logo
Qatar welcomes peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan

Qatar welcomes peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan

Qatar Tribune3 days ago
QNA
Doha
The State of Qatar welcomed the announcement of a peace agreement between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia, brokered by the United States of America.
In a statement on Saturday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed the State of Qatar's hope that the agreement will pave the way for a new phase of cooperation between the two countries based on the principles of good neighbourliness, fulfilling the aspirations of both peoples for peace, development, and prosperity, and enhancing security and stability in the Caucasus region.
The ministry conveyed the State of Qatar's full appreciation for the efforts of the United States in reaching the agreement and reaffirmed its complete support for initiatives aimed at de-escalation and the resolution of disputes through diplomatic channels, as well as for strengthening the foundations of peace, development, and prosperity at both regional and international levels.
Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a US-brokered peace agreement on Friday during a meeting with US President Donald Trump that would boost bilateral economic ties after decades of conflict and move them toward a full normalisation of relations.
The deal between the South Caucasus rivals —assuming it holds —would be a significant accomplishment for the Trump administration that is sure to rattle Moscow, which sees the region as within its sphere of influence.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

US inflation unchanged in July, though core prices tick up
US inflation unchanged in July, though core prices tick up

Qatar Tribune

timean hour ago

  • Qatar Tribune

US inflation unchanged in July, though core prices tick up

Agencies Consumer inflation in the U.S. held steady in July, the government data showed Tuesday, but underlying price increases picked up as President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs ripple through the world's biggest economy. The consumer price index (CPI) rose 2.7% from a year ago in July, unchanged from the rate in June, said the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), as worries over the reliability of data intensify and central bank officials gauge the effects of Trump's fresh levies this year. The consumer price index rose 0.2% last month after gaining 0.3% in June. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the CPI rising 0.2% and increasing 2.8% year-on-year. Excluding the volatile food and energy components, the CPI rose 0.3%, the biggest gain since January, after climbing 0.2% in June. The so-called core CPI increased 3.1% year-on-year in July after advancing 2.9% in June. The Federal Reserve (Fed) tracks different inflation measures for its 2% target. Before the CPI data, financial markets expected the U.S. central bank would resume cutting interest rates in September after July's weak employment report and sharp downward revisions to the nonfarm payrolls counts for May and June. The Fed left its benchmark overnight interest rate in the 4.25%-4.50% range last month for the fifth straight time since December. The CPI report was published amid mounting concerns over the quality of inflation and employment reports following cuts in budget and staffing that have led to the suspension of data collection for portions of the CPI basket in some areas across the country. Those worries were amplified after Trump fired Erika McEntarfer, the head of the BLS, earlier this month, after stall-speed job growth in July, reinforced by sharp downward revisions to the May and June nonfarm payrolls collection suspension The suspension of data collection followed years of what economists described as the underfunding of the BLS under both Republican and Democratic administrations. The situation has been exacerbated by the Trump White House's unprecedented campaign to reshape the government through deep spending cuts and mass layoffs of public workers. Citing the need to 'align survey workload with resource levels,' the BLS suspended CPI data collection completely in one city in Nebraska, Utah and New York. It has also suspended collection on 15% of the sample in the other 72 areas, on average. This affected both the commodity and services pricing survey as well as the housing survey, which the BLS said resulted in the number of collected prices and the number of collected rents used to calculate the CPI being temporarily reduced. That has led to the BLS using imputations to fill in the missing information. The share of different cell imputations in the CPI data jumped to 35% in June from 30% in May. Different cell imputation, which the BLS uses when all prices are unavailable in the home cell, maintains the item category but expands geography. The home cell method, considered by economists as higher quality, uses the average price of the same item in the same location as the missing product's price. The use of different cell imputation has grown from a share of only 8% in June 2024.

