Author: Steven Sahiounie

RIYADH: Asian and Australian businesses helped fuel a 550 percent annual rise in small and medium enterprises setting up in Dubai in 2023, according to a report.

Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan received a telephone call from British Foreign Secretary David Cameron on Wednesday. The two ministers discussed developments in the Gaza Strip and bilateral relations, Saudi Press Agency reported. Other regional and international issues of common concern were also discussed. Source: Arab News

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia aspires to rank among the top 10 most successful countries in tourism this year, says the sector’s minister. Speaking during the Manafea Forum in Madinah, Ahmed Al-Khateeb outlined that the Kingdom is equipped with the capabilities and requirements to achieve this milestone, according to a statement by the ministry. He demonstrated this fact by noting that by the end of 2023, the sector contributed to approximately 5 percent of the gross domestic product, with the aim of raising the figure to 10 percent by 2030. Al-Khateeb further outlined that the Kingdom currently holds 940,000 jobs in the…

Russia’s investigation into the blasts on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines is “moving forward” despite the refusal of Western countries to cooperate, Prosecutor General Igor Krasnov has said. The September 2022 explosions of the key pipelines, which were built to deliver Russian gas to Germany, rendered them inoperable and caused what is believed to be largest single methane leak ever. It was “a terrorist act, not sabotage as the West is trying to present it,” Krasnov said in an interview with the newspaper Kommersant on Tuesday. Germany, Sweden, and Denmark all launched separate investigations into the incident, as the explosions happened in…

RIYADH: Energy sector investments worth $14 trillion are needed to match the expected global oil demand of 116 million barrels per day by 2045, according to an OPEC expert.

Egypt foreign minister on Wednesday urged a visiting US delegation to resume its financial support for UNRWA, the UN aid agency for Palestinians. Sameh Shoukry told the group of members of the US House Committee on Homeland Security, led by August Pfluger, that the decision to halt funding would have an impact on Palestinian refugees in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. A total of 16 countries suspended their financial support for UNRWA after Israel accused 12 of the agency’s 13,000 employees in the Gaza Strip of taking part in the Hamas-led assault on Israel on Oct. 7.…

BEIJING: Oil prices fell for a second day on Wednesday after a report that crude stockpiles in the US, the world’s biggest oil user, surged and on signs major producers are unlikely to change their output policy at a technical meeting next week, according to Reuters.

President Mahmoud Abbas sent a telegram congratulating the Supreme Pontiff, Pope Francis, on the occasion of the glorious Feast of the Resurrection according to the Western calendar. “On the occasion of the glorious Feast of Resurrection, I would like to send my most heartfelt congratulations to Your Holiness and to all believers celebrating it around the world, as this holy occasion coincides with the holy month of Ramadan, and many of the earth’s inhabitants share the joy of these two religious occasions,” the President said. As for Palestine, which embraces believing men and women, President Abbas said they are united…

The nature of the relationship between China and the United States not only affects the well-being of the people of both countries but also the future of humanity, Chinese President Xi Jinping said during a meeting with American businessmen held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. “The well-being of the people of both countries, as well as the future and destiny of humanity, depend on whether China and the United States cooperate or confront each other,” Central Chinese Television quoted him as saying. The Chinese president emphasized that “as long as both sides consider each other as partners, respect…

Japan’s government has dispatched Tsukasa Uemura, the country’s special envoy for Middle East peace, to Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE from March 27 to April 3 to assist in peace and aid efforts.The tour is part of Japan’s various efforts “to calm down the situation surrounding Israel and Palestine as soon as possible and to improve the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, while closely communicating with the countries and international organizations concerned,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.Uemura is Japan’s former ambassador in Saudi Arabia. source: Arab News