Syrian, Israeli ministers meet US envoy in Paris: senior diplomat
The US special envoy for Syria said he held talks with Syrian and Israeli officials in Paris on Thursday on...Geostrategy
Russia, Ukraine begin a fresh round of talks in Istanbul, Kremlin plays down breakthrough hopes
Ukraine said it hoped the two countries would discuss the release of prisoners and lay the ground for a meeting...Geostrategy
Production restarts at Libya oil fields after protests end
Tripoli, Libya - Oil production has resumed at two major Libyan oil fields, the oil ministry said Sunday, after a brief...Demonstrators had been protesting against the arrest of a former minister Faraj Abderrahmane Boumtari.
Members of his Zouaya tribe on Thursday threatened to block oil terminals in the east if he was not released. He was released Saturday.
Iraq detects first captagon producing lab near Saudi border: Ministry
Baghdad, Iraq -- Iraq said Sunday it has found a site in a province bordering Saudi Arabia where captagon is produced,...Iraq has long been a transit country for captagon, the amphetamine-like stimulant plaguing the Middle East, but officials say it has also become a consumer market for the drug.
The vast majority of the region's captagon, which derives its name from a once legal drug use to combat narcolepsy, is produced in Syria -- another Iraqi neighbor -- and Lebanon.
UNDP says over US$14bn needed to mitigate global surge in poverty
NEW YORK, US – In the last three years, poverty rates in low-and lower-middle-income countries have surged, with the number...UNDP has called for adaptive social protection and a debt-poverty pause to redirect debt repayments toward critical social expenditures.
Almost all of these financially hit people live in low - and lower-middle-income economies, with the poorest 20 percent in low-income countries
Saudi Arabia, Japan sign 26 new cooperation deals
The deals signed during Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's official visit to Saudi Arabia reflect the shared commitment to the...The deals signed during Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's official visit to Saudi Arabia reflect the shared commitment to the Saudi-Japanese Vision 2030
The two nations' trade volume reached $47.489 billion in 2022 as Saudi Arabia continues to be a key energy partner to Japan, providing 40 percent of its oil needs
Fears over Syria’s proposed control on aid to rebel-held areas
They worry over the fate of residents in Syria's last remaining rebel strongholds, in the north and northwest, after the...But expiry of the UN mechanism, as well as Syria's decision to change course on the delivery of aid to those areas, has sparked fears and questions among the humanitarian community
The crossing is the main entry point for aid to rebel-held areas, though it also occasionally trickles in from areas under the control of Damascus.
MBRGI joins UAE delegation, takes part in UN forum on sustainable development goals
DUBAI, UAE - Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives (MBRGI) joined the UAE delegation to the United Nations High-Level...Established in 2012, the High-Level Political Forum is the UN’s central platform for the follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda for SDGs at the global level.
The UAE delegation discussed ways to bolster mutual collaboration, strategic partnerships and knowledge-sharing, in line with MBRGI’s mission.
Morocco, Shell sign 12-year natural gas deal: ministry
Morocco has sought to diversify its energy sources particularly since neighbouring Algeria stopped supplying natural gas via the GME in...The agreement includes the annual delivery of 500 million cubic meters of LNG to Morocco, the value of the 12-year deal has not been disclosed
In the initial years, the gas will be delivered through Spanish ports and the Maghreb GME, It will eventually be delivered through planned Moroccan LNG terminals
Iraqi Christian leader leaves Baghdad as tensions with president soar
Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako, the patriarch of Iraq's Chaldean Catholic Church and architect of Pope Francis' historic visit to the...Kildani is the leader of the Babylon Movement, whose armed wing is part of Hashed al-Shaabi - a network of largely pro-Iran paramilitaries that were integrated into Iraqi forces
In a statement on Saturday, the cardinal condemned the government's "silence" over what he described as a campaign against him by the Babylon Movement
Iraq honey production at the mercy of heat and drought
Bees thrive in temperatures of around 30-35 degrees Celsius, not in searing heat, when the thermometer climbs to 50, said...A bee needs to constantly forage for the pollen and nectar necessary for honey production but the drought is forcing bees to travel longer to pollinate
In 2022, honey produced in parts of Iraq controlled by the Baghdad federal authorities reached 870 tonnes, while in Kurdistan 850 tonnes were produced
Israelis continue protests as judicial reform advances
Following stiff opposition and growing international criticism -- including from US President Joe Biden -- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered...Saturday's rallies, the 28th since the reform agenda was unveiled in January, come days after parliament approved in its first reading the bill
The proposals on Judicial reforms would also give the Netanyahu's government a greater say in the appointment of judges
