Author: Steven Sahiounie

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman received a call from French President Emmanuel Macron, the Saudi Press Agency said early Thursday. The pair discussed bilateral relations and ways to enhance cooperation in all fields, in addition to issues of mutual interest. They also exchanged views on several regional and international issues and the efforts made regarding them to achieve security and stability.  source: Arab News

Russian President Vladimir Putin will deliver his 19th and 29th in Russia’s modern history State of the Nation Address at noon on Thursday. Traditionally, key topics of the address have not been made public beforehand. However, Putin said that “taking into account the domestic political calendar,” he would outline major tasks for the next six years. According to his press secretary Dmitry Peskov, Putin has been working on the text of the address personally and has had “dozens of phone and face-to-face contacts” with ministers, deputy prime ministers and other government officials. TASS will offer text online broadcasting on its…

Russia said Wednesday that it expects a forthcoming meeting between Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan to significantly contribute to the development of bilateral relations between the two countries. Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Lavrov has been invited by Fidan to meet on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum on March 1-2. “Despite growing pressure from the West on friendly countries to limit their contacts with Russia, we observe the desire of our Turkish partners to maintain cooperation with the Russian Federation on issues of mutual interest,” it said. The ministry highlighted…

RealClearPolitics’ compilation of a dozen polls unveiled a remarkable surge in the approval rating of former US President Donald Trump, reaching its peak of 42.1%. Results from a compilation of a dozen polls by RealClearPolitics revealed on Wednesday that the approval rating of former US President Donald Trump has skyrocketed to its highest level since 2022. According to results, 42.1% of potential voters hold a favorable view of Trump, compared to only 35.9% measured in December 2022. This marks Trump’s highest rating since April 22, 2022. At the time, only 45.8% of potential voters viewed him favorably. The aggregate data…

Hamas’ leader, Haniyeh, called on all supporters of the Palestinian people to intensify their efforts of support ahead of the upcoming Holy month of Ramadan. The head of Hamas’ Political Bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, urged Palestinians to break the Israeli-enforced blockade on one of Islam’s holiest sites, al-Aqsa Mosque, on the first day of Ramadan, which will commence next month. Addressing the annual report of “The Situation of al-Quds 2023,” Haniyeh stressed that the Israeli occupation and its partner, the United States, will not be able “to obtain through [political means] what they did not obtain through combat.” The leader of…

According to Olmert, an attack on Rafah would be an unnecessary additional move, calling on Benjamin Netanyahu to stop the war. Bloomberg cited the former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert saying that the invasion of Rafah would be “a danger we [“Israel”] would not be able to withstand”. According to Olmert, an attack on Rafah would be an unnecessary additional move, calling on Benjamin Netanyahu to stop the war, focus on drawing a plan for the Israeli occupation forces’ retreat from Gaza, and seek international presence in the Strip. It is worth noting that Netanyahu previously revealed in an interview with ABC that “those who…

Spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre says the US president Biden and his aides are pushing to secure a truce agreement between Israel and Hamas that would see the release of Israeli captives and allow aid into the Palestinian territory. President Joe Biden faced an electoral setback on Tuesday when more than 100,000 people voted “uncommitted” in the Democratic Party primary in the US state of Michigan to protest against his support for Israel. Jean-Pierre said the White House will continue conversations with Arab and Muslim American communities about their concerns over Gaza. She also appeared to play down the significance of the…

The Syrian air defense forces responded to an Israeli missile aggression and shot down most of them in Damascus A military source stated that at approximately 21:35 pm today, the Israeli enemy launched an air aggression from the direction of the occupied Syrian Golan, targeting a number of points in the Damascus countryside. The source added that the losses were limited to material. source: SANA

The dollar index was last up 0.3% at 104.20, having risen 2.8% year-to-date LONDON – The dollar firmed up on Wednesday as markets awaited a raft of global inflation data for clues on when central banks may start easing policy, while the New Zealand dollar tumbled after its central bank trimmed its forecast for a peak in rates. The Aussie was also hanging at its lowest in over a week after inflation data came in softer than expected, reinforcing expectations that domestic interest rates are unlikely to increase further. The data calendar looks light on Wednesday so analysts said markets…

The conference, held in Abu Dhabi, is an opportunity to reform the three-decade-old institution’s strained settlement process for international trade disputes The potential reelection of Donald Trump to the US presidency cast a shadow over this week’s key meeting of the World Trade Organisation, a body he has attacked in the past. The conference, held in Abu Dhabi, is an opportunity to reform the three-decade-old institution’s strained settlement process for international trade disputes. But despite attendance by ministers from around the globe, few are banking on a successful outcome, amid shaky geopolitics and major tensions between China and the United…