Trump launches Gaza ‘Board of Peace’ with $10 billion pledge, outlines vague ambitions

• Five countries — Indonesia, Morocco, Kazakhstan, Kosovo and Albania — have committed troops to a proposed International Stabilization Force (ISF) for Gaza.
• Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim-majority country, has offered to send up to 8,000 troops and take a deputy commander role in the force.

Israeli strikes kill 12 Palestinians in Gaza amid measures to ‘annex’ more West Bank land

• Several governments have renewed warnings that unilateral annexation or settlement expansion would violate international law and risk further destabilizing the region.
• The latest Gaza killings also comes as indirect negotiations and mediation efforts have struggled to gain traction.

Geneva talks loom as Trump backs regime change and redeploys second US carrier

• The addition of a second carrier significantly expands US air power, surveillance capability and rapid strike options in the Gulf and surrounding waters.
• Gulf states, long wary of escalation between Washington and Tehran, have urged restraint while quietly bolstering their own security postures.

Citizen-consumers are redefining the global reputation of multinationals: Ipsos study

• Despite regional differences, one expectation stands out globally: people want multinational corporations to contribute to local economies.
• This economic focus was particularly pronounced in developing and emerging markets, including many countries in the Middle East, North Africa, and Latin America.

Web Summit Qatar 2026 in Doha draws 30,000 participants, global tech leaders

The GCC must deploy its ‘strategic advantages’ to lead the transition

• Across the region, business leaders are confronting a reality already transforming global markets.
• Instead of funding isolated projects, Gulf institutions can help build ecosystems such as agritech clusters, circular-economy value chains,

How Sensodyne’s 5th Sense is turning oral care into experience

• Nearly half the population experiences tooth sensitivity, but two-thirds do not seek treatment, pointing to a major awareness gap, Murtaza Mahfouz told TRENDS
• Sensodyne’s ‘5th Sense’ uses immersive technologies like VR and multi-sensory design to position tooth sensitivity as a treatable condition, he adds

To build a knowledge economy, the GCC must bet on its young minds

• This generational shift has been accelerated by national visions across the GCC, from Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 to Bahrain’s Economic Vision 2030.
• The dynamic, which combines wisdom and creativity, is precisely what national visions need to scale.

Who has been invited to be on Trump’s Gaza boards?

• BOARD OF PEACE - The White House says this body will focus on issues such as "governance capacity-building, regional relations, reconstruction, investment attraction.
• NATIONAL COMMITTEE FOR THE ADMINISTRATION OF GAZA - This body, made up of technocrats, will "oversee the restoration of core public services, the rebuilding of civil institutions.

Global economy set for “sturdy growth” in 2026, MENA growth to outpace global economy

• Goldman Sachs Research has projected that the world economy will expand faster than widely expected next year, saying its economists expect sturdy global growth of 2.8%
• The Middle East and North Africa region is expected to outperform the global economy in 2026, with GDP projected to grow by 3.6% year on year compared to global growth of 3.1%