Israel recalls Gaza negotiators after Hamas responds to ceasefire plan
Mediators have been shuttling between Israeli and Hamas delegations in Qatar for more than two weeks, but the indirect talks have...
Geostrategy
Saudi investors’ delegation arrives in Syria, aims to invest billions
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- A Saudi delegation of over 100 investors arrived in Damascus on Wednesday ahead of a conference...
Geostrategy
Arts & Culture
As Iraq concrete jungle swelters, ancient stone houses stay cool
Tracing its roots back 2,700 years, the picturesque Kurdish town of Akre says it is better adapted to the modern-day...
- Akre, a city of 100,000 residents about 500 kilometres north of Baghdad, believes sticking with the old ways will help it adapt
- Since 1991, when Kurdistan gained de facto autonomy from Iraq, it has declared concrete off limits for construction and renovation in the old city of Akre
Economy
Rubbish reform: changes to waste management could slash emissions
Governments around the world have pledged to reduce emissions of methane (CH4) - which absorbs 80 times more solar radiation...
- A new report by the GAIA found that simple tweaks in the waste sector could slash carbon emissions by the equivalent of the annual emissions of 300 million cars
- The researchers modelled potential emissions reductions from eight cities around the world and found that, on average, they could cut waste sector emissions by almost 84 percent
Business
Prisoner exchange deal reached with US, claims Iran; Washington silent
Iran and United States have arrived at a deal to exchange prisoners and unfreeze Iranian funds abroad, according to media...
- IRNA said that with prisoner exchange deal done, $7 billion of Iran's blocked resources will be released
- Billions of dollars in Iranian funds have been frozen in a number of countries -- notably China, South Korea and Japan -- since the US reimposed biting sanctions on Iran in 2018
Geostrategy
Yemen’s fate hangs in balance as truce collapses
Special envoy Hans Grundberg pledged "relentless efforts" to reinvigorate the truce, which lapsed on Sunday after bringing a sharp reduction...
- Grundberg's plan to extend the truce which was initially set to last two months and was renewed twice, to half a year
- The US expressed its "deep concern" at the expired truce, and said that the UN-mediated deal represents the best opportunity for peace
Geostrategy
IEA urges Europe to reduce winter gas consumption
Europe must ramp down gas consumption to survive the winter given perilously low stocks amid fears of a total cut...
- The IEA warned of "unprecedented risks" of shortages unless demand is reined in, estimating cuts of nine percent are needed
- IEA said diversification had at least enabled gas stockage facilities to stand at almost 90 percent of capacity at the end of September
Geostrategy
Turkey, Libya sign maritime hydrocarbons agreement
Turkey's foreign minister signed a deal in Libya's capital Monday allowing for oil and gas exploration in 'Libyan waters'.
- The deal follows an agreement Turkey signed with authorities in Tripoli in 2019, which demarcated the countries' shared maritime borders.
- The deal came at the height of a year-long battle between rival governments vying for control of the capital.
Economy
Turkey reels from surging inflation as it hits 24-year high
Turkish inflation jumped to a new 24-year high exceeding 83 percent in September, official data showed Monday after the central...
- President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has focused on growth ahead of a general election in June, has repeatedly railed against higher rates, calling them his "biggest enemy"
- The TUIK state statistics agency said Monday that consumer prices rose by 83.45 percent in September on an annual basis, up from 80.2 percent in August
Arts & Culture
Moroccan nomads’ way of life threatened by climate change
Rainfall in Morocco is set to decline by 11 percent and average temperatures are set to rise by 1.3 percent...
- Rainfall in Morocco is set to decline by 11 percent and average temperatures are set to rise by 1.3 percent by 2050, according to forecasts from the Ministry of Agriculture
- Severe water shortages have even pushed some nomads to take the rare step of taking out loans to feed their livestock, their most vital asset
Economy
UAE’s latest bet on tech: a ministry in the metaverse
In a project launched at Dubai's gleaming Museum of the Future, it announced that the UAE's economy ministry was setting...
- Representatives of tech giants mingled with entrepreneurs exploring the potential of the metaverse, a network of digital spaces intended as an extension of the physical world
- The UAE has already introduced a law governing virtual assets and a regulatory body for cryptocurrencies while welcoming major crypto exchange platforms
Economy
Fed up of perennial power cuts, Gaza turns to solar
For most of Gaza's 2.3 million residents, living under a 15-year-old Israeli blockade, power cuts are a daily fact of...
- Gaza bakery owner Bishara Shehadeh began the switch to solar this summer, by placing hundreds of gleaming panels on his rooftop
- Green energy advocates say that solar energy is a vision for a global future as the world faces the perils of climate change and rising energy costs
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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
Israel recalls Gaza negotiators after Hamas responds to ceasefire plan
Mediators have been shuttling between Israeli and Hamas delegations in Qatar for more than two weeks, but the indirect talks have...
Geostrategy
Company News
Naver profit jumps 129% in Q4
Business
Apple logs US$119.6bn in sales
Business
Latest News
Israel strikes Gaza as US says Rafah attack ‘not imminent’
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he had no indication of an "imminent" Israeli assault on the city, the...
Geostrategy
Israel deploys C-Dome defence system for the first time
On Monday evening, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported an alert in the area of Eilat, which was targeted in...
Most Read
Geostrategy
Six months of bloodshed: the Gaza war in numbers
At least 33,175 people have been killed in the besieged Palestinian territory in Israel's campaign of retaliation for the October...
- Over a third of those killed in Israel on October 7 and in the two subsequent days of violence were members of the security forces including 306 soldiers and 60 police officers
- The Israeli military claims to have "eliminated" 12,000 enemy fighters there, including five brigade commanders and 20 battalion commanders
Geostrategy
Trump increasingly ambiguous on Israel amid Gaza war
At the start of Israel's war with Hamas in October, Donald Trump loudly presented himself as the key US ally's...
- In an exchange with Israeli media, Trump warned that videos "of bombs being dropped into buildings in Gaza" offer "a very bad picture for the world."
- Despite allusions to his concerns, Trump has not explicitly mentioned the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where experts warn a famine is looming.
Geostrategy
Top Europe rights court to issue landmark climate verdicts
STRASBOURG, FRANCE – Europe's top rights court will on Tuesday issue unprecedented verdicts in three separate cases on the responsibility of...
- In a sign of the importance of the issue, the cases have all been treated as priority by the Grand Chamber of the ECHR.
- All three cases accuse European governments of inaction or insufficient action in their measures against global warming.