Syria sets date for new transitional parliament, local bodies to elect two-thirds of lawmakers
Syrian autorities led by President Ahmed al-Sharaa -- dissolved the former longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad's rubber-stamp legislature and adopted a...
Geostrategy
US says tariff deadline of Aug 1 is firm, no extensions
Washington, United States -- The US deadline of August 1 for imposing tariffs on its trading partners is firm and...
Economy
Business
Credit Suisse to pay $234m fine
Bank to pay fine on money laundering, tax fraud charges.
- Credit Suisse said it had reached the settlement to resolve a legacy matter in relation to investigation into historical cross-border private-banking services.
- The bank added that the settlement does not comprise a recognition of criminal liability.
Geostrategy
Sanctioned Iran general tells EU to ‘buy coal’ with assets
The EU's 27 member states have been squabbling for months over measures to lower energy bills as winter nears.
- Ukraine war has pushed energy prices skywards, with Russia withholding gas deliveries to most of Europe in reaction to Western sanctions
- Bagheri called the imposition of EU sanctions a "mistake" similar to those the United States made when it sanctioned him in 2019
Business
Philips to cut 4,000 jobs as losses deepen
The step followed penalty for faulty sleep respirators.
- The new chief executive Roy Jakobs said Philips would double down on patient safety and quality management
- The company posted a net profit of three billion euros in the third quarter last year, helped by the sale of its domestic appliances business
Economy
Moroccans protest against cost of living crisis
The protest was organized by the country's main trade union, the UNTM, which is close to the Justice and Development...
- The rally, outside parliament and witnessed by AFP journalists, came after several protests already this week in Rabat and other Moroccan cities
- Consumer price inflation was 8.3 percent year-on-year in September, due in large part to surging food prices, which were up 14.7 percent
Economy
Eurozone downturn deepens as Germany heads for recession
Economic activity in the eurozone plummeted further in October and Germany, the EU's top economy, looks headed for a recession,...
- The S&P Global Flash Eurozone purchasing managers' index (PMI) fell to 47.1 for October, down from 48.1 a month earlier, as soaring inflation and high energy prices buffeted Europe
- The survey showed that both manufacturing and services in Germany were showing accelerated rates of shrinkage, though that had yet to feed through into jobs-shedding
Business
Riyad Bank reports 13% jump in profit
The bank's profit rose to $1.3bn in the first nine months of 2022.
- The bank saw its shares increase 1.84 percent at the end of Sunday to reach SR36
- The profit hike was buoyed by higher operating income, due to an increase in earnings from net special commissions, fees and commissions
Business
Climate activists throw mashed potatoes on $111m painting
Publishing a video of the action on Twitter, the environmental protest group Last Generation wrote: "If it takes a painting...
- Dressed in black with orange vests, the two activists poured the mashed potatoes on the painting before squatting in front of it and sticking a hand each on the wall
- In a similar stunt on October 14, two environmental protesters hit van Gogh's world-renowned work with tomato soup at the National Gallery in London
Economy
Qatar market braces for football World Cup boom
Crowds are already growing as a World Cup buzz mounts. Fan zone attractions and temporary stores are being set up...
- The narrow alleys of the century-old Souq Waqif will be a magnet for the one million football followers expected at the tournament
- Devastated by a major fire in 2003, most of it has been rebuilt with arched pedestrian alleys, as part of a project to regenerate central Doha
Geostrategy
Boris Johnson drops out of race for UK PM
Declaring an end to his bid for the UK top job, former UK PM Boris Johnson said that he had...
- Tories have been forced into a second leadership contest since the summer following Truss's resignation after only 44 disastrous days into her tenure
- Sunak had raced ahead in the count for Tory MPs' support, drawing backing from across the parliamentary party and crossing the minimum threshold Friday
Geostrategy
Iran’s nuclear agency says its subsidiary’s email server hacked
A group called Black Reward on Friday issued an ultimatum on Twitter, threatening to release documents on Tehran's nuclear programme...
- Iran has been gripped by weeks-long demonstrations sparked by the death of 22-year-old Amini on Sept. 16 after her arrest for allegedly violating the country's dress code.
- The street violence has led to dozens of deaths, mostly among protesters but also among the security forces, and hundreds of demonstrators have been arrested.
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Syria sets date for new transitional parliament, local bodies to elect two-thirds of lawmakers
Syrian autorities led by President Ahmed al-Sharaa -- dissolved the former longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad's rubber-stamp legislature and adopted a...
Geostrategy
Company News
L’Oreal net profit jumps 8.4%
Business
Russia cannot be defeated in Ukraine: Putin
Geostrategy
Latest News
Hamas says no ‘major’ issues, as Gaza truce effort builds
Egypt, Qatar and the United States have been trying to mediate a new truce ever since a one-week halt to...
Geostrategy
Dubai begins construction of ‘world’s largest’ airport terminal
"We approved the designs for the new passenger terminal at Al Maktoum International Airport, and (are) commencing construction of the...
Business
Blinken to Saudi as window shrinks on Middle East mega-deal
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's visit to Riyadh comes nearly seven months after the eruption of war in Gaza...
Geostrategy
Most Read
Arts & Culture
Saudi Arabia could get first Miss Universe contestant this year
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- Saudi Arabia could have its first Miss Universe contestant this year, organizers said this week, after a...
- Saudi model Rumy al-Qahtani said she was in "negotiations" about participation in Miss Universe but declined to provide further details.
- Qahtani told AFP she had previously participated in various pageants in the Middle East and Europe and posed with several sashes she said she obtained at the competitions.
Geostrategy
Saudi Arabia to host top Arab, EU diplomats for Gaza talks: officials
The two-day World Economic Forum special meeting, scheduled to begin in Riyadh on Sunday, includes in its official program appearances...
- French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne is among European officials travelling to Riyadh during the summit for talks on Gaza.
- Saudi Arabia's neighbor Qatar hosts a Hamas political office and has served as a mediator in talks that have so far failed to secure a durable ceasefire.
Geostrategy
Ahead of feared Rafah invasion, Palestinians mourn bombardment dead
Israeli government spokesman David Mencer said Israel's war cabinet was meeting Thursday "to discuss how to destroy the last battalions...
- Global concern has mounted over the looming operation against Hamas in Rafah, where much of Gaza's population has sought refuge from more than six months of war
- Israeli officials have for more than two months vowed to enter Rafah, near the Egyptian border, but even before any ground operation the area has been regularly bombed