US hits back at accounts Iran moved enriched uranium before bombing
Trump, seeking credit for ordering military action and then quickly announcing a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, has lashed out...
Geostrategy
Turkey’s 5,000-year-old bread finds new life
Round and flat like a pancake, 12 centimeters (five inches) in diameter, the bread was discovered during excavations at Kulluoba,...
Arts & Culture
Business
Fifth Aramco facility receives WEF Global Lighthouse Network tag
Dhahran, Saudi Arabia -- Aramco's North Ghawar Oil Producing Complex has become the company's fifth facility to be added to...
- Aramco said that only industrial sites that successfully deploy 4IR technologies at scale are admitted to the prestigious network.
- WEF said UAE's EGA, named End-to-End Value Chain Lighthouse, undertook a 4IR transformation to further increase its cost-competitiveness.
Business
PIF acquires stake in Saudi Re
The acquisition was made by way of a capital increase.
- PIF said in a statement that the capital investment aims to enhance Saudi Re’s growth potential by adding to its financial capacity and further strengthening its credit rating.
- In the first nine months of 2024, Saudi Re's total written premiums reached SAR 1.94 billion ($520 million).
Business
Non-institutional foreign ownership in Tadawul-listed firms up slightly
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- Non-institutional foreign investors increased their stake in Tadawul-listed equities, excluding Saudi Aramco, from 9.70 percent to...
- The ownership increased from 9.70 percent to 9.72 percent, equivalent to SAR 334.55 billion, during the week ending January 9.
- GCC investors’ ownership in Saudi equities, excluding Saudi Aramco, declined from 2.27 percent to 2.18 percent of the total market capitalization.
Geostrategy
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...
- The complexity arises from the rapid growth of emerging technologies, prevailing geopolitical uncertainty and the evolution of threats.
- It also arises from regulatory challenges, vulnerabilities in supply chain interdependencies and the growing cyber skills gap, the report said.
Economy
World economic growth to remain at 2.8 percent in 2025: UN report
The World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) 2025 report shows that despite withstanding a series of mutually reinforcing shocks, global...
- It said that positive but somewhat slower growth forecasts for China and the United States will be complemented by modest recoveries in the European Union, Japan, and Britain.
- US growth was expected to moderate from 2.8 percent last year to 1.9 percent in 2025 as the labor market softens and consumer spending slows.
Business
ADNOC Gas awards contracts
The $2.1bn contracts are aimed at enhancing LNG supply infrastructure.
- The LPP and compression facilities will be located within ADNOC Gas’ Habshan 5 plant, part of one of the world’s largest integrated gas processing complexes.
- The largest contract, valued at $1.24 billion for the LPP, was awarded to a consortium consisting of Engineering for the Petroleum and Process Industries (ENPPI) and Petrojet.
Opinion
The $480 billion creator economy revolution
We're likely to see more creators seeking alternatives to traditional gatekeepers, following in the footsteps of artists like Taylor Swift....
- Influencers are becoming increasingly important in shaping consumer behavior: Nearly 72% of young Americans follow digital creators.
- According to Chamath Palihapitiya, influencers are pioneering a non-mechanistic method of demand generation that could surpass traditional advertising.
Business
Qatar’s real estate department records weeklong deals worth $71 million
Doha, Qatar -- Real estate sales contracts worth 251.25 million qatari riyals were registered with the emirate's Real Estate Registration...
- During the Dec 29-Jan 2 period, the total sales contracts for the real estate bulletin for residential units reached QR 10.57 million.
- The properties traded for sale included vacant lands, residential homes, apartment buildings, shops, residential complex, and residential units.
Business
Saudi Industrial Production Index increases by 3.4 percent in Nov 2024
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- Saudi Arabia's Industrial Production Index (IPI) increased by 3.4 percent in November 2024, compared to Nov...
- This increase is driven by growth in mining and quarrying, manufacturing, water supply, sewerage, and waste management and remediation activities.
- The sub-index of mining and quarrying activity increased by 1.2 percent, and the sub-index of manufacturing activity increased by 7.2 percent.
Business
Saudi Arabia retains first rank in MENA Venture Capital funding in 2024
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- Saudi Arabia maintained its first rank across MENA in terms of Venture Capital (VC) funding in...
- The Kingdom secured the highest, 40 percent, share of total VC funding in the MENA region in 2024.
- The report also revealed that Saudi Arabia set a new record with 178 VC deals in the same year.
US hits back at accounts Iran moved enriched uranium before bombing
Trump, seeking credit for ordering military action and then quickly announcing a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, has lashed out...
Geostrategy
Company News
Latest News
Gaza rescuers say 25 killed in Israeli strike on school-turned-shelter
Gaza civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP more than 100 others wounded in the strike on Dar al-Arqam School...
Geostrategy
AI’s impact on jobs, technology’s touchy topic sparks unease
New York, United States - "Stop Hiring Humans" read a provocative sign at an AI conference in Las Vegas, where...
Business
Russia to hold talks with US in Riyadh Monday: Kremlin
Donald Trump spoke to both Russia's Vladimir Putin and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky this week and the US is also due...
Geostrategy
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Geostrategy
Ukraine to propose sky, sea truce at US talks in Saudi: official
The talks on Tuesday will be the first Ukraine-US meeting since a White House blow-up between Zelensky and US President...
- In Jeddah, the port city close to Islam's holiest sites in Makkah and Madinah, dozens of Ukrainian and Saudi flags flew on a main roundabout near the airport and on thoroughfares.
- US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff said Washington wanted to use the talks "to get down a framework for a peace agreement and an initial ceasefire as well".
Geostrategy
Arab leaders propose Gaza reconstruction under Palestinian Authority, reject Trump’s takeover plan
The prospect of the Palestinian Authority (PA) governing Gaza remains far from certain, however, with Israel having ruled out any...
- Tuesday's Arab League summit in Cairo offered an alternative with the adoption of a "comprehensive Arab plan."
- It announced the establishment of a trust fund to pay for the territory's reconstruction, and urged the international community to back it
Arts & Culture
West Bank eviction film ‘No Other Land’ wins best documentary Oscar
Jerusalem -- No Other Land, a documentary about Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank, has won the best documentary award...
- Shot in Masafer Yatta near the West Bank city of Hebron, the documentary follows a young Palestinian struggling with forced displacement.
- After a long legal battle with Palestinian communities, an Israeli supreme court ruling in 2022 paved the way for the eviction of the area's more than 1,000 residents.