Pope urges Lebanese to stay in their country despite difficulties
Leo emphasized the need for peace, using the word more than 20 times during the address, without mentioning any specific...
Geostrategy
Insurance giant Allianz signals job cuts in AI shift
Frankfurt, Germany -- German insurance giant Allianz signalled Wednesday looming job cuts due to its adoption of artificial intelligence, with...
Business
Geostrategy
Zoo lion’s Muslim name riles Hindu nationalists
Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), a right-wing Hindu organization, went to court after reports a lioness named Sita had been put...
- "Sita cannot stay with the Mughal emperor Akbar," VHP official Anup Mondal said Sunday, saying it hurt religious sentiments in the Hindu-majority nation.
- "Such act amounts to blasphemy and is a direct assault on the religious belief of all Hindus," the VHP said in its petition to the court.
Arts & Culture
AI-Operated robots assist visitors to the Grand Mosque in Makkah
Makkah, Saudi Arabia -- The Presidency of Religious Affairs at the Grand Mosque and the Prophet's Mosque has deployed AI-operated...
- The robots provide information and guidance on a variety of topics, including how to perform the Hajj and Umrah rituals, Islamic rulings and fatwas.
- They also provide directions to different locations within the mosque, and translations in multiple languages.
Geostrategy
UN court to weigh consequences of Israel occupation
The UN's top court will hold hearings on the legal consequences of Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories since 1967, with...
- While any ICJ opinion would be non-binding, it comes amid mounting international legal pressure on Israel over the war in Gaza sparked by the brutal October 7 Hamas attacks.
- The hearings are separate from a high-profile case brought by South Africa alleging that Israel is committing genocidal acts during the current Gaza offensive.
Arts & Culture
London hosts showcase for world’s biggest grand opera in Arabic
London, United Kingdom -- The production operations of Zarqa al-Yamamah Opera, the first grand opera to be produced by Saudi Arabia...
- The Zarqa al-Yamamah Opera is set to begin in Riyadh in mid-April and extend to multiple local and international performances.
- Zarqa Al-Yamamah is a legendary character in Arab history during the pre-Islamic era.
Geostrategy
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny dies in prison
Western governments immediately attacked the Kremlin over the death of the most outspoken critic of President Vladimir Putin. Navalny lost...
- The 47-year-old was Russia's most prominent opposition leader and won a huge following with his criticism of corruption in Vladimir Putin's Russia.
- Navalny's exposes, posted on his YouTube channel racked up millions of views and brought tens of thousands of Russians to the streets, despite Russia's harsh anti-protests laws..
Geostrategy
5 die in Israeli-raided hospital after oxygen cut: Gaza ministry
Palestinian Territories -- The health ministry in Gaza said five patients died Friday due to lack of oxygen at one...
- A witness, who declined to be named out of fear for their safety, said army snipers shot "at anyone who moved inside the hospital".
- Medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said on Thursday that shelling of the hospital had forced its staff to flee, leaving patients behind.
Business
solutions to pay 60% cash dividend
The company posted a 13 percent rise in net profit for 2023.
- The profit increase was mainly due to the SAR 587 million uptick in gross profit, as revenues grew year-on-year (YoY) by 25.4 percent.
- In Q4 2023, net profit fell 17.8 percent to SAR 162 million from SAR 197 million in Q4 2022.
Geostrategy
Israel sends troops into besieged Nasser hospital in Gaza’s Khan Yunis
The raid came after days of intense fighting between troops and Hamas around the Nasser hospital in Khan Yunis --...
- It has called the situation at Nasser "catastrophic", with staff unable to move bodies to the morgue because of the risks involved.
- The World Health Organization has described Nasser hospital as a critical facility "for all of Gaza", where only a minority of hospitals are even partly operational.
Business
IEA warns on plummeting oil stocks as growth in demand ebbs
"As the IEA celebrates its 50th anniversary this week, oil supply security remains as critical as ever," said the agency...
- The agency forecast that "the pace of expansion is set to decelerate further to 1.2 mbd in 2024, compared with 2.3 mbd last year".
- The reasons it gave for that were economic woes but also progress towards greater energy efficiency and the growing global market share of electric vehicles.
Business
Tabreed 2023 revenue up 9%
The company reported a net profit of $204 million.
- Tabreed’s Board of Directors has recommended a record high dividend payment of 15.5 fils per share in cash.
- Net cash from operating activities totaled AED 1.31 billion in 2023 (AED 1.35 billion in 2022), while free cash flows increased by 8 percent to AED 1.21 billion.
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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
Pope urges Lebanese to stay in their country despite difficulties
Leo emphasized the need for peace, using the word more than 20 times during the address, without mentioning any specific...
Geostrategy
Company News
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Trump threatens 100% tariff on BRICS countries over currency plans
Washington, United States -- President-elect Donald Trump on Monday threatened to impose a 100 percent tariff on the BRICS group nations...
Geostrategy
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...
Business
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...
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Arts & Culture
Crypto boss Justin Sun eats banana art he bought for $6.2 million
Hong Kong, China -- Crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun on Friday fulfilled a promise he made after spending $6.2 million on an...
- Titled "Comedian", the conceptual work created by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan was sold at a Sotheby's auction in New York last week, with Sun among seven bidders.
- Sun this week also became an advisor to World Liberty Financial, a crypto initiative backed by US president-elect Donald Trump, following a $30 million investment.
Geostrategy
How are countries regulating the wild west of social media for minors?
Paris, France -- A handful of nations are trying to clean up social media with measures including robust privacy provisions and...
- Among the countries taking action is Australia, which on Thursday passed a landmark law banning children under 16 from social media.
- In June 2023 France passed a law requiring social media platforms to check the age of users and obtain parental consent for those under 15 years of age.
Geostrategy
OPEC+ postpones meeting amid signs of ‘discord’ on output plans
The 22-member OPEC+ group led by Saudi Arabia and Russia was due to decide on its 2025 output policy at...
- An OPEC spokesman told AFP that the December meeting will be held online.
- In a bid to boost crude prices, eight OPEC+ members announced earlier this month they were extending supply cuts until the end of December.