EUROPE
AFRICA
Usually, when people talk about Saudi Arabia and its hegemonic policies, we tend to relate to the well-known rivalry between the monarchy
MoreASIA
FAR EAST
MIDLE EAST
Write an article from the following text. Bashar Assad stepped down as Syrian president, leaving the country and ordering a peaceful transition.Evacuation
More
Una esplosione devastante nella zona del porto di Beirut ieri nel tardo pomeriggio ha distrutto una vasta area della capitale. Ad esplodere
More
Usually, when people talk about Saudi Arabia and its hegemonic policies, we tend to relate to the well-known rivalry between the monarchy
MoreIran has to change its policies for any rapprochement, says Saudi FM
Adel Al-Jubeir, Saudi Foreign Minister, said that Iran’s talk of a rapprochement with Saudi Arabia was laughable. He told that Iran would first have to change its policies before any diplomatic thaw could happen in order to respect international law. Al-Jubeir added “At this time, we do not see… that they’re serious about wanting to be a good neighbor”. He said that diplomatic exchanges with Iran over arrangements for the Hajj did not represent a normalization of relations and that such contacts had nothing to do with politics. Sara Bazoobandi, a senior lecturer on international political economy at Regent’s University London, is quite pessimistic and don’t think there is going to be a change whitout an immediate interest. Al-Jubeir also said that should the rift between Qatar and the Anti-Terror Quartet — Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain — continue for two years, then “so be it”. Others agreed that the diplomatic rift over Doha’s alleged support of terror groups could be a protracted dispute. Khalid Al-Hail, spokesman of the Qatari opposition, said the situation is likely to lead to regime change within the Gulf state. “The continued standoff is causing hardship within Qatar, provoking civil unrest and increasingly the likelihood that the emir will be replaced in the near future (through) a coup by members of the ruling Al-Thani family”, he told Arab News.
PM expects public debt to be reduced to 62 percent of GDP
Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said on Wednesday in Nis, southern Serbia, that the country has good economic indicators. This is true despite the problems in agriculture and hydroelectric power plants due to drought, she said, according to the Serbian government, and announced that the public debt will be reduced to 62 percent of GDP by the end of the year. “We have said that economic growth will probably be less than 3 percent, which was the projection, but unfortunately, due to weather conditions and an extremely difficult winters, due to which power generation suffered, primarily in the thermal sector, but also due to the drought that struck agriculture and power generation in the hydro-sector”, she added. Brnabic pointed out that growth was also recorded in the industry, 6 to 8 percent, and added that we also had a reduction in public debt, much more than planned, so today it stands at 64.5 percent, with the expectation that it is possible to drop to 62 percent of GDP by the end of the year.
PKK terrorists occupy five Syria-Turkey bordercrossings
The Syrian map has drastically changed since the end of 2016 after the Syrian opposition lost swaths of land to the regime, and the regions previously controlled by Daesh were handed over to the Syrian affiliate of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), the PYD, which, backed by the U.S., has established control over areas in Hasakah, Deir Ez-Zor, Raqqa, Jarabulus and Aleppo. Attempts by PKK terrorists to seize control over the two biggest operation border crossings of Bab al-Salamah and Bab al-Hawa are ongoing. The U.S.- PYD alliance has prioritized its goal of seizing control over the biggest operational border crossings with Turkey as PKK terrorists continue to target Bab al-Hawa and Bab al-Salamah with mortars and missiles. The PKK is currently listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the European Union and the United States. So it is in open war with Turkey. According to the journal, PKK terrorists, who occupy approximately 600 kilometers of the border with Turkey, are trafficking humans and smuggling weapons and fuel across the border through underground tunnels they dug in close vicinity to border gates. The tunnels also serve as a passageway for foreign terrorists from Europe and Turkey as they cross into Syria to receive training in terror camps established in PKK-occupied regions.
Houthi spokesman calls on Yemen’s Saleh to implement 12 requests
Mohamed Ali Al Houthi, the head of the supreme Revolutionary Council of the Houthis, admitted, in response to the interview of the former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, that there were discrepancies in the institutions under their control. Mohammed Abdul Salam, spokesman of the militias, recalled the twelve points earlier put forward by their leader. The major clause within these points is the activation of the emergency law to confront the so-called “fifth column” and the opening of recruitment in the army. Saleh had denied in his statements the existence of any differences with the Houthis. However, the debates between the deposed president and some of the leaders of Houthi militias have returned. According to Mohamed Ali al-Houthi, Houthi leaders responded to Saleh and stressed the existence of imbalances in the institutions of the “state of Sanaa”, but also called him to remedy to these predicaments through what they called a committee of scholars.
