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Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced a “Latter-Day Saints for Trump” coalition less than a month before Election Day, as the campaign looks to shore up support among a key voting bloc in which defections could be particularly damaging in key western battlegrounds. “President Trump has consistently stood by our side in defending both, ensuring that Latter-day Saints and people of all faiths can worship freely and live according to our beliefs,” Lee said. Latter-day Saints voters’ steadfast support for GOP candidates has long helped keep Utah and Idaho — the states with the largest share of LDS voters — impenetrably red on election nights. The former president plans to hold a roundtable with Latter-day Saints leaders on Sunday in Arizona, according to a campaign aide. The Harris campaign hosts a “Latter Day Saints for Harris-Walz coalition on its website and launched an advisory committee in Arizona last month.

Persons: Donald Trump, Sen, Mike Lee, Celeste Maloy, Burgess Owens, Sean Reyes, Trump, ” Lee, “, Joe Biden, Biden, Andy Biggs, Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb, Lamb, Kamala Harris ’, Harris, Walz, Robert Oaks, Glenn Beck, Donald Trump Jr Organizations: Trump ”, Utah Republicans, “, America, Democratic, Arizona, GOP, Arizona Republicans, Trump - LDS, Rep, Pinal County Sheriff, Sunday, Trump, Harris, LDS, Air Force, Diesel, ”, NBC News Locations: Utah, Arizona, Idaho, Pinal County

☆ Hajj deaths: ‘Not enough medics’ to help pilgrims with heat, witnesses tell CNN as toll mounts
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-22 | by ( Xiaofei Xu | Masrur Jamaluddin | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —There were not enough medics or basic facilities to protect Hajj pilgrims from the effects of the sweltering heat in Saudi Arabia last week, two pilgrims recently returned from Hajj told CNN, as the official death toll from this year’s Hajj pilgrimage soared to almost 500. This years’ Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca has been held amid extreme weather conditions which saw temperatures consistently soar above average figures. Ali’s comments were echoed by another witness, 44-year-old Ahmad from Indonesia, who told CNN he saw many people falling ill and even dying from the heat. According to Ali, five hours walking every day is the minimum, but many pilgrims spent 12 hours outside per day. Because the Islamic calendar is lunar and shorter than the Gregorian calendar, the timing of Hajj on the Gregorian calendar shifts slightly each year.

Persons: Witnesses, Zirrar Ali, ” Ali, ”, Ahmad, Fadel Senna, “, Rafiq Maqbool, Ali, that’s, Hajj ’ it’s, Ramadan Organizations: CNN, Hajj, Getty, Saudi General Authority, Statistics Locations: Saudi Arabia, Mecca, London, Indonesia, Hajj, AFP, ”, Saudi

At least 14 Malaysians, 165 Indonesians, 68 Jordanians, 35 Pakistanis, 35 Tunisians, 11 Iranians and 98 Indians have died, according to authorities in each country. According to a CNN tally, this brings the latest official death toll for this year’s pilgrimage to at least 460. The death tolls are expected to rise much further, as Saudi Arabia and Egypt have yet to release official figures. The Bernama report did not specify if the dead were members of the country’s official Hajj delegation. The government is targeting 30 million pilgrims by 2030.

Persons: Mostafa Madbouly, Abdel Fattah el, Mecca Rafiq Maqbool, Mohd Na’im Mokhtar, ”, Arafat, Prophet Mohammed, King Salman bin Abdulaziz, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Edward Szekeres, Handi Alkhshali, Aishwarya S Iyer Organizations: CNN, Jordanian Foreign Ministry, Crescent, Saudi, Reuters, Saudi Ministry of Health, Associated Press, AP Malaysia’s, Religious, News Agency, Hajj, India’s Ministry, External Affairs, Saudi General Authority, Statistics Locations: Mecca, Jordanian, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Mina, Saudi

Dubai CNN —Dozens of people have died and thousands have been treated for heatstroke while performing the annual Muslim Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca amid extreme temperatures of up to 49 degrees Celsius (120 degrees Fahrenheit). At least 41 Jordanians, 35 Tunisians and 11 Iranians are among the dead, according to authorities in each country. Additionally, the governments are only aware of pilgrims who have registered and traveled to Mecca as part of their country’s quota – more deaths are feared among unregistered pilgrims. While deaths among pilgrims are not uncommon (there were more than 200 last year), this year’s gathering is being held amid particularly high temperatures. On Monday, Saudi Arabia advised pilgrims against performing the ‘stoning of the devil’ ritual between certain hours after temperatures reached an extreme 49 degrees Celsius (120 degrees Fahrenheit).

