The Middle East
Africa
Greece reopens embassy in Tripoli
Greece's Foreign Ministry on Saturday announced it is immediately reopening its embassy in Libya's capital, Tripoli and a consulate in Benghazi.The announcement came a day...
Albania
An advocacy for giving precedence to the EU’s Copenhagen Criteria in the Western Balkans
Among the precious little remaining friends of a quick EU enlargement towards the Western Balkans, the threat of non-friendly powers encroaching in the region...
Economy & Business
The UAE is a natural partner for Europe’s sustainable future
The EU continues to show global leadership in addressing climate change. With its European Green Deal and climate objectives shortly to be enshrined into...
Archive
In time of pandemic, OPEC+ stands pat, sees oil rebound this year
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies led by Russia, a group known as OPEC+, reportedly maintained its oil output policy at...
Archive
Kazakhs return home from Syria
NUR-SULTAN, Kazakhstan - The National Security Committee of Kazakhstan, in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan and with the support of...
Analysis
A new dawn for Libya brings hope for regional stability
While it may seem as though only one subject has dominated the news for the past year, and our lives came to a very...
Archive
UN-sponsored peace talks approve candidate list to head Libya’s transitional government
Participants at Libya’s UN-sponsored peace talks have approved a list of candidates seeking to lead a transitional government that will prepare the country for...
Analysis
The UAE’s sustainability
The UAE, like other petroleum-producing economies, has been severely hit by the twin shock of low oil prices and pandemic containment measures, which have...
Archive
Uzbekistan, Saudi ACWA Power to enhance clean energy capacity
Uzbekistan and Saudi Arabia plan three major power projects that will boost the use of clean and renewable energy in the Central Asian country,...
Archive
IRENA endorses global energy transition forum as part of COVID-19 recovery
Striving to spur energy transition as integral part of COVID-19 recovery, members of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) approved on January 21 the...
Africa
Potential head of presidential council looks fit to pull Libya out of quagmire
The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL)-brokered Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF) has so far failed to bring the light at the end...
Archive
Enel and Qatar Investment Authority to develop renewables in Sub-Saharan Africa
Enel’s renewable arm Enel Green Power (EGP) and a Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) subsidiary have signed an agreement for a joint venture partnership aimed...
Africa
NATO voices concerns over Russian military presence in MENA region
Russia's increasing military presence in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is a matter of "great concern" for NATO, its Secretary-General Jens...
Archive
US plans to designate Yemen’s Houthi movement as foreign terrorist group
The United States plans to designate Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels as a foreign terrorist organization, secretary of state Mike Pompeo said on Sunday.The decision...
Archive
Slick OPEC+ scheme boosts prices: Saudis cut, Russia, Kazakhstan raise
Oil prices climbed more than 4% on January 5 after OPEC+ reached an unusual production quotas agreement, with Saudi Arabia committing to cut the...
Archive
Kazakhstan hails the removal of diplomatic blockade by Arab countries from Qatar
NUR-SULTAN, Kazakhstan - Kazakhstan welcomed the signing of the Al-Ula Declaration during the 41st summit of the countries participating in the Cooperation Council for...
Archive
Iran allocates $150,000 for families of victims of Ukraine plane crash
Iran on Wednesday allocated $150,000 for the families of each of the 176 victims of a Ukrainian plane shot down last year in Iranian...
Archive
South Korea to send delegation to Tehran after Iran seizes tanker
South Korea is sending a delegation to Iran after Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps seized a South Korean-flagged tanker in Gulf waters and detained its...
Afghanistan
UK court blocks WikiLeaks founder Assange’s extradition to US
WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange cannot be extradited to the US to face espionage charges due to concerns over his mental health and risk of...
Archive
Italy’s ENI and UAE’s SNOC begin gas production from Mahani field in Sharjah
Italian energy major ENI and Sharjah National Oil Corporation (SNOC) from the United Arab Emirates announced on January 4 production start-up from the Mahani...
Archive
Iran vows 20% uranium enrichment ‘as soon as possible’
Iran said on Saturday that it plans to enrich uranium up to 20% purity at its underground Fordow nuclear facility "as soon as possible",...
Archive
Crude oil price rally may face supply side pressure in early 2021
Oil traders are optimistic the start of the deployment of vaccines means that an end to the worst economic ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic...
Analysis
Secretary Pompeo lets Turkey know what Washington really thinks
In an exchange that warmed the hearts of all Greeks and Greek Cypriots everywhere and was reported as front-page news, US Secretary of State...
Archive
OPEC+ likely to extend oil cuts seeing slow fuel demand recovery from vaccines
Oil prices climbed to their highest in more than eight months on November 25 fuelled by continuing hopes that energy demand will recover once...
Archive
Russia, Saudi Arabia eye COVID-19 oil cut to hike prices
Russia and OPEC-kingpin Saudi Arabia are reportedly mulling to delay an increase in oil production in January, maintaining an output cut aimed to raise...
