middle-east - INTERNATIONAL AGENCY FOR JOURNALISM AND STRATEGIC STUDIES

Egypt starts offering stakes in 2 Armed Forces-owned firms as part of privatization drive

Egypt will start procedures on Wednesday to list two of its national army companies, Wataniya and Safi, on its stock exchange in an attempt to further develop its private sector, according to an official cabinet statement. ...

SVB collapse: Mideast markets also feel the jitters

Most stock markets in the Middle East ended lower on Sunday, with the Egyptian bourse leading the declines, in response to Friday’s fall in global shares over fears of contagion following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. ...

Yemen: Qat-chewing Houthi negotiators at the UN aircraft

  Houthi representatives from Yemen, who were set to attend UN-mediated prisoner exchange talks in Switzerland, chewed narcotic qat on an aircraft heading from Sanaa to Amman. The Houthis’ conduct annoyed the pilot, who issued a distress call to his employer, protesting about the delegation’s refusal to stop. The source said that the problem began in Sanaa at the weekend when the Houthis attempted to get on the UN aircraft while ingesting qat, but the pilot refused to let them board. The pilot called the business that had leased the aircraft to the UN when the Houthis insisted on boarding, while concealing their qat bags.  The source added: “After the jet took off, the Houthis got out their qat bags and started chewing. “The pilot ordered them to cease chewing qat. Upon refusing, he sent a second distress signal to his firm.” The pilot refused to fly the Houthis to Switzerland and forced them to take another aircraft. The UN’s Yemen office now faces a fine of $200,000 for the misconduct of the Houthi delegation, sources said. The delayed aircraft arrived in Jordan, where the crew refused to continue the journey. The Houthi negotiating group boarded a Qatar Airlines flight from Jordan to Switzerland.”sourses added. Source: YemenOnline   ...

Iran and Saudi Arabia agree to resume ties after years of hostility

Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed on Friday to re-establish relations after years of hostility which had threatened stability and security in the Gulf and helped fuel conflicts in the Middle East from Yemen to Syria. ...

Royal Jordanian commences regular Amman-Algiers operations

Royal Jordanian (RJ) announced that it will be operating two weekly scheduled flights to Algiers starting Thursday. The first flight took off from Queen Alia International Airport, heading to Algiers International Airport on Thursday, according to a statement from the national carrier. ...

Lebanon: Electricity Crisis Exacerbates Poverty, Inequality

Lebanese authorities have failed to uphold the right to electricity by mismanaging the sector for decades, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. ...

Middle East airlines’ traffic doubles in January: IATA

Middle Eastern airlines recorded a 97.7% surge in January traffic compared the same month of 2021, said the International Air Transport Association (IATA) in a new report. ...

IMF likely to clear Morocco’s request for $5bn credit facility

Morocco is expected to receive external credit support of $5 billion from the International Monetary Fund, thanks to its strong policy frameworks and track records of economic performance. ...

Egypt’s foreign reserves surge to over $34bn in February

Egypt’s foreign reserves surged to reach $34.35 billion by the end of February 2023, the latest data from the Central Bank of Egypt showed. ...

Addressing political differences key to Iraq's energy sector revival

It’s a rare forum these days that can bring together senior figures from the US, Russia, Turkey, the Iraqi federal government, including groups close to Iran, and the two main parties from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. ...

IMF approves $114.8mln emergency funding to South Sudan

The executive board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved an immediate disbursement of $114.8 million to the government of South Sudan to help it address the urgent balance of payment needs arising from the rising food insecurity and declining forex reserves. ...

Egypt starts debut dollar sukuk sale

Egypt has begun the sale of its first Islamic debt issuance, reportedly attracting strong demand. ...

Adnoc delivers Middle East's first LNG shipment to Germany

Adnoc and German power company RWE on Wednesday announced the delivery of the first shipment of liquefied natural gas from the UAE to Germany. ...

Opec raises 2023 oil demand forecast as China reopens

Opec has raised its 2023 oil demand forecast by 100,000 barrels per day amid expectations of an economic rebound in China, the world's largest crude importer. ...

Pakistan IMF: Crucial bailout deal eludes negotiators

Eleventh-hour negotiations between Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have failed to unlock $1.1bn in crucial funds aimed at preventing the country from going bankrupt. ...

Turkey-Syria earthquake: Freezing weather adds to despair as quake toll passes 22,000

More than 22,000 people are now known to have died in Monday's earthquakes in Turkey and Syria - though the UN warns the disaster's full extent is still unclear. ...

Lebanon to dispatch aid teams to Turkey

The Lebanese Army, along with the Lebanese Civil Defence and the Red Cross will dispatch an emergency relief team to conduct a search and rescue operation in Turkey following two deadly earthquakes that have so far killed nearly 2,000 people in Turkey and Syria. ...