Author: Steven Sahiounie

RIYADH: Ten out of the 11 airports in Saudi Arabia that received passengers’ complaints in February resolved them on time, according to the General Authority of Civil Aviation. 

The United Kingdom and Australia inked a new defense agreement in Canberra on Thursday, paving the way for the two longtime allies to host troops and share military intelligence. The deal includes a “status of forces agreement,” according to ministers from both countries, making it easier for each country’s soldiers to deploy and operate in the other, AFP reported. UK Defense Minister Grant Shapps signed the agreement with his Australian counterpart Richard Marles during a ceremony in parliament in Canberra. “As the world becomes more complex and uncertain, we must modernize our most important partnerships,” Marles told reporters after the…

Algeria ’s President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has decided to hold presidential election on Sept. 7, the presidency said on Thursday. The announcement to hold the elections in September comes three months ahead of schedule, a statement from the president’s office said, without providing further details. “It was decided to hold early presidential elections on Sept. 7, 2024,” read the statement released following a meeting chaired by Tebboune and attended by lawmakers and the army’s chief of staff. Tebboune was elected in December 2019 for a five-year term and can run for a second and final term, according to the Algerian constitution.…

The presidential election in Russia has shown that the country remains one big family, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday after securing his fifth term in office. He also thanked the voters for their unprecedented support and vowed to meet their expectations. Earlier in the day, Russia’s Central Election Commission (CEC) officially declared Putin president-elect, announcing that he had received over 87% of the vote. Last weekend’s election recorded a record-high voter turnout that exceeded 77%. Putin is scheduled to be inaugurated on May 7 for another six years in office. In his address to the nation, Putin stressed…

Government ministers from five Arab countries met Thursday in Cairo with a Palestinian official to discuss the Gaza war, Egypt’s foreign ministry said, ahead of talks with the US top diplomat.In a joint statement released by Egypt’s foreign ministry, the ministers called for “a comprehensive and immediate ceasefire” and the “opening of all crossings between Israel and the Gaza Strip,” where aid has only trickled in and the United Nations has repeatedly warned of imminent famine.The meeting was attended by the foreign ministers of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Jordan, as well as the Emirati minister of international cooperation and…

Satellite images analyzed by the United Nations Satellite Center show that 35 percent of the Gaza Strip’s buildings have been destroyed or damaged in the Israel offensive in the Palestinian enclave.Israel’s assault, launched in response to attacks by Hamas militants in southern Israel on Oct. 7, has killed nearly 32,000 Palestinians, according to health authorities in the Hamas-run territory. About 1,200 people were killed in the Hamas raid on Israel.In its assessment, the United Nations Satellite Center, UNOSAT, used high-resolution satellite images collected on Feb. 29 and compared them with images taken before and after the start of the latest…

Israel’s air strikes on targets in Syria violate the fundamental rules of international law, Russian Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya said. “We are particularly concerned about Israel’s intensifying air strikes on civilian facilities in Syria, particularly from the Blue Line area. Such irresponsible actions are creating a risk that Syria, as well as a number of its neighboring countries, will be dragged into a full-scale regional confrontation. We strongly condemn such attacks on Syria and see them as a blatant violation of the country’s sovereignty and the fundamental rules of international law,” he pointed out at a…

Sterling fell on Thursday after the Bank of England kept interest rates unchanged and Governor Andrew Bailey said Britain’s economy is “moving in the right direction” for the central bank to start cutting interest rates.

In a preliminary report, the Finance Ministry said that Kuwait stayed in black ink with Japan for 16 years and one month

The meeting provided a valuable platform to explore ways to enhance the private sector’s contribution to efforts to improve Dubai’s dynamic business environment