Author: Steven Sahiounie

Qatari Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani discussed the ways for de-escalating and reaching a ceasefire during the call with UN chief Guterres, according to a statement from Qatar’s Foreign Ministry. Al-Thani also discussed ways to sustainably open humanitarian corridors to ensure continued access to aid for residents of the Gaza Strip, the statement said. Source: AlJazeera

US national debt has continued to mount, jumping by $2.6 trillion in the six months through December to reach $33.8 trillion, according to the Treasury Department.

Soaring interest rates and the end of Covid subsidies have had a big impact on businesses, the outlet reports

The ban can be circumvented, spokesman Dmitry Peskov says Russia will bypass EU restrictions on the export of the country’s diamonds, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists on Tuesday. Responding to questions related to the latest package of the bloc’s sanctions against Moscow, Peskov insisted that the ban will not work. “It [the diamond ban] was predictable, we were preparing for it,” the official stated. “There are ways to circumvent these sanctions, and they will be realized.” On Monday, the European Council (EC) announced that the bloc had finally approved a ban on the direct or indirect import, purchase, or transfer of…

Moscow and Beijing have switched to settlements in national currencies, according to the Russian PM Western currencies have almost been completely phased out in Russia-China trade, as nearly all payments between the countries are now carried out in rubles and yuan, according to Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin. The statement was made during a meeting on Tuesday with his Chinese counterpart, Li Qiang. The Russian PM is on a two-day visit to Beijing for a scheduled meeting of Russian and Chinese heads of government. “We continue to increase the share of national currencies in mutual settlements. If in 2020 this figure…

The US continued to be the largest source country for remittances while the GCC countries including the UAE and Saudi Arabia India stays top as the largest recipient of global remittances, with a 12.3 per cent surge in inward flow to $125 billion in 2023, underscoring the crucial role played by the Indian diaspora in supporting families and contributing to the country’s economic resilience. The US continued to be the largest source country for remittances while the GCC countries including the UAE and Saudi Arabia, where millions of migrant workers live, remained top sources of remittances in 2023. The World…

As a part of its new strategy, the kingdom is looking to draw more investments into the sector Saudi Arabia has unveiled a new strategy for its media sector with plans to raise its GDP contribution to 47 billion riyals ($13 billion) by 2030. The kingdom’s General Authority of Media Regulation, chaired by the Minister of Media Salman bin Yousef Al-Dosari, plans to expand the sector’s position regionally and internationally, and draw in more investments as a part of its Vision 2030 plans. According to a 2022 report by management consulting firm Kearney, the size of the Saudi Arabia media…

Whatever choices China makes, it will have to account for an ageing and shrinking population, and a difficult geopolitical environment as the West grows wary of doing business with the world’s No.2 economy HONG KONG – China’s disappointing post-COVID recovery has raised significant doubts about the foundations of its decades of stunning growth and presented Beijing with a tough choice for 2024 and beyond: take on more debt or grow less. The expectations were that once China ditched its draconian COVID rules, consumers would burst back into malls, foreign investment would resume, factories would rev up and land auctions and…

Inflation, driven by food prices, would stand on average at 6.1% this year, down from 6.6% last year Morocco’s central bank said it left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 3% on Tuesday to keep prices stable. Inflation, driven by food prices, would stand on average at 6.1% this year, down from 6.6% last year, the bank said in a statement following its quarterly board meeting. In 2024, inflation would further drop to 2.4%, on the back of an expected fall in prices of imported goods and stability of food prices. Assuming an average cereals harvest, growth would improve to…

EU chief Josep Borrell admitted in a statement that Europe is falling out with the rest of the world as a consequence of its stance on the war in Gaza. On Monday, at a conference in Aosta organized by Le Grand Continent, Borrel said the EU has been extremely divided over Gaza, as certain countries feel personal guilt for Israelis because of the Holocaust during the Second World War, completely sidelining the atrocities “Israel” is committing in Gaza, which many likened to a holocaust. He revealed that “relations with the global south had not been very good before 7 October, now…