Leaders from the Group of 20 major economies will speak by video link on Thursday about combating the coronavirus pandemic and its economic impacts. Global infections top 471,000 with more than 21,000 dead, according to Reuters. G20 finance ministers and central bankers agreed this week to develop an “action plan” to respond to the outbreak, which the International Monetary Fund expects will trigger a global recession. […]
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The leaders of Likud and the Blue and White party, Benjamin Netanyahu and Benny Gantz respectively, met on Wednesday night to discuss the formation of a unity government but were apparently unable to reach any agreement on the issue. Prior to the meeting Israeli media reported that there was a primary understanding within Blue and White to agree to govern with Likud based on the rotation […]
Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike said on Thursday that beating the coronavirus is essential to host a safe and secure Tokyo Olympics. However, she added that it was still too early to discuss the timing of a decision on whether the Games should go ahead as scheduled, Reuters reports. The breadth and scale of the spreading coronavirus around the world have forced the cancellation of numerous sporting […]
Turkish, German, British and French leaders discussed the Syria crisis and migrant issue as well as joint action against coronavirus in a videoconference, Turkish presidency said on Tuesday. It issued a statement saying that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson also discussed methods of humanitarian aid to Syria’s northwestern Idlib province, Reuters reports. […]
Russia does not have any immediate plans for any contacts with the leadership of Saudi Arabia over the global oil strategy, Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, announced yesterday. Peskov told reporters in the Russian capital Moscow that the recent decline in oil prices had not come as a “surprise” to his government. “There were expectations and forecasts that there would be a period of falling oil and […]
Vice President of Sudan’s Transitional Sovereign Council, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, on Saturday arrived in the Egyptian capital Cairo to discuss “bilateral security and economic relations”. Sudan News Agency (SUNA) yesterday reported that Dagalo, known as Hemetti, was in Egypt on a two-day visit to meet with President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, the director of Egypt’s general intelligence Abbas Kamel, as well as a number of other officials. SUNA […]
Head of Change and Reform Bloc in the Palestinian Parliament, Mahmoud Al-Zahar, yesterday discussed mutual cooperation with Speaker of Tunisian Parliament Rachid Ghannouchi, a statement said. Al-Zahar and Ghannouchi discussed mutual cooperation related to several issues, including the fight against the US ‘deal of the century’ and protecting the Islamic holy sites in Palestine from Israeli aggression. During the phone call, Al-Zahar reiterated the “strength” of […]
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) will appear at 1 p.m. on Wednesday to shed light on the future of his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, just one day after suffering a serious blow in a round of state primaries that propelled former Vice President Joe Biden into a decisive lead. Sanders’ clear defeat can be seen in his PredictIt polling results: On Wednesday, Sanders canceled a […]
German Chancellor Angela Merkel met Libyan military commander Khalifa Haftar in Berlin on Tuesday in a bid to advance efforts to secure a lasting ceasefire in Libya. Merkel stressed that there can be no military solution to the conflict, and so “a ceasefire and progress in the political process, in line with the decisions of the Berlin conference, are necessary,” her spokesman Steffen Seibert said. He […]
In a somewhat surprising turn of events, Russian president Vladimir Putin said this morning that a suggestion by ruling-party lawmakers that would see his presidential tenure reset, thus allowing him to run again in 2024, should be supported by citizens and adopted by the Constitutional Court. “Putin needs to be there — in case something goes wrong” amid global political and economic turbulence, Valentina Tereshkova, a respected […]
Shortly after we posted a prediction from Goldman’s David Mericle that the government and/or the Fed will need to immediately step in with monetary and fiscal stimuli to try and manage the recent chaos in the markets, VOA’s Steve Herman reports that the White House will be holding a meeting to discuss economic stimulus later this afternoon. Economic stimulus meeting to held here at the @WhiteHouse […]
Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday that he will meet with European Union officials to discuss migrant issues on Monday. Speaking in Istanbul, Erdogan said that Turkey did not receive the support it expected from the international community when it comes to refugees but he was hoping to get a different result after Monday’s talks. He said: “Despite all the women, children dying in Syria, […]
