Trucks bringing both bodies and detainees from Israel back to Gaza through the main crossing point of Kerem Shalom regularly hold up aid deliveries, the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees said on Tuesday.A deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza has raised pressure on Israel to boost supplies into the enclave to curb disease…
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged Tuesday to launch an incursion into the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are sheltering from the almost 7-month-long war, as ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas appear to be gaining steam.Netanyahu’s comments came hours before US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrives in…
QatarEnergy seals a $6bn deal with China for the construction of 18 mega LNG vessels, marking the industry’s largest single shipbuilding contract. QatarEnergy and China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) inked a $6 billion deal on Monday for the construction of 18 QC-Max liquified natural gas vessels, the largest of their kind. The signing took place…
The United States has concluded that five Israeli security force units committed serious human rights violations against Palestinians in the West Bank before the Hamas attack in October, the State Department said Monday.Israel has taken remedial measures with four of these units, making US sanctions less likely. Consultations are under way with Israel over the…
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he is hopeful Hamas will accept an “extraordinarily generous” ceasefire offer to stop Israel’s devastating Gaza offensive in return for the release of hostages. “Hamas must decide, and decide quickly, whether to accept the extraordinarily generous offer for a ceasefire. I am hopeful they would make the right…
Jordan’s Prime Minister Bisher Khasawneh met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during a special session of the World Economic Forum in Riyadh on Monday, Jordan News Agency reported.Khasawneh reaffirmed Jordan’s support for the Palestinian cause and its commitment to providing assistance to Palestinians in their pursuit of legitimate rights on their national soil.He said that…
Geopolitical threats such as the conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine pose the greatest risk to the global economy, Saudi Arabia’s finance minister has said. Speaking in a panel discussion during the special two-day World Economic Forum meeting in Riyadh, Mohammed Al-Jadaan warned that the knock-on effects of conflict are “directly impacting economies.” He said: “Geopolitical…
Saudi foreign minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan hosted a ministerial meeting on Saturday in Riyadh with representatives from six other Arab states to discuss the situation in Gaza, Saudi Press Agency reported. The meeting was attended by Ayman Al-Safadi of Jordan, Egypt’s Sameh Shoukry, Secretary of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization Hussein Al-Sheikh, diplomatic adviser…
RIYADH: Around 1,000 leaders from 92 countries will convene in Riyadh for the World Economic Forum’s Special Meeting on Global Collaboration, Growth and Energy for Development on Sunday and Monday.Building on the inaugural Growth Summit in Switzerland last year, the Riyadh meeting will, according to the WEF, “promote forward-thinking approaches to interconnected crises, while remaining…
Saudi Arabia is emerging as a hotspot for international investment. Its latest hook? Sustainable hospitality. The Kingdom led the Middle East and Africa’s hotel-building activity in 2023, with 42,033 hotel rooms constructed. This accounted for 35.1 percent of the 119,505 built in the region over the year, according to data from hotel monitoring firm STR. …
