Zarghami said he advised a "man who behaves harshly" towards a woman not wearing headscarf to "close his eyes if looking at her excites him". Zarghami was strongly criticised by ultra-conservatives in October after reportedly criticising the morality police.

Istanbul, Turkey--Turkey said on Saturday that it had called off a visit by Sweden's defense minister over a planned anti-Turkey protest in Stockholm. "At this point, Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson's visit to Turkey on January 27 has lost its significance and meaning, so we cancelled the visit," Turkish Defense...

Davos-Klosters, Switzerland-- India's Minister for New and Renewable Energy Raj Kumar Singh has told developed countries to '"walk the talk" on transforming food systems by helping smallholder farmers in developing countries with cheaper access to irrigation, fertilizers and markets. The minister was speaking at a session on “Interplay of Food,...

Abu Dhabi, UAE-- The UAE has stressed the need for speeding up new investments in the energy sector in order to meet rising global demand as a number of OPEC+ member countries cut output. Speaking on the sidelines of the Global Energy Forum in Abu Dhab, Suhail bin Mohammed Al...

ABU DHABI, UAE - European countries will eventually resume higher imports of Russian gas, Qatar's energy minister and gas company CEO predicted on Saturday, warning that market volatility could last for years. Russian gas exports to Europe plunged after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine but Saad Sherida al-Kaabi, head of QatarEnergy,...

Days after entering office as part of Israel's most right-wing government, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, Justice Minister Yariv Levin announced last week a series of moves to allow politicians to override the Supreme Court's decisions and change the way judges are appointed.

AMMAN, JORDAN - Jordan's Minister of Investment Kholoud Saqqaf on Sunday received Indian ambassador in Amman Anwar Haleem for a discussion on ways to cement trade ties between the two countries. The minister briefed the envoy on the investment climate in the Kingdom and potential opportunities in various sectors. She...

RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA - Saudi Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture, Engineer Abdul Rahman bin Abdul Mohsen Al-Fadhli inaugurated Sunday the Aquatic Animal Diseases Network in the Middle East in the Kingdom. The inauguration took place in the presence of the Director General of the World Organization for Animal Health...

COPENHAGEN, DENMARK - Denmark's autonomous Faroe Islands have renewed a fishing quota deal with Russia for one year despite Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, a local minister said on Saturday. "The Faroe Islands are totally right to extend their existing fishing agreement with Russia," the North Atlantic archipelago's minister of fisheries...

AMMAN, JORDAN - Jordan's Minister of Energy Saleh Kharabsheh stressed on the importance of conducting an electrical interconnection project to supply Europe with green energy from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. He made the remark during a meeting on Thursday with a British Group Inter-Parliamentary Union (BGIPU)...

BALI, INDONESIA - Speaking at the B20 Summit in Bali, Indonesia, Minister of State for Foreign Trade Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi provided details on how the UAE continues to work to mobilize international efforts to stimulate trade and investment flows around the world. He said, in the keynote...

Jordan's cabinet reshuffle is a mandate for the government to work within the Kingdom's three modernization tracks, launched at the beginning of the country's bicentennial, Minister of Government Communications Faisal Shboul said.

Taking a serious note of German Interior Minister's comments casting doubt on whether the Gulf state should host the football World Cup, Qatar has summoned Germany's ambassador to lodge a protest. Calling the comments as "unacceptable and provocative, Qatar demanded a clarification.

Kuwait City, Kuwait— Kuwait has brought in a new oil minister in a new cabinet reshuffle after the September elections. Bader Hamed Yousef Al-Mulla was appointed as Kuwait’s new oil minister on Sunday as part of the Gulf country’s new cabinet. In the reshuffle, Salem Abdullah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah was appointed...

Saudi Arabia hosted a meeting of the GCC Financial and Economic Cooperation Committee to broaden economic cooperation among the GCC countries.

Saudi Arabia is expected to generate an annual income of $32 billion from recycling waste by 2035, according to the minister of environment, water and agriculture.

The German economy, like the economy of the vast majority of European countries, faces major challenges due to the Russian military operation in Ukraine, with Moscow suspending energy supplies to Ukraine's allies

Saudi Arabia's Minister of Education Dr. Hamad bin Mohammed Al AlSheikh has met with the leaders of edX platform at Boston University in the United States.

Prime Minister of Jordan Dr. Bisher Khasawneh met Kuwaiti Minister of Information and Culture Abdul Rahman Al-Mutairi, who is in the Kingdom to head his country's delegation in the 21st Amman International Book Fair.

Britain's new finance minister, Iraqi-born Nadhim Zahawi, has inherited a cost-of-living crisis that risks pushing the UK economy into recession. The former education minister was parachuted into the Treasury late Tuesday after predecessor Rishi Sunak's shock resignation over the culture of scandal plaguing Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Johnson also lost...

Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid will visit Turkey next week, his office said Sunday, days after he urged Israelis to leave that country over threats of attacks by Iranian operatives. On Monday, Lapid urged Israelis in Turkey to leave "as soon as possible", saying they faced "a real and immediate...

Less than a week after the signing of the Industrial partnership for Sustainable Economic Growth, ministers from the UAE, Egypt and Jordan have met for the first time to discuss a roadmap for taking the new partnership forward.

Hard-pressed to prop up the economy and stem steep price hikes if the Ukraine war continues, Khaled Osaily, Economy Minister of the Palestinian Authority, is praying for peace.