Persons: Handi Alkhshali Organizations: Dubai CNN, Crescent, Saudi, Saudi General Authority, Statistics Locations: Dubai, Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Kingdom

☆ 14 Jordanians Die in Intense Heat During Hajj Pilgrimage
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-16 | by ( Emma Bubola | More About Emma Bubola | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Fourteen Jordanian pilgrims died as they performed rituals related to Hajj, a holy trip to Mecca in Saudi Arabia that Muslims are encouraged to take once in their lives, Jordan’s official news agency said on Sunday. The pilgrims died as a result of exposure to extreme sun and heat, the agency said, based on a report from Jordan’s Foreign Ministry. In Mecca, temperatures reached nearly 110 degrees Fahrenheit on Sunday, and recent studies have indicated that climate change will increase health risks there. The Hajj is one of the largest mass gatherings in the world, with Muslim pilgrims traveling from near and far for the spiritual experience, which is also a physical and mental challenge. This year, Hajj started on Friday and will end on Wednesday; 1.8 million pilgrims were expected to take part, according to the General Authority for Statistics, a Saudi government agency.

Persons: Hajj Organizations: Jordan’s Foreign Ministry, General Authority, Statistics Locations: Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Saudi

CNN —Six people have died from heatstroke during the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, amid warnings from Saudi officials that temperatures during the annual gathering could reach 48 degrees Celsius (118 degrees Fahrenheit) this year. More than 1.8 million people are taking part in Hajj this year, according to the Saudi General Authority for Statistics. The Hajj is one of the biggest religious gatherings in the world and the largest annual event in Saudi Arabia. This year, Saudi Arabia is expected to experience extreme heat over the five-day pilgrimage, with temperatures reaching 48 degrees Celsius (118 degrees Fahrenheit) in Mecca. A Muslim pilgrim splashes water on his head to cool off at the base of Saudi Arabia's Mount Arafat during the Hajj pilgrimage on June 15, 2024.

Persons: Mount Arafat, Ramadan, Fadel Senna, Muhammad Al, Abdulaali, Jordan, Hajj – Organizations: CNN, Saudi, Saudi General Authority, Statistics, Getty Locations: heatstroke, Mecca, Jordanian, Jeddah, Jordan, Arafat, Saudi Arabia, Hajj, Saudi, AFP

☆ The eyes have it: The intriguing history of kohl
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-29 | by ( Zahra Hankir | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

A Palestinian woman Hadeya Qudaih applying traditional kohl eyeliner to her granddaughter in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip in March 2020. Hadeya Qudaih makes and sells traditional kohl eyeliner for medical and cosmetic purposes (photograph taken in February 2020). A Bedouin man wearing traditional kohl, photographed in the ancient Jordanian city of Petra. Kohl is so commonly worn in the area that girls are sometimes named or nicknamed Kahla by their parents or friends, roughly meaning “the girl who appears to have kohl around her eyes.” Kohl is also a feature of many millennia-old myths, rituals, and legends. “Even if she doesn’t (make kohl) anymore, I will for sure continue to do this myself,” Abu Issa said.

Persons: CNN — Kohl, kohl, Hadeya, kohl eyeliner, Khan Younis, Majdi, Tamam Farhan Abu Issa, Deir al Balah, “, Abu Issa, ”, ” Abu Issa, Issa, Qudaih, Hassan Jedi, Prophet Muhammad —, Alessandro Bigazzi, Jack Sparrow, eyeliner, Kohl, ” Kohl, Zarqa, TikTok, “ Blinkaria Kohl, tightlining, Eyeliner, Fatima Shbair, “ Kohl, I’ve Organizations: CNN, Crusaders, UNESCO, United, kohl, Quds Net News, ZUMA Press, UAE General Authority of Islamic Affairs, Endowments Locations: East, North Africa, Egypt, Europe, Lebanon, Gaza, Gaza’s, Deir, United Nations, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Palestinian, Petra, Raed, Kohl, Eastern, “

☆ Saudi Arabia's economy contracts again, dragged by oil cuts
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( Lee Ying Shan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Saudi Arabia's fourth-quarter real GDP fell 3.7% year-on-year, according to flash estimates published by the General Authority for Statistics on Wednesday. The drop was attributed to a 16.4% decline in oil activities, while non-oil activities and government activities expanded by 4.3% and 3.1%, respectively, year-on-year. For the full year, Saudi Arabia's economy shrank 0.9%, according to government data. Throughout last year, the world's largest crude exporter has been implementing output cuts in a bid to push up prices. The kingdom's economy is heavily reliant on its petroleum sector, which accounts for 42% of its GDP.

