BEIJING, CHINA – The head of the International Monetary Fund on Sunday called on China to implement "a comprehensive package of pro-market reforms" to boost a sluggish economy beset by a housing market crisis, low domestic demand and persistently high youth unemployment. Chinese policymakers have so far resisted calls to juice...

Agnes Callamard, secretary general of Amnesty, said nobody was holding Israel to account over the delays to deliveries by land to the Gaza Strip. She said the international community must be prepared to hold Israel to account. "We're not holding the stick that will allow for those violations to stop,"...

In his Ramadan message, King Salman while giving thanks for the blessings bestowed upon the kingdom said the war in Gaza would cast a shadow during the holy month. He said "our hearts are heavy with sorrow for the ongoing suffering of our Palestinian brothers facing relentless aggression."

Speaking at the closing press conference, the Emirati chair of the so-called MC13 gathering, Thani Al Zeyoudi, acknowledged the shortcomings. "Despite our best efforts, we failed to agree on some texts which are of great importance to many of our members," said Al Zeyoudi, who also serves as the UAE's foreign...

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Acting WHO Representative in Sudan Peter Graaff has said that the humanitarian and health crisis in the African country is alarming. The conflict that started 10 months ago has spread to new areas, resulting in widespread displacement of civilians, some of whom have been forced to move...

ABU DHABI, UAE – As per the directives of President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan announced that the UAE has allocated US$5 million to support the efforts of the United Nations Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza. Sheikh...

Billions of dollars are being invested into ventures to grow food in the GCC to make the arid, hot region self-sufficient, in a sector vulnerable to the vagaries of war, climate and disease.

Paris, France--Oil and gas producers face pivotal choices about their role in the global energy system amid a worsening climate crisis fuelled in large part by their core products, according to a major new special report from the IEA. The report shows how the industry can take a more responsible...

CAIRO, EGYPT -  Atlantic fishing nations have agreed to better protect sharks and rays by limiting the retention of several bycatch species, but advocacy groups warn progress is still lagging. At the conclusion of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) this week, countries agreed on "new measures...

The UN human rights chief said that he was absolutely "disgusted" by the "sharp rise in hatred globally" since the war between Hamas and Israel began on October 7. Volker Turk strongly deplored the surge in cases of anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and other hate-speech, both online and offline.

Amman, Jordan-- Jordan has taken measures to hedge against the impact of international crises on food security and lower its impact on families, local communities and the national economy of the kingdom. This was revealed by the kingdom's Minister of Agriculture Khaled Hneifat while speaking the 6th General Assembly meetings...

Several aid organizations have warned of the outbreak of disease in the port city of Derna, after Sunday's flood submerged it, washing thousands of people and homes out to sea. The flooding left behind a trail of devastation after two upstream dams burst under the pressure of torrential rains triggered...

Kuwait City, Kuwait-- Kuwait is looking to strengthen cooperation with the World Health Organization in all health services, according to the oil-rich country's Health Minister Dr. Ahmed Al-Awadhi. According to Kuwait News Agency, the minister met with Dr. Hanan Balkhy, assistant director for antimicrobial resistance at the WHO, to discuss...

NEW YORK, US - Two senior UN humanitarian officials have called for more funding and fewer bureaucratic impediments to support civilians affected by the crisis in Sudan, including roughly 14 million children. Ted Chaiban, Deputy Executive Director for Humanitarian Action and Supply Operations at the UN children’s agency (UNICEF), and...

UNITED NATIONS - The COVID-19 pandemic, the cost-of-living crisis and the war in Ukraine have pushed 165 million people into poverty since 2020, the United Nations said, calling for a pause in debt repayments for developing countries. Because of these shocks, 75 million people will have fallen into extreme poverty,...

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM -  Sudan's warring sides must face "accountability" for the "crimes" committed in their conflict, which risks spiraling into a regional crisis, the head of UN mission in the country said on Wednesday. The fighting, which has gone on for three months, "risks morphing into an ethnicized, tribalized and ideologized...

Beirut, Lebanon--Beirut motorists pull up to a drive-through counter -- not for fast-food, but to exchange empty bottles and cardboard for cash, a novelty in a country long plagued by garbage crises. Festering landfills often overflow in crisis-hit Lebanon, waste is burnt illegally at informal dump sites and rubbish floats off...

