Global economy set to face significant challenges in 2025: WEF survey
Geneva, Switzerland – The global economy is set to face significant challenges in 2025, with 56 percent of chief economists...
Economy
Cyber landscape complexity deepens cyber inequity, gap between organizations: WEF report
The complexity arises from the rapid growth of emerging technologies, prevailing geopolitical uncertainty and the evolution of threats, says WEF's...
Geostrategy
Business
Saudi records $412m venture capital funding in H1, highest in MENA
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- Saudi Arabia has maintained its first rank across MENA in terms of the amount of Venture...
- E-commerce/retail was the highest sector in the Kingdom in terms of VC funding, accounting for 52 percent of total funding, amounting to $215 million.
- FinTech continued to lead the Kingdom's total number of deals, capturing 14 percent of deals in the first half of 2024.
Business
Methanol-powered ship to set sail for Europe’s first ‘green’ route
Rotterdam, Netherlands -- The first methanol-powered ship to ply routes between Europe's busy ports was unveiled Tuesday in Rotterdam, with shipping...
- The Eco-Maestro, a 13,675-tonne container carrier will head off to Antwerp in the next few days, before plotting a course for Klaipeda in Lithuania and Riga in Latvia.
- Completed in China earlier this year, the Eco-Maestro is kitted out with the latest engines that can run on methanol -- a sustainable fuel made from decomposed organic matter.
Business
China’s BYD signs deal to open electric car plant in Turkey
Istanbul, Turkey -- China's electric vehicle giant BYD on Monday signed a one-billion-dollar agreement with Turkey to open a plant in...
- The one-billion-dollar agreement would likely help China dodge new European Union tariffs.
- The BYD facility will have an annual capacity of 150,000 vehicles as well as a research and development center.
Business
Chip giant TSMC briefly joins trillion-dollar club
New York, United States -- Chip-making juggernaut Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. briefly surpassed $1 trillion in market capitalization on Monday as...
- TSMC controls more than half the world's output of chips and supplies them for everything from Apple's iPhones to Nvidia's cutting-edge artificial intelligence hardware.
- The company hit the threshold briefly after the opening bell in New York, but slipped lower in later trading.
Geostrategy
Gaza battles rage as mediators push for truce deal
Mediators Egypt and Qatar were due to host new talks this week, according to officials, as the bloodiest-ever Gaza war...
- Cairo and Doha have resumed diplomatic efforts to halt the fighting, aiming for an initial six-week ceasefire
- Hamas has signaled it would drop its insistence on a "complete" ceasefire
Geostrategy
Is Artificial Intelligence a major drain on the world’s energy supply?
Paris, France -- When Google announced this week that its climate emissions had risen by 48 percent since 2019, it pointed...
- The International Energy Agency (IEA) said in a report earlier this year that data centers in general used roughly 40 percent of electricity on computing and 40 percent on cooling.
- Big tech firms have been rushing to pack all their products with AI ever since OpenAI launched its ChatGPT bot in late 2022.
Business
Airbus nets satellite deal
The $2.5bn contract was awarded by the German army.
- The contract was awarded for next generation SatcomBw 3 military communications satellites, the European aerospace firm said.
- The contract, for deployment by the end of the decade, includes the prime contractor of two satellites "as well as the ground segment (receiving stations.
Business
European Union slaps Chinese electric cars with tariffs of up to 38%
Brussels, Belgium -- The European Union on Thursday slapped extra provisional duties of up to 38 percent on Chinese electric car...
- A European Commission probe launched last year concluded that state subsidies for Chinese EV manufacturers were unfairly undercutting European rivals.
- The Chinese Chamber of Commerce to the EU slammed the tariffs, coming on top of current import duties of 10 percent, as "politically-motivated" and "protectionist".
Geostrategy
Heavy fighting rocks Gaza as thousands are on the move again
The United Nations warned that the almost nine-month-old war had "unleashed a maelstrom of human misery."
- The UN agency supporting Palestinian refugees said 250,000 people had been impacted by the latest evacuation order
- The war has now displaced 80 percent of Gaza's population
Science
Dubai-based rowers brave Arctic this July to highlight plastics pollution
At an indoor pool in Dubai, three rowers battle artificial rain and simulated waves as they train for an Arctic...
- They plan to row for three weeks aboard an eight-meter boat flying the UAE flag, with no sail or engine
- The United Nations says plastics account for 85 percent of all marine trash
Global economy set to face significant challenges in 2025: WEF survey
Geneva, Switzerland – The global economy is set to face significant challenges in 2025, with 56 percent of chief economists...
Economy
Company News
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‘A matter of pride’: Saudis rejoice as World Cup bid approved
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- Fireworks and drones depicting the iconic golden World Cup trophy lit up the sky in Saudi Arabia's...
Arts & Culture
Ras Al Khaimah tourism sector contributes 5 percent to GDP: Official
Ras Al Khaimah: Ras Al Khaimah seeks to welcome 3.5 million tourists annually by 2030, says Raki Philipps, CEO of Ras...
Business
Google unveils its most advanced Artificial Intelligence model, Gemini 2.0
San Francisco, United States -- Google on Wednesday announced the launch of Gemini 2.0, its most advanced artificial intelligence model to...
Business
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Business
Air passenger numbers to top five billion for the first time in 2025: IATA
Geneva, Switzerland -- Air passenger numbers are forecast to top five billion for the first time next year and the sector's...
- Total industry revenues are forecast at $1.007 trillion, helped by falling oil and fuel prices, "the first time that industry revenues top the $1 trillion mark," IATA said.
- Airlines have been hit by rising fuel costs since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022 but IATA said it expected this factor to ease next year.
Business
UAE to introduce 15% tax rate on corporate profit from Jan 2025
Dubai, United Arab Emirates -- The United Arab Emirates, home to the regional headquarters of numerous multinational companies, said Monday it...
- The move will bring the UAE in line with efforts towards a global minimum corporate rate.
- The UAE, long considered a tax haven, last year began taxing the profits of companies worth more than 375,000 dirhams ($102,000) at nine percent.
Business
Oil prices higher on China boost, Syria uncertainty
Major stock markets diverged as investors reacted to political crises in South Korea and France, and tracked the perspectives for...
- Oil prices rose more than one percent as traders tracked developments in Syria after president Bashar al-Assad fled the country over the weekend as rebels swept into Damascus.
- China is battling sluggish domestic consumption, a persistent crisis in the property sector and soaring government debt -- all of which threaten Beijing's official growth target.