Saudi powers forward with deficit spending to fund reforms
The Arab world's largest economy is overseeing a major push to slash its dependence on oil revenues, with officials pouring...
Economy
Israel returns 15 bodies to Gaza after hostage remains identified
It came after Israel announced that a body handed over by Hamas on Tuesday was that of Dror Or, one...
Geostrategy
Business
Saudi open banking market expected to hit $43bn by 2026: El-Kuwaiz
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- Saudi Arabia's open banking market is expected to expand from $7 billion in 2018 to around...
- El-Kuwaiz announced this at the conclusion of the Open Banking Hackathon, held here between February 4 and 19.
- A study has anticipated rise in the market value of training from SAR788 million to approximately SAR1 billion by 2026, he added.
Geostrategy
US draft UNSC resolution supports temporary Gaza truce: Report
Dubai, UAE -- The United States has proposed a rival draft resolution at the United Nations Security Council, emphasizing its...
- The proposed resolution echoes the language US President Joe Biden's said he used in his recent discussions with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
- Washington has been hesitant to use the term "ceasefire" in UN actions regarding the Israel-Hamas conflict and shielded Israel from UN action.
Geostrategy
‘160-year-old story’: Abraham Lincoln pardoned Joe Biden’s ancestor
The "slender sheaf of 22 well-preserved pages of his trial transcript, unobtrusively squeezed among many hundreds of other routine court-martial...
- A record detail the trial of Moses J. Robinette after a fight with fellow Union Army civilian employee John J. Alexander on March 21, 1864
- The two men scuffled, and Robinette drew his pocketknife, leaving Alexander with several cuts before others intervened, according to the documents
Business
Yanbu NPC loss $129m
The company had reported net profit of $110 million in 2022.
- Against the revenue/sales of SAR 7.02 billion in 2022, the company posted revenue/sales of SAR 4.53 billion in 2023, down 35 percent.
- In a Tadawul disclosure, the company attributed the loss to lower average sales prices for all products compared to the previous period.
Business
PIF acquires 40% of Zamil Offshore
Zamil is one of the largest offshore support vessel operators.
- PIF said the investment will enable Zamil to continue expanding its services and fleet to serve the growing demand for offshore support services.
- Incorporated in 1977, Zamil Offshore manages and operates more than 90 vessels in the Arabian Gulf.
Business
Emirates Flight acquires Bustanica
Bustanica is the world's largest indoor vertical farm.
- Bustanica’s 330,000sqft facility has the capacity to grow more than 1 million kilograms of leafy greens a year.
- Its produce is available across all major retailers in the UAE such as Spinney's, Waitrose, Carrefour, and Choithrams.
Business
SIB approves 10% cash dividend
The bank appointed Dr Al Saadi as Sharia Supervisory Committee member.
- Al Owais said SIB posted a net profit of AED851.5 million, an increase of 31 percent compared to AED650.9 million in 2022.
- He added that net operating profits saw an increase of 29 percent to reach AED1.3 billion, compared to AED1.0 billion for the previous year.
Geostrategy
Palestinians accuse Israel of ‘apartheid’ at UN top court
"The Palestinians have endured colonialism and apartheid... There are those who are enraged by these words. They should be enraged...
- Nations including the United States, Russia, and China will address judges at the Peace Palace in The Hague, seat of the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
- The minister urged the court to declare the occupation illegal and order it to stop "immediately, totally and unconditionally."
Geostrategy
UAE seeks maximum penalty in ‘terror’ trial against 84 people
The United Arab Emirates has accused the defendants of forming a "terrorist" organization called the "Committee for Justice and Dignity"...
- Most of the defendants were previously convicted more than a decade ago on similar charges and had completed or were about to complete their sentences.
- Public prosecutors concluded their arguments and confirmed that the case was distinct from that in 2012 and "not about re-trying the accused," reported WAM.
Arts & Culture
‘Addicted to winning’: Sabalenka returns to action in Dubai
Dubai, United Arab Emirates -- World number two Aryna Sabalenka said on Sunday she was "addicted to winning" and hungry for...
- The Belarusian returns to action this week at the WTA 1000 in Dubai to contest her first tournament since her second Grand Slam triumph at Melbourne Park.
- Meanwhile, top-seeded Iga Swiatek has touched down in Dubai, a day after pulling off an impressive threepeat in Doha.
Most Read
Revenue from Saudi cinema may exceed $1bn by 2030KSA, UAE play well as e-gaming trends across GCCExclusive: Middle East’s retail sector rides on AR and hybrid shopping to become $600bn digital economyTECOM Group profit soars 13%UAE startups eye Saudi Arabia for growth, expansionSaudi Arabia leads GCC AI healthcare raceDisparity remains as Saudis, Emiratis see wealth gains
Saudi powers forward with deficit spending to fund reforms
The Arab world's largest economy is overseeing a major push to slash its dependence on oil revenues, with officials pouring...
Economy
Company News
Boeing to cut 10% of workforce
Business
Latest News
Macron to hold talks with Crown Prince Salman on Saudi visit
Macron is beginning the first state visit by a French president to Saudi Arabia since Jacques Chirac in 2006, cementing...
Geostrategy
Desertification talks open in Saudi Arabia as experts fire warning
UN talks aimed at halting the degradation and desertification of vast swathes of land start in Saudi Arabia. Forest loss...
Gulf summit in Kuwait urges ‘immediate ceasefire’ for Gaza
Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Meshal al-Ahmad al-Sabah called on the international community to implement "an immediate ceasefire, providing international protection for...
Geostrategy
Most Read
Business
Elon Musk asks US court to block OpenAi’s for-profit conversion
Washington, United States -- Elon Musk has again asked a US court to stop ChatGPT-maker OpenAI from converting into a for-profit...
- The move is the latest development in a business feud between OpenAI and Musk, who co-founded the group in 2015 but has since left.
- OpenAI has seen its profile skyrocket over recent years as it has become a star player in the growing field of artificial intelligence.
Turkish-backed jihadists breach Aleppo, displacing thousands and cutting vital highway to Damascus
By Friday, the jihadists and their allies had taken more than 50 towns and villages in the north and entered...
- The fighters took control of "half of the city of Aleppo" as regime forces withdrew, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights
- The offensive began on Wednesday, the same day that a fragile ceasefire took effect in neighbouring Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah
Geostrategy
Okonjo-Iweala’s second term: Trump’s disdain for WTO biggest challenge
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the first woman and the first African to head the WTO, is the only candidate in the race,...
- Her term ends in August 2025, and the appointment process expected to lead to her next term had initially been scheduled to take months.
- During Trump's first term, the WTO also faced relentless attacks from his administration, which crippled the organization's dispute settlement appeal system.