After DJs and raves, Saudi Arabia pushes home-grown culture
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- First, deeply religious Saudi Arabia opened its doors to Western raves and music festivals. Now it's...
Arts & Culture
Trump, Putin meeting ends in areas of agreement, a renewed friendship but without Ukraine deal
"There's no deal until there's a deal," Trump said after emerging from a meeting with Putin. offering warm words but...
Geostrategy
Economy
Iraq impounds three million captagon pills on Syrian border
Iraq has scuttled a big smuggling operation of bringing into the country a large consignment of three million pills of...
- In recent months, Iraqi security forces have ramped up operations against such smuggling bids, with several high-profile drug seizures reported
- Iraqi police, a few weeks ago, announced a big seizure of more than six million pills of the stimulant in a major drug bust
Geostrategy
UN envoy calls on Libyan factions to agree terms for polls by mid-June
TRIPOLI, LIBYA - UN envoy Abdoulaye Bathily called on rival administrations in conflict-torn Libya Saturday to agree terms for elections "by...
- The UN envoy defended his proposal in a news conference in Tripoli, stressing it was "not a foreign-imposed solution".
- Libya remains split between a nominally interim government in Tripoli in the west, and another in the east.
Geostrategy
Iran to buy Russian Sukhoi jets to replace old fleet
TEHRAN, IRAN - Iran has finalized a deal to buy Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jets from Russia, state media reported, as...
- Iranian air force has an old fleet of fighter jets and have had issues to find its spare parts
- Most of the planes of Iranian air force dates back to Soviet era including MiG and Sukhoi
Geostrategy
Over 1,000 migrants brought safely to Italian ports
ROME, ITALY - Over 1,000 migrants were brought to safety at two Italian ports on Saturday after the overcrowded boats...
- The shipwreck occurred of the Calabria shore on 26 Feb and Italian prime minister was criticized for being unable to save the boat
- The incident pushed prime minister into announcing a decree which has provisions of stiffer prison terms for human traffickers
Geostrategy
Two policemen killed in Iran, says state media
TEHRAN, IRAN - Gunmen ambushed and killed two Iranian policemen on patrol in the restive southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan, state media...
- The officers had been "on a mission to provide security" during Friday prayers in the town of Golshan when they came under attack.
- Sistan-Baluchistan province, on Iran's border with Afghanistan and Pakistan, has been the scene of weekly protests that flared in September 2022.
Geostrategy
Li Qiang confirmed as China’s premier by parliament
Li Qiang, one of Chinese President Xi Jinping's trusted allies, was confirmed as premier, as Xi cements his influence on...
- Li Qiang received nearly every vote from the over 2,900 delegates at the National People's Congress.
- Journalists were asked to leave the chamber as deputies, mostly dressed in dark suits, marked their ballots.
Business
Silicon Valley Bank demise has markets jittery, analysts say no contagion risk
Officially closed and put into receivership by US authorities on Friday, SVB was at risk due to a heavy concentration...
- SVB's woes are the result of "idiosyncratic stresses and not one that we see as systemic that would affect the banking industry," said CFRA Research's Ken Leon
- A note from analysts at Morgan Stanley put it simply, saying, "We want to be very clear here ... we do not believe there is a liquidity crunch facing the banking industry."
Tunisia’s Saied plans to restore ties with Syria
Tunisia expelled Syria's ambassador in 2012 over the bloody repression of opponents of President Bashar al-Assad at the outset of...
- "Nothing can justify the absence of a Tunisian ambassador in Damascus and an ambassador from Syria in Tunis," Saied said
- Saied had mentioned his intention to "reinforce the diplomatic representation" of Tunisia in Syria back in February
Geostrategy
Tunisian coast guard rescues 1,008 Africans headed for Europe
Tunis, Tunisia--More than 1,000 Africans trying to reach Europe have been rescued in a single night off Tunisia, the coast guard...
- According to Tunisia's coast guard, more than 1,000 migrants have been rescued off the coast, some 80 miles from Italy
- Most of them were from sub-Saharan Africa but it included more than 50 Tunisians too, said the coast guard
Geostrategy
Yemen’s opposing sides to hold talks in Geneva over prisoner swap
Negotiations overseen in Switzerland by the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross will see Yemen's warring parties...
- One of the Houthi delegates to the Geneva talks in a Twitter post on Thursday said that he hoped the negotiations would yield concrete results
- According to the ICRC, the last major prisoner swap happened in October 2020 when a total of 1,056 prisoners were set free by both sides
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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
After DJs and raves, Saudi Arabia pushes home-grown culture
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- First, deeply religious Saudi Arabia opened its doors to Western raves and music festivals. Now it's...
Arts & Culture
Company News
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Microsoft cutting more jobs from its gaming unit amid industry layoffs
San Francisco, United States- Microsoft is cutting about 650 more positions from its gaming unit as it continues to tighten its...
Business
US releases $1.3 billion in military aid to Egypt
The United States, Egypt and Qatar are parties to the negotiations for the release of the hostages held by Hamas...
Geostrategy
EU’s top diplomat urges de-escalation at Lebanon-Israel border
As war has raged in the Gaza Strip following Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel, Lebanon's Hezbollah has traded near-daily...
Geostrategy
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Business
Rightmove rejects £5.6bn Murdoch bid
The property website said the bid was undervalued.
- REA made public its interest in Rightmove on September 2, noting "clear similarities" between the pair "in terms of their leading market positions in the core residential business"
- Sector-watchers said REA could be attracted by the prospect of more interest-rate cuts in Britain which would lower mortgage costs for buyers.
Geostrategy
Israel strike on Lebanon kills Hezbollah commander
Mohammad Qassem al-Shaer, "a field commander" in the group's elite Radwan Force, "was targeted in an Israeli strike on a...
- Hezbollah earlier announced Shaer had been killed by Israeli fire, but did not refer to him as a commander
- The Israeli military said its air force had "eliminated the terrorist Mohammad Qassem al-Shaer" in the Bekaa Valley
Geostrategy
Oil tanker ablaze off Yemen threatens environmental disaster
An abandoned tanker carrying more than one million barrels of crude oil could contaminate vast areas of the Red Sea...
- Threatening an oil spill four times the size of the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster off Alaska
- An attempt by private companies to tow away the burning ship was abandoned because it was "not safe"