Saudis use AI, drones and thousands of cameras to keep hajj pilgrims safe
Makkah, Saudi Arabia -- Working day and night in front of maps, screens and seemingly endless data, Saudi officials have...
Geostrategy
Saudi hosts urge pilgrims to stay indoors during hajj high point
Makkah, Saudi Arabia -- Saudi authorities have asked pilgrims performing the hajj to remain in their tents for several hours...
Geostrategy
Business
Evergrande shares rise
The Chinese firm has restarted work on 10 projects.
- Evergrande owes various lenders close to $300 billion, but speculations are rife that it may not be able to pay all of it back
- However, after the project restart announcement, shares in the firm rallied more than four percent in early trade
Geostrategy
Erdogan steps back from threat to expel Western envoys
The reversal came after the United States and several of the other concerned countries issued identical statements saying they respected...
- The new Western statement "shows they have taken a step back from the slander against our country", Erdogan said.
- Erdogan had threatened the ambassadors on Thursday and then pronounced them "persona non grata" in televised comments on Saturday.
Business
Volvo Cars sets IPO price
The price is at the bottom end of the range that Volvo announced last week
- The price is at the bottom end of the range that Volvo announced last week
- The carmaker also lowered the amount it plans to raise by going public from $2.9 billion to $2.3 billion
Iraqi desert village cut off from the grid
Lost in rocky hills and surrounded by humble palm groves, Al-Sahl is around 250 kilometres (155 miles) northwest of the...
- Lost in rocky hills and surrounded by humble palm groves, Al-Sahl is around 250 kilometres (155 miles) northwest of the capital Baghdad
- To communicate with the outside world, people use old mobile phones instead of smartphones -- the 3G network doesn't reach here
Arts & Culture
2,700-year-old wine press found in Iraq
The carvings - 12 panels measuring five metres (16 feet) wide and two metres tall - date from the reigns...
- The carvings -- 12 panels measuring five metres (16 feet) wide and two metres tall -- date from the reigns of Sargon II (721-705 BC) and his son Sennacherib
- Iraq was the cradle of some world's earliest cities. It was once home to Sumerians, Assyrians and Babylonians
Geostrategy
Khamenei urges reversal of Arab-Israeli normalization
The United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco all agreed to normalize ties with Israel in 2020, as Washington under...
- Ali Khamenei said Arab nations have "sinned" in normalizing (their relations) with the "usurping and oppressive Zionist regime".
- Egypt and Jordan were until last year the only two Arab countries to normalize relations with Israel.
Science
China aims to cut fossil energy use to below 20% by 2060
China is targeting an ambitious clean energy goal of reducing fossil fuel use to under 20 percent by 2060, according...
- The document follows a pledge by President Xi Jinping to wean the world's biggest polluter off coal
- But the country has been criticized for pushing ahead with opening dozens of new coal power plants
Geostrategy
Gaza fishermen struggle for a catch under Israel’s blockade
Crashing through the Mediterranean waves at sunset, Palestinian fisherman Mohammed al-Nahal leads a convoy of rickety boats out for another...
- High prices of fuel in the enclave means that fishing operating costs are crippling, making them stay closer inshore
- Israel's navy fully controls the waters off Gaza's 40-kilometre (25-mile) long coastline, and regularly restricts or expands the size of the fishing zone
Geostrategy
Pope urges intervention on Libyan migrant crisis
Governments must stop returning migrants to "non-secure countries" like Libya, the 84-year-old pontiff said, while prioritizing saving lives in the...
- Italy continues to be confronted by waves of migrants crossing the Mediterranean from Libya, with hundreds of people arriving nearly daily on the country's shores.
- A two-day summit of EU leaders that ended Friday revealed continued rifts between countries on the migrant issue.
Business
Picasso masterpieces fetch $108.9 million
Eleven masterpieces by Pablo Picasso fetched $108.9 million at a Sotheby's auction in Las Vegas on Saturday. Two iconic portraits...
- The works went under the hammer at the Bellagio hotel and casino, known for its extensive art collection
- It sold for nearly $40.5 million after a starting price was estimated at $20-30 million
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
Saudis use AI, drones and thousands of cameras to keep hajj pilgrims safe
Makkah, Saudi Arabia -- Working day and night in front of maps, screens and seemingly endless data, Saudi officials have...
Geostrategy
Company News
Evergrande shares up 28 percent
Business
Latest News
Ford lays off 300 US workers
Business
Millions of Afghans go hungry as winter cold bites
Once flush with humanitarian aid following the US-led invasion of the country, funding to Afghanistan has plummeted since the Taliban...
Women’s health gap costs US$1trn worldwide: report
Women spend a quarter more of their lives suffering from poor health than men, a disparity that includes an unequal...
World Economic Forum
China’s economic recovery stalls as growth flags
The country's national bureau of statistics said that GDP grew 5.2 percent to hit 126 trillion yuan ($17.6 trillion) as...
Business
Most Read
Business
Google to slash ‘few hundred’ jobs
The internet giant will cut jobs from its global ad team.
- The jobs will be cut by the company amid a push to use artificial intelligence for efficiency and creativity
- The company made no mention of generative AI, which is disrupting many sectors including advertising.
Geostrategy
Pakistan says two children killed by Iran air strike
The statement did not say where the strike took place, but various Pakistani social media accounts reported blasts in Balochistan...
- "This violation of Pakistan's sovereignty is completely unacceptable and can have serious consequences," Pakistan's foreign ministry said in a statement.
- Tehran and Islamabad frequently accuse each other of allowing militants to operate from the other's territory to launch attacks
Geostrategy
Maritime firm says missile hits Greek ship off Yemen
Dubai, UAE - A missile hit a Greek-owned cargo ship off Yemen, a maritime risk management company said on Tuesday, following...
- "A Malta-flagged, Greek-owned bulk carrier was reportedly targeted and impacted with a missile while transiting the southern Red Sea northbound," said firm
- The ship, which has visited Israel since the outbreak of war in Gaza and was headed to the Suez Canal, changed course and headed to port after the incident, it said