Saudi Arabia, Qatar sign high-speed rail deal to link capitals
The train would reach speeds exceeding 300 kilometers per hour and the trip would take roughly two hours between Riyadh...
Geostrategy
Mediators Egypt, Qatar, others ‘concerned’ about Israel opening one-way Gaza exit
The countries voiced "their absolute rejection of any attempts to expel the Palestinian people from their land" and said they...
Geostrategy
‘God’s Influencer’ to become first millennial saint
Arts & Culture
Economy
Trump eyes ‘fair deal’ with China, but path to ending tariff war remains unclear
Trade tensions between the world's two biggest economies have soared as Trump ramped up levies on imports from China this...
- But how soon the tariffs can be lowered "depends on them," Trump said, referring to Beijing, even as he maintained that he gets along "very well" with Chinese President Xi Jinping
- But earlier Wednesday, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters that the two countries are "not yet" talking when it comes to lowering tariffs
Arts & Culture
Cannes film festival says to ‘honour’ slain Gaza photojournalist
Paris, France - The Cannes film festival said Wednesday that the screening of a documentary about Gaza photojournalist Fatima Hassouna...
- The film features conversations between Farsi and Hassouna, 25, as she documents the impact of Israel's devastating war on the Palestinian territory
- Hassouna was killed along with 10 relatives in an air strike on her family home in northern Gaza last Wednesday, the day after the documentary was announced
India and Pakistan rivalry boils after Kashmir attack
India took a raft of punitive diplomatic measures against arch-rival Pakistan on Wednesday, accusing Islamabad of supporting "cross-border terrorism" after...
- India's measures, including the suspension of a key water-sharing treating and closure of the main land border crossing
- The killings have shocked New Delhi, as they marked a dramatic shift targeting civilians and the area's vital tourism industry
Business
Boeing says China not accepting planes over US tariffs
New York, United States -- Boeing's CEO confirmed Wednesday that China had stopped accepting new aircraft due to the US-China...
- President Trump's trade conflicts with China and other countries loom as a question mark for Boeing, a major US exporter, despite Wednesday's solid results.
- Boeing had planned to send around 50 aircraft to China in 2025, said Ortberg, who told the network that the company wouldn't "wait too long" to send the jets to other customers.
Business
ADIB’s Q1 net profit $517 million
Q1 2025 net profit before tax increased 18% YoY.
- Net profit after tax for Q1 2025 was AED 1.7 billion, reflecting an 18 percent increase compared to Q1 2024.
- Revenue for Q1 2025 improved by 14 percent to AED 2.9 billion compared to AED 2.5 billion for Q1 2024.
Business
Abbas urges Hamas to free Gaza hostages as Israeli strikes kill 25
"Hamas has given the criminal occupation excuses to commit its crimes in the Gaza Strip, the most prominent being the...
- Senior Hamas official Bassem Naim called Abbas's remarks "insulting". "Abbas repeatedly and suspiciously lays the blame for the crimes of the occupation on our people."
- Hamas's armed wing the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades later issued footage it said was of an Israeli hostage alive in a Gaza tunnel. He identified himself as 48-year-old Omri Miran.
Geostrategy
Germany, France, UK say Israel’s Gaza aid blockade ‘must end’
Germany, France and Britain on Wednesday called on Israel to stop blocking humanitarian aid into Gaza, warning of "an acute...
- After 18 months of devastating war and an Israeli blockade on aid since March 2, the UN has warned of a dire humanitarian situation for the 2.4 million inhabitants
- The heads of 12 major aid organisations warned last Thursday that "famine is not just a risk, but likely rapidly unfolding in almost all parts" of the coastal territory
Geostrategy
Trump to visit Saudi, Qatar, UAE in May amid tensions over Iran, trade, and security
Saudi Arabia's top diplomat held talks in Washington earlier this month to lay the groundwork for a visit by Trump...
- It will be his second foreign trip since returning to office, following his planned attendance at the Vatican for Pope Francis's funeral on Saturday
- Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, promised in January to pile $600 billion into US trade and investments
Arts & Culture
Trump, Zelensky to attend Pope Francis’s funeral Saturday
Pope Francis's funeral will be held on Saturday, the Vatican announced, as world leaders from US President Donald Trump to...
- The Argentine pontiff, 88, died on Monday after a stroke, less than a month after returning home from five weeks in hospital battling double pneumonia
- Francis died in the Casa Santa Marta, the Vatican residence where he lived during his 12-year papacy, and his body was laid out in its chapel on Monday evening
Geostrategy
Iran says technical nuclear meeting with US postponed to Saturday
A technical, expert-level nuclear meeting between Iran and the United States will be held on Saturday, coinciding with the third...
- Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said the decision to reschedule the meeting was made following Oman's proposal and the agreement of the Iranian and US delegations
- Western countries including the United States have long accused Iran of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons -- an allegation Tehran has consistently denied
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Saudi Arabia, Qatar sign high-speed rail deal to link capitals
The train would reach speeds exceeding 300 kilometers per hour and the trip would take roughly two hours between Riyadh...
Geostrategy
Company News
Latest News
‘God’s Influencer’ to become first millennial saint
Arts & Culture
Sweeping UN sanctions return to hit Iran after nuclear talks fail
The sanctions, three months after Israel and the United States bombed Iran, bar dealings related to Tehran's nuclear and ballistic...
Geostrategy
World’s highest bridge opens to traffic in China
Beijing, China -- The world's highest bridge opened to traffic in China on Sunday, state media said, capping an engineering...
Geostrategy
Faced with Russian threat, NATO flexes military muscle in North Sea
NATO flexed its muscles in the North Sea this week in a display of military might, as Russia allegedly tested...
Geostrategy
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Geostrategy
Concluded days after Israeli strikes on Qatar, Pakistan-Saudi defence pact oozes with unknowns
The new mutual defence pact signed by Pakistan and Saudi Arabia this month surprised many and came just days after...
- The agreement comes at an especially volatile time in the wake of both Iranian and Israeli strikes on Doha, and uncertainty over the future of Tehran's nuclear programme
- "Even those accustomed to dramatic developments in the Middle East and South Asia were caught off guard by the announcement," said Joshua White from the Brookings Institution
Business
Trump’s granddaughter launches clothing brand from White House
Washington, United States - US President Donald Trump's granddaughter has unveiled a clothing brand bearing her name, with promotional photos...
- Don Jr.'s daughter stood near the 79-year-old Republican on Friday wearing one of her brand's pullovers, as he answered reporters' questions outside the White House
- "This is Kai, by the way," he told the Washington press corps, introducing his 18-year-old granddaughter who had given a short speech at last year's Republican National Convention
Geostrategy
Iran sanctions look set to return despite last-ditch China, Russia effort to secure a delay
China and Russia at a Security Council session on Friday put forward a draft resolution, seen by AFP, that would...
- European powers were urging Iran to reverse a series of steps it took after Israel and the United States bombed its nuclear sites in June.
- Complaining that Iran has not complied with a landmark but moribund deal, the Europeans have triggered a return of sweeping UN sanctions