Tourism industry set to take further hit from coronavirus, adding to impact of higher sales tax and damage from typhoon, experts warn Japan’s economy is on the brink of recession after shrinking dramatically in the final three months of 2019. The world’s third-largest economy contracted 6.3 per cent in ... Read More »
Turkish prosecutors investigating the military and justice ministry on Tuesday ordered the arrest of 228 people over suspected links to the network that Ankara says was behind a 2016 coup attempt, state-owned Anadolu news agency reported. There has been a sustained crackdown on alleged followers of U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah ... Read More »
The risk of a military confrontation is higher in the Strait of Hormuz than anywhere else in the Gulf region, Oman’s foreign minister said, due in part to the growing number of military vessels from different countries that are guarding it. The waterway between Iran and Oman – 33 km ... Read More »
An arms embargo aimed at curbing fighting in Libya has become meaingless because of violations and it is imperative that those who breach it are held to account, Reuters reported a senior UN official as saying on Sunday. “The arms embargo has become a joke, we all really need to ... Read More »
Iran will never hold talks with the United States under pressure, President Hassan Rouhani said on Sunday, adding that Tehran’s help was essential in establishing security in the Middle East. Relations between Tehran and Washington reached crisis point in 2018 after U.S. President Donald Trump abandoned a 2015 pact between ... Read More »
French foreign minister says it will be hard for UK to strike deal by end of year given differences Britain and the European Union are going to rip each other apart in talks over a future trade deal, the French foreign minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, has predicted, while also ... Read More »
The Lebanese government will request “technical assistance” from the IMF to draw up a stabilisation plan to resolve the country’s financial and economic crisis, including plans to restructure public debt, a government source told Reuters today. Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri previously suggested yesterday that a decision on whether to pay ... Read More »
Iran will respond forcefully to any Israeli action against its interests in the region, Iran’s Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday, according to the Mehr news agency, Reuters reports. “The Islamic Republic of Iran will give a crushing response that will cause regret to any kind of aggression or stupid action from this regime against ... Read More »
The UN Security Council on Wednesday adopted a resolution calling for a “lasting ceasefire” in Libya, where a fragile truce has been in place since January. The text, drafted by Britain, was approved by 14 votes out of 15, with Russia abstaining. It was subject to weeks of wrangling, reflecting ... Read More »
Palestinian officials welcome report, while Israel condemns it as ‘shameful blacklist’ The UN has published a list of companies with business ties to Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, including the US-based TripAdvisor and Airbnb and the British truck and digger maker JCB. Most of the 112 companies ... Read More »
Lebanese Ministry of Information