Organizations: Saudi, General Authority, Statistics, Organization of, Petroleum Locations: That's, Saudi, Saudi Arabia

☆ Israeli Tanks Reported Near Hospital in Embattled North Gaza
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-20 | by ( Nov. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +6 min

There was no immediate confirmation from the Israeli military of the reports from the Indonesian Hospital but the Palestinian news agency WAFA said the facility had been hit by artillery fire. Like many other health facilities in embattled Gaza, the Indonesian Hospital, set up in 2016 with funding from Indonesian organisations, has ceased operations. At the other end of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, at least 14 Palestinians were killed in two Israeli air strikes on houses in the town of Rafah, near the border with Egypt, health officials said. Israeli tanks and troops stormed into Gaza late last month and have since seized wide areas of the north and northwest and east around Gaza City, the Israeli military says. Palestinians say Israel's repeated bombardment of southern Gaza renders Israeli promises of safety absurd.

Persons: Clauda Tanios, James Mackenzie, WAFA, Ashraf Al, Qidra, Gaza's, Beit Lahia, Israel, Yemen's, Houthis, Michael Herzog, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman, Thani, General Antonio Guterres, Raju Gopalakrishnan, Mark Heinrich Organizations: Indonesian, Indonesian Hospital, Palestinian, Gaza's General Authority, Gaza's Hamas, Islamic, Sunday, Qatari, White, Hamas, Israel Locations: James Mackenzie GAZA, JERUSALEM, Gaza, Palestinian, Rafah, Egypt, Israel, Gaza City, Beach, Beit Hanoun, Jabalia, Beijing, Yemen's Iran, British, United States, Doha, States

[1/6] Smoke rises after Israeli air strikes in Gaza, as seen from southern Israel, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas, November 20, 2023. Like many other health facilities in embattled Gaza, the Indonesian Hospital, set up in 2016 with funding from Indonesian organisations, has ceased operations. At the other end of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, at least 14 Palestinians were killed in two Israeli air strikes on houses in the town of Rafah, near the border with Egypt, health officials said. Israeli tanks and troops stormed into Gaza late last month and have since seized wide areas of the north and northwest and east around Gaza City, the Israeli military says. Palestinians say Israel's repeated bombardment of southern Gaza renders Israeli promises of safety absurd.

Persons: Alexander Ermochenko, WAFA, Ashraf Al, Qidra, Gaza's, Beit Lahia, Israel, Yemen's, Houthis, Michael Herzog, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman, Thani, General Antonio Guterres, Clauda Tanios, James Mackenzie, Raju Gopalakrishnan, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: Palestinian, Hamas, REUTERS, Indonesian, Indonesian Hospital, Gaza's General Authority, Gaza's Hamas, Islamic, Sunday, Qatari, White, Israel, Thomson Locations: Gaza, Israel, Rafah, Egyptian, GAZA, JERUSALEM, Palestinian, Egypt, Gaza City, Beach, Beit Hanoun, Jabalia, Beijing, Yemen's Iran, British, United States, Doha, States

Yet over the last three weeks of Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza, Rafah has become the focus of heated negotiations, a place where many people, both powerful and powerless, have pinned their waning hopes. So far, nothing and no one has been able to come out of Gaza. Aid trucks and army tanks lined the dusty road leading to the crossing. On Tuesday, 83 trucks arrived in Gaza, said Wael Abu Omar, a spokesman for the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing. There is still a chance that an agreement could come together for people with foreign passports to leave.