Archive
US sanctions companies selling, purchasing, and enabling Iran’s oil industry
Less than a week before the November 3 election, the US Administration announced on October 29 sanctions on companies selling, purchasing, and enabling Iranian...
Archive
Cyprus, Egypt, Greece join efforts to stop Turkish actions in East Med
Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades, Egypt President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis met in Nicosia, Cyprus, on October 21 where they...
Albania
The Hague to assist Albania and Greece resolve maritime border
In an ironic twist of historical events, Albania and Greece jointly announced October 20 that they were requesting assistance from the International Court of...
Archive
Russia, Saudis push COVID-19 oil supply cuts on OPEC+
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman have urged fellow oil producer countries in OPEC+ to stick to supply cuts agreed...
Archive
East Med Gas Forum to enhance regional ties, boost EU energy security
Egypt, Israel, Greece, Cyprus, Italy, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority established the East Mediterranean Gas Forum (EMGF) as an intergovernmental organisation in a virtual...
Afghanistan
Final Trump UN General Assembly address hits multilateralism
In the final address to the UN General Assembly of his current term in office, US President Donald J Trump sent a short video...
Archive
US walks alone in Iran sanctions, EU goes other way
The European Union remains committed to implementing the Iran nuclear deal as a matter of respecting international agreements and of the bloc’s shared international...
Archive
Too much supply, too little demand, OPEC+ wants production cuts
Fearing slow oil demand recovery, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, a group known as OPEC+, during a meeting on...
Archive
Greece-Egypt EEZ deal doesn’t sit easy with Turkey
Greece and Egypt signed a maritime border deal on August 6 with Turkey saying the deal falls in its continental shelf.Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh...
Archive
Oil reflux: OPEC+ pumps up volume after COVID-19 cutback
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its oil producing allies led by Russia, a group known as OPEC+, reportedly agreed on...
Archive
Cyprus moves ahead with LNG terminal works eyeing EU market
Natural Gas Infrastructure Company of Cyprus (ETYFA) has issued the Notice to Proceed to the Consortium that was awarded the construction works of the...
Archive
Trump pushes end to Russian-Saudi oil production standoff
Oil prices surged on April 2 after US President Donald J. Trump said he expected Saudi Arabia and Russia to end a price war,...
Archive
US deploys Patriot missiles to Iraq, angering Iran
Iran warned the United States it is leading the Middle East to disaster amid the coronavirus pandemic, after reports that Patriot air defence missiles...
Asia & Pacific
Could bad data be to blame for high coronavirus death toll
European countries saw some of the highest death told for coronavirus over the last month. Deaths in Italy have surpassed those in China many...
Archive
Iran claims 'terrorist' attack inside Turkey halts natural gas flow
Iran's natural gas exports to Turkey have stopped after a "terrorist" attack on a pipeline inside Turkey, an Iranian official said.
"This morning, terrorists attacked...
Archive
Libya frees prisoners to stem spread of coronavirus
Libya said it will release more than 450 prisoners in bid to curb the spread of the coronavirus that has infected at least eight...
Archive
Saudi-UAE coalition carries out air raids on Yemeni capital Sanaa
The Saudi-UAE coalition fighting Houthi rebels in Yemen on Monday carried out more than a dozen air strikes on the capital Sanaa, according to...
Archive
Iran defends coronavirus response as deaths rise
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has hit back at criticism over the country's response to the coronavirus pandemic, saying he had to weigh protecting the...
Archive
Saudi Arabia intercepts Houthi-launched missile over Riyadh
Saudi Arabia's air defences intercepted two ballistic missiles above capital, Riyadh, and the southern city of Jizan.
The attack is the first on the kindom's...
Asia & Pacific
Locked down, without answers
Most European governments are turning to increasingly harsh lockdowns to confront the coronavirus pandemic. They did so in the wake of watching Italy’s attempt...
Archive
Houthis welcome Saudi support for ceasefire in Yemen
Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, a Houthi leader in Yemen on Wednesday welcomed an announcement by the Saudi-led coalition to support a ceasefire amid the coronavirus...
Australia
Gulf nations have been quick to prevent economic downturn and Europe must do the same
From the outset of the novel coronavirus outbreak, it became clear that its repercussions would go far beyond public health. As countries have scrambled...
Archive
Turkey charges 20 Saudis over Khashoggi murder
Turkish prosecutors said they have formally charged two former aides of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and 18 other Saudi nationals over the...
Archive
France pulls out military forces in Iraq
France announced on Wednesday that it is pulling out its military forces from Iraq to help fight the coronavirus at home.
The chief of staff...
Archive
UN calls for total ceasefire in Syria
The United Nations special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, has called for an immediate ceasefire across the country to enable an "all-out-effort" to combat...
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