Saudi Aramco says to offer shares worth over $10 billion on Saudi bourse

Saudi Aramco said on Thursday it plans to sell 1.545 billion shares worth more than $10 billion. (Aramco)
Saudi Aramco said on Thursday it plans to sell 1.545 billion shares worth more than $10 billion. (Aramco)
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Updated 30 May 2024
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Saudi Aramco says to offer shares worth over $10 billion on Saudi bourse

Saudi Aramco said on Thursday it plans to sell 1.545 billion shares worth more than $10 billion. (Aramco)
  • It is the firm’s second listing after an initial public offering in December 2019 that raised $25.6 billion

RIYADH: Saudi Aramco said on Thursday it plans to sell 1.545 billion shares worth more than $10 billion, one of the biggest such offerings in recent years.
In a statement posted to the Saudi stock exchange, Aramco announced a “secondary public offering of 1.545 billion shares,” with an expected price range between 26.70 and 29 Saudi riyals ($7 to $7.70).
The sale on the local bourse, which represents approximately 0.64 percent of the company’s issued shares, will commence on Sunday, Aramco said.
It is the firm’s second listing after an initial public offering in December 2019 that raised $25.6 billion, the biggest flotation in history.
Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest crude oil exporter and, before the announcement on Thursday, the government owned about 82 percent of its shares.


UK PM Starmer rules out total ban on arms exports to Israel

Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer. (File/Reuters)
Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer. (File/Reuters)
Updated 25 sec ago
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UK PM Starmer rules out total ban on arms exports to Israel

Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer. (File/Reuters)
  • Sir Keir warns that defensive weapons must continue to be sent in the face of Iranian threats, proxy activities
  • Remarks come after French President Macron calls for halt on arms sales, demanding a return to a ‘political solution’

LONDON: UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said he would “never” ban all arms sales to Israel.

The Labour leader made the claim during questions in the House of Commons on Monday, adding he believed Israel has a right to defend itself.

“If the sale of weapons for defensive use by Israel were banned, that is a position I could not countenance a year after Oct 7. It’s not a position I could countenance in the face of attacks by Iran,” Sir Keir told Parliament.

“The idea that we could say we support Israel’s right to defend herself, and at the same time deprive her of the means to do so, is so wholly inconsistent that it will never be my position.”

The UK government suspended 30 arms export licenses to Israel last month over fears they could be used to break international law. However, 32 other licenses remain.

The prime minister received criticism for his stance, with Zarah Sultana MP, currently suspended from the Labour Party, telling Sir Keir to do what is “morally and legally right” and ban “all arms sales” to Israel, including components for F-35 fighter jets.

On Saturday, French President Emmanuel Macron called for a halt on arms exports to Israel after it invaded Lebanon.

“I think that today, the priority is that we return to a political solution, that we stop delivering weapons to fight in Gaza,” he said.

Sir Keir echoed the need for a political solution to the crisis on the anniversary of the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on southern Israel.

“Make no mistake, the region can’t take another year of this. All sides must step back from the brink and find the courage of restraint,” Sir Keir said.

US President Joe Biden also used the anniversary to tell Israeli President Isaac Herzog that Washington would “never give up until we bring all of the remaining hostages home safely.”


Israel says it killed a senior Hezbollah commander as more rockets are fired

Israel says it killed a senior Hezbollah commander as more rockets are fired
Updated 19 min 23 sec ago
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Israel says it killed a senior Hezbollah commander as more rockets are fired

Israel says it killed a senior Hezbollah commander as more rockets are fired
  • The military said the strike killed Suhail Husseini, who it said was responsible for overseeing logistics, budget and management of the group
  • There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah

BEIRUT: The Israeli military said Tuesday it killed a senior Hezbollah commander in a strike on Beirut while the militant group’s acting leader promised more fighting against Israeli troops in southern Lebanon and rocket fire into Israel.
The military said the strike killed Suhail Husseini, who it said was responsible for overseeing logistics, budget and management of the group. There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah.
Sheikh Naim Kassem, the acting leader of Hezbollah, said in a defiant televised statement that his group’s military capabilities are still intact. He said that Hezbollah has replaced all of its senior commanders after weeks of heavy Israeli airstrikes across large parts of Lebanon, including targeted strikes that killed much of its top command in a matter of days.
Palestinian militants in Gaza fired a barrage of rockets into Israel on Monday, the anniversary of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, underscoring their resilience in the face of a devastating Israeli offensive in Gaza that has killed about 42,000 people, according to local medical officials.
A year ago, Hamas-led militants blew holes in Israel’s security fence and stormed into army bases and farming communities, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting another 250. They are still holding about 100 captives inside Gaza, a third of whom are believed to be dead.
Israel is now at war with Hamas in Gaza and its ally Hezbollah in Lebanon, which began firing rockets at Israel on Oct. 8, 2023. On Monday, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said an Israeli strike in the country’s south, part of a wider bombardment, killed at least 10 firefighters. Hezbollah fired new barrages despite its recent losses.


