UAE consolidates its position as global hub for cross-border e-commerce
ABU DHABI, UAE -- The United Arab Emirates has consolidated its position as one of the world’s leading global and...
Business
Gulf sovereign wealth funds face a strategic test amid escalating conflict
The escalating conflict involving Iran, Israel and the United States is emerging as a major test for the Gulf’s sovereign...
Economy
Geostrategy
Israel defence minister threatens to annex parts of Gaza unless Hamas frees the remaining Israeli hostages
The warning came as Israel stepped up the renewed assault it launched on Tuesday, shattering the relative calm that had...
- Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli strikes killed 11 people on Friday -- three in pre-dawn strikes and eight more during the daytime
- Should Hamas not comply, Katz also threatened to expand buffer zones around Gaza to protect Israeli civilian population areas
Geostrategy
Macron announces new Ukraine ‘coalition’ summit in Paris on March 27
French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday said the leaders of a coalition of Ukraine backers would meet again in Paris...
- Macron, together with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, has been leading efforts to form a coalition in support of Ukraine
- Starmer on Thursday hosted talks with around 30 senior military planners from nations interested in the coalition
Geostrategy
Israel deepens Gaza offensive, shuts key routes, and orders evacuations amid heavy civilian casualties
US President Donald Trump "fully supports" Israel's renewed Gaza operations, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters when asked...
- The offensive has drawn widespread condemnation and shattered a relative calm in the war-ravaged Palestinian territory where a ceasefire began on January 19
- Israel earlier said it had closed off the territory's main north-south route as part of expanding ground operations that resumed on Wednesday
Science
‘Dark universe detective’ telescope releases first data
Paris, France - Europe's Euclid space telescope, which is on a mission to shed light on the mysteries of dark...
- The telescope launched in 2023, aiming to chart one third of the sky, encompassing 1.5 billion galaxies
- The huge amount of data - which was accompanied by 27 scientific papers - still only covers less then 0.5 percent of the sky
Geostrategy
Israel announces ground operations, issues ‘last warning’ to Gazans to remove Hamas from power
Israeli forces this week conducted the deadliest wave of air strikes since the start of a truce in January, killing...
- The military said it had "begun targeted ground operations in the central and southern Gaza Strip to expand the security perimeter
- Families with young children fled northern Gaza for areas further south, fearing for their lives after Israel urged civilians to leave
Geostrategy
Putin has upper hand in Trump talks on elusive Ukraine peace: analysts
Paris, France - Vladimir Putin scored a coup by discussing with Donald Trump in highly anticipated phone talks everything from improving...
- During the call on Tuesday, Putin refused a full ceasefire agreement proposed by Washington
- The Kremlin said Trump had also backed Putin's proposal to hold ice hockey matches between American and Russian players
Arts & Culture
Once a crumbling relic of old Iran, brewery reborn as arts hub
Tehran, Iran - Hidden behind imposing brick walls in the heart of Tehran, a brewery that used to make Iranian...
- The ambitious restoration of the derelict Argo factory has made it "one of the most beautiful buildings of Tehran."
- Established more than a century ago, the Argo factory produced one of Iran's oldest and biggest beer brands
Geostrategy
Hamas sees ‘positive’ signs for ceasefire talks as Israel cuts Gaza electricity, blocks aid flow
In a statement, Netanyahu's office said that Israel had accepted an invitation from US-backed mediators and would "send a delegation...
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said Israel would send a delegation to Doha on Monday for truce talks
- Israel has said it wants to extend the first phase until mid-April, Hamas has insisted on a transition to the second phase
Geostrategy
Muslim nations meet in Jeddah to unite against Trump’s controversial Gaza takeover proposal.
Trump's plan has already united Arab countries in opposition, with Saudi Arabia also hosting Arab leaders two weeks ago to...
- At Tuesday's summit in Cairo, Arab leaders backed the proposal to rebuild the Gaza Strip under the future administration of the Palestinian Authority
- However, the plan, which does not outline a role for Hamas, which controls Gaza, was rejected by both the United States and Israel
Economy
Turkey central bank cuts rate to 42.5% as inflation eases
Istanbul, Turkey - Turkey's central bank on Thursday lowered its key interest rate for a third consecutive time as inflation...
- This is the third time the central bank cut its rate since December as its efforts to tame inflation are paying off
- Consumer prices rose by 39.05 percent last month, down from 42.1 percent in January, according to the country's statistics institute
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Revenue from Saudi cinema may exceed $1bn by 2030KSA, UAE play well as e-gaming trends across GCCExclusive: Middle East’s retail sector rides on AR and hybrid shopping to become $600bn digital economyTECOM Group profit soars 13%UAE startups eye Saudi Arabia for growth, expansionSaudi Arabia leads GCC AI healthcare raceDisparity remains as Saudis, Emiratis see wealth gains
UAE consolidates its position as global hub for cross-border e-commerce
ABU DHABI, UAE -- The United Arab Emirates has consolidated its position as one of the world’s leading global and...
Business
Company News
Latest News
Syria revamps interior ministry to reassure West
The interior ministry restructure includes reforms and creating "a modern civil security institution that adopts transparency and respects international human...
Geostrategy
Kuwait strips tens of thousands of citizenship since August 2024
The latest campaign abolishes naturalization by marriage, which only applied to women, and revokes citizenship granted to wives since 1987....
Geostrategy
Real estate transactions in five UAE emirates reach $65 billion in Q1
Abu Dhabi, UAE -- Real estate transactions across five emirates in the UAE surged to over AED 239 billion ($65...
Business
Most Read
Business
Anthropic’s Claude AI gets smarter — and mischievious
San Francisco, United States -- Anthropic launched its latest Claude generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) models on Thursday, claiming to set...
- "Claude Opus 4 is our most powerful model yet, and the best coding model in the world," Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei said.
- Opus 4 and Sonnet 4 were described as "hybrid" models capable of quick responses as well as more thoughtful results that take a little time to get things right.
Geostrategy
Antonio Guterres denounces ‘cruelest phase’ of Gaza conflict
"For nearly 80 days, Israel blocked the entry of life-saving international aid," Guterres said. "The entire population of Gaza is...
- "The Israeli military offensive is intensifying with atrocious levels of death and destruction.
- "Today, 80 percent of Gaza has been either designated an Israeli-militarized zone or an area where people have been ordered to leave."
Business
Trump threatens Apple with a 25% tariff if iPhones aren’t made in US
Washington, United States -- US President Donald Trump on Friday threatened Apple with a 25 percent tariff if the iPhones...
- Trump's sweeping tariffs on major US trading partners have roiled global markets and upended international commerce.
- Trump's comments Friday echo statements he made last week while on a trip to Qatar, urging Apple to bring iPhone production to US shores.