Global gas flaring surges again, costs $63bn in lost energy: WB
Washington, UAE -- Global gas flaring surged for a second year in a row, wasting about $63 billion in lost...
Geostrategy
Trump to unveil investments to power AI boom
Washington, United States - US President Donald Trump heads to Pennsylvania on Tuesday to announce energy and infrastructure deals intended...
Research
Economy
MENA Outlook: Diversification, AI, and economic integration take centre stage
As the region pivots toward a post-oil future, recent developments across the Middle East and North Africa suggest an accelerating...
- Saudi government announced a $5.6 billion fertilizer JV between SABIC and Aramco, while also adopting new green building codes to reduce emissions
- From launching the world’s first AI-powered media council to streamlining family business, Abu Dhabi and Dubai are reinventing the regulatory ecosystem to attract global capital
Economy
IMF upgrades Saudi real GDP growth forecast to 6% in 2025, up from
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has revised upwards its forecast for Saudi Arabia's economic growth to...
- This adjustment from earlier estimates reflects the impact of extended oil production cuts and a slower-than-expected rebound in oil output.
- The IMF anticipates that inflation will remain contained, with an average annual rate holding steady at 2.1 percent in 2025 and easing slightly to 2 percent the following year.
Economy
World Economic Forum unveils framework highlighting transformative technology convergences across key industries
Agentic AI, spatial intelligence and robotic advancements in manipulation and adaptive control are enabling autonomous systems to make intelligent decisions...
- The 3C framework – combination, convergence and compounding – identifies standout technology combinations such as cognitive robots and digital twin ecosystems
- The framework can help industry leaders drive systemic change across infrastructure, energy, transportation and healthcare by investing in ecosystem readiness
Geostrategy
New WEF report reveals how tech convergence will reshape industries
Geneva, Switzerland – The World Economic Forum today released a new report examining how emerging technology combinations are reshaping industries...
- AI is a key enabler, making many emerging tech synergies commercially viable across industries.
- Digital twins, enhanced by AI and sensors, are expanding efficiency in sectors from aerospace to healthcare.
Economy
Lebanon on bumpy road to public transport revival
Beirut, Lebanon - On Beirut's chaotic, car-choked streets, Lebanese student Fatima Fakih rides a shiny purple bus to university, one...
- Lebanon's public transport system never recovered from the devastating 1975–1990 civil war that left the country in ruins, and in the decades since, car culture has flourished
- Even before the economic crisis that began in 2019, the country was running on empty, grappling with crumbling power, water and road infrastructure
Business
Oil under $65 a boon for consumers, but a burden on producers
London, United Kingdom -- US President Donald Trump's tariffs, his call to "drill baby drill" and especially a decision by...
- The fall in oil prices has contributed to a global slowdown for inflation, while also boosting growth in countries reliant on importing crude, such as much of Europe.
- Cheaper crude "increases the level of disposable income" consumers have to be spending on "discretionary items" such as leisure and tourism, experts say.
Science
How social media can ‘trigger’ eating disorders in young people
Paris, France -- Social media can push vulnerable young people towards developing eating disorders by glorifying thinness and promoting fake,...
- Young women and girls are much more likely to suffer from illnesses such as anorexia, bulimia and binge eating disorder, though rates among men have been increasing.
- Research has shown the percentage of people worldwide who have had some kind of eating disorder during their lives rose from 3.5 percent in 2000 to 7.8 percent in 2018.
ADNOC expands its STEM Education Programme to empower UAE students in AI
Abu Dhabi, UAE – ADNOC has expanded its Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education programme to empower UAE students...
- Launched in January 2025, the Future of AI Schools Challenge received 14,500 applicants from 351 schools across the country
- During the final, ADNOC and AIQ showcased how ENERGYai, the world’s first agentic AI solution for the energy industry
Business
Google makes case for keeping Chrome browser in US court
Washington, United States - Google on Friday urged a US judge to reject the notion of making it spin off...
- US government attorneys have called for divesting Google of Chrome browser, contending that AI is poised to ramp up it's dominance
- They also want Google barred from agreements with partners such as Apple and Samsung to distribute its search tools
Interview
Generative AI’s most prominent skeptic doubles down
Vancouver, Canada -- Two and a half years since ChatGPT rocked the world, scientist and writer Gary Marcus still remains...
- Marcus's criticism centers on a fundamental belief: generative AI, the predictive technology that churns out seemingly human-level content, is too flawed to be transformative.
- The large language models (LLMs) that power these capabilities are inherently broken, he argues, and will never deliver on Silicon Valley's grand promises.
Global gas flaring surges again, costs $63bn in lost energy: WB
Washington, UAE -- Global gas flaring surged for a second year in a row, wasting about $63 billion in lost...
Geostrategy
Company News
Latest News
G7 to exempt US multinationals from global minimum tax
The deal will see US companies benefit from a "side-by-side" solution under which they will only be taxed at home,...
Economy
World Bank announces Lebanon, Syria reconstruction projects
Beirut, Lebanon -- The World Bank announced on Wednesday it had approved $250 million to support Lebanon's post-war reconstruction and...
Economy
US Fed chair signals no rush for rate cuts despite Trump pressure
The Fed has a duty to prevent a one-time spike in prices from becoming an "ongoing inflation problem," said Federal...
Economy
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Geostrategy
Oil prices seesaw as investors await Iran response to US strikes
US stocks edged higher while European markets retreated and Asian equities were mixed, with markets keeping a close eye on...
- They later dipped briefly into the red and then wobbled, standing down around one percent as European markets closed.
- Iran is the world's ninth-biggest oil-producing country, exporting just under half of the 3.3 million barrels it produces per day.
Economy
Oil prices spike after US strikes on Iran nuclear sites
Economists at MUFG warned of "high uncertainty of the outcomes and duration of this war", giving a "scenario analysis" of...
- Asian stocks were lower as traders digested the weekend's events, with Iran threatening US bases in the Mideast
- Iran is the world's ninth-biggest oil-producing country, with output of about 3.3 million barrels per day
Economy
Tesla to build first grid-scale power plant in China
New York, United States - Tesla announced Friday that it signed an agreement to build its first grid-scale energy storage...
- The project will help with the flexible adjustment of grid resources, and "effectively solve pressures relating to urban power supply," Tesla said
- Chinese media outlet Yicai reported that Tesla Shanghai, Shanghai authorities and China Kangfu International Leasing Co. held a signing ceremony Friday for the project