Iran lawmakers back suspending cooperation with UN nuclear watchdog
Tehran, Iran -- Iranian lawmakers voted Wednesday in favor of suspending cooperation with the United Nations' atomic energy watchdog, state...Geostrategy
Israel kills 46 Gazans waiting for aid as hostage families call for end to war
Civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that 21 people were killed and around 150 wounded by Israeli fire near...Geostrategy
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.
Truce holds in Libya after deadly clashes leave 55 dead
Fighting raged from Monday night between the influential 444 Brigade and the Al-Radaa, two of the myriad of militias that...The clashes with rocket launchers and machine guns followed the detention of the 444 Brigade head, Colonel Mahmud Hamza, by the rival Al-Radaa Force on Monday
During the fighting, 234 families were evacuated from frontline areas in Tripoli's southern suburbs, along with dozens of doctors and paramedics trapped while caring for wounded
Risk of renewed conflict in Yemen: UN sounds alarm
The poorest country on the Arabian peninsula, Yemen's economy has collapsed in the eight years of war between Iran-backed Houthis...UN special envoy for Yemen warned of "public threats to return to war" in the Middle Eastern nation while the US and UK warned of escalating attacks and threats from Houthi rebels
US Ambassador said Washington "strongly" condemns "senseless" maritime attacks by Houthis "on maritime shipping which are also exacerbating the humanitarian crisis"
Syria doubles salary of civil servants, military personnel
In a separate statement late Tuesday, the commerce ministry announced the total lifting of subsidies on petrol and a partial...In two decrees issued late Tuesday, Assad doubled the salaries and pensions of those currently and formerly employed in the civil service and military
Prior to the decision, the monthly salary of civil servants had been between around $10 and $25, depending on the Syrian pound's street value
Economists convened by COP28 lay out steps to reform global climate finance
ABU DHABI, UAE - A two-day meeting of world leading economists and finance leaders convened by the COP28 Presidency has...Particular areas of focus for the new framework will include addressing debt distress in vulnerable countries.
Group said that private finance flows need to grow much faster to meet the $2.4 trillion investment estimated nnually.
