World Cup host Morocco under pressure to save stray dogs
Tangiers, Morocco - Animal welfare groups have accused Morocco of culling stray dogs as it prepares to host football's 2030...
Economy
Syria inks infrastructure and real-estate deals worth $14 billion
Since the overthrow of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December, Syria's new authorities have worked to attract investment for the...
Economy
Arts & Culture
Tributes pour in as Brazilian football legend Pele dies; funeral Tuesday
Brazilian football icon Pele, a three-time World Cup winner who transformed the "beautiful game" and is widely regarded as the...
- A flood of tributes instantly poured in from the football world and beyond, with messages from figures including current superstars Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe
- Named athlete of the century by the International Olympic Committee in 1999, Pele is the only footballer in history to have won three World Cups -- in 1958, 1962 and 1970
Geostrategy
Benjamin Netanyahu sworn in as Prime Minister of Israel
Israel's hawkish veteran Benjamin Netanyahu was sworn in as prime minister after a stint in opposition, heading what analysts call...
- Netanyahu, 73, who is fighting corruption charges in court, already served as premier longer than anyone in Israeli history, leading the country from 1996-1999 and 2009-2021
- Netanyahu was ousted in June 2021 by a motley coalition of leftists, centrists and Arab parties headed by Naftali Bennett and former TV news anchor Yair Lapid.
Geostrategy
Netanyahu’s controversial concessions to Israel govt partners
Jerusalem-- Israel's newly sworn-in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has granted major concessions to far-right and ultra-Orthodox allies to cement a...
- Bezalel Smotrich, head of the extreme-right Religious Zionism formation, will oversee civilian affairs in the occupied West Bank.
- Government recognition of illegal outposts established in the West Bank without government approval within 60 days.
Geostrategy
Dubai court authorizes jailed Brit’s fraud extradition, say lawyers
DUBAI, UAE - A Dubai court Thursday authorized the extradition of a British national wanted over an alleged 1.7 billion...
- Hedge fund trader Sanjay Shah was arrested in Dubai in June, but the emirate's Court of Appeal in September rejected an extradition request by Denmark.
- Shah is accused of running a scheme for three years from 2012 in which foreign firms pretended to own shares in Danish companies and claimed tax refunds.
Business
TSMC begins making 3nm chips
TSMC operates the world's largest silicon wafer factories.
- TSMC is also Apple's primary chip supplier.
- Its 3nm-process chips are expected to have more processing power while using less power, boosting battery performance.
Twitter outages hit thousands of users worldwide
DownDetector reported a spike in issues with Twitter starting around 7 pm Eastern time (midnight GMT), with users unable to...
- At the peak of the outage, DownDetector clocked more than 10,000 complaints in the United States, as the hashtag #TwitterDown trended on the platform
- Web monitor NetBlocks said the outages were international and not related to country-level internet disruptions or filtering
Turkish court upholds rights leader’s life sentence
Paris-born activist and philanthropist Osman Kavala was sentenced to life in jail without the possibility of parole in April on...
- Kavala was first charged with funding the wave of 2013 protests that some analysts view as the genesis of Erdogan's more authoritarian posture in the latter half of his two-decade
- He was best known as a soft-spoken businessman who was spending part of his wealth to promote culture and projects aimed at reconciling Turkey and its arch-nemesis Armenia
Tunisia’s Saied downplays puny poll turnout, slams critics
Saied lashed out at unnamed critics, accusing such rivals of "drowning in corruption and treachery" and of "plotting against the...
- Just 11.2 percent of registered voters took part in the December 17 polls for a neutered parliament, which capped Saied's overhaul of the political system
- Turnout - initially announced at just under nine percent - was the lowest since the 2011 revolution that overthrew dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali
Economy
Algeria offers Sahara tourists visas on arrival
In a statement, it said that "foreigners heading to the south of the country" who have tours booked with licenced...
- Algeria, Africa's biggest country by surface area, comprises a major chunk of the Sahara including nature reserves and prehistoric sites
- But the North African country hosts far fewer tourists than its neighbours, Morocco and Tunisia, relying instead on its vast oil and gas revenues
Geostrategy
Tunisian prosecutors move to try 13 judges on ‘terror’ charges
The move comes nearly seven months after President Kais Saied sacked 57 judges, accusing them of corruption and blocking enquiries...
- Defence lawyer Ayachi Hammami said the 13 were among 49 judges reinstated in Aug. But the justice ministry has been investigating his 13 clients for "terrorist crimes".
- "This case is purely political," Hammami said. The accused judges are to appear before the Supreme Judicial Council (CSM) on January 24, he told AFP.
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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
World Cup host Morocco under pressure to save stray dogs
Tangiers, Morocco - Animal welfare groups have accused Morocco of culling stray dogs as it prepares to host football's 2030...
Economy
Company News
Latest News
European Union chief in Egypt for joint investment conference
"At this conference, European companies are signing over 20 new deals ... which are worth over 40 billion euros," Ursula...
Geostrategy
Reformist hopes for breakthrough as Iran goes to polls
Tehran, Iran - Iranians voted in a presidential election on Friday marked by a lone reformist's bid to break through against...
Polls open in Iran for presidential election amidst vote boycott calls
Polls in Iran opened on Friday for a presidential election following the death of ultraconservative president Ebrahim Raisi in a...
Geostrategy
Most Read
Saudi pushes equal pay at launch of women’s tennis finals
The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) announced in April that Riyadh would host the next three editions of the tour finals...
- Saudi Arabia has been luring professional tennis players to tournaments since 2019, part of a broader campaign to turn the conservative and formerly closed-off kingdom into a sport
- It has also recruited top footballers including Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar into its professional league and hosted marquee heavyweight boxing bouts and Formula One races
Business
US offers $5 million reward for Bulgarian ‘cryptoqueen’
SOFIA, Bulgaria -- The United States announced Wednesday a reward of up to $5 million for information that could lead to...
- Ignatova, 44, evaded arrest by fleeing on a flight from Sofia to Athens two weeks after her indictment in October 2017 and her whereabouts remain unknown.
- Ignatova, who has German citizenship, is accused of being the mastermind behind the mammoth fraudulent virtual currency scheme OneCoin.
Geostrategy
Battles in Gaza’s Rafah as US warns Israel over Lebanon
Top Israeli officials have suggested they are open to a diplomatic resolution of the border tensions, though Gallant said Israel...
- "Another war between Israel and Hezbollah could easily become a regional war," US Defense Secretary warned
- "Diplomacy is by far the best way to prevent more escalation," Austin added