Iran, Israel appear to pull back from brink as US approves military aid
Iran downplayed Israel's reported retaliation for its unprecedented drone and missile attack, tamping down fears that escalating attacks between the...Geostrategy
UN Security Council to vote this Thursday on full Palestinian membership
Against the backdrop of the grinding conflict in Gaza, a city largely devastated by more than six months of war...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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
Quran set alight at protest outside Sweden parliament
Two men set the Quran alight outside parliament in Stockholm at a protest similar to previous ones that have sparked...Sweden has already seen its diplomatic relations with several Middle Eastern nations strained over previous protests involving Quran desecrations.
Swedish police have previously stressed they only grant permits for people to hold public gatherings and not for the activities conducted during the events.