Tech firms aiming for smaller, leaner AI models

Macron attends PIF-hosted Riyadh One Planet Sovereign Wealth Funds meet

• Discussions at the summit focused on the pivotal role of sovereign wealth funds as global investors in addressing climate challenges among others.
• Key action tracks were identified to enhance investment decision-making for climate action, boost efficiency and impact within the global financial system.

Developing countries paid $1.4 trillion to service their debts in 2024

• The World Bank report noted that high interest rates have been a key driver of the rising cost of servicing foreign debt.
• Rates charged by private creditors were even worse, rising to a 15-year high of six percent -- an increase of more than one percentage point.

Non-oil sectors drive robust growth in GCC countries, says World Bank report

• "The [GCC] region has shown remarkable resilience in the face of global disruptions, moving steadily on their diversification agenda."
• Saudi Arabia's growth is expected to accelerate to an average of 4.7 percent in 2025-2026 as oil production increases.

Lebanon says nine killed in Israeli strikes on southern villages

• Israel has carried out a near-daily series of strikes in southern Lebanon since the ceasefire
• On Monday, the Lebanese army said an Israeli drone wounded a soldier

QatarEnergy inks gas supply deal for China with Shell

• The liquefied natural gas deliveries would begin in January as part of a "new long-term sale and purchase agreement."
• Qatar is one of the world's top gas producers alongside the United States, Australia and Russia

Israel vows ‘harsh response’ to Hezbollah attack

• At least two people were killed on Monday in Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon
• The ceasefire came into effect on November 27 and stipulates that Israel will not carry out offensive military operations

Macron to hold talks with Crown Prince Salman on Saudi visit

• Macron's three-day stay also coincides with a flare-up of violence in Syria, where anti-government rebels have seized Aleppo, the second largest city.
• The fighting in Syria comes after France helped to broker a fragile ceasefire in neighboring Lebanon, where Israel has been fighting Iran proxy Hezbollah.

Desertification talks open in Saudi Arabia as experts fire warning

• 3.7 billion acres must be restored by decade's end to combat crises
• Forest loss and degraded soils were reducing resilience to climate change and biodiversity loss

Plastic pollution talks South Korea fail to reach landmark deal

• For a week, delegates from nearly 200 nations meeting in South Korea have wrestled with how to stop millions of tonnes of plastic waste entering the environment each year
• Plastic pollution is so ubiquitous that microplastics have been found on the highest mountain peak, in the deepest ocean and throughout almost every part of the human body