GAZA STRIP: The health ministry in Gaza on Sunday said the death toll in the war-torn Palestinian territory breached 25,000 as Israel pushed its southward offensive and renewed bombardment in the north. Witnesses told AFP Israeli boats were bombarding Gaza City and other areas in the north early Sunday. Hamas has also reported heavy combat … Read more
Belgian minister pledges country’s support for genocide case against Israel at ICJ RIYADH: A Belgian minister has pledged her country’s backing for the case filed by South Africa with the International Court of Justice (ICJ), seeking to stop Israel’s aggression in Gaza. Caroline Gennez, Belgium’s minister of development cooperation, announced on January 20 her pledge … Read more
Palestinian state the only solution to Middle East unrest, says Saudi ambassador to US DAVOS: Security in the Middle East region depends solely on Palestinians getting their own state, the Saudi ambassador to the US said on Thursday. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos during a Saudi-focused panel discussion, Princess Reema bint Bandar … Read more
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index slipped on Wednesday, losing 14.58 points, or 0.12 percent, to close at 12,063. The total trading turnover of the benchmark index was SR10.67 billion ($2.84 billion) as 60 stocks advanced, while 160 retreated. The Kingdom’s parallel market, Nomu, also dipped, losing 239.27 points, or 0.97 percent, to close … Read more
LONDON: The energy transition will be at the core of the Gulf region’s strategy to continue to fuel its growth, Saudi Arabia’s investment minister said on Tuesday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. “The most important thing is political stability, long-sighted vision and consistency,” Khalid Al-Falih told a panel titled “Gulf Economies: All … Read more
BEIRUT: EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has warned that an expansion of the war in Gaza into a wider regional conflict, especially one that involves Lebanon, must be prevented. “It is imperative to avoid regional escalation in the Middle East,” he said during a press conference in Beirut on Saturday with Lebanese Foreign Minister … Read more
DHAKA: As Bangladesh prepares for elections without opposition, incumbent Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is poised to win and continue her modernization vision at the cost of significant democratic backsliding, critics say. The South Asian country of almost 170 million people will vote on Sunday in a poll expected to give the ruling Awami League its … Read more
Al-Arouri to be laid to rest on Thursday as Hezbollah-Israel clashes resume on southern border BEIRUT: Hezbollah’s “direct hits” on two Israeli military sites — the Zar’it barracks and the Jal Al-Alam site — on Wednesday have broken the uneasy calm on Lebanon’s southern border with Israel. The group’s resumption of operations against the Israeli … Read more
BEIRUT: With its economy still in tatters, its government in a state of paralysis, and fears that the war raging in Gaza between Israel and Hamas could soon spill over its borders, Lebanon’s woes have only deepened in 2023. Economic collapse With some 80 percent of Lebanon’s citizens now living in poverty, the country has … Read more