Author: Steven Sahiounie

Recommended actions, particularly in richer countries, include dietary changes that would reduce food waste and cut back on animal protein, more efficient transport systems, and denser housing using recycled building materials

The WTO’s 13th ministerial conference (MC13) in Abu Dhabi was initially scheduled to wrap up on The world’s trade ministers entered a last stretch of talks on Friday following overnight negotiations as a major World Trade Organization conference postponed its closing session for a third time. The WTO’s 13th ministerial conference (MC13) in Abu Dhabi was initially scheduled to wrap up on Thursday But it was extended beyond its scheduled deadline three times amid rifts between the body’s 164 members who must reach unanimous consensus to chalk up any deal as per WTO rules. A closing conference previously scheduled for…

The UAE has achieved “a historic first” as its robust national economy reached milestone in its diversification drive with the non-oil sector accounting for 73 per cent of the country’s total GDP.

The potential for increased trade, business opportunities, employment, and GDP growth across Arab nations: official

Currently, 90% of the country’s growth comes from non-resource-based industries, according to the president

Nearly 30% of total income went to 10% of the population last year, according to Rosstat Income disparity among the Russian population increased in 2023, according to the latest report on the social and economic situation in the country by Rosstat, the official statistics agency. Rosstat uses the Gini index, a measure of income distribution across a population, which assesses inequality on a scale from 0 to 1, where higher values indicate higher inequality. The index reading rose to 0.403 last year, up from 0.395 in 2022, meaning that the income gap among the population had increased, according to Rosstat.…

Argentina is in talks with the IMF over a new aid program designed to accelerate the process of exiting from capital controls, Bloomberg reported on Thursday, citing a senior government official. 

General elections kick off in Iran as voters elect members of the Shura Council and the Assembly of Experts for the Leadership for the 6th term. Iranians are participating in the voting process for the country’s Parliament (Majlis) and Assembly of Experts. Polls commenced nationwide at 8 a.m local time on Friday, with over 61 million eligible voters. Iranian leader Sayyed Ali Khamenei exercised his voting right at a Tehran polling station within the initial minutes of the voting period. Following the voting, he said, “We ask the Almighty God to make today a happy day for the Iranian nation and that the results…

Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov has signed a program of Ukrainian-NATO cooperation for 2024, which involves the continued reconfiguring of the country’s armed forces in compliance with the military bloc’s standards as well as the bolstering of the Kiev regime’s cooperation with the alliance, the website of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said. The program consists of implementing 50 steps in order to achieve 17 goals which include completing the transformation of the command and management system in accordance with NATO standards, setting up a joint Ukraine-NATO center for analysis, training and education, developing national documents in the field of defense…

South Africa’s Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor will participate in the Third Antalya Diplomacy Forum (ADF) in Türkiye from March 1-3 as a panelist and also hold a bilateral meeting with her Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan. “Minister Pandor is scheduled to participate as a panelist on the topic, “Understanding the Global South,” on Saturday,’’ the foreign ministry said in a statement. Pandor will also attend the High-Level Session on Women, Peace, and Security on the sidelines of the forum hosted by Turkish first lady Emine Erdogan. Pandor also visited Türkiye for the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in 2022. The Antalya Diplomacy Forum,…