Volatility on oil markets sparked by Russia's invasion of Ukraine would be worse without OPEC+, the Saudi energy minister said on Tuesday, insisting the alliance that includes Russia deserves credit.

Palestinian National Authority has urged the European Union to overcome technical and other obstacles and resume financial support for the Palestinian Authority in light of the decline in international aid during the past years. This was discussed at a meeting between European Union’s Commissioner for Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Oliver...

A former justice minister and senior figure in Tunisia's Ennahdha party, under house arrest since December, was released Tuesday but remains under investigation on "terrorism" charges, the government said. Noureddine Bhiri had been detained by plainclothes police officers on New Years' Eve and placed under house arrest -- as was...

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan appointed Vahit Kirisci as minister of agriculture and forestry after the resignation of Bekir Pakdemirli.

Turkey has lifted the ban on importing scrap metals from Lebanon, which could secure about $100 million annually for Lebanon, according to Minister of Economy and Trade, Amin Salam. Salam said that during his meeting in Ankara with Turkish Trade Minister Mehmet Muş, Interior Minister Suleiman Soylu and Foreign Minister...

On Monday Iran's foreign ministry spokesman had said that efforts to revive 2015 nuclear agreement had made "good progress."

The Oil Minister of Iran Javad Owji has said that his country has not faced the need to cut the gas in any area despite decreased pressure problem, and thanked his colleagues and people for it, Iranian media reports said. The petroleum minister was referring to the gas consumption in...

Kuwait will increase its crude production by 27,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 2.6 million bpd from 1 Feb. 2022 in compliance with its new crude output quota after the OPEC and non-OPEC alliance's decision to upwardly adjust output level by 400,000 bpd as of next month. Deputy Prime Minister...

Foreign Minister of Sri Lanka Gamini Lakshman Peiris said that Expo 2020 Dubai is a great opportunity and a world-class platform to promote his country as a major tourist attraction. During Sri Lanka’s National Day celebrations at Expo 2020 Dubai, Peiris noted that the warm hospitality shown to tourists by...

Finance Minister Nureddin Nebati urged citizens to sue economists who comment on social media about the lira's slide. His remarks followed the banking regulator's decision to file complaints against more than 20 people over their Twitter posts.

Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al Khaled Al Hamad Al Sabah’s new cabinet represents Kuwait’s fourth government over the last year and a half.

Iran has said exporting vaccines manufactured by domestic producers was possible in a few months. Iran's deputy health minister for research and technical affairs Younes Panahi told Iranian media that some local producers made good progress and mass production of the vaccines will happen in the future. He said the...

Kuwait Theater Festival is a civilizational platform that contributes to the development of the cultural and theatrical movement in Kuwait, said Kuwait's Minister of Information and Culture, and Minister of State for Youth Affairs Abdulrahman Al-Mutairi. The 21st edition of the festival opened on Wednesday under the patronage of Al-Mutairi...

Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, chaired a meeting of the Higher Committee Overseeing National Strategy on Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism in 2021 at Expo Dubai.

The Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development (AFESD) signed a deal worth KD ten million ($33 million) with Bahrain to fund a water and electricity project. The deal was signed by Bahrain's Minister of Electricity and Water Affairs Wael Al-Mubarak, and CEO of Electricity and Water Authority Sheikh Nawaf...

Qatar and Egypt have signed agreements to supply fuel and basic building materials for Gaza Strip, Qatar's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Sultan bin Saad Al Muraikhi said. He said these cooperative efforts would contribute to improving living conditions in the occupied territory. Al Muraiikhi stressed the importance of...

France is negotiating an agreement with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) that would allow French Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) to expand its presence in agri-food sector of the UAE.

Iraq is expected to scale up its oil exports to 3.4 million barrels per day in the first quarter of 2022. Ihsan Abdul Jabbar, the Iraqi oil minister, was quoted by the Iraqi state news agency as saying.

According to the central bank's second-quarter review, the UAE economy is expected to grow 2,1% this year due to pandemic-mitigation measures.

Hessa bint Essa Buhumaid, Minister of Community Development and Chairwoman of Digital Wellbeing Council, said that the UAE well-being indicator achieved progress in social, healthcare, educational and economic aspects.

Saudi Arabia will not reduce value added tax any time soon, but will consider doing it when it public finances will have improved. This was stated by Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan .

The move came a day after recalling its diplomats from Beirut over a Lebanese minister George Kordahi's remarks that Iran-backed Huthi rebels in Yemen were "defending themselves... against an external aggression", sparking a diplomatic row.

Jordanian Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Saleh Kharabsheh, has stressed the importance of developing the country’s electricity grids and benefiting from global expertise in this field.

Lebanese Information Minister George Kordahi had said the Iran-backed Huthi rebels are "defending themselves... against an external aggression" and "homes, villages, funerals and weddings were being bombed" by the coalition.

Saudi Arabia's Minister of Communications and Information Technology Abdullah bin Amer Al-Swaha has said that the best way to achieve zero emissions was to increase investment in science and technology. He said if the world continued to follow the current policies and technologies, its zero-emissions efficiency will be 30 to...

The United Arab Emirates’ minister of state, Sultan Al-Jaber, said that the world needs to accept that global energy transition will take time.

Egypt is looking to increase the share of renewable energies to over 42 percent by 2035, after the country reached 2022’s target for boosting renewables to 20 percent early this year.