Persons: we’ve, Mostafa Madbouly, Wael Abu Omar, David M, ”, Israel, ’, Madbouly, Mustafa Mouftah, Mr, Satterfield, Biden, Hiba, Iyad Abuheweila Organizations: Gaza’s General Authority, ”, European Union, U.S, United Locations: Cairo, Rafah, Egypt, Gaza, Israel, North, United States, Egyptian, El Arish

☆ The fate of many Gazans lies with the Rafah crossing, and Egypt.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( Vivian Yee | More About Vivian Yee | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +5 min

On the far side of the Sinai Peninsula, about a six-hour drive from Cairo through a largely empty Egyptian desert, the Rafah crossing is a dun-colored expanse of sand, concrete and not much else. Yet over the last three weeks of Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza, Rafah has become the focus of heated negotiations, a place where many people, both powerful and powerless, have pinned their waning hopes. Egypt highlighted that role on Tuesday, when the government took reporters on a tightly controlled trip to Rafah. Aid trucks and army tanks lined the dusty road leading to the crossing. On Tuesday, 83 trucks arrived in Gaza, said Wael Abu Omar, a spokesman for the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing.

☆ Dubai to start robotaxi trials next month in major autonomous push
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-27 | by ( Aimee Look | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Dubai hopes to become the first Middle Eastern city to introduce driverless taxis, Bahrozyan said. Autonomous taxis currently operate in several cities around the world, mostly in the US and China. Bahroyzyan said he foresees autonomous vehicles eventually making up the majority of the Middle East tourist hub’s taxi fleet. Selling and buying autonomous cars was also regulated. WeRide, a Chinese autonomous car technology company began trialing robotaxis in the UAE’s capital, Abu Dhabi, in 2022.

Persons: Ahmed Bahrozyan, Bahrozyan, ” Bahrozyan, “, Cruise, Bahroyzyan, GM’s Cruise, trialing, WeRide Organizations: UAE CNN —, General Motors, United Arab Emirates, Transport Authority, Cruise, CNN, RTA, ”, WeRide, Saudi Artificial Intelligence Company, Authority Locations: Abu Dhabi, UAE, UAE CNN — Dubai, robotaxis, Jumeirah, Dubai’s Roads, Dubai, Eastern, China, San Francisco, Dubai …, California, ” Dubai, robobuses, WeRide, Mecca

Summary Egypt seeking cheaper wheat amid dollar crunchRussia blocked deal that undercut price floor- tradersCAIRO, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Egypt is in talks with an Abu Dhabi-based bank for a loan facility that would finance wheat purchases from Kazakhstan, three traders told Reuters. The move could give Egypt a cheap alternative to grain from Russia, which has supplied an increasing share of Egypt's wheat since last year but recently blocked a deal for a purchase below an unofficial price floor for wheat purchases, traders say. Russia's agriculture ministry recently prevented the private sale of 480,000 tons of Russian wheat to Egypt, apparently because it was sold below the price floor, traders told Reuters. Kazakhstan is already an approved wheat import origin for Egypt, but purchases from the Central Asian country are rare. The Egyptian government recently signed a $500 million loan agreement with the Abu Dhabi Exports Office (ADEX) to buy imported wheat from UAE-based agribusiness Al Dahra.

Persons: Abu, GASC, Sarah El Safty, Michael Hogan, Aidan Lewis, Mark Potter Organizations: Reuters, General Authority for Supply Commodities, Central, Abu, Abu Dhabi Exports Office, Thomson Locations: Egypt, Russia, CAIRO, Abu Dhabi, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, France, Bulgaria, UAE

☆ Saudi Arabia is spending billions on sports, tech and everything in between for a post-oil world
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-10 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Saudi Arabia sparked international outrage in 2018 after Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, and continues to face accusations of human rights violations. Despite this, little has been able to stop Saudi Arabia from exerting more and more influence on the global stage. GettyImages/Unsplash/NeomLike many countries, Saudi Arabia's economy suffered when the pandemic struck in 2020, but the only way has been up since then. Chris Trotman/LIV Golf via Getty ImagesBoth at home and far away, Saudi Arabia hasn't shied away from investing boatloads of cash. The total hit 32.2 million in May with a median age of 29, according to Saudi Arabia's General Authority for Statistics.

