Author: Finance for Sight

GAZA CITY: Gaza’s civil defence agency said on Thursday that a rash of Israeli air strikes killed at least 40 people, most of them in encampments for displaced civilians, as Israel pressed its offensive in the Palestinian territory. The Israeli military said it was looking into reports of the strikes, which came as Hamas officials reported that internal deliberations on the latest Israeli truce offer were nearly complete. Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal said two Israeli missiles hit several tents in the Al-Mawasi area of the southern city of Khan Yunis, resulting in at least 16 deaths, “most of them…

BEIRUT: Lebanon reported Thursday that an Israeli air strike killed one person in the country’s south, with the Israeli military saying it killed a Hezbollah member. The health ministry said “the raid carried out by the Israeli enemy on the locality of Aitaroun left one dead”, a day after Israeli strikes in the same region killed two people. Despite a November 27 ceasefire that sought to halt more than a year of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, Israel has continued to carry out near-daily strikes in Lebanon. In the latest incident, the Israeli military said it “eliminated the terrorist Ali…

JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted on Thursday that Israel would not allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons, even as US President Donald Trump attempts to negotiate a new nuclear deal with Tehran. Netanyahu’s remarks were his first on the issue since US-Iran talks began earlier this month, and followed a report that former President Trump had blocked an Israeli plan to strike Iran’s nuclear sites. “As the prime minister has stated many times: Israel will not allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons,” a statement from Netanyahu’s office said. Israel and western governments have long accused Iran of pursuing…

SINGAPORE: Asian governments, including Pakistan’s, are looking to buy more US oil and gas as they scramble to lower their trade surplus with Washington in hopes of easing their tariff burdens under President Donald Trump’s sweeping new import duties. Many Asian countries run large trade surpluses with the United States and are also major energy importers. Trump’s tariffs, which have been partially paused, have rattled economies and markets. Below are some of the measures that Asian countries plan to bolster purchases of US oil and gas. Pakistan Pakistan is considering importing crude oil from the United States for the first…

MOSCOW: Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani said on Thursday that Israel had failed to respect January’s ceasefire agreement in Gaza, as he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. “As you know, we reached an agreement months ago, but unfortunately Israel did not abide by this agreement,” said the ruler of Qatar, a key mediator of the deal. A truce in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, brokered by Qatar with Egypt and the United States, came into force on January 19, largely halting more than 15 months of fighting triggered by Hamas October 7, 2023 attack on…

PARIS: Drug-traffickers were most likely behind an unprecedented wave of attacks against French prisons though foreign influence and the far-left remain possible instigators, French interior minister Bruno Retailleau said on Thursday. “It’s most likely drug-dealing scum. It is one of the most credible scenarios,” Retailleau told RTL radio. At least nine prison facilities and affiliated institutions have been targeted with nightly arson and other attacks this week and a car was set alight at the home of a prison guard. There was no sign of further violence overnight into Thursday. Retailleau confirmed an arrest, but said it was too early…

BEIJING: China will pay no attention if the United States continues to play the “tariff numbers game”, China’s foreign ministry said on Thursday, after the White House outline how China faces tariffs of up to 245% due to its retaliatory actions. In a fact sheet released on Tuesday, the White House said China’s total duties include the latest reciprocal tariff of 125%, a 20% tariff to address the fentanyl crisis, and tariffs of between 7.5% and 100% on specific goods to address unfair trade practices. U.S. President Donald Trump announced additional tariffs on all countries two weeks ago, before suddenly…

PARIS: The OECD voiced concerns Wednesday over the outlook for foreign aid as it announced a drop in development assistance worldwide in 2024, the first decline in six years as more countries slash their budgets. Foreign aid overall reached $212.1 billion last year, down 7.1 percent from the previous year, the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said in a report, with aid to Ukraine particularly affected. “Recent announcements… have raised concerns about future levels of official development assistance and the OECD is examining the importance and implications of such budgetary cuts,” the organisation said in a report. Initial…

MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin praised Elon Musk on Wednesday, telling university students he was a pioneer comparable to legendary Soviet rocket engineer Sergei Korolev. The comments came as Russia and the United States forged closer ties under President Donald Trump’s administration, of which billionaire SpaceX founder Musk is a key figure. “You know, there’s a man – he lives in the States – Musk, who, you could say, raves about Mars,” Putin told students on a visit to Bauman University, a Moscow college that specialises in science and engineering. Musk gives federal workers a ‘second chance’ to defend their…

KUALA LUMPUR: Chinese President Xi Jinping met Malaysia’s king on Wednesday in a state visit analysts said was aimed at burnishing Beijing’s credentials as a reliable partner and “not a hegemon”. Xi embarked this week on a Southeast Asia tour that has already taken him to Vietnam and will also include Cambodia, with Beijing trying to position itself as a stable alternative to US President Donald Trump’s punitive tariff regime. Xi was welcomed by Malaysia’s king, Sultan Ibrahim, in a colourful ceremony at the golden-domed palace on Wednesday. The Chinese leader walked on a red carpet as he inspected an…