The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has welcomed the Gaza ceasefire agreement.In a press statement today, ASEAN stated that it commends the State of Qatar, the Arab Republic of Egypt and the United States for their collaborative efforts in facilitating the mediation of this much awaited agreement.The joint mediation efforts undertaken by the State of Qatar, in cooperation with Egypt and the US succeeded in reaching a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip, which came into effect on Sunday, Jan. 19, ending the bloody war waged by the Israeli occupation army on the Gaza Strip on Oct. 7, 2023. Related Story Source link

كشف وزير السياحة أحمد الخطيب أمس (الثلاثاء) أن السعودية حققت النمو الأعلى بين دول مجموعة العشرين في قطاع السياحة، مرجعا الفضل في ذلك إلى فتح الباب للترويج للسفر إليها كإحدى ركائز رؤية 2030. وأشار الوزير خلال جلسة نقاشية في البيت السعودي على هامش المنتدى الاقتصادي العالمي (دافوس 2025) في المنتجع السويسري الشهير إلى أن حجم النمو الذي تحقق في القطاع بلغ 70%. وأكد الخطيب وجود مساعٍ لجعل العاصمة السعودية الرياض مركزا لاستضافة نحو 25 مؤتمرا عالميا. وأشار إلى أن السعودية بدأت بـ3% في 2019 ووصلت إلى نحو 5% بنهاية العام الماضي 2024، وتعمل على الوصول إلى نسبة 10% المستهدفة بحلول 2030، وأن قطاع السياحة والسفر يمثل نحو 10% في حجم الناتج المحلي العالمي. وأعلن أن عدد السياح الذين زاروا البلاد بلغ عددهم 30 مليونا بنهاية العام الماضي 2024، مقارنة بنحو 10 ملايين في 2019، والسعودية تتحرك نحو بناء اقتصاد أكثر مرونة وتنوعا، وأشار إلى أن هناك نحو 70 دولة يمكن...

Negotiators resume talks on final details of Gaza ceasefire deal Updated 20 sec ago January 15, 2025 12:52 DOHA/CAIRO/JERUSALEM: Negotiators in Qatar resumed talks on Wednesday hoping to hammer out the final details of a complex, phased ceasefire in Gaza aiming to end a conflict that has inflicted widespread death and destruction and upended the Middle East.Officials from mediators Qatar, Egypt and the US as well as Israel and Hamas said on Tuesday that an agreement for a truce in the besieged Palestinian enclave and the release of hostages was closer than ever.But a senior Hamas official told Reuters late on Tuesday that the Palestinian group had not yet delivered its response because it was still waiting for Israel to submit maps showing how its forces would withdraw from Gaza.During months of on-off talks to achieve a truce in the devastating 15-month-old war, both sides have previously said they were...

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau with Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Foreign Affairs Melanie Joly, and Minister of Public Safety David McGuinty, at a press conference during a Liberal Cabinet Retreat in Montebello, Quebec, yesterday. (Reuters) Canada vowed strong pushback while Mexico urged calm yesterday in the face of US President Donald Trump’s trade threats that risk throwing their economies into disarray.The US president has accused both neighbours of being lax in preventing migrants and illicit drugs from coming into the United States, and called for a tightening of the borders.Hours after taking his oath of office on Monday, he signalled that 25% punitive tariffs against the United States’ two major trading partners could come as early as February 1.He also said he would order troops to its border with Mexico to stem migrant flows.“Canada will respond and everything is on the table,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told a...

كشف وزير الخارجية الأمير فيصل بن فرحان اليوم (الثلاثاء) عن عزمه زيارة بيروت في وقت لاحق هذا الأسبوع، مؤكداً أن السعودية‬⁩ بحاجة إلى رؤية إصلاحات حقيقية في لبنان. وأوضح الأمير فيصل بن فرحان خلال كلمة له في مؤتمر المنتدى الاقتصادي العالمي دافوس المقام في سويسرا أن انتخاب الرئيس جوزيف عون أمر إيجابي جداً. وفي ما يتعلق بسورية أكد بن فرحان تصميم المملكة على مساعدة دمشق، مشيراً إلى أن هناك فرصة كبيرة لنقل البلد العربي الشقيق إلى اتجاه إيجابي. ولفت إلى أن لدى الإدارة السورية رغبة كبيرة للتعاون مع المجتمع الدولي، مشدداً على ضرورة بذل المزيد لرفع العقوبات الدولية عن سورية بعد سقوط نظام الرئيس السوري بشار الأسد، داعياً المجتمع الدولي إلى مساعدة دمشق في المرحلة الانتقالية. وقال الأمير فيصل إنه لا يرى أن إدارة دونالد ترمب الجديدة تزيد من خطر اندلاع صراع بين إسرائيل وإيران، في معالجة قضية تخشى المنطقة منها منذ بدء حرب إسرائيل في غزة، مضيفاً: آمل أن...

