On the final day of 2020, Turkeyās president promised his people that things will change. āWe are in the process of preparing reforms that will strengthen our economy and raise the standard of our democracy, rights and freedoms,ā Recep Tayyip ErdoÄan said in the middle of a speech released on …
Read More »US warns against business as usual in Lebanon
Business as usual in Lebanon is unacceptable and any new government must be committed to – and capable of implementing – reforms that bring economic opportunity, good governance and an end to endemic corruption, a top U.S. diplomat said on Thursday. āWhatever government comes next must commit to and have …
Read More »Saad Al-Hariri reiterates call for French roadmap
Lebanonās leading Sunni Muslim politician, former Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri, called for the restoration of a French plan to lift the nation out of its worst financial crisis since its 1975-1990 civil war. Former colonial power France, which has led foreign aid efforts, has tried to rally Lebanese leaders to …
Read More »Jumblatt places all bets on French rescue plan
Leading Lebanese politician Walid Jumblatt said on Wednesday it seemed some people did not understand that French-led efforts to lift Lebanon out of crisis were the last chance to save the country. Lebanon is in the throes of a crippling economic and financial meltdown that marks the biggest threat to …
Read More »Israel, US make new claims, requests about Beirut blast – UPDATES
Seismological data suggests that six blasts preceded the Beirut port explosion, the last of them a combustion of fireworks that apparently set off a warehouse full of ammonium nitrate, an Israeli analyst said on Thursday. The six blasts were at 11-second intervals during the Aug. 4 incident, with the main …
Read More »Breathe.. you are in Saudi Arabia
The āBreatheā event in Riyadh last week has attracted my attention. This event sought to break the barrier of fear, raise the quality of behaviour, and discover the various capabilities of knowledge and innovation. It also sought to raise the quality of life through exercise, meditation and breathing. By Lina …
Read More »Saudi Arabia to launch cash-transfer program for citizens
An official source stated that the Saudi government will announce the launch of a cash-transfer program for its citizens on Tuesday. This is meant to help low and middle-income families cope with the costs of economic reform. The government had announced last December that they are planning to put this …
Read More »Why Saudis Are Pinning Their Future on Giant Oil IPO: QuickTake
The worldās most valuable company may not be Apple Inc. That crown could instead belong to Aramco, as Saudi Arabian Oil Co. is better known. The sprawling state-owned producer, sitting atop one-fifth of the globeās petroleum reserves, pumps more crude than the top four publicly traded oil companies combined. Crown …
Read More »Stabilityās a Good Thing, Isnāt It?
by Graham E. Fuller Source: grahamefuller.com — Who doesnāt want stability? If there is anything feared by virtually all humans, it is living in anarchy, chaos, lawlessness. When you canāt even go out to buy a loaf of bread without risking your life. When times are troubled political leaders naturally …
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