Author: M Barbu

Africa: Global Cost-of-Living Crisis Catalyzed By War In Ukraine Sending Tens of Millions Into Poverty, Warns UN Development Programme

71 million people in the developing world have fallen into poverty in just three months as a direct consequence of global food and energy price surges. The impact on poverty rates is drastically faster than the shock of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Targeted cash transfers to households are more equitable and more cost-effective than blanket energy subsidies –but governments need support from the multilateral system to make ends meet.

Syrian Government Grants Russians New Investment for 45 years

Lattakia City Council signed a contract with the Russian company Sinara Int to invest in tourism, according to Hashtag Syria.

On Tuesday, the Lattakia City Council signed a contract with the Russian company Sinara Int to invest in the tourist site of Jules Jammal. This comes with the aim of praising a 4-star tourist complex with more than 300 hotel rooms.

News of Joint Military Operations Room Between Damascus and SDF

Discussions are underway between representatives of the Syrian government and the SDF militias to stave off the aggression threatened by Turkish regime leader, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to cut off Syrian territory. Sources said that results depend on the militias providing field and administrative concessions to the Syrian government in areas dominated and threatened by invasion.

Syrian Islamic Council: Mufti’s Meeting with Haniyeh to Discourage Hamas from Normalizing with Regime

The Syrian Islamic Council said it rejects the Iranian axis, but also normalization with Israel, according to Syria TV,

The Syrian Islamic Council issued a video statement read out by its spokesman Sheikh Moutee’ al-Bateen, explaining the leaked recording in which the (opposition) Grand Mufti of the Syrian Arab Republic, Sheikh Osama al-Rifai, appeared alongside Ismail Haniyeh, head of Hamas’ political bureau. The recording provoked anger among Syrians.

Cavusoglu, Lavrov discuss Ukraine, food security ahead of G20 meeting

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov have a thorough exchange of views on international and regional affairs with particular emphasis on the situation in Ukraine.

Turkish and Russian foreign ministers have held a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G20 ministerial meeting in Bali, Indonesia.

In Sudan, a Narrow Opportunity to Get the Democratic Transition Back on Track

Coordinated, sustained and high-level international engagement is needed as coup leader offers to hand power back to civilians.

The surprise announcement by Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the leader of Sudan’s coup government, that the military is willing to hand power back to civilians presents an opportunity to get the democratic transition back on track.