‘Tuna King’ pays record $3.2 mn for bluefin at Tokyo auction
Tokyo, Japan -- A Japanese sushi entrepreneur paid a record $3.2 million for a giant bluefin tuna Monday at an...
Business
Bondi shooting responders honoured at Sydney Ashes Test
Sydney, Australia -- England and Australia's cricket teams honoured at the fifth Ashes Test in Sydney on Sunday emergency service...
Geostrategy
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
Economy
Deja vu? Trump accused of economic denial and physical decline
Washington, United States -- An aging president faces poor poll numbers and suspicions about his health but insists that America...
- According to a poll by the University of Chicago for the Associated Press, published Thursday, only 31 percent of Americans are satisfied with Trump's economic policy.
- Like his predecessor, Trump today is trying to steer some of consumers' discontent toward big corporations suspected of inflating prices.
Geostrategy
Hamas says weapons are ‘legitimate right’, open to proposals that preserve it
"Resistance and its weapons are a legitimate right guaranteed by international law and are linked to the establishment of a...
- "We are open to studying any proposals that preserve this right while guaranteeing the establishment of a Palestinian state."
- The US-sponsored ceasefire, in effect since October 10, remains fragile as Israel and Hamas accuse each other almost daily of violations.
Geostrategy
Gunmen kill 11 at Jewish festival on Australia’s Bondi Beach, one of the biggest tourist draws
Police declared the shooting a "terrorist incident" and said they had found suspected "improvised explosive devices" in a vehicle near...
- The shooting took place during an anncual "Hanukkah by the Sea" event at Bondi Beach which police said was attended by over a thousand people
- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Australia's government of having fuelled anti-Jewish sentiment in the period leading up to the shooting
Economy
Algeria include son of Zinedine Zidane in AFCON squad
Goalkeeper Luca Zidane, a son of France football icon Zinedine Zidane, was named on Saturday in the Algeria squad for the...
- The 27-year-old plays for Spanish second-tier club Granada and represented France at youth level before switching his international allegiance to Algeria
- "I'm sure the players will arrive highly motivated and ready to play in this AFCON," said Algeria coach and former Switzerland coach Vladimir Petkovic after announcing the squad
Geostrategy
China’s smaller manufacturers look to catch the automation wave
Yancheng, China -- In a light-filled workshop in eastern China, a robotic arm moved a partially assembled autonomous vehicle as workers...
- China is already the world's largest market for industrial robots.
- The first essentially humanless factories are already in operation.
Geostrategy
Trump vows revenge after troops in Syria killed in alleged IS ambush
The deadly attack had been "an ambush by a lone ISIS gunman," who was "engaged and killed," US Central Command...
- Trump called it "an ISIS attack against the US, and Syria, in a very dangerous part of Syria, that is not fully controlled by them."
- The incident is the first of its kind reported since Islamist-led forces overthrew longtime Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad in December last year
Geostrategy
US envoy Witkoff to meet Zelensky, Europe leaders in Berlin at weekend
US President Donald Trump's special envoy will meet with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky and other European leaders in Berlin this weekend,...
- Ukrainian officials said they recently sent Washington an updated plan building on Trump's original 28-point peace proposal to end the war
- Trump's plan, publicly revealed last month, was accused of echoing Moscow's key demands, including Ukraine giving up crucial territory to Russia
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
‘Tuna King’ pays record $3.2 mn for bluefin at Tokyo auction
Tokyo, Japan -- A Japanese sushi entrepreneur paid a record $3.2 million for a giant bluefin tuna Monday at an...
Business
Company News
France’s screen siren Brigitte Bardot dies at 91
Arts & Culture
Latest News
China says to launch digital currency action plan
Beijing, China -- China will on January 1 launch an "action plan" for boosting management and operations of its digital...
Economy
Emirates mining company challenges Guinea license withdrawal
Dakar, Senegal -- Mining company Axis International said Monday it was seeking World Bank arbitration against Guinea for withdrawing its...
Business
France’s screen siren Brigitte Bardot dies at 91
Saint-Tropez, France - French film sensation Brigitte Bardot, a symbol of sexual liberation in the 1950s and 1960s who reinvented herself...
Arts & Culture
Most Read
Geostrategy
A saint, a monk, a rock: Bulgaria’s euro coin designs
Sofia, Bulgaria -- Ancient rock art, a patron saint and a monk will be emblazoned on euro coins from Thursday,...
- Bulgaria will become the 21st country to adopt the euro on Thursday.
- The single currency first rolled out in 12 countries on January 1, 2002, and has since regularly extended its influence, with Croatia the last country to join in 2023.
Geostrategy
Iraqis cover soil with clay to curb sandstorms
Samawah, Iraq -- Deep in Iraq’s southern desert, bulldozers and earthmovers spread layers of moist clay over sand dunes as...
- Iraq has long suffered from sand and dust storms, but in recent years they have become more frequent and intense as the country falls prey to the effects of climate change.
- Iraqi authorities have warned that these suffocating storms will intensify further, adding urgency to efforts to address the root of the problem.
Geostrategy
Saudi-led coalition warns of intervention against Yemen separatists
The statements came a day after reported Saudi airstrikes on separatist positions in Yemen's Hadramawt province — and after Washington...
- Saudi Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman posted on X that troops from the separatist STC should “peacefully hand over” two regional governorates to the government.
- In recent weeks, the UAE-backed STC, which seeks to revive the formerly independent state of South Yemen, swept through swaths of the country.