Author: Steven Sahiounie

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.

The army air defenses repelled on Tuesday an Israeli missile aggression that targeted military points in Damascus countryside and shot down some missiles. A military source stated in a statement to SANA that “at approximately 02:10 a.m. on Tuesday, the Israeli enemy launched an aerial attack from the direction of the occupied Syrian Golan, targeting a number of military points in the Damascus countryside.” The source added: “Our air defenses repelled the aggression’s missiles and shot down some of them.” The source noted that the aggression caused only material losses. Source: SANA

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman made a phone call to Russian president Vladimir Putin, the Saudi Press Agency said early Tuesday. The Crown Prince congratulated Putin on being re-elected for a new presidential term. Putin thanked the crown prince for his noble feelings. “The call stressed distinguished bilateral relations and ways of enhancing them in all fields,” the SPA reported. Earlier, King Salman and the Crown Prince sent separate cables congratulating the Russian president. Source: Arab News

DHAHRAN: Aramco President and CEO Amin H. Nasser today emphasized the need for a new, realistic pathway for the energy transition that includes oil and gas. In a keynote speech at CERAWeek 2024 in Houston, Texas, Nasser said the current transition strategy “is visibly failing on most fronts as it collides with five hard realities.”

Tokyo is reviewing its decision to suspend funding to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), the Japanese foreign minister said. “You mentioned several countries already starting refunding of UNRWA, and I understand that each country has their own situation and considerations,” Yoko Kamikawa told reporters at UN headquarters in New York on Monday. “Japan is also discussing and reviewing our response to the situation with a great sense of urgency,” she added, Anadolu Agency reported. Israeli authorities have accused some of UNRWA’s employees in Gaza of taking part in the Palestinian resistance forces’ Oct. 7 attack on occupied Palestinian…