County Gulf Financial News

Iran on Tuesday claimed that it played no role in the attack launched by Hamas last Saturday that took Israelis by surprise but there is no denying the fact that Tehran over the years has increased its support and appeal across the Arab world that is dominated by people who profess Sunni sect of Islam. The world's biggest non-Sunni country has become a key factor in the West Asian fault lines creating its proxy groups in Lebanon and Yemen and backing Hamas to take on Israel over the last few decades. It is no secret that Tehran has exploited sentiments and presence of the Shia population in some Gulf states. While the USA and Israel have not yet directly blamed Iran for the October 7 carnage, Tehran came out openly in support of Hamas for carrying out the attacks against Israel.

Gaza is burning as Israeli forces methodically proceed to dismantle its structures of terror. The coming retribution will be terrible, but it is necessary and just. Hamas has lost the right to rule Gaza.

Trudeau on Monday reached out to UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and discussed the India-Canada row since Trudeau alleged probable Indian hand in the death of Khalistan separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada in June. The UAE is a close economic and counter-terror partner of India in the Gulf region and Trudeau’s act is seen as an attempt to create pressure on India through New Delhi’s allies. «On the phone today, his highness @MohamedBinZayed and I spoke about the current situation in Israel. We expressed our deep concern and discussed the need to protect civilian life,” Trudeau posted on X (formerly Twitter).

₹500 crore mark in the Indian market, breathing life into single screens across small towns, had only earned $2.1 million ( ₹18.03 crore) during its opening weekend overseas. The film that resonated with mass audiences in India due to its emotional storytelling technique, didn’t find favour with viewers in overseas markets looking for premium fare.

Russia’s government said on Friday it had lifted a ban on pipeline diesel exports via ports, removing the bulk of restrictions installed on Sept. 21.

President Joe Biden's administration has proposed up to three oil and gas lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico over the next five years but none in Alaska

Citrus farmers in the southeast corner of Louisiana are scrambling to find ways to irrigate their crops with fresh water

₹5,512.50 crore in October 2020. Earlier this week, RIL's retail arm received the full subscription amount of ₹2,069.50 crore from the global investment firm KKR and has allotted 1.71 crore equity shares. Also read: Reliance Retail in talks with Gulf, Singapore funds on $1.5 billion investment: Report Following the share allotment, KKR's shareholding in RRVL has increased to 1.42% from 1.17%.

By Andrew Goudsward and Mike Scarcella

economic cooperation – in 2023 with Russia for the first time getting into the three top trade partners of India due to contribution of International North South Transport Corridor (INSTC), CEO of RZD Logistics (top Russian logistics company that operates INSTC) Dmitry Murev told ET. The export from Russia to India in the 2022-2023 financial year increased by 4.7 times and activation of INSTC is one of the most important factors that contributed to this, according to Murev. “Our company managed to build strong partnership with the leading participants of transport and logistics industry of India, Iran, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan, which, in particular, allowed to cut the net cost of the end-to-end transportation service along the Eastern route of INSTC by 50% since August of 2022,” Murev informed. All three branches of INSTC – Western, Trans-Caspian and Eastern – are working. Each of these routes has its own infrastructure characteristics and perspectives, uniting certain groups of member countries of INSTC, with India and Russia being actively involved in the work of the corridor on all three routes, RZD CEO pointed out. The Western route of INSTC connects Russia, Azerbaijan and Iran by rail and auto transport for connecting to India and Persian Gulf countries.

The Biden administration has awarded $1.4 billion to projects improving railway safety and boosting rail capacity

A federal judge has ordered the Interior Department to expand next week’s scheduled sale of Gulf of Mexico oil and gas leases by millions of acres

Florida agriculture losses from Hurricane Idalia are estimated at between $78 million and $371 million, with producers also suffering widespread damage to such infrastructure as irrigation rigs and fences

Pakistan Prime Minister said that India reached the moon and successfully hosted the G20 Summit while Pakistan was begging other countries for money to stay afloat. Addressing the party meeting in Lahore virtually, prior to his return to Pakistan, Sharif said, «Today, Pakistan's Prime Minister is going from one country to another to beg for funds while India is setting foot on the moon and hosting world leaders at the G20 summit. Why couldn't Pakistan achieve similar feats? Who is responsible for our shambolic state?» The former PM added that the poor were struggling for food in Pakistan.

Biden administration is pressing ahead with a concerted effort to strike a «grand bargain» in the Middle East that includes normalization of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, calculating that the U.S. could reap big rewards if it can overcome steep obstacles. President Joe Biden's aides have made this diplomatic push a foreign policy priority despite varying degrees of skepticism by experts on whether the timing, conditions and current regional leadership are right for a mega-deal that could reshape the geopolitics of the Middle East. This marks a dramatic reversal for a president who had spent much of his term shying away from deeper diplomatic involvement in the region's troubles, raising questions about why he has committed to such a challenging goal, what he stands to gain and whether he might end up paying too high a price. A bid to broker relations between longtime foes Israel and Saudi Arabia is the centerpiece of complex negotiations that involve discussions of U.S.

Iran and the United States will exchange prisoners on Monday after some USD 6 billion once frozen in South Korea reached Qatar, a key element of the planned swap, officials said. The planned exchange comes just ahead of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, where Iran's hard-line President Ebrahim Raisi will speak.

A long stretch of hot, dry weather has left the Mississippi River so low that barge companies are reducing their loads as shipping costs soar

Martin Scorsese has woven the plot in such an intricate way that the settings have added to the story and the authenticity of the plot more than anything else. To use the setting in a charismatic way, the director filmed it on an actual island, Peddocks Island. The shooting took place at the locations in Massachusetts, such as Nahant and Dedham and it enhanced the plot of the story of Shutter Island which features Leonardo DiCaprio.

Pakistan appears to be intensifying its efforts to bolster its nuclear arsenal, according to a recent research report by the Federation of American Scientists. The nation's economy has been in turmoil, marked by widespread protests against skyrocketing fuel prices and exorbitant power bills.

Reliance Retail is in talks with existing investors including the sovereign wealth funds of Singapore, Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia for combined new investments of around $1.5 billion, according to a report by news agency Reuters. MORE TO COME…

Diverting Mississippi River water to states struggling with water scarcity isn't a new idea