Iran extends access to airspace for overflights after ceasefire
Iran has expanded access to its airspace for international overflights following a ceasefire with Israel, though flight restrictions remain in...
Geostrategy
Iran says IAEA chief request to visit bombed sites suggests ‘malign intent’
Iran on Friday rejected a request by UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi to visit facilities bombed by Israel and...
Geostrategy
Geostrategy
Gunmen kill bodyguard of Iran Revolutionary Guards general
Gunmen killed the bodyguard of a general from Iran's Revolutionary Guards on Saturday in an attack on a checkpoint in...
- State television said "criminals" had opened fire at the checkpoint, located at the entrance to the provincial capital of Zahedan
- IRNA said the security forces arrested those behind the attack
Geostrategy
Hopes down for Easter truce in Ukraine as Russia presses on
Russian forces, which withdrew from around Kyiv and the north of Ukraine earlier this month after being frustrated in their...
- Ukrainian authorities have vowed to fight on and drive the Russian troops from their land, but they also sought an Easter pause
- ‘Unfortunately, Russia rejected the proposal to establish an Easter truce,’ Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday
Economy
Tunisia president decrees he will name electoral chief
The election commission, created in 2012, has currently nine members with its president appointed by parliament.
- Tunisia's president will name three members of the electoral commission, including its president
- Saied has inaugurated a 'temporary' council of judges to replace an independent watchdog
Economy
High stakes: France braces for Le Pen-Macron showdown
President Emmanuel Macron is the favorite to win re-election in the run-off ballot on Sunday, and there are indications he...
- If Le Pen wins, she becomes modern France's first far-right leader and first female president
- Macron’s victory would make him the first French president to win re-election in two decades
Geostrategy
After Moscow visit, UN chief to meet Zelensky in Ukraine
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres will meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky in Ukraine next week after a stop in Moscow...
- Guterres sent letters this week requesting these in-person meetings to try to regain the initiative for the UN
- In part this is because the war has divided the UN Security Council permanent members: the United States, France, Britain, China and Russia
Business
Meta renews bid for Giphy
Britain's competition authority had stopped the FB-Giphy merger.
- Created in 2013, Giphy — a platform and search engine for GIFs — has some 700 million daily users
- Britain’s competition authority found Meta’s proposed takeover of Giphy would give it too much market share
Arts & Culture
Asian Games in China faces possibility of postponement: Official
The 2022 Asian Games in China is facing the possibility of being postponed, an official told AFP on Thursday, after...
- The Olympic-sized event is scheduled to be held in September in Hangzhou near Shanghai, which is grappling with a major coronavirus emergency.
- Most international sports events have been on hold in China since the Covid-19 pandemic, although Beijing hosted the Winter Olympics in a strict bio-bubble in February.
Arts & Culture
David Cronenberg puts kidney stone pic on sale
The director has put up a picture of his newly removed kidney stones for sale for $30,000 as an NFT.
- The Canadian has put up a picture of his newly removed kidney stones -- which he calls "Inner Beauty" -- up for sale for $30,000 as an NFT.
- The auction comes as Cronenberg prepares to premiere his new movie, "Crimes of the Future", at the Cannes film festival next month.
Business
Global markets slide on Fed chief’s warning
Global stock markets slid Friday after the Federal Reserve warned of an aggressive tightening of monetary policy to tame runaway...
- Frankfurt and Paris stocks were down almost two percent in late afternoon deals while London lost one percent
- In Asia earlier, Tokyo stocks slid more than 1.5 percent even as inflation data from Japan was in line with market expectations
Business
China dumps 15 coal plants abroad after Xi pledge: study
More than a dozen Chinese coal power projects overseas were cancelled after a ban last year on funding such plants,...
- China is the world's biggest emitter of the greenhouse gases driving global warming
- The cancelled projects would have generated 12.8 gigawatts of electricity -- or the total power generation capacity in Singapore, the think tank added
Most Read
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
Iran extends access to airspace for overflights after ceasefire
Iran has expanded access to its airspace for international overflights following a ceasefire with Israel, though flight restrictions remain in...
Geostrategy
Company News
Latest News
Palestinian PM resigns over ‘Gaza aggression, West Bank escalation’
The resignation of the government in the West Bank comes as several countries, including the United States, have called for...
Geostrategy
Arab states tell UN court Israeli occupation is ‘affront to justice’
The International Court of Justice entered its last day of week-long hearings after a request from the UN, with an...
Geostrategy
Yemen rebels announce first civilian death in US-UK strikes
The Houthis, who control war-torn Yemen's most populated areas, have previously reported the death of 17 of their fighters in...
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Geostrategy
Qatar ruler to arrive in Paris for discussions on Gaza
The gas-rich country has emerged as the key player in mediation between Israel and Hamas to agree a truce in...
- It will be his first state visit to France since he became emir of the hugely influential emirate in 2013
- The discussions between the two leaders will focus on "ongoing efforts to obtain a ceasefire in Gaza"
Business
Disney and India’s Reliance to merge
The merger will create a powerful entertainment giant.
- The report of the deal comes as billionaire tycoon Mukesh Ambani readies to host Disney chief Robert Iger on March 1 for his son's wedding
- The deal is expected to see the media unit of Reliance and its affiliates hold at least a 61% stake in the merged entity, with Disney holding the rest
Business
Alcoa to buy Alumina in all-stock deal
The US aluminum producer will buy Alumina for US$2.2bn.
- Alcoa will offer 0.02854 of its own stock for each Alumina share, a 13 percent premium to the Australian group's Friday closing price
- Alumina shareholders would own 31.25 percent and Alcoa shareholders would own 68.75 percent of the combined company