Hezbollah chief thanks Iran for ongoing support to face Israel
Beirut, Lebanon - Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem has thanked a senior Iranian official for his country's ongoing support in confronting...
Geostrategy
Foreign NGOs say new Israeli rules keep them from delivering Gaza aid
According to the joint letter, whose signatories include Oxfam and Doctors Without Borders (MSF), at least 60 requests to bring...
Geostrategy
Geostrategy
WHO chief lands in rebel-held Syria for first time after quake
In the aftermath of the quake, activists and emergency teams in the rebel-held northwest decried the UN's slow response, contrasting...
- Tedros was the highest-ranking United Nations official to visit the rebel-held zones since the February 6 quake.
- UN relief chief Martin Griffiths admitted on February 12 that the body had "so far failed the people in northwest Syria".
Business
World Cup airlift helps flydubai to record profits in 2022
Profits soared 43 percent to 1.2 billion dirhams ($327 million) despite higher oil prices as the United Arab Emirates carrier...
- flydubai, which has been operating since 2009, reported a 72 percent rise in annual revenues and an 89 percent increase in passengers to 10.6 million.
- The airline, based in the Middle East financial hub of Dubai, hired a record 1,300 employees and took delivery of 17 aircraft, another new high.
Arts & Culture
Iraqi cemetery echoes 1400 years of life and death
For Shiites, who make up the religious majority in Iraq, "being buried near Imam Ali is very important," said the...
- Some historians estimate that over six million souls rest at the cemetery, mostly Iraqi but also Iranian and Pakistani Shiites
- Iraq in a submission to UNESCO estimated its area at 2,265 acres and called it "the oldest and biggest cemetery"
Science
Saudis swap kabsa for kale to combat obesity
The Vision 2030 reform agenda spearheaded by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman includes goals for bringing down both obesity and...
- Roughly one in five Saudi adults is obese, according to an in-depth study published by the World Bank last year that described the problem as alarming
- The Global Obesity Observatory places the kingdom at number 17 in its international rankings of obesity prevalence, three slots below the United States
Iran has uranium particles enriched to nearly bomb grade: IAEA
The IAEA report said that during an inspection "on 22 January 2023, the agency took environmental samples... at Fordow (sic)...
- The IAEA report comes as the head of the UN's nuclear watchdog, Rafael Grossi, is expected to visit Tehran "in the coming days."
- Iran's stockpile of uranium enriched to 60 percent stood at 87.5 kilogrammes, up from 62.3 kilogrammes, the report said
Nigeria gas fuels Morocco, Algeria pipeline power struggle
Morocco and Algeria have moved to revive long-stalled projects in light of a gas supply crunch following Russia's invasion of...
- Algeria is pushing to relaunch plans for a Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline linking Nigeria to Algeria's Mediterranean coast via Niger
- Morocco's deal with Nigeria and their West African neighbors is set to cost 23 billion euros but the project would involve complex negotiations
Science
Covid-19 ‘most likely’ caused by incident in Wuhan lab: FBI head
Washington, United States--FBI Director Christopher Wray said Tuesday his agency believes the Covid-19 pandemic was "most likely" caused by an incident...
- The comments come after a report earlier this week said the US Department of Energy said that a leak from a Chinese lab was the most likely cause of the Covid-19 outbreak
- FBI head also accused the Chinese government of trying to stall US efforts to investigate the causes of the pandemic
Geostrategy
After attack from settlers, envoy urges Security Council to protect Palestinians
The Security Council has an obligation to find ways to "provide protection" for Palestinian civilians, the Palestinian ambassador to the...
- Mansour said it would have been helpful for Security Council representatives to visit Huwara so they could "see with their own eyes (and) feel the horror in the minds."
- Last week, for the first time in six years, the Security Council denounced the building of Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territories, in a statement approved by the US
Wars, poverty fuel spike in Iraqi child labour
Children in Iraq work as apprentice mechanics and rubbish collectors, in shisha cafes or hair salons, and washing car windows...
- Despite its oil riches, nearly one-third of Iraq's 42 million inhabitants live in poverty, according to the United Nations
- UNICEF has been working with authorities in Baghdad to support a system of social protection that could lift children out of poverty
Geostrategy
Libya parliament denounces ‘errors’ in UN envoy’s report
The form and rules around elections have been key sticking points in Libya's faltering peace process since the last major...
- In a statement on Tuesday, the office of parliament chief Aguila Saleh voiced "surprise at the errors in the briefing over the failure of parliament
- Polls in Libya had been set for December 2021 but were postponed indefinitely amid bitter divisions over who could stand and what powers the president would have
Most Read
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
Hezbollah chief thanks Iran for ongoing support to face Israel
Beirut, Lebanon - Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem has thanked a senior Iranian official for his country's ongoing support in confronting...
Geostrategy
Company News
Latest News
China manufacturing contracts for fourth straight month
While some sectors have largely regained their strength -- including tourism and the auto industry -- others are struggling, particularly...
Economy
UN draft on climate finance highlights deep divisions ahead of COP29
Paris, France - The UN has published a draft on climate financing due to be presented at the COP29 in November,...
Yemen’s Houthis blew up stranded oil tanker: video
Rebel chief Abdul Malik al-Houthi on Thursday said his forces had "stormed" the tanker earlier this week. He added in...
Geostrategy
Most Read
Geostrategy
Telegram boss Durov free but charged and held in France
Paris, France -- Telegram chief Pavel Durov was spending Thursday out on bail after four days of detention in France, banned...
- Durov, 39, was charged on several counts of failing to curb extremist and illegal content on the popular messaging app which now has over 900 million followers.
- He was granted conditional release on a bail of five million euros and on the condition he must report to a police station twice a week as well as remaining in France.
Geostrategy
Israel agrees ‘humanitarian pauses’ in Gaza to allow polio vaccinations
"The way we discussed and agreed, the campaign will start on the first of September, in central Gaza, for three...
- The vaccination rollout will also cover southern and northern Gaza, which will each get their own three-day pauses, Peeperkorn told reporters.
- UN agencies have said they plan to provide oral vaccines against type-2 poliovirus (cVDPV2) to more than 640,000 children in the territory.
Business
Durov: Father of 100 children is a mysterious and controversial Telegram founder
Paris, France - Russian-born tech entrepreneur Pavel Durov has founded wildly popular social networks, cryptocurrencies, amassed a multi-billion-dollar fortune and locked...
- Durov, 39, who preaches the virtues of ice baths for health and has fathered 100 children through sperm donations, is a controversial as well as enigmatic figure
- A self-avowed libertarian, Durov has championed confidentiality on the internet and freedom of speech, defiantly refusing to allow the moderation of messages on Telegram