Author: Steven Sahiounie

Blinken says a temporary truce between Israel and Hamas is “producing results” and should continue. “We have seen over the last week the very positive development of hostages coming home, being reunited with their families,” he said at a meeting with Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Tel Aviv. “It’s also enabled an increase in humanitarian assistance to go to innocent civilians in Gaza who need it desperately. So this process is producing results. It’s important and we hope that it can continue. I look forward to detailed conversations with the government of Israel about the way ahead in Gaza.” Source:…

Lavrov’s plane covered a distance of some 4,000 kilometers and flew over Turkey and Greece Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has arrived in the North Macedonian capital city of Skopje to attend an OSCE ministerial meeting, a TASS correspondent reported. Lavrov’s plane covered a distance of some 4,000 kilometers and flew over Turkey and Greece, although it was originally planned that he would fly over Bulgaria. The flight lasted more than 5 hours. TASS has learnt that the Bulgarian side refused to open its airspace to Lavrov’s plane if there is Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova onboard. “The permission is…

According to Reuters, he died at his home in Connecticut Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger has died at the age of 100, according to a statement from his consulting firm, Kissinger Associates Inc. He died on Wednesday at his home in Connecticut, it said. One of the most prominent and controversial figures of US foreign policy in the 20th century, he was named as the most efficient US Secretary of State in the past 50 years, according to a Foreign Policy poll. However, his activity as the national security adviser and the secretary of state came under criticism…

TOKYO: State Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Iwata Kazuchika has held a meeting with Saudi Arabia’s Assistant Minister of Investment Ibrahim Al Mubarak in Tokyo that covered future cooperation and Saudi-Japan Vision 2030. The two ministers agreed on deepening the economic relationship between Japan and Saudi Arabia, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry reported. Saudi-Japan Vision 2030, established in 2017, provided the two countries with a strong direction for their strategic partnership, and in the ensuing years many cooperative projects have been undertaken in a range of fields, such as business and culture, the ministry said. Saudi-Japan Vision…

RIYADH: As world leaders, climate experts and global delegations convene in Dubai for the first day of the UN Climate Change Conference, members of African delegations are re-affirming that the needs of the Global South can no longer be neglected. Nations in the Global South are on the “receiving end” of the worst of climate change effects and yet contribute fewer amounts to emissions, Nigerian special assistant on climate change, Yusuf Idris Amoke, told Arab News on the sidelines of the event, adding that due to the lack of infrastructure, technology and “know how” needed within the African continent, countries…

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia is committed to supporting the UN Industrial Development Organization in achieving its goals, according to the minister of industry and mineral resources. During his engagement at the General Conference of UNIDO held in Vienna, Austria, Bandar Alkhorayef affirmed the Kingdom’s commitment to supporting UNIDO, as reported by El-Ekhbariya. This assurance reflects the Kingdom’s belief in UNIDO’s importance and global standing, acknowledging its pivotal role in supporting industrial development plans. This aligns with the region’s aspirations in the field of industrial development, securing global supply chains, and becoming a partner for various countries in manufacturing, exporting, transportation, and…

DUBAI: Up to 200 global leaders will join over 80,000 delegates gathered in Dubai for the UN climate conference as governments prepare for negotiations on whether to agree, for the first time, to phase out fossil fuels – the main source of global warming. With finance also high on the meeting agenda, the COP28 presidency has published a proposal on the eve of the summit for countries to formally adopt the outlines of a new UN fund to cover losses and damages in poor countries being hit by climate disasters like extreme flooding or persistent drought. “Human activity has led…

Czech industries “cannot do” without supplies from the sanctioned country, Prague’s trade minister says The Czech Republic has asked the European Union to exempt Russian steel exports from sanctions as the country cannot find a replacement, Euroactiv reported on Tuesday. Currently, the EU country is importing discounted thick sheet steel from Russia’s metals giant, Novolipetsk Metallurgical Plant. The existing contract, however, expires at the end of 2024, threatening a crisis for key Czech industries such as construction and car-making. The country’s steel consumption totals around 500,000 tons annually, the outlet said. “In the current situation in the construction industry, in…

The Western sanctions have failed to undermine the country’s financial stability, Dmitry Peskov has said The unprecedented Western sanctions on Russia have failed to destabilize the economy, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said at a press briefing on Wednesday. According to Peskov, Russia’s “macrostability is ensured and the economy has entered a growth trajectory – this is a fact that cannot be ignored.” His comments were in response to a question about a recent piece from Politico, in which it named the head of the Bank of Russia, Elvira Nabiullina, the ‘disrupter of the year’. According to the publication, “Nabiullina’s hawkish monetary policies…

Ports in Belgium, Spain, and France have reportedly helped re-export over 20% of LNG deliveries from the sanctioned country The EU is reselling more than a fifth of its imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Russia to other parts of the world, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday. Transshipment of Russian LNG has been banned in the UK and the Netherlands, although data shows that permitted supplies of Russian LNG are “routinely transferred” between tankers in Belgium, France, and Spain before being exported to buyers in other countries, the outlet said. According to the FT, ports in the three…