Human Rights Watch: Torture a widespread practice under Sisi
Torture is standardized practice under president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, according to a report issued by the New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Wednesday morning. The investigation is based on interviews with people who were subjected to torture between 2014 and 2016.In a statement also issued on Wednesday, HRW writes that the 63-page report “documents how security forces, particularly officers of the Interior Ministry’s National Security Agency, use torture to force suspects to confess or divulge information, or to punish them”. It notes that the practice has become more widespread since the ouster of former President Mohamed Morsi in 2013. According to HRW, torture techniques included beatings, electrocution, stress positions and sometimes rape. According to the interviewees, torture sessions usually begin with electric shocks and slapping, while the detainee is blindfolded, handcuffed and stripped naked. If detainees refuse to cooperate, the strength and duration of the electric shocks increase, and hot water is thrown on them if they lose consciousness.
Switzerland ‘independently’ investigating legal status of Mubarak assets in Swiss banks: Embassy
Investigations into former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak’s frozen assets in Swiss banks are being conducted “independently” in both Switzerland and Egypt, the Swiss embassy in Cairo said in an official statement on Wednesday.The embassy said that joint judicial cooperation on the case is ongoing between Egypt and Switzerland to determine whether the funds were illegally obtained, and that no final decision has been made regarding whether the funds will be returned to Egypt.Based on initial estimates by the Swiss government, Mubarak’s total assets in Swiss banks amount to CHF 650 million ($698 million).Mubarak and his two sons were found guilty of embezzling EGP 125 million in public funds originally allocated for the upkeep of presidential buildings, and were sentenced to three years in prison.Mubarak is the first Egyptian president to stand trial and be convicted of corruption.
Sisi signs nine MoUs in economic fields during Vietnam visit
Egypt has signed nine memorandums of understanding with Vietnam in various economic fields. Presidential spokesman Alaa Youssef said the memos were signed during President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi’s visit to Vietnam on Wednesday, where he met with Vietnam’s President Tran Dai Quang. The MoUs included references to establishing ports and maritime trade.According to Youssef’s statement, Quang hailed Egypt’s leadership and achievements over the past three years in restoring security and stability, adding that El-Sisi’s visit to Vietnam will give a major push to bilateral cooperation.His visit was the first such by an Egyptian president to Vietnam since 1963.
Xi: Emerging nations deserve role
President Xi Jinping, spoke while presiding over the dialogue of emerging market and developing countries on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit. The dialogue was attended by leaders from: Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa and five other developing countries, which are Egypt, Guinea, Mexico, Tajikistan and Thailand. Xi announced that China was setting aside 76 million dollar, for economic and technological cooperation. This dialogue will strengthen the solidarity and cooperation among emerging and developing countries.
Azerbaijani, Turkish, Georgian FMs to sign 2 documents in Baku
Elmar Mammadyarov, Mevlut Cavusoglu and Mikheil Janelidze, the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan, Turkey and Georgia, will sign the Baku Declaration and Action Plan for 2017-2019 following the trilateral meeting in Baku, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry’s Spokesman Hikmat Hajiyev told reporters in Baku today. The declaration reflects the most important areas of mutual cooperation among Azerbaijan, Turkey and Georgia in economy, energy, infrastructure, transport, culture and humanitarian sphere. These meetings provide an opportunity to discuss in a trilateral format the possibilities of regional partnership, promote the development of bilateral relations based on mutual benefits, strengthening of regional prosperity, stability and security.
Azerbaijani Official Accuses Washington Post of ‘Lies, Distortion of Facts’
The head of the public-political issues department of Azerbaijani president’s office on Wednesday accused The Washington Post newspaper of lies and deliberate distortion of facts in the media outlet’s article about apartments for reporters. On Monday, the US newspaper published an article titled “In Azerbaijan, some journalists get free apartments. Others get jail cells”. In the article, the news outlet reported about the celebration of “National Press Day” in Baku, during which President Aliyev awarded apartments to hundreds of journalists, and at the same time about the alleged campaign against other journalists. “It is malicious intent and twisted logic to link the measures aimed at the improvement of housing problems of journalists with the cases of people arrested for specific criminal actions. Lies, distortion of facts… these are the features of this article and of this media outlet’s information policy”, Ali Hasanov said, as quoted by the press service.