US sanctions DR Congo armed group over illicit mining, ceasefire tested
US sanctions DR Congo armed group over illicit mining, ceasefire tested

Al Jazeera

timean hour ago

  • Al Jazeera

US sanctions DR Congo armed group over illicit mining, ceasefire tested

The United States has sanctioned an armed group accused of illicit mining in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), as both the army and the Rwandan-backed M23 rebel group traded accusations of violating a recently reached US-mediated ceasefire deal by attacking each other's positions. The US Department of the Treasury said on Tuesday that it was blocking all interests and restricting transactions with Pareco-FF, an armed group that it said controlled the key coltan mining site of Rubaya from 2022 to 2024, and which has opposed the M23 group. The administration of President Donald Trump has been pushing for US access to the region's minerals, as it has done in other parts of the world, including Ukraine. It also slapped sanctions on the Congolese mining company CDMC, saying it sold minerals that were sourced and smuggled from mines near Rubaya and two Hong Kong-based export companies, East Rise and Star Dragon, which have been accused of buying minerals from the armed group. 'The United States is sending a clear message that no armed group or commercial entity is immune from sanctions if they undermine peace, stability or security in the DRC,' State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said in a statement. Rubaya is currently under the control of the M23 group, which is already targeted by US sanctions. The mine there produces 15 to 30 percent of the world's supply of coltan, a mineral used in electronics such as laptops and mobile telephones. Many Pareco rebels integrated into the DRC military in 2009, but Pareco-FF emerged in 2022 in response to the M23 gains. The sanctions come as Congolese army spokesman Sylvain Ekenge said in a statement that the M23 group's 'almost daily' attacks constitute an 'intentional and manifest violation' of the declaration of principles, which the two parties signed in mid-July in Doha, whose terms include a 'permanent ceasefire'. It followed a separate peace deal between the Congolese and Rwandan governments, signed in Washington, DC, the previous month, which also helped the US government and US companies gain control of critical minerals in the region. The Congolese army said it was ready to respond 'to all provocations from this [M23 group] coalition, accustomed to violating agreements', the statement said. M23 spokesman Lawrence Kanyuka said in a post on X on Monday that DRC's government was continuing 'its offensive military manoeuvres aimed at full-scale war'. The eastern DRC, a region bordering Rwanda with abundant natural resources but plagued by non-state armed groups, has suffered extreme violence for more than three decades. A new surge of unrest broke out early this year when the M23 group captured the key cities of Goma and Bukavu, setting up their own administrations, with thousands killed in the conflict. Violence has continued on the ground despite the US and Qatar-brokered peace deal, with fighting becoming more intense since Friday around the town of Mulamba in South Kivu province, where the front line had been relatively stable since March. The M23 attacked positions between Friday and Monday held by pro-Kinshasa militia and army forces, and pushed them back several kilometres, after clashes using light and heavy weapons, local and security sources said. The DRC government and the M23 rebels have agreed to sign a permanent peace deal by August 18, but the renewed fighting has threatened this effort.

Donald Trump meets Intel CEO after demanding his resignation over China links
Donald Trump meets Intel CEO after demanding his resignation over China links

Qatar Tribune

time2 hours ago

  • Qatar Tribune

Donald Trump meets Intel CEO after demanding his resignation over China links

Agencies U.S. President Donald Trump said he met with Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan on Monday, just days after seeking his resignation, praising Tan and calling the meeting 'a very interesting one.' Shares of the U.S. chipmaker rose 3% in extended trading. Last week, Trump had demanded the immediate resignation of Tan, calling him 'highly conflicted' over his ties to Chinese firms, injecting uncertainty into the chipmaker's years-long turnaround effort. Trump said he met with Tan, along with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. His Cabinet members and Tan were going to bring suggestions to him next week, Trump said in a post on Truth Social. 'His success and rise is an amazing story,' Trump said about Tan. Trump's demand last week came after a Republican senator raised national security concerns over Tan's links to firms in China. 'The CEO of INTEL is highly CONFLICTED and must resign, immediately. There is no other solution to this problem,' Trump posted on Truth Social last Thursday. The Malaysia-born tech industry veteran Tan released a statement at the time saying that the company was engaged with the Trump administration to address the concerns raised and ensure officials 'have the facts.' Tan had invested in hundreds of Chinese firms, some of which were linked to the Chinese military, Reuters reported in April. It is not illegal for U.S. citizens to hold stakes in Chinese companies unless they have been added to the U.S. Treasury's Chinese Military-Industrial Complex Companies List, which explicitly bans such investments. Intel is one of Silicon Valley's most iconic companies, but its fortunes have been dwarfed by Asian powerhouses TSMC and Samsung, which dominate the made-to-order semiconductor business. Tan has been tasked to undo years of missteps that left Intel struggling to make inroads in the booming AI chip industry dominated by Nvidia, while investment-heavy contract manufacturing ambitions led to hefty losses.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store