MANAMA: Already battling extreme heat, Bahrain is scrambling to ward off another environmental threat: rising seas that could swallow parts of its coast, the island nation’s oil and environment minister told AFP.

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati issued a new appeal on Thursday for parliament to approve a string of crucial economic laws, in response to its failure thus far to convene for discussions on the country’s Sovereign Wealth Fund and capital control legislation.

“In countries that have faced similar economic crises, parliament would be in constant session, and those nations would have resolved the crises,” said Mikati.

ANKARA: Turkiye warned Moscow to avoid further escalations after a Turkish-owned cargo vessel was attacked by the Russian navy last weekend, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s office said Thursday.
“After the (Russian) intervention, our interlocutors in the Russian Federation were warned appropriately to avoid such attempts, which escalate tensions in the Black Sea,” the Turkish presidency said, breaking a days-long silence over the incident.
The Sukru Okan vessel was flying the flag of Palau when it was fired on by the Russian navy last Sunday.

AL-MUKALLA: Rashad Al-Alimi, the chairman of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, expressed gratitude to the Saudi leadership on Thursday for the latest financial assistance package to bolster his country’s economy, a day after his government pledged to use the aid efficiently.

LONDON: The Arab Parliament has welcomed Venezuela’s decision to promote its diplomatic representation to Palestine from a representative office to an embassy, Saudi Press Agency reported.

In a statement released on Thursday, the Arab Parliament praised the South American country’s support to the Palestinian state and the rights of the Palestinian people at all levels.

The pan-Arab legislature hailed Venezuela’s decision as the next step following its recognition of the Palestinian state in 2009.