LONDON, UK -  The Bank of England on Thursday lifted its key interest rate by a half-point to five percent to tackle stubbornly high UK inflation despite such a move worsening a cost-of-living crisis. The higher-than-expected hike to a 15-year high was the 13th increase in a row. "There had been...

Amid continuous divisions plaguing the country, France's new envoy for Lebanon, Jean-Yves Le Drian, landed in Beirut to hold talks with its leaders. The envoy's three-day visit comes a week after Lebanese lawmakers failed for a 12th time to elect a new president, drawing condemnation from the international community.

Paris, France -- President Emmanuel Macron's new special envoy for Lebanon heads to Beirut in the coming week as France seeks a new push to end a political crisis that has left the country without a president for over half a year, a diplomatic source said Sunday. Former foreign minister Jean-Yves...

"While commemorating 75 years since the crisis, we remember with sorrow the crime against humanity the Palestinian people faced in 1948, when hundreds of thousands were forcefully displaced and were forced to stay away from their land and home for over seven decades," AlBannai adds

The UAE will host three high-level Council meetings in June, aiming to promote interfaith dialogue, address climate change impacts on worldwide conflicts.

Paris, France – Sovereign borrowing needs are expected to increase in 2023 against the backdrop of the financial and economic spillovers of the crisis in Ukraine, as many countries forming a part of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) seek to cushion households and businesses from rising prices,...

Muscat, Oman--Qatar Chamber (QC) Chairman Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim Al-Thani has called for a unified policy for purchase of food and medicine at a meeting in Muscat. This came during his participation in the consultative meeting between GCC ministers of commerce and heads of unions and chambers of commerce and...

Baghdad, Iraq -- Iraq's oil minister Hayan Abdel-Ghani has said the Iraqi government was keen to support the Lebanese people and consider their fuel needs. Abdul-Ghani received the Lebanese Minister of Energy and Water, Walid Fayyad, and his accompanying delegation. During the meeting, they discussed prospects for bilateral relations and...

Fanned by strong winds wildfires flared across Alberta in the Canadian province, forcing 25,000 people to flee their homes as the province declared a state of emergency on Saturday to protect the "safety, health and welfare of Albertans." Thousands more have been told by the authorities to be prepared to...

Iran's foreign minister called on Lebanon to overcome political deadlock and elect a president, urging foreign governments not to interfere in the choice. "We will support any election and agreement reached between all Lebanese sides... and we call on other foreign parties to respect the choice of the Lebanese," Hossein...

With the cash-strapped country mired in an unprecedented economic meltdown, Lebanon's parliament on Tuesday put off municipal elections scheduled for next month, according to official media. The country has for the second time postponed polls, after they were initially scheduled to take place last year. No new date has been...

Seeing no way out of a political crisis that has prevented the country from having an effective government, Kuwait's emir has dissolved parliament on Monday and called a new general election. The wealthy Gulf state, the only nation in the region to have an elected government, remains mired in political...

BERLIN, GERMANY - Germany will switch off its last three nuclear reactors on Saturday, exiting atomic power even as it seeks to wean itself off fossil fuels and manage an energy crisis caused by the war in Ukraine. While many Western countries are upping their investments in atomic energy to reduce...

Calling for "constructive discourse" from the European Union after many leaders warned the country is facing a crisis that could impact the 27-member bloc, Tunisian Foreign Minister Nabil Ammar said that he had invited the European side to "show more understanding of this particular phase through which our country is...

It suffers from constant stand-offs between elected lawmakers and cabinets installed by the ruling Al-Sabah family, despite a parliamentary system in place since 1962.

In order to reinstate full food rations for millions in Yemen, the WFP has said that it requires more than double the money raised for all United Nations agencies in Yemen this year. The UN was able to raise only $1.2 billion for all its agencies in Yemen at a...

Consultations to prolong Ukrainian grain exports deal are continuing, the UN said, after a Russian proposal for just a 60-day extension cast doubt over its fate. "The United Nations will do everything possible to preserve the integrity of the agreement and ensure its continuity," Jens Laerke, spokesman for the United...

