Novel concept: China’s spellbinding bookstores draw selfie snappers
Tianjin, China -- Towering accordion steps and a fantastical spiral staircase greet visitors to a massive bookstore in northern China's...
Arts & Culture
Defiant Khamenei insists ‘won’t back down’ in face of growing Iran protests
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Friday insisted the Islamic republic would "not back down" in the face of...
Geostrategy
Business
Gold tops $4,000 for first time on political, economic worries
US and European stock markets mostly rose while Asian equities fell as investors also kept tabs on the AI investment...
- Parts of the US government began to close last week after Democrats and President Donald Trump failed to break a deadlock over spending.
- Tech firms led selling in Asia, with Alibaba and JD.com down in Hong Kong, chip-maker TSMC dropping in Taipei and Renesas sharply lower in Tokyo.
Business
GITEX25: G42 to host fireside chat with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman
Abu Dhabi, UAE – G42, the Abu Dhabi-based technology group, Wednesday announced its participation at GITEX Global 2025 with the...
- The G42 District will serve as a one-stop destination for government officials, business leaders, and visitors to explore how AI is being operationalized across sectors.
- It will feature G42’s full portfolio of companies - including Core42, Khazna, M42, Presight, CPX, Inception, Space42, AIQ, AstraTech and Analog.
Geostrategy
Syria announces ‘comprehensive ceasefire’ with Kurds after clashes
Damascus, Syria - Syria announced a comprehensive ceasefire with Kurdish forces after a meeting Tuesday between Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa...
- Syria's authorities, who took power last year after the ouster of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad, have rejected Kurdish demands for a government giving them greater autonomy
- The Kurds, who carved out their semi-autonomous administration under Assad, have called for decentralisation, a demand the new authorities have rejected
Geostrategy
Pro-Gaza protests flare in UK on anniversary of Hamas attack
London, United Kingdom - Thousands of students protested in London and other UK cities on Tuesday, defying a plea from...
- Chanting "Free Palestine", students from several London universities walked out of classes at 2:00 pm (1300 GMT) to march through the centre of the British capital
- Writing in The Times newspaper, Starmer alleged that pro-Palestinian protests had been used "to attack British Jews for something over which they have absolutely no responsibility
Geostrategy
UN chief demands end to Gaza hostilities, immediate release of hostages
On the second anniversary of the Hamas October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, Antonio Guterres decried a "humanitarian catastrophe on...
- His comments came as the world marked the two years since Hamas launched a massive assault on Israel, making it the deadliest day in the country's history.
- Israel's military campaign in Gaza by air, land and sea has killed at least 67,160 people, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.
Economy
WTO hikes 2025 trade growth outlook but tariffs to bite in 2026
The WTO raised its forecast for trade volume growth in 2025 to 2.4 percent -- up from 0.9 percent in...
- In an unusual move, the global trade body has revised its estimates several times this year due to uncertainties surrounding the new tariffs imposed by the Trump administration.
- Since returning to office in January, Trump has slapped several waves of new tariffs on imports entering the United States.
Business
OpenAI unveils ChatGPT app integration feature
San Francisco, United States - OpenAI on Monday unveiled a new feature for ChatGPT, the leading generative AI model with...
- Chief Executive Sam Altman announced the new tool to a crowd of enthusiastic developers gathered in San Francisco for the company's annual "Developer Day."
- The new feature, Apps SDK, allows ChatGPT to interact with various apps to select music, search for real estate or explore hotel and flight booking sites
Arts & Culture
Ancient tablet disappears from Egypt’s Saqqara necropolis
Cairo, Egypt - A limestone tablet dating back more than 4,000 years has disappeared from Egypt's Saqqara necropolis, authorities said...
- In a statement, the antiquities ministry announced "the disappearance of an ancient tablet from the tomb of Khenti Ka in the Saqqara archaeological area".
- In September, Egyptian police said they arrested a museum employee and three alleged accomplices after a priceless ancient gold bracelet was stolen from Cairo's Egyptian Museum
Business
OpenAI signs multi-billion dollar chip deal with AMD
OpenAI signed a multi-year partnership Monday with chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices as the ChatGPT-maker continues an investment spree to secure...
- The companies announced the plan to develop AI data centers that the chipmaker said would bring in tens of billions of dollars in new revenue over the next five years
- AMD's share price surged 35 percent when markets opened on news of the agreement that would see the company deliver six gigawatts worth of chips to the ChatGPT-maker
Business
OpenAI signs multi-billion dollar chip deal with AMD
New York, United States -- OpenAI signed a multi-year partnership Monday with chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices as the ChatGPT-maker continues...
- The companies announced the plan to develop AI data centers that the chipmaker said would bring in tens of billions of dollars in new revenue over the next five years.
- AMD's share price surged 35 percent when markets opened on news of the agreement that would see the company deliver six gigawatts worth of chips to the ChatGPT-maker.
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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
Novel concept: China’s spellbinding bookstores draw selfie snappers
Tianjin, China -- Towering accordion steps and a fantastical spiral staircase greet visitors to a massive bookstore in northern China's...
Arts & Culture
Company News
Latest News
Ancient cures and AI: WHO seeks evidence for traditional medicine
New Delhi, India -- The World Health Organization opens a major conference on traditional medicine on Wednesday, arguing that new...
Science
Famed Jerusalem stone still sells despite West Bank economic woes
Sair, Palestinian Territories - Despite the catastrophic state of the Palestinian economy, Faraj al-Atrash, operator of a quarry in the...
Business
Netflix boss promises Warner Bros films would still be seen in cinemas
Netflix will continue to distribute Warner Bros. films in cinemas if its takeover bid for the storied studio is successful,...
Business
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Geostrategy
First European Union airline flight in 35 years lands in Baghdad
Baghdad, Iraq -- Iraq's transport ministry said Tuesday that a flight operated by Greece's Aegean Airlines had been the first...
- European airlines have not operated direct flights to Baghdad International Airport for security reasons since the early 1990s, when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait.
- But, after decades of turmoil, Iraq has recently begun to regain a sense of stability and the government is striving to attract foreign investment to bolster the country's economy.
Geostrategy
Israeli army to demolish 25 residential buildings in West Bank camp: local authorities
The Israeli army is to demolish 25 residential buildings in the north West Bank's Nur Shams refugee camp later this...
- In early 2025, Israel's military launched an operation it says is aimed at rooting out Palestinian armed groups from refugee camps
- During the operation, Israel has destroyed hundreds of houses in the dense network of alleys that make up the refugee camps
Geostrategy
Ukraine hails ‘real progress’ in Zelensky’s talks with US envoys to end the war with Russia
Kyiv's negotiator Rustem Umerov wrote on social media that the marathon diplomacy in the German capital had been "constructive and...
- Ukraine hopes to convince Washington that a ceasefire must be agreed without prior territorial concessions to Russia
- Trump has pushed strongly for an end to the war but an initial 28-point plan last month was seen as favouring Moscow's position