Hamas says no ‘major’ issues, as Gaza truce effort builds
Egypt, Qatar and the United States have been trying to mediate a new truce ever since a one-week halt to...Geostrategy
Israel says forces carrying out ‘offensive action’ in south Lebanon
Israeli forces are carrying out "offensive action" across southern Lebanon, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said Wednesday without specifying whether ground...Geostrategy
Putin discusses possibility of Iran joining BRICS in call with Raisi
Moscow, Russia - Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed Thursday, in a phone call with his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi, the...South Africa is scheduled to host a summit of the BRICS countries on August 23 and 24, which is expected to be attended by heads of all BRICS member states
The two leaders also discussed ways to enhance bilateral relations between the two countries in all fields, especially in trade, transportation and logistics
Stocks dragged further by US rate worry, China gloom
Expectations of another Fed hike have pushed 10-year Treasury yields -- a gauge of future rates -- close to their...All three main indexes on Wall Street sank for a third straight session on Thursday, while London, Paris and Frankfurt also suffered heavy losses
Asian markets were well in the red, including Hong Kong, which was down for a sixth consecutive trading day, while European investors were also on the back foot
Parched Egypt struggles to contain water loss
In a country already suffering from severe water scarcity, official figures show that more than a quarter of clean water...Nationwide, official figures show 26.5 percent of Egypt's clean water in the 2021-22 fiscal year was lost - a conservative estimate, according to experts
The Suez Canal governorates of Port Said, Suez and Ismailia have the highest rates of water loss in the country, with over two thirds of clean water going down the drain
US concerned on hunger strike over Bahrain jail conditions
With support from a military force from neighboring Saudi Arabia, Bahrain crushed the 2011 protests which had demanded a constitutional...Prisoners at the Jau prison, which holds dissidents detained when authorities crushed Shiite-led protests in 2011, have been subjected to 23-hour cell confinement
Bahrain, whose Sunni monarchy has tense relations with Shiite cleric-led Iran, is home to the US Navy's Fifth Fleet, which is at the forefront of the Gulf standoff with Tehran
Tunisia arrests bakery union chief for ‘monoply’ amid bread shortage
Tunis, Tunisia - Tunisian authorities have arrested the head of the national bakery owners' union, accusing him of a "monopoly" as...Bakeries' union chief Mohamed Bouanane was arrested on Wednesday "on suspicion of monopoly and speculation with subsidized foodstuffs".
Economists told AFP the current supply crisis stems from an inadequate reserve of subsidized flour held by the highly indebted Tunisian government.
Libya’s militia chief released after ceasefire pact with government
Videos circulated on social media on Wednesday night showed Mahmoud Hamza dressed in military fatigues and surrounded by his fighters...Hamza "was released on Wednesday night and returned to his headquarters south of Tripoli", an official at army headquarters in western Libya told AFP
"He was released under a government-sponsored ceasefire agreement" which also provides for the "withdrawal of fighters from the front lines", said the official
WHO’s maiden traditional medicine summit opens in India
"WHO is working to build the evidence and data to inform policies, standards and regulations for the safe, cost-effective and...Traditional medicines are a "first port of call for millions of people worldwide", the World Health Organization said.
The two-day WHO Traditional Medicine Global Summit takes place alongside a meeting of G20 health ministers in India.
‘Fuel of the future’: Gulf states bet on ‘green’ hydrogen
The investment in green hydrogen has not curbed expansion in oil and gas, with both the UAE and Saudi Arabia...In July the UAE, which will host the COP28 climate conference this year, approved a hydrogen strategy that aims to make it one of the top 10 producers by 2031
According to Deloitte, Gulf nations will lead global clean hydrogen trade in the short-term, exporting around half of their domestic production by 2030
Saudi Arabia executes US national convicted of killing Egyptian father
The death sentence for Bishoy Sharif Naji Naseef was carried out in the Riyadh region, the official Saudi Press Agency...A court found that Naseef beat and strangled his Egyptian father to death and mutilated him after he died, and that he also used drugs
The mode of execution was not specified, but Saudi Arabia has in the past often used beheading when implementing the death penalty
Iran Foreign Minister stresses unity on first Saudi visit since ties restored
Hossein Amir-Abdollahian also took the opportunity to reiterate the Islamic republic's support for the Palestinian cause at a time when...Ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran "are progressing in the right direction," Amir-Abdollahian told reporters at a press conference with Prince Faisal bin Farhan.
Thursday's meeting in the Saudi foreign ministry's Islamic Solidarity Hall "will be a prelude to the meeting of the heads of the two countries", he added.