Bangladesh’s Mahmudullah announces T20 retirement

Bangladesh’s Mahmudullah announces T20 retirement
Updated 29 min 45 sec ago
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Bangladesh’s Mahmudullah announces T20 retirement

Bangladesh’s Mahmudullah announces T20 retirement
  • The 38-year-old Mahmudullah, who quit Tests in 2021, is set to play his 140th T20 match for Bangladesh in the second game in New Delhi on Wednesday
  • “I am retiring from T20 cricket after the last game of this series,” Mahmudullah told reporters

NEW DELHI: Former Bangladesh captain Mahmudullah Riyad said Tuesday his remaining two T20 matches in India will be his last international appearance in the format, vowing to play out with a “good show.”
The 38-year-old Mahmudullah, who quit Tests in 2021, is set to play his 140th T20 match for Bangladesh in the second game in New Delhi on Wednesday.
The tourists need to win in the Indian capital to keep the three-match series alive, after they lost the opener by seven wickets in Gwalior.
“I am retiring from T20 cricket after the last game of this series,” Mahmudullah told reporters.
The final match of the series will be in Hyderabad on Saturday.
“I was pre-decided before coming here. I had a chat with my family and with my coach and captain,” Mahmudullah added.
“It is the right time to move on from this format for me and the team as well and concentrate on the one-day game.”
Mahmudullah has been Bangladesh’s warhorse after he made his international debut in 2007 in a one-day international against Sri Lanka in Colombo.
He has played 50 Tests, 232 ODIs and 139 T20 matches for his country with over 10,500 runs across formats as a dependable middle-order batsman and 165 wickets with his off-spin.
“If we can play to our ability (in Delhi), then we could put up a good show,” he said.
Mahmudullah said he had “no regrets” in his 17-year career.
“I have never ever regretted, at any stage at any point of my life, playing for Bangladesh,” he said. “I have always been a team man.”
The veteran said the T20 team remains in good hands under skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto.
Mahmudullah’s T20 exit comes soon after star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan announced his decision to quit the format last month during the Test series, which the tourists lost 2-0.
India’s left-arm quick Arshdeep Singh meanwhile said he was making the most of his opportunities in the national team without thinking much about the future.
“My life mantra is to enjoy the present,” Arshdeep, who made his India debut in 2022, told reporters.
“I want to do my best in all the formats wherever I get the opportunity.”
Arshdeep, who has claimed 86 wickets in 55 T20 internationals, played in India’s T20 World Cup triumph in June.


Government justifies ban on Pashtun rights group, cites alleged militant links, anti-state activities

Government justifies ban on Pashtun rights group, cites alleged militant links, anti-state activities
Updated 33 min 19 sec ago
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Government justifies ban on Pashtun rights group, cites alleged militant links, anti-state activities

Government justifies ban on Pashtun rights group, cites alleged militant links, anti-state activities
  • Pakistan’s Interior Ministry recently declared the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement a ‘proscribed organization’
  • Information minister says PTM ‘burned the Pakistani flag, attacked Pakistani embassies’ in other states

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar announced on Tuesday that the government’s decision to ban the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) stemmed from its alleged links to militant groups and involvement in anti-state activities.
PTM, a prominent Pashtun rights group, has long advocated against extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances of Pashtuns and other ethnic minorities in Pakistan. While its leaders have contested and won national elections in the country’s northwestern region, the movement has yet to gain significant influence in Pakistan’s parliament.
On Sunday, Pakistan’s Interior Ministry declared the PTM a “proscribed organization,” citing activities harmful to the nation’s peace and security.
“If you look at the activities of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement over the past six months, [you will see] how they have burned the Pakistani flag, attacked Pakistan’s embassies abroad and not only attacked embassies but also actively funded the promotion of an anti-Pakistan narrative,” Tarar said in a televised statement.
He said the PTM had carried out such activities with the help of Afghan nationals.
“Not only do they have links with TTA or Tehreek-e-Taliban Afghanistan but also Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan,” he continued while referring to the Taliban administration in Kabul and a banned militant network reportedly operating from Afghanistan while targeting Pakistani civilians and security forces.
Earlier this year in July, a group of Afghan nationals stormed the Pakistani consulate in Frankfurt, Germany, pelting stones at the building and desecrating the Pakistani flag.
The administration in Islamabad formally lodged a protest with the German authorities, urging them to arrest and prosecute those responsible and to ensure better security for its diplomatic missions.
PTM has previously denied any links with militant groups or violent entities, pointing out that it believes in waging peaceful struggle for the rights of Pashtuns in Pakistan.
“Whenever an organization is declared proscribed,” the minister added, “it is done on the basis of evidence.”
The PTM alleges Pashtuns have faced rights abuses during Pakistan’s war against militants, mainly in its northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. It blames Pakistan’s powerful military for rights abuses in the northwestern province, a charge the institution has consistently denied.


Norway raises terrorism alert level due to Middle East conflict

Norway raises terrorism alert level due to Middle East conflict
Updated 15 min 21 sec ago
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Norway raises terrorism alert level due to Middle East conflict

Norway raises terrorism alert level due to Middle East conflict
  • Norwegian police officers, who are normally unarmed, will now carry guns nationwide as a result of the decision
  • “It is primarily the threat to Jewish and Israeli targets that has been further intensified,” the statement said

OSLO: Norway has raised its terrorism threat assessment to the second-highest level due to an increased risk of attacks against Jewish and Israeli targets, the national police directorate said on Tuesday.
Norwegian police officers, who are normally unarmed, will now carry guns nationwide as a result of the decision by the PST security service to raise the threat level, the directorate said.
“PST raises the terror threat level in Norway from moderate to high as a result of the ongoing escalation of the conflict in the Middle East,” the police said in a statement.
“It is primarily the threat to Jewish and Israeli targets that has been further intensified,” the statement said.
National Police Commissioner Benedicte Bjoernland said there was an increased likelihood of attempted terrorism.
.”..we have a number of measures in place to protect the population,” she said in a statement.
Neighbouring Sweden in August last year raised its terrorist alert to the second-highest level after Qur'an burnings outraged Muslims and triggered threats from militants.