Persons: Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, Jamal Khashoggi, It's, Ahmed Jadallah, Saudi Arabia's, Sergio Garcia, Chris Trotman, LIV, Saudi Arabia hasn't, Yasir Al, Jasmin Merdan, Abdullah Al, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman al, Saud, JOE KLAMAR Organizations: Service, Washington Post, Bank, IMF, REUTERS, Saudi Aramco, King, King Abdullah Economic City, Getty, Public Investment Fund, MBS, Newcastle United, LIV, PGA, Saudi, Reuters, Saudi Arabia's, Authority, Statistics, Gulf States Energy, United Arab Emirates, Arab League Locations: Saudi Arabia, Wall, Silicon, Gulf, Saudi, Istanbul, Gulf Kingdom, Ahmed Jadallah Saudi Arabia, King Abdullah, Jasmin Merdan Saudi's, Riyadh, Arab, Vienna, AFP, Kuwait, UAE, Qatar

Traders have told Reuters the price could possibly be below an unofficial floor set by Russia's government to control domestic wheat prices. Other Russian wheat suppliers submitted offers on Friday at a free-on-board price of $265 per metric ton, believing it to be the set price floor, and a C&F price that exceeded $270 per ton. Traders told Reuters the price floor was not legally binding but that suppliers were expected to follow instructions from Russia's agriculture ministry. There is a lack of clarity in the market about the level of the Russian minimum floor price. GASC had also privately bought one cargo of Bulgarian wheat at $270 per ton C&F on Friday.

Persons: Mohamed Abd El Ghany, GASC, Sarah El Safty, Michael Hogan Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, General Authority for Supply Commodities, Solaris, Reuters, Traders, Abu, Abu Dhabi Exports Office, Thomson Locations: Al Qalyubia Governorate, Egypt, Rights CAIRO, Ukraine, Abu Dhabi, UAE

☆ Saudi Arabia's economic growth slows as oil cuts, price drops bite into revenues
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( Ruxandra Iordache | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Saudi Arabia's economy slowed in the second quarter, as crude output cuts and a drop in oil prices reined in one of the fastest growing nations of the G20. Riyadh's GDP expanded by an annual 1.1% in the second quarter, the Saudi General Authority for Statistics said Monday, down from 3.8% in the previous quarter and 11.2% in the same period of 2022. The non-oil sector — where Saudi Arabia is directing its socioeconomic reforms under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's Vision 2030 economic diversification program — grew by 5.5% in the second quarter. But hydrocarbon-reliant Riyadh logged a 4.2% loss in non-oil GDP in the second quarter, bearing the brunt of lower global crude prices and voluntary oil production cuts. Oil prices spiked last year, as Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and ensuing international sanctions decoupled many Western consumers from Russian crude supplies.

Persons: Prince Mohammed bin Salman's, Brent Organizations: Saudi General Authority, Statistics, Saudi, Commodities, Organization of, Petroleum, Monetary Fund Locations: Saudi, Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, Ukraine, London, OPEC, Russia, East, Central

☆ Saudi inflation rate ticks down in June - govt data
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

DUBAI, July 16 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's annual inflation rate eased to 2.7% in June from 2.8% the previous month, government data showed on Sunday. Prices for housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels rose by 9.1% overall in June compared with the same month last year, while restaurant and hotel prices were up by 4.3% and education up by 3%, the kingdom's General Authority for Statistics data said. On the other hand, prices for clothing and shoes fell 2.9%, communication costs were down by 0.7%, and miscellaneous personal goods and services by 0.1%. Inflation in Saudi Arabia has been on a downward trend since starting the year at a rate of 3.4% in January. Reporting by Hadeel Al Sayegh; Editing by Hugh LawsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Hadeel Al Sayegh, Hugh Lawson Organizations: Saudi, Authority, Statistics, Thomson Locations: DUBAI, Saudi Arabia

☆ Saudi Arabia economy grew 3.9% in Q1 boosted by non-oil activities
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

DUBAI, May 7 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's economy grew by 3.9% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2023, according to initial government estimates of real gross domestic product published on Sunday. Non-oil activities grew by 5.8% in the first quarter from a year prior, the General Authority for Statistics said, citing flash estimates, while oil activities grew by 1.3%. Government services activities grew by 4.9%, it said. However growth slowed compared to the fourth quarter of 2022, when GDP grew 5.5% year-on-year. The IMF says the Saudi economy grew 8.7% last year, but projects that Saudi GDP growth will more than halve to 3.1%, this year.

