Tunisia says undocumented migrants in the country received $1 billion this year

By Tarek Amara TUNIS (Reuters) -Undocumented sub-Saharan African migrants in Tunisia received three billion dinars (about $1 billion) in remittances from their countries during the first half of 2023, an official from the national security council said in a meeting late on Friday. President Kais Saied, who chaired the meeting, said, “This figure is shocking…

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UN raises concerns over Syria aid route from Turkey, cites ‘unacceptable issues’

By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) -The United Nations raised concerns on Friday with a letter from Syria that allows it to resume using a shuttered border crossing to deliver aid to northwest Syria from Turkey after U.N. Security Council approval of that route expired on Monday. In a note to the Security Council, seen…

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Oil prices fall on profit-taking, still record weekly gain

(Corrects Brent price unit in second paragraph to ‘per barrel’) By Shariq Khan BENGALURU (Reuters) – Oil prices fell more than a dollar a barrel on Friday as the dollar strengthened and oil traders booked profits from a strong rally, with crude benchmarks recording their third-straight weekly gain. Brent crude futures settled at $79.87 per…

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Rupee-UAE dirham trade mechanism may launch during Modi visit Saturday -sources

By Nidhi Verma, Shivangi Acharya and Krishn Kaushik NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India and the United Arab Emirates may announce the start of a rupee-dirham payment mechanism to settle bilateral trade during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Abu Dhabi on Saturday, industry and government sources said. Sources said on Friday that India would use…

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Erdogan says he is in agreement with Putin that grain deal should be extended

ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday that he is in agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin that a deal allowing the Black Sea export of Ukraine grain should be extended. Speaking to reporters, Erdogan said that the deal will hopefully be extended from its current July 17 deadline as results of…

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Analysis-As deficit soars, Egypt expands money supply, fuelling inflation

By Patrick Werr CAIRO (Reuters) – Egypt risks fuelling its record inflation and putting more pressure on the Egyptian pound if it does not slow an expansion of the money supply which bankers and analysts say has been used to plug widening budget deficits. Central bank figures show “M1” money supply, which includes domestic currency…

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UN scrambles to save Black Sea grain deal, with EU help, ahead of Monday deadline

By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) -The European Commission is helping the United Nations and Turkey try to extend a deal allowing the Black Sea export of Ukraine grain and is open to “explore all solutions,” a European Union spokesperson said on Thursday, ahead of the deal’s possible expiration on Monday. The U.N. and Turkey…

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Exclusive-Canada unfreezes talks with Turkey on export controls after NATO move-source

By Jonathan Spicer and Huseyin Hayatsever ANKARA (Reuters) -Canada has unfrozen talks with Turkey on lifting export controls on drone parts after Ankara gave its nod for Sweden to join NATO, a person familiar with the talks said, a move seen as one of several concessions won in exchange for the Turkish blessing. President Tayyip…

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Elon Musk launches AI firm xAI as he looks to take on OpenAI

(Reuters) -Elon Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur, launched his long-teased artificial intelligence startup xAI on Wednesday, unveiling a team comprised of engineers from the same big U.S. technology firms that he hopes to challenge in his bid to build an alternative to ChatGPT. The startup will be led by Musk, already the CEO of electric car…

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Egypt launches new Sudan mediation bid at neighbours’ summit

By Aidan Lewis CAIRO (Reuters) -Egypt on Thursday embarked on a fresh bid to halt fighting between Sudan’s warring factions and contain the humanitarian crisis it has unleashed, using a summit of neighbouring states to try to revive international efforts to contain the war. The leaders of Sudan’s seven neighbours in a joint statement called…

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