Author: Steven Sahiounie

The Saudi government had forecast the deficit for 2023 with lower crude production and prices weighing on revenue

The UAE non-oil businesses reported only a slight rise in their staffing levels during January as strong demand and business optimism failed to translate into greater hiring

Non-oil activities rose by 4.6%, and government activities by 2.1%, the Ministry of Investment stated citing the GASTA

Iran’s new security chief Ali Ahmadian has arrived in Baghdad for talks amid the military escalation between the US and Iran-aligned forces in Iraq. Ahmadian, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) and a representative of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was welcomed by Issam al-Saadi, deputy national security adviser of Iraq, according to Nournews, an SNSC-affiliated outlet. Ahmadian, who was appointed in May 2023 amid a political shake-up in Tehran, had spoken with Iraq’s national security adviser Qasim Mohammad Jalal al-Araji on the phone in January, according to Iranian media. Source: ALJazeera

Russia’s foreign ministry says it will summon the Israeli ambassador over “unacceptable comments” she made in an interview, according to the TASS news agency. Simona Halperin, according to the ministry, misrepresented Russia’s foreign policy stance in an interview with Russia’s Kommersant daily that was published on Sunday. In the interview, Halperin criticised Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov for playing down the importance of the Holocaust and said Russia was being too friendly with Hamas. The ministry described her comments as “an extremely unsuccessful start” to her diplomatic posting, which began in December. Source: AlJazeera

Gaza-based Palestinian resistance movements Hamas and Islamic Jihad denounced recent airstrikes by the United States and Britain on Yemen. They said the attacks, targeting multiple provinces, constitute a breach of Yemeni sovereignty, heightening tensions in the region. Late on Saturday, the Pentagon reported carrying out dozens of airstrikes on locations in Sana’a, Hudaydah, Sa’ada, and others, aiming at the Yemeni Armed Forces. These, as per the Pentagon, were utilized to target Israeli-affiliated shipping in the Red Sea in support of Gaza Palestinians. Hamas issued a press statement on Sunday, stating, “We strongly condemn the American-British bombing of Yemen, and we…

Israeli occupation forces today detained 10 Palestinians, including a woman and a child, from Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate, according to security sources and the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS). PPS said that Israeli forces conducted a military raid into the town of Silwad, east of Ramallah, where they detained four Palestinians, including a 17-year-old child. It said at least six Palestinians were detained from different areas across Ramallah city after raiding their homes and inflicted damage to their contents. Source: WAFA

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan says security for the Israeli occupation will be attained once it refrains from deceiving the public opinion. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan called Sunday for a focus on halting the massacres taking place in the Gaza Strip as soon as possible. In an interview with the Turkish channel A Haber Fidan said that “Israel” is destroying the civilian infrastructure in Gaza, leaving Palestinians there in need of water, electricity, and communication. He considered that Israeli occupation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s policy has brought disasters, pointing out that security for the Israeli occupation will be attained once it refrains from…

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken headed Sunday on a new crisis tour of the Middle East as he seeks to push forward a proposal to halt the devastating conflict in return for the release of hostages.Blinken’s fifth trip to the region since the October 7 Hamas attack inside Israel comes days after the United States carried out retaliatory strikes against Iranian-linked targets in Iraq and Syria, the latest escalation of the conflict that President Joe Biden had initially sought to avoid.The trip also comes as the Biden administration gradually shows more frustration with Israel, with sanctions imposed Thursday on…

Israeli occupation artillery Monday continue dawn bombed various areas of the Gaza Strip, especially the cities of Deir al-Balah and Khan Yunis, on the 122nd day of the ongoing Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip. Local sources said that Khan Yunis in the south of the Gaza Strip is subjected to continuous bombardment by occupation artillery, especially the western area, including the neighborhoods of Al-Amal, Al-Katiba, Sheikh Nasser, and Al-Qaizan, in addition to the southern area leading to the city of Rafah. They added that the occupation forces continue to besiege Al-Amal and Kamal Nasser hospitals in the center of the…