MENA Brief | June 18: Oil calms after Trump’s threat rattles markets; UAE-Iran calls, Riyadh Air signs big Rolls-Royce deal
Oil prices steadied Wednesday after Trump’s demand for Iran’s ‘unconditional surrender’ roiled markets and revived supply fears, as regional diplomacy...
Geostrategy
Trump says wants ‘real end’ to Israel-Iran conflict, not ceasefire
Trump said that he wanted a "complete give-up" by Iran in return for peace, without elaborating on the outcome he...
Geostrategy
Geostrategy
Israel says it downed Hezbollah drone in its airspace
Lebanon and Israel have seen unrest often, and drones have become a regular feature of their heavily guarded border.
- The Israeli army said it had downed a drone, belonging to the Hezbollah, that ‘crossed from Lebanon into Israeli airspace’
- The Israeli army ‘will continue to operate in order to prevent any attempt to violate Israeli sovereignty,’ it added
Geostrategy
Abbas, US speaker Pelosi hold rare West Bank meeting
Abbas urged US action on what he described as "unilateral Israeli practices" that "undermine a two-state solution."
- Abbas urged US action on what he described as "unilateral Israeli practices" that "undermine a two-state solution."
- Those included expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and moves to evict Palestinians from various parts of Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem
Geostrategy
US says nuclear deal possible within days if Iran ‘shows seriousness’
The Vienna talks, which involve Iran as well as Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia directly, and the United States...
- The Vienna talks, which involve Iran as well as Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia directly, and the United States indirectly, resumed in late November
- That accord had offered Tehran sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program, but the US unilaterally withdrew in 2018 under former president Donald Trump
Geostrategy
US bares intel on Russia in risky strategy to prevent Ukraine invasion
The US government normally keeps battlefield intelligence close to its chest, but by revealing the secret details of Russian military...
- With tensions rising, at the beginning of February US officials said Moscow was planning to create a graphic film of a fake Ukrainian attack on Russia
- Pentagon Spokesman John Kirby is one of several officials who readily detailed the alleged plan
Economy
World fuels its own destruction with $1.8trn subsidies: Study
Governments across the world pay an estimated $640 billion in support to the fossil fuel industry.
- Agriculture gets $520 billion in subsidies, which lead to soil erosion, water pollution, deforestation, emissions, and loss of biodiversity
- Another $350 billion in subsidies for the water industry is said to help fund water pollution and risk ocean and waterway ecosystems
Economy
Morocco announces $1 bn relief for drought-hit agriculture industry
Morocco said Wednesday it will launch a nearly $1 billion aid program to help its agriculture industry, which has been...
- The emergency plan aims to mitigate the effects of delay in rainfall, to alleviate the impact on agricultural activity and to provide assistance to the farmers and livestock breed.
- The kingdom's economy, already hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic, is heavily dependent on agriculture, which contributes 12 percent of GDP.
Geostrategy
Kuwait’s defense and interior ministers resign
Kuwait said Thursday the interior and defense ministers had resigned, after they protested the manner of parliamentary questioning of ministers...
- A royal decree said the resignations of the two ministers, both members of the royal ruling family, had been accepted
- Kuwait is the only Gulf Arab state with a fully elected parliament, which enjoys wide legislative powers and can vote ministers out of office
Geostrategy
Khamenei ridicules claims Iran wants atomic bomb
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei dismissed as "absurd" claims his country wants to acquire atomic weapons, in remarks on...
- The Islamic republic is locked in negotiations with world powers to revive a 2015 deal that offered it sanctions relief in return for curbs on its nuclear program
- The deal known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, was designed to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear arsenal
Business
Airbus posts net profit of $4.8bn in 2021, after two years of losses
European aircraft giant Airbus posted record profits in 2021 after two years of losses as it cruises past the pandemic-induced...
- Net profit surged to 4.2 billion euros ($4.8 billion) with deliveries of aircraft rising eight percent to 611 planes, Airbus said in an earnings statement
- The company is targeting 720 commercial aircraft deliveries in 2022, an 18 percent increase
Arts & Culture
One-horse open sleigh ride across frozen Turkish lake
The region mainly produces cheese but because of harsh and long winter such activity is rare so tourists on board...
- Visitor points at the shore of Clidir lake where many restaurants and cafes along with hot wine kiosks have sprung up recently
- 20 kilometers long lake is a paradise in summer for migrating birds, especially gulls, swans, and wild geese
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MENA Brief | June 18: Oil calms after Trump’s threat rattles markets; UAE-Iran calls, Riyadh Air signs big Rolls-Royce deal
Oil prices steadied Wednesday after Trump’s demand for Iran’s ‘unconditional surrender’ roiled markets and revived supply fears, as regional diplomacy...
Geostrategy
Company News
Latest News
AstraZeneca Q3 profit swells
Business
Disney adds 7m subscribers
Business
World sees first 12 months above 1.5C warming level, says climate monitor
PARIS, FRANCE - Earth has endured 12 consecutive months of temperatures 1.5C hotter than the pre-industrial era for the first time...
Science
Siemens posts increased Q1 profit
The company said orders nearly doubled in mobility division.
Business
Qatar eyes second successive Asian Cup in final against Jordan
Doha, Qatar - An Asian Cup full of late goals and surprises reaches a climax on Saturday when hosts and holders...
Arts & Culture
Most Read
Geostrategy
Israel bombs Rafah crowded with 1 million Palestinians
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken left Israel without securing a pause in fighting, wrapping up his fifth crisis tour...
- UN rights chief Volker Turk charged that Israel was committing a "war crime" with its reported destruction of buildings to create a "buffer zone" along the border inside Gaza.
- Hundreds of thousands of people's lives are at risk in north and central Gaza because of a lack of food, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees warned.
Disney profit beats forecasts
The company is looking to tap into the passion for video games.
- During the earnings announcement, Disney chief Robert Iger also revealed that the entertainment giant is acquiring a "small equity stake" in Fortnite-maker Epic Games
- Disney is looking to tap into the passion for video games in general and "Fortnite" in particular with a $1.5 billion stake in Epic, according to Iger
Unilever annual profit drops 15%
Group revenue dipped 0.8 percent to 59.6 billion euros.
- Chief executive Hein Schumacher said in the earnings statement that "competitiveness remains disappointing and overall performance needs to improve" at the group
- Schumacher, the former head of Dutch dairy and nutrition firm Royal FrieslandCampina, launched in October an action plan to grow Unilever