Seoul: South Korean investigators began questioning President Yoon Suk-yeol on Wednesday after arresting him over accusations of insurrection following his briefly imposed martial law. The arrest ended a standoff between investigators and Yoon’s presidential security team, which had prevented his detention earlier this month. The Corruption Investigation Office announced it had “executed an arrest warrant for President Yoon Suk-yeol today at 10:33 am,” after which he was seen stepping out of the car wearing a white shirt and suit as he slipped through the CIO’s back entrance for high-ranking officials. “I decided to answer to the CIO’s investigations in order to prevent unsavory bloodshed,” Yoon said in a pre-recorded video statement released by his lawyers following the arrest. “That does not mean I recognize the CIO’s investigation as legitimate.” The CIO is leading a joint probe — together with military investigators and police — to probe allegations against Yoon. He...

Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced that 10 people were killed and 32 others were injured in a fire that broke out in a hotel in the Kartalkaya ski resort, in the Bolu province in northwestern Turkiye. The minister explained in a post on the X platform that the fire broke out at dawn today in one of the hotels in the Kartalkaya resort, noting that rescue and firefighting teams intervened quickly to control the fire. He stressed that investigations are underway to determine the causes of the fire and provide the necessary support to the injured. The fire spread very quickly, destroying large parts of the hotel located on the top of the Koroglu Mountains. The hotel suffered severe damage as a result of the fire that spread rapidly, destroying large parts of the building. Related Story Source link

أعلنت المؤسسة العامة للتدريب التقني والمهني رصد 67 مخالفة في منشآت التدريب الأهلية في شهر ديسمبر الماضي، وتم التعامل معها حسب الأنظمة المتبعة. وأوضح المتحدث باسم المؤسسة فهد العتيبي أن المخالفات التي تم رصدها خلال الشهر الماضي من أبرزها عدم الالتزام بضوابط الإعلانات، إضافةُ إلى التلاعب في مسوغات التسجيل أو السجلات أو الوثائق أو النتائج الخاصة بالمتدربين وعدم التقيد بشروط القبول والتسجيل في البرامج التدريبية، إلى جانب استخدام مقر المنشأة التدريبية أو جزء منه لغير ما رخص له من المؤسسة دون موافقة المؤسسة. وأضاف أن رصد تلك المخالفات كان من خلال قيام الفرق الإشرافية التابعة للإدارة العامة للتدريب الأهلي بالمؤسسة بتنفيذ زيارات ميدانية ضمن جهودها في الإشراف والمتابعة وضبط جودة التدريب ومستوى الخدمات المقدمة للمتدربين والمتدربات. وأضاف المتحدث أن المؤسسة تشجع القطاع الخاص على الاستثمار في التدريب الأهلي وذلك من خلال الترخيص للمنشآت لمزاولة نشاط التدريب وتسهيل إجراءاته، حيث بلغ عدد المنشآت التدريبية الجديدة التي تم ترخيصها خلال الفترة نفسها...

18th Asian Financial Forum wraps up, positioning Hong Kong as global financial hub The 18th Asian Financial Forum, co-organized by the Hong Kong government and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, successfully wrapped up on Jan. 14 under the theme “Powering the Next Growth Engine.” This year’s forum attracted more than 3,600 global financial and business elites from over 50 countries and regions. The event leveraged Hong Kong’s role as an international financial center to strengthen the international communication platform, foster multilateral cooperation and promote mutually beneficial outcomes. Three high-level Mainland China officials attended the opening session of the AFF, including Zhou Ji, executive vice director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council of China; Dr. Pan Gongsheng, governor of the People’s Bank of China; and Liu Zhenmin, special envoy for climate change of China. As the year’s first large-scale international financial and...

Donald Trump is sworn in as the 47th US president in the US Capitol Rotunda in Washington yesterday. (Reuters) President Donald Trump’s administration yesterday announced the United States’ intention to withdraw from the Paris climate accord for a second time, a defiant rejection of global efforts to combat planetary warming as catastrophic weather events intensify worldwide.The Republican leader also said his administration would declare a “national energy emergency” to significantly expand drilling in the world’s top oil and gas producer and scrap upcoming stringent pollution standards for cars and trucks, which he has derided as an “electric vehicle mandate.”“President Trump will withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord,” the White House said in a statement shortly after the Republican was sworn into office, without providing a specific timeline.It would take a year to leave the agreement after submitting a formal notice to the United Nations framework that underpins global climate negotiations.Even...