Russia has agreed to extend the Ukraine grain export deal following talks with the United Nations - but only for a further 60 days. Moscow said it wanted to see "tangible progress" on a parallel agreement on Russian exports before the deal comes up for renewal again.

Beijing, China--China on Sunday set an economic growth target of "around 5 percent" for 2023, one of the lowest in decades, as its annual National People's Congress opened in Beijing. The target was announced in a work report delivered by outgoing Premier Li Keqiang as the rubber-stamp parliament opened at the...

Beirut, Lebanon--Lebanon intends to triple the tariffs it charges on imports in local currency, as the state seeks to boost its revenues amid a worsening economic crisis. Caretaker finance minister Youssef Khalil requested to change the rate at which customs fees are calculated from 15,000 pounds per U.S. dollar to...

TUNIS, TUNISIA -  A goalkeeper at a top-flight Tunisian football club has reached Italy as a clandestine migrant, his club said Friday, as the dire economy pushes thousands into making similar journeys. "Due to the financial crisis facing the club, and difficult living conditions (in Tunisia), the goalkeeper of Avenir Sportif...

The WEF president concluded the first major international gathering of the year on a positive note saying progress has been made to tackle world's grave issues. This despite many economists forecasting recessionary risks in 2023 and geopolitical tensions continuing to shape the global economy.

The rivalry between the North African neighbors deepened further when Morocco denounced "provocative" acts and "transgressions" at the opening of a regional football tournament in Algeria. The two countries are engaged in a bitter dispute over the disputed territory of Western Sahara, where the Algerian-backed Polisario movement seeks an independence...

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND– The current energy crisis is driving inflation, slowing economic growth, creating social turmoil and the world should not add to this crisis by actions which derail the energy transition, a World Economic Forum (WEF) report says. The report said that steps such as increasing production of electricity from...

A team of investigators from Europe will visit Lebanon next month to probe into the wealth of central bank governor Riad Salameh blamed widely for the country's unprecedented crisis. The long-serving chief is among top officials held responsible for the crisis dubbed as one of the worst in modern global...

Kuwait City, Kuwait-- Kuwait National Petroleum Company has exported the first shipment of the advanced diesel fuel to the European markets in light of the severe shortage of energy sector in the continent. Kuwaiti media reports said the company shipped 66,000 tons, and the shipment was produced with special specifications...

Paris, France— The energy crisis is fuelling an acceleration of the rollout of renewable power, raising hopes for efforts to meet ambitious targets against global warming, the International Energy Agency said Tuesday. Total renewables capacity worldwide is set to almost double in the next five years and overtake coal as the...

ROME, ITALY - The world's ability to nourish its burgeoning population is under threat and without broader socioeconomic and environmental change, sustainable agrifood systems will be impossible to achieve, according to a new report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) issued Saturday. The report, "The...

Abu Dhabi, UAE— AD Ports Group will conduct a joint training exercise at Delma Port on November 24. The exercise, which will simulate a maritime incident at the port, is part of ongoing planning and preparation for emergency and crisis response in Abu Dhabi. Thirteen government entities are scheduled to...

Lebanese lawmakers failed for a sixth time to elect a successor to former president Michel Aoun, whose mandate expired last month. Parliament is split between supporters of the powerful Hezbollah movement and its opponents, neither of whom have a clear majority. Lawmaker Michel Moawad won the support of 43 of...

AMMAN, JORDAN - Jordan's King Abdullah received Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Amman on Thursday and stressed the importance of stabilizing Syria, especially the southern part. King Abdullah noted the need to activate efforts to reach a political solution to the crisis in Syria, safeguarding its unity and territorial...

Struggling to bring down the runaway inflation, the Bank of England is expected to hike its key interest rate on Thursday by the biggest amount since 1989. The BoE is expected to lift borrowing costs by 0.75 percentage points to three percent, according to market consensus, which would be the...

Calling on "all parties" to make every effort to extend the agreement on Ukrainian grain exports, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appealed for an extension to the so-called Black Sea deal, signed in July by the UN, Ukraine, Russia and Turkey, allowing more than 9 million tons of Ukrainian grain...