US Fed will likely cut again despite economic murkiness from shutdown
The central bank's second-to-last rate meeting of the year is taking place against the backdrop of a weeks-long standoff between...
Economy
Rubio seeks quick deployment of international Gaza force
He confirmed that Israel would enjoy vetoes on the force composition, amid reports Israel has objected to participation by Turkey.
Geostrategy
Geostrategy
UAE vows to allow ‘peaceful’ assembly of climate activists at COP28
The UAE, set to host COP28 from November to December in the business hub of Dubai, requires official permission for protests...
- The announcement was made in a joint statement with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
- The statement was released after COP28 president Sultan al-Jaber and UNFCCC chief Simon Stiell signed a pact in Abu Dhabi that provides the legal basis for organizing the event.
Geostrategy
Saudi Arabia funds construction of library in Bosnia and Herzegovina
SARAJEVO, BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA - Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) Board of Directors Chairman Ahmed Al-Khateeb, laid the foundation stone...
- The funding for construction and equipping of the library has been through a US$22 million grant provided by the Saudi Fund for Development.
- The new library will act as a central hub to connect the university’s 28 sub-libraries and will contribute towards enhancing its educational capabilities.
Geostrategy
UAE launches National Program for Infrastructure Development – Salamah 365
DUBAI, UAE – UAE Minister of Energy and Infrastructure Suhail bin Mohammed Al Mazrouei launched the National Program for Infrastructure...
- Salamah 365 aims to enhance public safety by leveraging innovative solutions and interactive warning systems to rectify identified accident blackspots.
- It also aims to implement a locally tailored model of pedestrian crossings, predict floods before they happen by monitoring dams and valleys.
Business
Oil majors still profitable even if 2022 super profits gone
From BP to ExxonMobil to TotalEnergies, none of the oil and gas majors have repeated the exceptional profits posted in...
- Before it, the US giant ExxonMobil saw its second-quarter profits tumble 56 percent to $7.9 billion, while rival Chevron saw a similar fall to $6 billion.
- Shell saw a 64 percent drop in net earnings to $3.1 billion, while TotalEnergies fared better with just a 28 percent slide to $4.1 billion.
Geostrategy
Saudi Arabia approves $1.2 bn grant to boost Yemen’s flagging economy
Yemen's finance minister and central bank governor as well as the Saudi ambassador were expected to disclose details of the...
- Fighting has dropped off sharply since a UN-brokered truce took effect in April last year, even though it lapsed in October.
- However more than two-thirds of Yemenis depend on aid to survive amid a grinding economic crisis marked by a collapsed currency and import bans.
US delegation presses Taliban at Doha meeting on women’s rights
The closed-door meeting was one of the highest-level known gatherings of US and Afghan government officials in months, with the...
- The American delegation also expressed "deep concern" regarding the humanitarian crisis and the need to continue supporting aid organizations delivering assistance
- During the meeting Kabul "emphasized once again that to build trust, it is important to remove blacklists and release the bank reserves so Afghans can develop their economy
Geostrategy
Migrants suffer between life and death in Tunisia-Libya desert
In the midday heat, a Libyan patrol near the border with Tunisia comes across a black African man collapsed on...
- By the time they reach Libya, the migrants from sub-Saharan Africa are ready to drop from exhaustion, in temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius.
- Libyan border guards said that, over the past two weeks, they have rescued hundreds of migrants who said they were left by Tunisian authorities.
Geostrategy
OIC disappointed with Swedish, Danish response to Quran desecration
"It is unfortunate that the concerned authorities claiming freedom of expression continue to provide licenses to repeat these acts contrary...
- Saudi Arabia has in recent weeks summoned Swedish and Danish diplomats to deliver protest notes denouncing "disgraceful" acts against the Quran.
- On Thursday, Taha received a phone call from Sweden's foreign minister, Tobias Billstrom, who said Stockholm rejects acts that insult the Quran.
Geostrategy
UK to issue hundreds of new oil and gas drilling licenses in North Sea
The announcement has angered environmental groups and comes amid an internal debate within the ruling Conservative party on green policies....
- "Investment in the North Sea will continue to unlock new projects, protect jobs, reduce emissions and boost UK energy independence," PM Rishi Sunak's office said.
- "The government is taking steps to slow the rapid decline in domestic production of oil and gas, which will secure our domestic energy supply," it said.
Geostrategy
UAE oil giant ADNOC pledges to ‘accelerate’ zero-carbon plan
ADNOC "is accelerating its decarbonization plan to advance its net-zero ambition to 2045, compared to its previous target of 2050,"...
- ADNOC said it has "reduced its greenhouse gas emissions" by about 5m tons in 2022, mostly through the use of solar and nuclear energy, to power all of its onshore operations.
- ADNOC CEO Sultan Al Jaber, who will head up COP28, has argued that fossil fuels will continue to play a key role, and that carbon capture technologies will contain emissions.
US Fed will likely cut again despite economic murkiness from shutdown
The central bank's second-to-last rate meeting of the year is taking place against the backdrop of a weeks-long standoff between...
Economy
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Iran picks new president at turbulent time
Geostrategy
Syrian government says studying Amnesty report on massacres
Syria's government said late Friday it was "closely following" the findings of a new Amnesty International report urging an investigation...
Geostrategy
Israel expands ground offensive in Gaza city, dozens killed as fighting engulfs Shujaiya neighborhood
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the army was dividing Gaza and "seizing territory" to force Hamas to free the remaining...
Geostrategy
Nations divided ahead of decisive week for shipping emissions
London, United Kingdom --Â Members of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) are divided over whether to approve a carbon tax on...
Geostrategy
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Geostrategy
Hungary announces ICC withdrawal as Israel’s Netanyahu visits
Budapest, Hungary -- Hungary on Thursday said it will quit the International Criminal Court, just as its Prime Minister Viktor...
- Set up in 2002, the ICC, based in The Hague, seeks to prosecute individuals responsible for the world's gravest crimes when countries are unwilling or unable to do so themselves.
- The Palestinian Authority (PA) urged Hungary to "comply with the International Criminal Court's arrest warrant by immediately handing Netanyahu over to bring him to justice.
Geostrategy
US university calls for release of detained Turkish student
New York, United States - Tufts University on Wednesday publicly backed its student Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish national detained by...
- Video of Ozturk's arrest by masked agents on a sidewalk has sparked outrage online
- This has added to concerns about freedom of speech and respect for due process under Trump
Geostrategy
Israel’s Netanyahu arrives in Hungary, defying ICC warrant
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in Budapest early Thursday on his first trip to Europe since 2023 and in...
- Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban extended an invitation to Netanyahu last November, a day after the ICC issued the arrest warrant over alleged war crimes in Gaza
- Orban vowed the EU member would not execute the warrant, despite being an ICC member, saying the court's decision "intervenes in an ongoing conflict... for political purposes".