ISTANBUL (AA) – Egypt’s Suez Canal Authority (SCA) has denied reports about contracting an Israeli company to manage its services. The denial came amid news circulated on social media platforms that Egypt had contracted an Israeli company to manage the waterway’s services through a 99-year concession contract. In a statement, SCA chief Osama R...
Peshawar, Pakistan (AFP): Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Friday the government would have to agree to IMF bailout conditions that are “beyond imagination”, as it battles a spiralling economic crisis. An International Monetary Fund (IMF) delegation landed in Pakistan on Tuesday for last-ditch talks to revive vital finan...
OVIEDO, Spain (AA) – Spain and Morocco have signed 20 agreements that, according to Spain’s premier, “consolidate a new era of mutual trust and genuine cooperation like it’s never existed before.” Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and 11 of his ministers met with their Moroccan counterparts on Thursday to “establish the bases for the type [...
JERUSALEM (AA) – The Israeli government announced Thursday it would double the amount of Palestinian tax money it confiscates to about $30 million. Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich tweeted: “I signed a double offset of the terrorist funds that the Palestinian Authority transfers to the families of terrorists.” For more than two ...
ISLAMABAD (AA) – With Pakistan’s national reserves falling to $3.7 billion, the country’s talks with the International Monetary Fund continue in the capital Islamabad. The Pakistan government is pressing the international lender for an urgent release of $1.2 billion to enable the economy to stay afloat. The IMF team is led by Natha...
ISTANBUL (AA) – Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on Thursday discussed development of the Southern Gas Corridor with a senior US official. “President Ilham Aliyev thanked the US delegation for their participation in the 9th Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council Ministerial Meeting,” a statement by the Azerbaijani presidency read. The ...
MOSCOW (AA) – Russia has started a pilot project on implementing Islamic financial practices in several regions with Muslim-dominated population. The experiment will take place in Dagestan, Chechnya, Bashkiria and Tatarstan and will last for two years. After that, the authorities will decide on the suitability of the Islamic model for Ru...
BEIRUT, Lebanon (AA) – Lebanon’s central bank announced Wednesday that it has set a new exchange rate for the country’s currency — 15,000 lira against one US dollar — a massive devaluation from the old rate of 1,507 lira. According to the central bank, the new exchange rate is effective from Wednesday. However, ac...
Islamabad, Pakistan (AFP): Pakistan is gripped by a major economic crisis, with the rupee plummeting, inflation soaring and energy in short supply as IMF officials began a visit to discuss a vital cash injection. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for months held out against the tax rises and subsidy slashing demanded by the International Monetary ...
Tunis, Tunisia (AFP): Tunisia’s main opposition coalition urged a united front against President Kais Saied after just 11.3 percent of Tunisians voted Sunday in a second-round poll for a toothless parliament in the politically divided nation. “Almost 90 percent of Tunisian voters ignored this piece of theatre and refused to be invo...
