their souls,” he said. Mikati spoke after Israel dropped leaflets over the Wazzani border area using a drone on Monday, in which it attempted to incite residents against Hezbollah, holding it…

Muhammad Aurangzeb, picked by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to be Pakistan’s finance minister, is a vastly experienced private banker who is one of the most highly paid executives in the country, but has never held public office before.

French President Emmanuel Macron will visit Kiev in the coming weeks, AFP reported, citing the Elysee Palace. The announcement came following Macron’s phone call with Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky on Sunday, the news agency said. According to AFP, the two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to deepening cooperation in cybersecurity, demining, the production of weapons and other spheres. On February 16, during the Ukrainian president’s visit to Paris, Macron and Zelensky signed a bilateral security agreement. source: TASS

Thousands of Palestinian worshipers today evening performed Tarawih prayers in the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, despite the restrictions imposed by the Israeli occupation. The Islamic Endowments Department said that about 35,000 worshipers performed the Tarawih prayers inside Al-Aqsa Mosque, on the first day of the holy month of Ramadan, despite the occupation’s measures. Eyewitnesses reported that the occupation forces prevented Palestinian young men from entering to pray in the Al-Aqsa Mosque, coinciding with the tightening of procedures in Al-Aqsa and its surroundings for the fifth month in a row. The occupation forces severely beat and assaulted a Palestinian man near Bab…

The ever-higher prices reached by gold are turning Dubai’s traditional bazaar into more of a window-shopping experience.

Bitcoin raced to an all-time peak above $72,000 Monday as the world’s most popular cryptocurrency won further support on greater trading accessibility and dollar weakness.