European Union and UAE agree to launch trade deal negotiations
Emirati President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan "and I just decided to launch negotiations on an EU-UAE free trade agreement,"...Business Economy Geostrategy
Iraq signs deal with US firm to produce 24,000 MW of electricity
Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani oversaw "the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding as part of a strategic cooperation framework...Economy Energy Geostrategy
GCC secretary general exhorts boosting trade relations with UK
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia--The GCC has called for the strengthening of trade and investment relations with the United Kingdom amid the...The GCC secretary general made the remarks during a meeting with Kemi Badenoch, UK business secretary in Riyadh
Albudaiwi and Badenoch reviewed joint preparations for holding the fourth round of negotiations to be held in London, in July
Saudi Arabia, Canada to restore full diplomatic ties following 2018 rift
On Wednesday, Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said the two countries will "appoint new ambassadors". A Canadian foreign ministry statement named...The decision of restoring diplomatic ties came after talks last year between Saudi Crown Prince and Canadian PM on the sidelines of the summit of APEC Forum in Bangkok
The reconciliation was based on "the desire for both sides to restore diplomatic relations between the two countries on the basis of mutual respect and common interests."
Three days before election, Russia hopes for Erdogan’s win
In a world where Turkey and Russia are both sceptical of Western military, political and economic dominance, Putin and Erdogan...The winner in Turkey will have leverage over key areas for Moscow, such as Russia's large-scale military campaign in Ukraine, the war in Syria and the Kremlin's standoff with NATO
For the Kremlin, Erdogan is a known quantity who has collaborated closely with Putin over the past 20 years, while Kilicdaroglu has recently blamed Moscow for meddling in the vote
Iran appoints envoy to Saudi Arabia after seven years
The new envoy, Alireza Enayati, previously served as Iran's ambassador to Kuwait, assistant to the foreign minister and director general...Saudi Arabia and Iran, after years of discord, signed a surprise reconciliation agreement in China on March 10.
Saudi Arabia had severed relations with Iran in 2016, after its embassy in Tehran and consulate in the second city of Mashhad were attacked.
Oman’s Sultan to visit Iran on President Ebrahim’s invitation
Oman has close ties with Iran and played a mediating role between Tehran and Washington in the build-up to a...The visit which will kick off on Sunday follows a Chinese-brokered rapprochement deal between Saudi Arabia and Iran announced in March.
The visit comes a year after Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi visited Muscat -- a trip that saw the two countries sign a string of trade deals.
Libya watchers see signs of progress toward reconciliation
The discord in one of the two rival governments, based in the east and backed by Khalifa Haftar, where the...The political rupture in the east has reversed the fortunes of Bashagha, who a year ago launched an attack on Tripoli that was repelled after a day of deadly street fighting.
Tripoli-based interim PM Abdulhamid Dbeibah has used the "paralysis of the eastern government to consolidate his grip on political and economic life in Libya", said an analyst.
China scammer uses AI to pose as man’s friend, steal millions
The victim, surnamed Guo, received a video call last month from a person who looked and sounded like a close...Guo was persuaded to transfer $609,000 after the fraudster claimed another friend needed the money to come from a company bank account to pay the guarantee on a public tender
Realising his mistake after messaging the friend whose identity was stolen, Guo alerted police who notified a bank to stop trasaction and he managed to recover his 3.4 million yuan
Israel passes budget with controversial cash for ultra-Orthodox
The Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spent recent weeks cutting deals with his ultra-Orthodox and extreme-right coalition partners, to meet a...Thousands of Israelis marched through Jerusalem on Tuesday to protest the government's plans to hand more cash to the ultra-Orthodox minority
The 2023-2024 budget of Israel was ultimately passed early Wednesday with the support of all 64 coalition lawmakers in the 120-seat parliament
Sporadic shelling as combat eases after Sudan ceasefire
Sporadic artillery fire still echoed in Sudan's capital, but residents said fighting had calmed following a US and Saudi-brokered ceasefire,...The battles since April 15 have killed an estimated 1,000 people, sparked mass evacuations of foreigners and forced over a million people to flee their homes.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a video message that the truce is "backed by a remote monitoring mechanism" supported by the US.
Gazprom 2022 profit at US$15bn
With Europe off limits, Gazprom has turned toward Asia.Gazprom said, "Profit margins were impacted by an increase in tax payments in the second half of the year."
Western sanctions have heavily impacted the company headed by Alexei Miller, a close ally of President Vladimir Putin.
