Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pledged a "strong, swift and precise" response following a burst of violence in Jerusalem. The Israeli military also sent more troops into the West Bank.
Indonesia expresses concern and disappointment with the decision of the Taliban that suspended the access to university education for women in Afghanistan.
Persian Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia, on Sunday condemned remarks about the Prophet Mohammed made by a top official in India’s ruling party that were described as “Islamophobic.”
The remarks by a spokeswoman for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party last week were blamed for clashes in an Indian state and prompted demands for her arrest, with anger spreading overseas to Muslim countries.
Saudi Arabia became the latest Persian Gulf country to condemn the remarks made by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokeswoman Nupur Sharma during a televised debate last week.
Riyadh described the spokeswoman’s comments as “insulting” and called for “respect for beliefs
Oil prices fell to trade near US$113 a barrel following a report that Saudi Arabia is ready to pump more oil if Russian output declined substantially due to increasing sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine.
West Texas Intermediate futures dropped more than 3 percent in Asian trading before paring some of those losses.
The Financial Times reported that Saudi Arabia indicated to Western allies that it is prepared to increase oil supply.
The news came ahead of a monthly OPEC+ meeting yesterday at which the group was expected to ratify a modest increase in output for next month.
The US has repeatedly
US President Joe Biden has been reluctantly drawn into closer ties with Saudi Arabia’s king-in-waiting, forced by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to rethink a standoffish approach as the US struggles to curb soaring oil prices.
The problem is Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman is not ready to play along.
The softening US attitude, described by a dozen people familiar with the debate, follows months of efforts by some senior administration officials in Washington to convince a wary president that ignoring the de facto Saudi Arabian leader was hampering US foreign policy goals. The need to isolate Moscow gave new impetus