Israel arms exports to UAE, Bahrain, Morocco rise sharply after 2023
Sales to countries considered part of the Abraham Accords -- the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco who signed groundbreaking...
Business
Geostrategy
Facebook on defensive over work in ‘fragile’ countries
Some 87 percent of Facebook's anti-misinformation budget is focused on the US even though the vast majority of its users...
- Facebook vice president Nick Clegg told the Web Summit that the tech giant has content moderation in over 70 countries.
- Whistleblower Frances Haugen said the company's algorithms made "polarizing and divisive content" more visible in people's timelines.
Geostrategy
Baghdad pays Kuwait another $490m in war reparations
Kuwait has received additional reparations of almost $500 million for Iraq's 1990 invasion, the Iraqi embassy in Kuwait said.
- "Iraq on October 26 paid Kuwait $490 million, and it will work to pay off what is left in reparations due for the year of 2022, approximately $629 million"
- Baghdad has paid around $50 billion in reparations over the last three decades
Arts & Culture
Lebanon’s best-known newspaper closes down
Lebanon's oldest English-language daily newspaper laid off its entire staff and became the latest casualty in the collapse of the...
- The Daily Star's employees were notified a few days earlier that they were all being made redundant from October 31, according to an email which was sent to the staff
- The newspaper, which is co-owned by the family of former prime minister Saad Hariri, had halted its print edition early last year
Geostrategy
10 Egyptian peacekeepers injured in CAR attack
MINUSCA mission said the Egyptian police contingent was unarmed and traveling in a bus marked UN at the time of...
- CAR, the second poorest country in the world, has been ravaged by a civil war since 2013, although the level of fighting has fallen.
- UN chief Antonio Guterres recently denounced "hostile incidents" targeting peacekeepers.
Business
Pfizer lifts 2021 forecasts, sees $36bn in Covid vaccine sales
Pfizer again lifted its 2021 profit and revenue outlook on Tuesday, bolstered by the latest surge in Covid-19 vaccinations, including...
- The drug maker now expects 2.3 billion dosage deliveries of the Covid-19 vaccine in 2021
- Pfizer said higher forecast 2021 results reflects the boost from the Covid-19 vaccine, as well as the performance of Pfizer's broader business
Geostrategy
Iran FM tests positive for Covid at a key time for nuclear talks
Iran's foreign minister has tested positive for Covid, local media reported, at a key moment in diplomatic efforts to revive...
- "His general health is satisfactory and he is continuing his daily duties from quarantine"
- Khatibzadeh had said just Monday that talks with the remaining parties to the 2015 nuclear deal would resume "in the next two or three weeks"
Geostrategy
Suez crisis triggered Israel’s first occupation of Gaza
Israel has said the objectives of the 1956 Gaza invasion included ensuring free passage through the Straits of Tiran.
- Israel has said the objectives of the 1956 Gaza invasion included ensuring free passage through the Straits of Tiran
- The first time Israel took control of Gaza was on November 3, 1956 when Egypt's military governor surrendered
Sunny but isolated, Cyprus toils to boost green energy
Cyprus hopes to boost its share of renewable energy to 23 percent by 2030 as part of its National Energy...
- Cyprus hopes to boost its share of renewable energy to 23 percent by 2030 as part of its National Energy and Climate Plan
- In October Cyprus also signed a deal with Greece and Egypt to transfer electricity through lines connecting the three countries
COP26 leaders vow new drive to save forests
The summit's chair, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, said the agreement on deforestation was pivotal to the overarching ambition of...
- The pledge is backed by almost $20 billion in public and private funding
- Greenpeace slammed the Glasgow initiative for allowing "another decade of deforestation"
Arts & Culture
Iraq’s Babylon arts festival back after almost 20 years
The last edition of the festival was held in 2002, the year before the US-led invasion that toppled the veteran...
- The arts showcase, staged in what was the capital of the ancient Mesopotamian state of Babylonia, this year drew artists from dozens of countries.
- The festival, first launched in 1987, was staged at the majestic UNESCO World Heritage site of Babylon, south of Baghdad.
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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
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Google CEO says more layoffs are likely this year
SAN FRANCISCO, US - Google CEO Sundar Pichai has warned employees that more layoffs are in store at the search engine...
Business
24,620 Palestinians killed in Gaza as Israel continues bombardment
In the occupied West Bank, where violence has soared alongside the war in Gaza, an Israeli raid continued into a...
Geostrategy
Japan literary laureate admits using ChatGPT for her novel
TOKYO, JAPAN - The winner of Japan's most prestigious literary award has acknowledged that about "five percent" of her futuristic novel...
Arts & Culture
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Europe new car sales rebound in 2023: industry group
Automakers are facing a 2035 deadline set by the European Union to phase out sales of new combustion engine vehicles....
- Sales of new electric cars shot up by 37 percent year-on-year and accounted for 14.6 percent of those overall, European Automobile Manufacturers' Association said
- Figures marked a stark turnabout from those of 2022, when new vehicle registrations dropped to their lowest levels since 1993 as component shortages hindered automakers
Samsung’s AI pivot
Part of the company's bid to reclaim smartphone throne.
- Mobile devices will become the primary access points for AI, with Samsung aiming to be a leader on that path, Samsung president T.M. Roh said
- The premium S24 Ultra unveiled at an event was said to have the capability to translate foreign language phone calls and texts while they were taking place
Geostrategy
China says willing to mediate between Pakistan and Iran after strikes
"The Chinese side sincerely hopes that the two sides can exercise calm and restraint and avoid an escalation of tension,"...
- Tehran said it had summoned the Pakistani charge d'affaires in response to the attack, which killed at least seven people
- Nuclear-armed Pakistan and neighbouring Iran are both battling simmering insurgencies along their sparsely populated border regions