Author: Steven Sahiounie

By Wesam Bahrani American news outlets have cited US intel officials as saying that almost half the bombs used by the Israeli regime in its war on the besieged Gaza Strip have been unguided “dumb” bombs. These bombs, such as the M117, first entered service in the 1950s and are exactly the same unguided M117 bombs seen in photos published by the Israeli military that regime warplanes have extensively dropped on Gaza since the events of October 7. It is, however, unclear how many tons of explosives the Israeli military is injecting into these bombs. What is particularly alarming is that…

David Cameron will meet French President Macron, Italian Prime Minister Meloni and his two counterparts during the Tuesday stops to address the “desperate humanitarian situation in Gaza”, according to a UK government press release. During the trip, Cameron will “reiterate his call for a sustainable ceasefire” and push for better European coordination to bring life-saving aid into Gaza, the statement says. Source: AlJazeera

By Humaira Ahad “When a nation seeks its freedom, it will always prevail. The occupation will never succeed in planting defeat in our hearts, because we summon our courage from our faith in God and the legacies of all the nations that sought and achieved their freedom and dignity.” This is an excerpt from a letter Nael Saleh al-Barghouti wrote from an Israeli jail, which Palestinian journalist and author Ramzy Baroud reproduced in his 2019 book ‘These Chains Will Be Broken: Palestinian Stories of Struggle and Defiance in Israeli Prisons’ in a chapter titled ‘Love Behind Bars’. Barghouti is the longest-serving…

Hezbollah resistance movement says it has struck an Israeli settlement situated near the Lebanese border with the occupied territories in response to the regime’s earlier attack on civilians attending a funeral procession in southern Lebanon. “Islamic Resistance announces the launch of a missile barrage targeting the occupied village of al-Khalsa (known as the settlement of Kiryat Shemona)…on Monday, December 18, 2023,” the movement said in a statement carried by Lebanon’s al-Manar television network. The movement added that the attack came in response to an earlier Israeli strike on a funeral procession in the town of Aita Shaab in southern Lebanon, adding, “The Resistance…

The UN Palestinian refugee agency says since the start of the Israeli aggression on Gaza in early October almost 1.9 million have been internally displaced. While obtaining an accurate figure of the total number of internally displaced people (IDPs) remains challenging, nearly 85 percent of the population is estimated to be forcibly displaced, UNRWA said in a report on Monday. The report added it was “the largest forced displacement of Palestinians” since the Nakba or “Catastrophe” when more than 700,000 Palestinians were evicted from their lands as Israel was created in 1948. “Conditions in Gaza are catastrophic. Under relentless bombardment, thousands of civilians…

“The Yemeni Armed Forces will turn the Red Sea into a graveyard of the US-led coalition if the alliance decides to take any action against Yemen,” Yemen’s defense minister has denounced the formation of a US-led maritime task force in the Red Sea to protect the passage of merchant vessels bound for the Israeli-occupied territories, cautioning the Western alliance that any assault on Yemeni soil will have dire consequences. “We are in possession of munitions and military gear that can sink your warships, submarines and aircraft carriers,” Major General Mohammad al-Atifi said on Monday. “The Yemeni Armed Forces will turn…

BNPL platform Tamara becomes 1st Saudi fintech unicorn after $340m funding round    RIYADH: Buy now, pay later platform Tamara has become the first Saudi fintech startup to reach a $1 billion valuation after raising $340 million in its series C funding round, according to a statement. Led jointly by SNB Capital and the Public Investment Fund’s Sanabil Investments, the capital injection bolsters Tamara’s position in Saudi Arabia’s fintech landscape as it aims to diversify its offerings. The company plans to utilize the money for new products and services beyond the BNPL model and target sectors such as…

Minister of Trade and Industry Ahmed Samir announced Egyptian exports to Africa rose by around 13% year on year (YoY) in the first 10 months of 2023, hitting $6 billion, Minister of Trade and Industry Ahmed Samir announced. The key Egyptian products exported to the African continent from January to October included marble, cement, polyethylene, and phosphorus fertilizers. Source: Zawya

RIYADH: Thought leaders and stakeholders of the global aviation industry are set to converge on Riyadh for the second Saudi Airport Exhibition to discuss emerging trends and pressing issues facing the sector. The event, to be held on Dec. 19-20 at the Riyadh International Convention and Exhibition Center, will host two co-located conferences, with hopes to add depth and diversity to the discourse on the global aviation industry. With over 6,000 aviation professionals, 250 global exhibitors, 50 participating companies, 200 regional buyers, and 2,000 pre-scheduled meetings the co-hosted Global Aviation Issues Conference and Women in Aviation General Assembly will bring…

DUBAI: BlackRock has agreed to invest up to $400 million in Dubai-based decarbonization company Positive Zero through a diversified infrastructure fund, Positive Zero said in a statement on Monday according to Reuters. The investment will help Positive Zero, a decentralized decarbonization infrastructure business, with its goal of boosting energy transition projects in Gulf countries, it said. The firm was set up by climate investment-focused Creek Capital late last year to coincide with the UN COP27 climate summit in Egypt, by merging solar company SirajPower, energy efficiency services firm Taka Solutions and on-demand battery business HYPR Energy. Creek Capital was co-founded by…