☆ Egypt begins offering corn on commodities exchange
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

CAIRO, April 15 (Reuters) - Egypt's state grains buyer started offering yellow corn on the country's newly-launched commodities exchange on Thursday, exchange head Ibrahim Ashmawy said in a statement on Saturday. Egypt's state buyer, the General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC), started issuing rare tenders for corn earlier this year in an effort to address a feed crisis that hurt small producers and even led some farmers to cull chicks. Supply Minister Ali Moselhy had said the corn would be offered to local producers on the exchange. Egypt's annual urban consumer inflation rate in March climbed to 32.7% year-on-year, just shy of an all-time record. GASC has similarly offered wheat to struggling mills via the exchange, selling nearly 570,000 tonnes since the launch of the exchange in November, the statement added.

☆ Most Middle Eastern bourses in black on US inflation data
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-02 | by ( Ateeq Shariff | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Most Gulf currencies are pegged to the U.S. dollar, and Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates usually mirror any monetary policy change in the United States. Saudi Arabia's benchmark index (.TASI) gained 0.4%, with Retal Urban Development Co (4322.SE) rising 0.5% and petrochemical maker Saudi Basic Industries Corp (2010.SE) closing 1.7% higher. Oil prices - a key catalyst for the Gulf's financial markets - rose by more than a dollar per barrel on Friday, on tightening supplies and cooling U.S. inflation. The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) raised its overnight interest rate by 200 basis points (bps) on Thursday following a meeting of its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), saying it aimed to bring high inflation into check. In Qatar the index (.QSI) dropped 1.2% as natural gas prices remained under pressure.

☆ Why Egypt is asking its people to eat chicken feet
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Nadeen Ebrahim | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +17 min

Abu Dhabi CNN —Egypt’s economic situation is so dire that the government is asking people to eat chicken feet. In Egypt, chicken feet are seen as the cheapest of meat items, considered by most as animal waste rather than food. After the recommendation to switch to chicken feet, the price of one kilogram of the product reportedly doubled to 20 Egyptian pounds ($0.67). But those firms don’t operate like private companies, enjoying special privileges without disclosing their financial data to the public. Experts have questioned why international creditors had not leveraged their loans to drive Egypt’s military out of the economy.

☆ Saudi inflation edges up to 3.3% in December
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

DUBAI, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's annual inflation rate ticked up to 3.3% in December from 2.9% in November, government data showed on Sunday, with price rises again driven mainly by housing costs. Prices rose 0.3% month on month in December, compared with a 0.1% monthly rise in November, Saudi Arabia's General Authority for Statistics said. The statistics authority said the rise was "as a result of the increase in actual rentals for housing by 1.1%." The housing category rose 1.8% in 2022, "mainly resulting from the increase in actual rentals for housing by 2.0%," the authority said. The finance ministry, in its 2023 budget statement, had said it expected an average inflation rate of 2.6% at the end of 2022.

☆ Unemployment among Saudi citizens increases to 9.9% in Q3/22
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

DUBAI, Dec 29 (Reuters) - Unemployment in Saudi Arabia among citizens increased to 9.9% in the third quarter, up 0.2 percentage points from the previous quarter but the overall unemployment rate remained unchanged at 5.8 percent, data released on Thursday showed. Unemployment in this category fell to 20.5% in Q3 from 21.9% in the year-ago period, making up 37% of the Saudi labour force. Expansion of the private sector is a key pillar of the government strategy, with a wide-ranging programme of privatisations and other government-supported initiatives to spur growth. The latest data showed that 93.3% of unemployed Saudis would accept jobs in the private sector. Historically, the public sector has been the principal employer of citizens in Saudi Arabia.

Both Ukraine and the Russia-installed authorities agree that some grain has been exported from occupied Zaporizhzhia via Crimea. Ukraine says at least a part of the grain that passed through Sevastopol was taken from Ukrainian territories after Russia invaded. Prior to the current war, Syria had imported grain from Crimea on previous occasions since Russia took control of the peninsula, Reuters reported. According to the Refinitiv data, Syria imported about 501,800 tonnes of wheat from Sevastopol this year until the end of November, up from about 28,200 tonnes in the whole of 2021. During a visit to Crimea in January, Syria's economy minister said his country needed 1.5 million tonnes of wheat imports, with Russia providing the majority.

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