US Fed chair signals no rush for rate cuts despite Trump pressure
The Fed has a duty to prevent a one-time spike in prices from becoming an "ongoing inflation problem," said Federal...
Economy
NATO summit seeks to keep Trump happy – and alliance united
From meeting his spending demand to limiting the participation of Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, everything is being done to try...
Geostrategy
Economy
Education in Lebanon is in crisis because country is in crisis: UN
Lebanon is grappling with an education "emergency," a United Nations official said, as years of economic collapse weigh heavily on...
- "We are now in an emergency situation. Education in Lebanon is in crisis because the country is living in crisis," said Maysoun Chehab of UN education and culture body (UNESCO)
- UNESCO chief Audrey Azoulay visited Beirut weeks later, driving efforts to restore heritage sites and damaged schools
Geostrategy
Social media’s rocky ride through conflict zones
Activists in Arab Spring countries now lament how the platforms they once lauded have been retooled to serve the powerful....
- Younger companies like TikTok and Telegram have been criticized for continuing to host Burmese military propaganda.
- In Ukraine too, TikTok and Telegram have both been accused of failing to tackle Russian disinformation.
Business
‘Trash has value’: Kenyan inventor turns plastic into bricks
Gjenge Makers, churns out 1,500 bricks made from industrial and household plastic that otherwise would be dumped in the city's...
- Gjenge Makers, churns out 1,500 bricks made from industrial and household plastic that otherwise would be dumped in the city's overflowing garbage heaps
- Plastic is fibrous in nature, and the unique production process prevents air pockets from forming within the bricks
Business
FedEx founder quits as CEO
Frederick Smith is stepping down after some five decades at the post.
- The change in guard will take place on June 1, with Smith becoming executive chairman
- Meanwhile, Chief Operating Officer Raj Subramaniam will ascend to president and CEO
Economy
€120m frozen in money-laundering probe in Lebanon
Prosecutors are probing links Lebanon's central bank chief's link to criminal associations and money laundering.
- French investigators launched investigation against five individuals for embezzling public funds in Lebanon worth of $330 million between 2002 and 2021
- People of Lebanon suspect Riad Salameh who was the chief of Lebanese central bank and other high officials of transferring money abroad during a 2019 uprising
Geostrategy
Ukraine retakes Kyiv suburb, as negotiations for peace resume
Ukrainian troops "liberated" the suburban town of Irpin, Interior Minister Denys Monastyrsky said, wresting a key gateway to the capital's...
- It is now more than a month since Russian President Vladimir Putin's tanks rolled into Ukraine to oust the government
- The fighting has already killed an estimated 20,000 people on both sides, and forced more than 10 million from their homes
Economy
Syria approves law tightening freedom of speech
The latest move follows months of growing discontent in Syria over a spiraling economic crisis.
- Syrians living in the country will be jailed for 6 months if they publicize news that could improve an enemy state's image and damage the state's reputation
- The new law, signed by President Bashar Al Assad, prohibits citizen of Syria from the cession of Syrian territory with a punishment of one-year imprisonment
Business
Kaspersky now a ‘security threat’
The designation will restrict its dealings in the United States.
- The US Federal Communications Commission has added Kaspersky to a threat list
- This effectively blocks the firm from being paid with certain US government subsidies
Geostrategy
Blinken arrives in Morocco to hold talks with UAE leader
Blinken flew in from Israel, where he joined a historic meeting of fellow top diplomats from the Jewish state, UAE,...
- Blinken flew in from Israel, where he joined a historic meeting of fellow top diplomats from the Jewish state, UAE, Morocco, Bahrain and Egypt
- US officials said talks in Morocco on Tuesday, and in a follow-up stop Wednesday in Algeria, would deal with the economic fallout from the Ukraine war
Geostrategy
Israel-Arab ties ‘deter’ Iran, Israel FM tells landmark meeting
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the top diplomats of Israel and four Arab states wrapped up a landmark...
- Israel's Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said that "this new architecture, the shared capabilities we are building, intimidates and deters our common enemies
- The meeting's Sunday opening, in the Sde Boker kibbutz in the Negev desert, was marred by a shooting attack in northern Israel that killed two police officers
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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
US Fed chair signals no rush for rate cuts despite Trump pressure
The Fed has a duty to prevent a one-time spike in prices from becoming an "ongoing inflation problem," said Federal...
Economy
Company News
Latest News
US vetoes Security Council vote on Gaza ceasefire, pushes alternative
The resolution, which Algeria had been working on for three weeks, had demanded "an immediate humanitarian ceasefire that must be...
Geostrategy
26 EU states demand ‘immediate’ halt in Gaza fighting: Borrell
The European Union has struggled for a united response on Israel's military operation following the October 7 attack by Hamas....
Most Read
Geostrategy
Sudan refugees face agonizing wait in overcrowded camps
Renk is just 10 kilometers (six miles) from Sudan, where fighting broke out in April last year between army chief...
- Nearly 560,000 displaced people have taken refuge in South Sudan, according to the UN, which estimates that around 1,500 new arrivals turn up in the country every day
- UN says 25 million people in Sudan need humanitarian assistance, while around 3.8 million children under the age of five are suffering from malnutrition
Business
Capital One to buy Discover for US$35.3bn
Its shareholders will own 60% of the combined company.
- Under the deal, Discover shareholders will receive 1.0192 Capital One shares for each Discover share, a premium of 26.6 percent over Discover's closing price on Friday
- Acquisition of Discover will help "build a payments network that can compete with the largest payments networks and payments companies," said Capital One founder and CEO
UN agencies warn of ‘explosion’ in Gaza child deaths
Twenty weeks into Israel's war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, UN agencies warned that food and safe water had...
- At least 90 percent of children under five in Gaza are affected by one or more infectious diseases, according to a joint assessment by the UN agencies
- Seventy percent children had had diarrhea in the two weeks prior to the assessment, marking a 23-fold increase compared to the 2022 baseline