Qatar fears collapse of Israel-Hamas ceasefire after new Gaza strikes leave five Palestinians dead
The new strikes came the morning after one of the deadliest days in the Gaza Strip since the truce began...
Geostrategy
Italy’s Leonardo launches joint venture with UAE defence firm
Milan, Italy -- Italian defense group Leonardo said Wednesday it had agreed to launch a joint venture next year with...
Business
Updates: Israel confirms killing of Hezbollah leader’s successor as Blinken presses for Gaza truce
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Israel to reach a ceasefire in Gaza, while Israeli airstrikes continued targeting Hezbollah's...
- A member of Hezbollah's decision-making body and a distant relative of Nasrallah, Safieddine was out of contact since Israeli strikes on Beirut weeks ago,
- Grey-bearded and bespectacled, Safieddine bore a striking resemblance to his distant cousin Nasrallah, but was several years his junior, aged in his late 50s or early 60s
Economy
IMF predicts slightly slower global growth in 2024 and 2025
In its new World Economic Outlook (WEO) report, the International Monetary Fund also estimates that global inflation will continue to...
- "In our baseline analysis, in advanced economies (inflation) will be back at central bank targets in 2025," he said.
- The IMF expects growth in the Middle East and Central Asia to pick up slightly to 2.4% in 2024, before jumping to 3.9% in 2025 as the effect of oil and shipping disruptions fades.
Geostrategy
Is Musk’s million-dollar US voter lottery legal?
Donald Trump surrogate Elon Musk's offer of a million dollars to one registered voter in a swing state every day...
- "I think it's something that law enforcement should look at."- Democratic Governor of Pennsylvania
- Musk defends his move by saying it is a simple get-out-and-vote effort
Wealthy Israelis offer rewards for release of Gaza hostages
Jerusalem, Undefined - Frustrated with the dwindling prospect of reaching a ceasefire deal in the year-long Gaza war, some Israeli entrepreneurs...
- Former SodaStream CEO Daniel Birnbaum said he received about 100 calls after offering $100,000 in cash or bitcoin for the safe delivery of a living Israeli prisoner from Gaza
- Birnbaum said most of the calls are pranks, threats or curses, but "10 to 20 could be legitimate" and were transferred to Israeli authorities for further verification
Science
Microsoft unveils autonomous AI agents for business tasks
San Francisco, United States - Microsoft on Monday said it was enhancing its AI offerings with new autonomous agent capabilities as...
- AI agents are specialized programs designed to perform routine tasks autonomously, such as sifting through sales leads or handling customer service inquiries
- The AI agent has become the newest buzzword for major software companies that are investing billions in powerful AI models, which they believe will shape the future of computing
Geostrategy
Updates: Israel hits more targets in Lebanon as Blinken travels to Middle East to push for truce
Lebanon says four people were killed including a child in the latest Israeli strikes as Tehran says the United States...
- Four people including a child had been killed on Monday evening in Israeli strikes near the Lebanon's biggest public hospital
- Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa discuss bilateral cooperation with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Manama
Geostrategy
In escalation, Israel bombs Hezbollah-linked finance group
-Israel began bombing Lebanese branches of an association accused of financing the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement, Lebanese state media reported late...
- 11 Israeli strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs targeted Al-Qard Al-Hassan.centers
- UNIFIL, said an Israeli "army bulldozer deliberately demolished an observation tower and perimeter fence of a UN position
Economy
China’s central bank cuts two key rates to boost economy
Beijing, China - China's central bank on Monday said it had cut two key interest rates to historic lows, in the...
- The cuts come just days after the country posted its slowest quarterly growth in a year and a half, underlining the deep economic woes the country faces
- Leaders are targeting annual growth of five percent this year, but that goal is being challenged by weak consumption and a prolonged and debilitating debt crisis
Geostrategy
Oil-rich Iraqi Kurdistan votes, shadowed by economic struggles
The KDP is the largest party in the outgoing parliament, with 45 seats against 21 for the PUK. The KDP's...
- Iraqi Kurdistan presents itself as a relative oasis of stability in the turbulent Middle East, attracting foreign investors due to its close ties with the United States and Europe
- However, activists and opposition figures contend that the region, autonomous since 1991, faces the same issues affecting Iraq as a whole: corruption, repression, and cronyism
Putin thanks UAE president for positive role in prisoner exchange with Ukraine
UAE President Sheikh Mohamed meets his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to discuss bilateral ties and Middle East. Sheikh Mohamed will...
- Moscow and Kiev announced that they had swapped 95 prisoners each following negotiations led directly by the UAE
- The UAE and Russia ties have grown closer recently with Putin saying that their bilateral trade had tripled in the past three years to $11.1 billion
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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
Qatar fears collapse of Israel-Hamas ceasefire after new Gaza strikes leave five Palestinians dead
The new strikes came the morning after one of the deadliest days in the Gaza Strip since the truce began...
Geostrategy
Company News
IHC H1 net profit $2.94 billion
Business
Latest News
Turkey bans concert by French singer over support for Israel
Istanbul, Turkey - Turkish authorities Wednesday said they have banned a planned concert Friday in Istanbul by Enrico Macias after...
Arts & Culture
Israel security agency says foiled Hamas plot to kill far-right minister
srael's internal security service said on Wednesday it had foiled a plot by Palestinian militant group Hamas to kill far-right...
Geostrategy
With Kim, Putin at his side, Xi says world “faced with a choice of peace or war”
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russia's Vladimir Putin flanked Xi Jinping at a massive parade of military might...
Geostrategy
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Business
Global bond selloff spreads to Japan, gold hits record high
Wall Street stocks opened mostly higher, with shares in Google parent-company Alphabet shooting up nearly seven percent after winning a...
- Yields on 30-year Japanese government bonds rose to an all-time high of 3.29 percent on Wednesday, while 20-year yields reached their highest since 1999.
- The selloff in Japanese debt mirrors widespread moves in the United States and Europe, with investors spooked over substantial piles of government debt globally.
Geostrategy
Israel expecting one million Gazans to flee new offensive, planning “humanitarian area” for them
The Israeli military has been gearing up to seize Gaza City, the Palestinian territory's largest urban centre, with the United...
- Last month, Israel approved a major settlement project just east of Jerusalem that the international community has warned threatens the viability of future Palestinian statehood.
- And on Wednesday, Israel's Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for annexation of swathes of the West Bank, after Belgium said it would recognize a Palestine as a state.
Geostrategy
Lost for 50 years, Nobel patents found in Swedish summer home
Stockholm, Sweden -- A dozen patents belonging to Swedish inventor and philanthropist Alfred Nobel and lost for almost 50 years...
- Nobel -- who discovered dynamite in 1867 and created the Nobel Prizes in his 1895 will -- had hundreds of patents in several countries.
- Nobel was known as a globetrotter -- he was nicknamed "the richest vagabond in the world" -- who at various times in his life lived in Sweden, Russia, Germany, France.