US agency blames faulty engineering for Titanic sub disaster
Washington, United States - Flawed engineering and inadequate testing contributed to the catastrophic implosion of a private submersible during a...
Investigation
Asian markets rally as Fed cut hopes trump trade war fears
Stocks jumped Wednesday as trade war fears were overshadowed by comments from Federal Reserve boss Jerome Powell that suggested the...
Economy
Business
Qatar awards $6bn in contracts for Al-Shaheen oilfield expansion
The four engineering, installation and procurement contracts will increase production at the Al-Shaheen oilfield -- the country's largest -- by...
- Al-Shaheen currently produces 300,000 barrels per day and is operated through the North Oil Company, a joint venture between QatarEnergy and France's TotalEnergies.
- QatarEnergy said the third phase of expansion at Al-Shaheen, which began production in 1994, will be implemented over five years.
Geostrategy
Yemen’s Houthis fire missiles at US warship: rebel statement
The Houthis, part of the anti-Western, anti-Israel "axis of resistance" of Iranian-backed groups, have been harassing Red Sea shipping for...
- "Iranian-backed Houthi fighters fired one anti-ship cruise missile from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen toward the Red Sea," a Centcom statement said
- The Houthis have launched more than 30 attacks on commercial shipping and naval vessels since November 19, the Pentagon said on Tuesday
Business
Banco Santander posts US$12bn profit
It made record profit on the back of higher interest rates.
- The Spanish lender added five million customers last year, bringing the total to 165 million worldwide
- Lenders across Europe have reported bumper earnings after central banks worldwide hiked rates
Microsoft revenue surges
The company said sales leaped to $62 billion in Q3.
- The company said sales leaped to $62 billion for the October to December period, up 18 percent year-on-year and above the $61.1 billion projected by analysts
- Revenue for Microsoft's Azure cloud services jumped by 30 percent in the period, driven by the bigger computing needs that come with the adoption of AI
Google says AI helped boost profits
Alphabet reported a profit of $20.7 billion.
- Alphabet reported a profit of $20.7 billion on revenue of $86.3 billion, with strong contributions from video-sharing platform YouTube and its cloud computing unit
- Google ads brought in a total of $65.5 billion in the quarter, compared with $59 billion in the same period the prior year, according to the earnings report
Geostrategy
Palestinian aid agency can’t be replaced, UN says
Several countries, including the United States, Britain, Germany and Japan, have suspended funding to the UNRWA agency, and the UN...
- UNRWA said it has acted promptly over allegations by Israel
- Israel accused UN Palestinian refugee agency of "hiring terrorists on a massive scale"
Business
China edges out Japan as world’s top vehicle exporter
In recent years, China's auto sector has grown remarkably largely because of massive investments in electric cars, an area where...
- Japan's vehicle production in 2022 excluding motorcycles totalled 7.84 million units
- China's BYD this month snatched Tesla's crown for most sales of all-electric vehicles
Geostrategy
Pakistan ex-PM Imran Khan and wife get 14 years jail in graft case
Since being ousted in 2022, Khan has been buried by court cases he claims have been triggered to prevent his...
- Khan and his wife were found guilty of graft in a case involving gifts he received while premier, after he was Tuesday handed 10 years in a case related to leaking state secrets
- Pakistan goes to the polls next Thursday in a ballot already marred by allegations of rigging, with Khan barred from running and his party subject to a massive crackdown
Business
Samsung profit dips 34.57 percent
Its operating profit for Q4 was US$2.1bn.
- The company posted a 73.4 percent drop in net profit to $4.8 billion
- It blamed interest rate policies and geopolitical issues for the drop
Geostrategy
Kuwait’s new emir makes first foreign trip to Saudi
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the 38-year-old de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, greeted Sheikh Meshal at the airport in...
- Sheikh Meshal al-Ahmed Al-Sabah, who is 83, was sworn in last month following the death of his predecessor and half-brother, Sheikh Nawaf
- He is faced with the task of overcoming longstanding political paralysis and reforming a bloated public sector
US agency blames faulty engineering for Titanic sub disaster
Washington, United States - Flawed engineering and inadequate testing contributed to the catastrophic implosion of a private submersible during a...
Investigation
Company News
Trump eyes Erdogan’s help to end Ukraine war
Geostrategy
Latest News
UN climate chief warns ‘lot more to do’ before COP30
UN climate chief Simon Stiell urged countries on Thursday to accelerate negotiations ahead of the COP30 in Brazil as there...
Science
Spain PM Sanchez says Gaza in ‘catastrophic situation of genocide’
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Thursday said Gaza was in a "catastrophic situation of genocide" and urged the European...
Geostrategy
Cristiano Ronaldo extends contract with Saudi Arabia’s Al Nassr until 2027
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- Cristiano Ronaldo inked a two-year extension with Saudi Arabia's Al Nassr, the club announced Thursday, following...
Arts & Culture

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Geostrategy
WHO delivers its first medical aid to Gaza since March 2
The shipment of supplies, plasma and blood will be distributed among hospitals in the Palestinian territory in the coming days,...
- Israel imposed a total blockade on the Gaza Strip on March 2. More than two months later, it began allowing some food in, but no other aid items until now.
- Last week the WHO said only 17 of Gaza's 36 hospitals were minimally to partially functional, with the rest unable to function at all.
Geostrategy
Iran strikes damage hard to assess under Israeli military censorship
Such regulations are nothing new in Israel, where any written or visual publication deemed potentially harmful to the loosely defined...
- But with the recent missile barrages from Iran that managed to breach Israel's vaunted air defenses and kill 28 people, the restrictions were further tightened.
- Most of the government's communication during the war focused on its military successes, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday praising a "historic victory" over Iran.
Geostrategy
US hits back at accounts Iran moved enriched uranium before bombing
Trump, seeking credit for ordering military action and then quickly announcing a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, has lashed out...
- Trump has lashed out angrily at media accounts of a classified report that doubted the extent of damage to Iranian nuclear sites
- Vice President JD Vance, asked about the uranium on Sunday, had sounded less definitive and said the United States would discuss the issue with Iran

