The UK government said Wednesday it wants a minimum European wage for maritime workers, after P&O Ferries sacked almost 800 seafarers to replace them with cheaper agency workers.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps told parliament that collaboration was needed as the government looks to manage the fallout from P&O's actions, given maritime law is largely governed by international rules, obligations and treaties.
An International Monetary Fund (IMF) delegation kicked off talks in Beirut Wednesday as part of a two-week mission aimed at securing progress towards funding for crisis-hit Lebanon.
The government is hoping to secure a rescue package to exit a deep financial crisis that started in 2019 and has seen most of the country's population fall into poverty.
"We hope that a preliminary deal will be reached after two weeks of discussions," Deputy Prime Minister Saade Chami, who heads Lebanon's delegation to the IMF, told AFP.
European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde warned Wednesday that a prolonged Ukraine conflict will keep energy prices and the cost of living spiralling, blighting a post-Covid recovery.
The Russia-Ukraine war has introduced “considerable uncertainty” into the outlook for the EU economy, she said during a visit to Cyprus.
The ECB chief said the war has stunted a quicker-than-expected rebound from the Covid-19 pandemic due to a job-rich recovery.
Temperatures in the Middle East and Central Asia have risen 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) since the 1990s, twice the global average, according to an International Monetary Fund report released on Wednesday.
The region is on the "frontlines" of the climate crisis, with food security and public health in danger, and increased risks of poverty and conflict, the report warned.
Talks on Yemen's devastating war started in the Saudi capital Wednesday, but without the Huthi rebels, hours after the Riyadh-led coalition announced a ceasefire for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
The week-long discussions in the Saudi capital are hosted by the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council headquartered there and include United Nations envoy Hans Grundberg and Washington's Tim Lenderking.
Iran has once again denied women entry to a football stadium to watch an international match, leaving hundreds of ticketed fans locked out, Iranian media said Wednesday.
The World Cup qualifier against Lebanon on Tuesday night, won 2-0 by Iran, was played at the Imam Reza stadium in the northeastern city of Mashhad.
"About 2,000 Iranian women, who had bought tickets for the Iran-Lebanon match, were present in the perimeter of Imam Reza stadium, but could not enter the stadium," ISNA news agency said.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived Wednesday in Algeria, a Moscow ally and major gas producer that has faced calls to boost exports to Europe after prices soared following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Blinken touched down at Boumediene Airport and headed to meet Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra on his first visit as top US diplomat to the North African country.
He had flown in from Algeria's arch-rival Morocco, which in 2020 normalised ties with Israel under a deal that sparked renewed tensions over the disputed territory of Western Sahara.
Shlomo Alperin had planned to study in religious school Wednesday but instead was attending a funeral, still in shock after witnessing the most violent attack in years in greater Tel Aviv.
"I want to go to the funerals. I feel a need for the closeness," Alperin said, after five people were gunned down on Tuesday on the streets of Beni Brak.
From his flat, the 23-year-old ultra-Orthodox man had heard bursts of gunfire, before seeing his neighbour's body crumpled in a car, and two men dead at a cafe often frequented by Ukrainian construction workers.
Talks on Yemen's devastating war started in the Saudi capital Wednesday, but without the Huthi rebels, hours after the Riyadh-led coalition announced a ceasefire for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
The week-long discussions in the Saudi capital are hosted by the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council and will include United Nations envoy Hans Grundberg and Washington's Tim Lenderking.
The talks come after the Saudi-led military coalition backing the Yemeni government said it would cease military operations during Ramadan, which starts in coming days.
Iraqi lawmakers were Wednesday set to try for a third time to elect a new national president after two previous attempts failed because of boycotts by a Shiite Muslim coalition.
Half a year after October 2021 legislative elections, Iraq still does not have a new president or prime minister, keeping the war-scarred country in a state of political paralysis.
Parliamentarians must first elect the head of state, by convention a member of the Kurdish minority, with a two thirds majority. The president then appoints the head of government, a post now held by Mustafa al-Kadhemi.
