Riyadh

Sudan's rival generals have returned to the negotiating table in Saudi Arabia, but the fighting shows no sign of easing as they wrestle to control the country's second-largest city.

This week global banking elites attend the Future Investment Initiative forum in Riyadh, a focal point of Saudi Arabia's economic reforms, as the country's the Public Investment Fund (PIF) is bankrolling the transition:

Concerns about Türkiye's economic program are misplaced, Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek has said, reiterating that the economic team has the backing of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

"Türkiye is back with a new program and a new team. Political uncertainties are out of the way," Şimşek told a panel at the Future Investment Initiative (FII) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The raging war between Israel and Hamas is already battering the economies of nearby countries, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund told a Saudi investor forum yesterday.

Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek has embarked on a new tour of Gulf countries, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar and Saudi Arabia, in a drive to attract foreign investments.

Şimşek visited the Gulf nations earlier this year after he took the helm at the Turkish economy again following the May elections.

Saudi Arabia and Russia have agreed to extend their voluntary oil production cuts through the end of this year, trimming 1.3 million barrels of crude out of the global market and boosting energy prices.

The dual announcements from Riyadh and Moscow pushed benchmark Brent crude above $90 a barrel in trading yesterday, a price unseen in the market since November.

Thousands of public employees in Indonesia's capital, or half of its civil servants, were told to work from home starting Monday in a two-month trial aimed at improving the city's air quality, a government notice said.

The ancient city of Gordion in the capital Ankara is expecting to be included in the UNESCO World Heritage List after the voting in Riyadh in September, says the head of the Ankara Chamber of Commerce (ATO).

Saudi Arabia hit a new milestone on July 5 with the first Saudi designer presenting at Paris Fashion Week.

Mohammed Ashi's haute couture show - his first as part of the official roster after years of dressing top celebrities - is "the peak of my career," he told AFP.

Riyadh on June 4 announced a fresh oil output cut following a meeting of major producers aiming to prop up prices despite fears of a recession.

The meeting of the 13-member Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) headed by Saudi Arabia and its 10 partners, led by Russia, saw some tough negotiations.