Tunisian Parliament Speaker Rached Ghannouchi discussed with his Jordanian counterpart, Atef Tarawneh, Monday, the unification of Arab positions on the Palestinian issue, and bilateral cooperation between the two countries in all fields. “Jordan is of great importance as it represents the first line of defence of the central cause of the nation, which is the Palestine and Jerusalem cause,” Ghannouchi said in a joint press conference […]
Ismail Haniyeh is in Moscow to discuss Russia’s role in endorsing Palestinian rights as well as the threats posed by the US “deal of the century”, a spokesman for Hamas has revealed. The Head of the movement’s Political Bureau is accompanied by senior officials, added Hazim Qasim. The delegation will also brief Russian officials about the ongoing Israeli attacks on Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip and Palestinian […]
A Libyan delegation affiliated to the government of the Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar has arrived in the Syrian capital of Damascus on Saturday to discuss the situation in the country’s north-western region of Idlib. Libyan News Agency (LANA) reported that the delegation had included the Haftar government’s Prime Minister, Abdul-Rahman Al-Ahiresh, and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Abdul-Hadi Al-Hawaij. The delegation was received at […]
Russia and Turkey will discuss all aspects of the Syrian conflict at talks in Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin told French President Emmanuel Macron during a phone call, Reuters quoted the Kremlin as saying on Saturday. Putin and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan agreed on Friday to arrange a meeting to address tensions in Syria’s Idlib province, after the killing of 33 Turkish soldiers in a strike […]
Turkish foreign minister on Friday held phone conversations with top European diplomats in the wake of the escalation of tensions after a Syrian regime attack martyred 33 Turkish soldiers on Thursday night, Anadolu Agency reports. Mevlut Cavusoglu spoke over the phone with French, Spanish, Dutch, Hungarian, Estonian and Ukrainian foreign ministers and the EU foreign policy chief via phone. The foreign ministers offered condolences to the Turkish […]
Afghan officials met Taliban members in Qatar on Friday to discuss a prisoner swap plan. The meeting in Doha was part of crucial confidence-building mechanism between the warring sides, two senior government officials in Kabul said. The Taliban wants the release of over 5,000 detainees before launching direct negotiations with Kabul for a permanent ceasefire, a stumbling block in efforts to end the war. The meeting […]
Representatives of NATO members will hold an emergency meeting after Turkey called for consultations following the deaths of its soldiers in Idlib province, alliance chief Jens Stoltenberg has said. The meeting has been called under Article 4, which allows any member to request consultations with other allies when they feel that their “territorial integrity, political independence or security is threatened,” the short message explained. This comes […]
UN and Qatari envoys yesterday met with the Coordinator for Israeli Government Activities in the Occupied Territories, Major General Kamil Abu Rokon, and discussed the situation in the Gaza Strip, Israeli media reported. According to the Israeli Public Broadcaster, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov and Qatari envoy Mohammed Al-Emadi met with Abu Rokon in Jerusalem, Israeli Public Broadcaster Kan […]
A Russian delegation arrived in the Turkish capital, Ankara, yesterday to discuss the recent developments in the Syrian governorate of Idlib. The talks are expected to be held at the level of intelligence officials and the foreign and defence ministries of the two countries, at the Turkish Foreign Ministry’s headquarters. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, Mikhail Bogdanov, told reporters that Moscow expects positive results from the talks. […]
The Commander of the Royal Saudi Land Forces, Lieutenant General Fahd Bin Abdullah Al-Mutair, has received the Pakistan Army’s Inspector General, Lieutenant General Khalid Zia, in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported. The agency said the senior army officials discussed cooperation, especially the joint exercises currently taking place between the two armies. The two officials reviewed the Samsam 7 military exercise being held […]
An Israeli planning committee will discuss settlement expansion plans for occupied East Jerusalem tomorrow, according to updates from settlement watchdog Ir Amim. Separately, the Israeli Lands Authority yesterday published a tender for the construction of 1,077 housing units in “Givat Hamatos A”, described by Ir Amim as “the first time since the late 1990s” that Israel is constructing a new settlement in East Jerusalem. According to […]
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday arrived in Saudi Arabia where he is scheduled to discuss a number of issues including regional security and ways to confront Iran. Pompeo was received at King Khalid Airport by Princess Reema Bint Bandar Bin Sultan Al Saud, the kingdom’s ambassador to Washington, and John Abizaid, the US envoy to Saudi Arabia. The US Secretary is scheduled to […]