Dubai Airport set for record start to 2025: 4.3m guests in 15 days
Dubai, UAE -- Dubai International Airport (DXB) is on track to welcome 4.3 million guests in the first 15 days...
Business
Geostrategy
Bodies of slain foreign aid workers taken out of Gaza
Israel's armed forces chief Herzi Halevi called the attack a "grave mistake", which he blamed on night-time "misidentification", adding in...
- The Israeli military killed seven staff of the US-based food charity World Central Kitchen on Monday in an attack that UN chief Antonio Guterres labelled "unconscionable."
- The seven deaths piled more pressure on Israel, whose war since the Hamas attack of October 7 has brought devastation and mass civilian casualties to Gaza
Business
Oil prices hit fresh five-month high on OPEC reduction output
Oil prices rose around one percent, with Brent crude closing in on $90 per barrel, as OPEC experts met to...
- Gold zoomed to an all-time pinnacle at $2,288.40 per ounce in Asian trade on haven demand amid geopolitical tensions and the prospect of rate cuts.
- Eurozone stocks advanced as a drop in inflation raised hopes of a rate cut by the European Central Bank, while Wall Street stocks rose following strong jobs data.
Business
Iran discovers giant shale oil reserves in several regions: NIOC
Tehran, Iran -- The National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) has said that shale oil deposits have been discovered in 10...
- The director of exploration at the NIOC, Mehdi Fakour, announced that the company's specially designed model will enable the extraction of oil from these resources.
- Shale oil is an unconventional oil produced from oil shale rock fragments by pyrolysis, hydrogenation, or thermal dissolution.
Business
Abu Dhabi’s real estate transactions reach $4.32 billion in first quarter
Abu Dhabi, UAE -- The value of real estate transactions in Abu Dhabi reached AED 15.9 billion ($4.32 billion) during...
- The emirate logged 2,919 sales and purchases transactions in Q1 2024 totaling over AED 9.6 billion.
- DARI data showed that Abu Dhabi recorded about 2,208 mortgage deals during Q1, with a total value of AED 6.3 billion.
Business
Aramco awards $7.7bn contracts for Fadhili Gas Plant expansion
Dhahran, Saudi Arabia – Saudi energy giant Aramco Tuesday awarded engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts worth $7.7 billion for a...
- The project is expected to increase the plant’s processing capacity from 2.5 to up to 4 billion standard cubic feet per day (bscfd).
- This additional 1.5 bscfd capacity is expected to contribute to the company’s strategy to raise gas production by more than 60 percent by 2030, compared to 2021 levels.
Business
UAE national carriers reach 603 global destinations by Q1
Abu Dhabi, UAE -- The UAE's national carriers have witnessed significant growth in their destination network, reaching approximately 603 destinations...
- The 3% rise over 2022 reflects the rebounding aviation sector and caters to the rising demand for travel.
- Etihad Airways has achieved significant growth, reaching approximately 76 destinations by the end of the first quarter of 2024.
Business
Drake & Scull to issue 2.4 billion shares
This will raise its share capital by $163 million to $944 million.
- The subscription will open on April 25 and close on May 10. New Shares will be allocated on May 16 while share trading will resume on May 21.
- The Mandatory Convertible Sukuk will be issued on May 31 for a period of five years and will be converted into Drake & Scull shares
Geostrategy
Hizbollah vows revenge for Israeli missile strike in Syria
Beirut, Lebanon--Lebanon's Iran-backed Hizbollah group warned Tuesday that Israel will pay for killing high-level Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) in a strike...
- The Lebanese resistance group has exchanged near-daily cross-border fire with Israel in support of its ally Hamas since the Gaza war erupted in October.
- The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 11 people were killed in the strikes, including eight Iranians, two Syrians and one Lebanese, all of them fighters.
Economy
UAE Central Bank forecasts GDP to grow by 4.2% in 2024, 5.2% in 2025
Abu Dhabi, UAE -- The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE) expects the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP)...
- The Central Bank also forecasted a non-oil GDP growth of 4.7 percent in both 2024 and 2025, and an oil GDP growth of 2.9 percent in 2024 and 6.2 percent in 2025.
- The CBUAE report anticipated that the recent introduction of a federal corporate tax is poised to further strengthen government finances.
Economy
Abu Dhabi’s non-oil economy expands 9.1%, real GDP up 3.1% in 2023
The non-oil economy contributed more than 53 percent to the total GDP, with significant growth in construction, finance and insurance,...
- During Q4-2023, Abu Dhabi’s economy grew 4.1% compared to the same period in 2022, with non-oil sector growing by 10.4%.
- The emirate’s GDP in 2023 achieved its best performance in terms of value in 10 years at AED1.14 trillion ($310.38 billion).
Dubai Airport set for record start to 2025: 4.3m guests in 15 days
Dubai, UAE -- Dubai International Airport (DXB) is on track to welcome 4.3 million guests in the first 15 days...
Business
Company News
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Boeing to cut 10% of workforce
Business
Magritte’s ‘Empire of Light’ to fetch nearly $100m at New York auction
New York, United States -- With a Magritte painting estimated to sell for nearly $100 million, drawings by pop artist Keith...
Arts & Culture
End of a love affair: news media quit X over ‘disinformation’
Paris, France -- News outlets have begun quitting X, formerly Twitter, once a favorite of global media but now accused of...
Geostrategy
Lebanon economic losses top $5 billion in year of clashes: World Bank
Beirut, Lebanon -- More than a year of clashes that recently escalated into war have cost Lebanon more than $5 billion...
Geostrategy
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Geostrategy
Saudi-hosted summit says Mideast peace requires end to Israeli occupation
The summit's closing statement said that "a just and comprehensive peace in the region... cannot be achieved without ending the...
- The international community should "launch a plan with specific steps and timing under international sponsorship" to make a sovereign Palestinian state a reality, it added.
- The leaders also condemned "horrific and shocking crimes" by Israel's army, saying they occurred "in the context of the crime of genocide".
Business
Avia to buy 40 Boeing aircraft
The transaction for the purchase of 737 MAX 8 jets valued at $4.9bn.
- Avia's first firm order with the aviation giant comes with an option to add another 40 jets later, Boeing and Avia said in a statement.
- The purchase announcement came shortly after striking workers at Boeing last week approved a new contract proposal, ending a more than seven-week stoppage that cost it billions
Geostrategy
Saudi crown prince demands Gaza, Lebanon ceasefires at Arab summit
Prince Salman also called on Israel not to attack Iran, highlighting improving ties between Saudi Arabia and its former regional...
- Prince Mohammed bin Salman said the international community must "immediately halt the Israeli actions against our brothers in Palestine and Lebanon".
- A draft resolution for the summit stresses "firm support" for "national rights" for the Palestinian people, "foremost among which is their right to freedom".