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...
Geostrategy
UN rights council to consider call for Israel arms sales halt
The UN Human Rights Council on Friday is set to consider a draft resolution calling for a cessation of arms...
Geostrategy
Economy
World economy resilient, says IMF; keeps growth forecast unchanged
The IMF kept its 2023 global growth forecast unchanged but warned that the economy is "limping along" as inflation remains...
- Inflation, which has fallen sharply since last year, is predicted to remain elevated at 6.9 percent this year.
- Central banks across the globe have raised interest rates sharply in efforts to contain inflation.
Geostrategy
Israel imposes total siege on Gaza after Hamas attack
Israel imposed a total siege on the Gaza Strip and cut off the water supply as it kept bombing targets...
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened that "what Hamas will experience will be difficult and terrible ... We are going to change the Middle East."
- Israel said it had called up 300,000 army reservists for its "Swords of Iron" campaign.
Business
Dubai at top global ranking for attracting Greenfield FDI projects in H1 2023
DUBAI, UAE - Dubai remains the top global destination for attracting Greenfield Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) projects, with the emirate...
- During the first half of 2023, Dubai’s global share in the attraction of Greenfield FDI projects stood at 6.58 percent.
- The results align the Dubai Economic Agenda D33, which aims to double the size of the emirate’s economy over the next decade.
Economy
FAO raises its forecast for global cereal production in 2023
ROME, ITALY - The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) raised its forecast for global cereal production...
- The higher forecast is almost entirely based on recent and more positive yield estimates for the Russian Federation and Ukraine.
- There will be increased wheat consumption while global rice utilization is forecast at 520.5 million tons.
Science
Drought caused major global hydropower drop in early 2023
BANGKOK, THAILAND - Dry conditions, particularly in China, caused a "historic" global drop in hydropower in the first half of 2023,...
- Wind and solar generation grew more slowly in the first half of this year than in the same period last year.
- The chief of this year's COP climate meeting has called for a global tripling of renewable energy capacity by 2030.
Geostrategy
Saudi Arabia to enhance air connectivity to over 250 destinations by 2030
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - A delegation led by President of the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) Abdulaziz bin...
- The Kingdom plans on carrying 330 million passengers annually and raising freight capacity to 4.5 million tons by 2030.
- Saudi Arabia and the Dominican Republic also signed agreements on air transport services between the two countries.
Economy
Middle East economic growth to fall in 2023, says World Bank
WASHINGTON, US - The growth of the economies in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is expected to fall...
- The region’s gross domestic product is expected to fall to 1.9 percent in 2023 from 6 percent in 2022, due to oil production cuts.
- The decline in growth this year is expected to be more pronounced in the oil exporting countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council.
Science
Nobel Chemistry Prize awarded to quantum dots researchers
The trio, whose names were leaked in the Swedish press ahead of the announcement, succeeded in producing these tiny components,...
- Bawendi, 62, born in Paris to French and Tunisian parents, is a professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States.
- Brus, 80, is a professor at Columbia in New York, and Russian-born Alexei Ekimov works at the US-based Nanocrystals Technology.
Science
Trio wins physics Nobel for illuminating electrons
France's Pierre Agostini, Hungarian-Austrian Ferenc Krausz and Franco-Swede Anne L'Huillier won the Nobel prize in physics for research using ultra...
- The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences likened the process to how the flapping wings of a humming bird turn into a blur for the human eye.
- "We can now open the door to the world of electrons," Eva Olsson, chair of the Nobel Committee for Physics, said in a statement.
Market Report
Markets slump as US jobs data says labor market buoyant
The focus has been on US Treasury bond yields that have surged to levels not seen in over a decade,...
- Asian indices also ended mostly lower with Hong Kong leading the decline, falling nearly 2.7 percent as the market reopened after a holiday weekend
- Russia's currency meanwhile continued to weaken on signs the country's economy is facing slower growth and higher inflation as the Ukraine war drags on
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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...
Geostrategy
Company News
Latest News
US military begins dropping aid into war-torn Gaza
Israel's top ally the United States said it began air-dropping aid into war-ravaged Gaza, as the Hamas-ruled territory's health ministry...
Geostrategy
Hamas team heads to Cairo for new truce talks
Palestinian Territories - A Hamas delegation was expected to fly to Cairo on Saturday for talks on a truce in...
Geostrategy
Apple’s changes contradicts European rules, 34 firms complain
Brussels, Belgium - Changes Apple is making to its services in the European Union "make a mockery" of new antitrust rules...
Business
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Business
EU queries Meta about ad-free subscriptions, shadow banning
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - The EU on Friday used new regulatory powers to query Meta about ad-free subscriptions to Facebook and Instagram as...
- The European Commission made a request for information under the mammoth content moderation law known as the Digital Services Act (DSA).
- The EU has launched probes under the DSA to quiz platforms on how they are addressing concerns from consumer protection to children's activity online.
Geostrategy
Hamas says Israeli military action kills 7 hostages in Gaza
Hamas said that seven more hostages seized during its unprecedented attack on southern Israel on October 7 had died because...
- Hamas seized around 250 Israelis and foreigners during the October 7 attack on southern Israel.
- A spokesman for the UN agency OCHA told reporters that "if something doesn't change, a famine is almost inevitable" in Gaza.
Science
Energy-related global CO2 emissions hit record levels in 2023, says IEA
PARIS, FRANCE – Energy-related carbon dioxide emissions rose to a record level in 2023, but the growth slowed from previous years...
- CO2 emissions from energy rose by 1.1 percent in 2023, increasing by 410 million tonnes to a record 37.4 billion tonnes.
- Without the drought and water shortfalls, global carbon emissions from power generation alone would have fallen last year.