Coal use at record high in 2024, the world’s hottest year: IEA
Paris, France -- World coal use is set to reach an all-time high in 2024, the International Energy Agency said Wednesday,...
Geostrategy
Nations step up outreach to Syria’s post-Assad rulers
Governments worldwide are stepping up efforts to engage with Syria's new interim rulers, just over a week after Islamist-led rebels...
Business
Bahrain central bank’s sukuk oversubscribed by 403 percent
Manama, Bahrain -- The Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) announced that the monthly issue of the short-term Islamic leasing bonds,...
- Subscriptions worth BD 104.778 million ($277 million) were received for the BD 26 million issue, which carries a maturity of 182 days.
- By March 23, the total outstanding value of government treasury bills reached BD2 billion ($5.3 billion).
Economy
Qatar’s Q1 private sector exports hit $2.49 billion, up 17.5%
Doha, Qatar -- Qatar's private sector exports hit QR 9.1 billion ($2.49 billion) in the first quarter of 2023, representing...
- China was the top recipient of Qatari private sector exports amounting to QR 3.1 billion, a share of 34.1 percent.
- It is followed by India with almost QR 2.4 billion and a share of 26 percent, and Oman with about QR989 million, a share of 10.9 percent.
Business
Amarenco acquires Spectrum International
The acquisition includes all operating projects and pipeline of Spectrum.
- Following the acquisition, Spectrum will be rebranded as Amarenco Jordan, becoming the main platform for Amarenco MENA in Jordan, with a target to own 200MW.
- The company develops, builds, and operates large and medium-scale solar projects, with more than a billion dollars of investments on average every year.
Geostrategy
Khader Adnan becomes first Palestinian to die of hunger strike
His Tuesday death came during his 13th stint in Israeli custody, with nearly eight years of his life spent behind...
- In 2012, a 66-day hunger strike turned Adnan into a national hero, and revitalized hunger striking as a form of protest among Palestinians incarcerated in Israeli jails.
- His widow, Randa Mousa, warned against retaliation. "We don't want someone to launch rockets and then (have Israeli) strikes (on) Gaza," she told reporters.
Geostrategy
COP28 chair Sultan Al jaber urges tripling of renewables capacity
Al Jaber's call marked a public endorsement of a target laid out by the International Energy Agency. Last month at...
- Rather, the COP28 chair said the focus must be on removing the emissions they produce while stepping up renewables.
- Al Jaber also called on developed countries to deliver a long promised $100-billion climate package for developing countries.
Business
Dubai directs service providers to declare local sea container charges
Dubai, UAE -- Container service providers in Dubai will now be required to declare their local sea container charges to...
- Effective from 1st May 2023, the new directive will provide the DMA with a clear data-led understanding of local sea container charges and associated practices, WAM reported.
- The directive applies to all service providers providing local sea container services within, outside, or through any port in the emirate.
Business
Book industry needs to focus more on sustainability
She was highlighting key industry challenges such as environmental pressures and rising costs, during the opening of the Sharjah International...
- Prominent booksellers, publishers, and experts from 69 countries participate in Sharjah International Booksellers Conference, which facilitates discussions on industry trends
- Sustainability, generative AI, industry transformation remain prime focus of the discussion as Sharjah emphasizes the importance of collaboration and effective communication
Business
Aramco, PIF and Baosteel to build Saudi Arabia’s first steel plate plant
It will be the largest integrated steel plate manufacturing complex in the kingdom to be located in Ras Al Khair...
- The production capacity is expected to be up to 1.5m tons per annum. The complex will have premium facilities such as natural-gas-powered direct reduction iron furnace.
- Aimed primarily at meeting the needs of the Saudi market, there are plans to export to the Gulf Cooperation Council and MENA region.
Business
Saudi ports handle more than 2 million containers in first quarter
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- The number of containers handled by Saudi ports in the first quarter of 2023 grew by...
- Transshipment containers witnessed an increase of 14.96 percent and 778,056 containers compared to 676,826 containers in the first quarter of 2022.
- A total of 258,051 cars were imported, an increase of 35.52 percent over the first quarter of the previous year, which recorded 190,422 cars.
Business
Trina Solar revenue up 83%
Trina's market share of 210mm module shipments was more than 50%.
- Trina Solar’s main businesses, including PV products, PV systems and smart energy, all registered strong growth, the company said in a statement.
- The company also unveiled that its module shipments in 2022 totaled 43.09GW and cumulative module shipments exceeded 140GW by the end of March 2023.
Coal use at record high in 2024, the world’s hottest year: IEA
Paris, France -- World coal use is set to reach an all-time high in 2024, the International Energy Agency said Wednesday,...
Geostrategy
Company News
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Amazon to invest $17bn in Spain
Business
G7 foreign ministers met by videoconference over Mideast: Italy
Rome, Italy -- G7 foreign ministers met by videoconference Sunday to discuss the Middle East and expressed "strong concern" over the...
Geostrategy
Travellers rush to leave Lebanon amid spiking tensions
Several airlines including Lufthansa and Air France have delayed or suspended flights to Lebanon, and countries have issued urgent calls...
Geostrategy
Thousands bid farewell to Ismail Haniyeh in Qatari capital
Haniyeh was laid to rest in Lusail, north of the capital Doha, following funeral prayers at the Gulf emirate's largest mosque...
Geostrategy
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Business
British Petroleum to develop four new oil and gas fields in Iraq
Baghdad, Iraq -- Iraq signed an agreement with British energy giant British Petroleum on Thursday to develop four oil and gas...
- BP is one of the biggest foreign players in Iraq's oil sector, with a history of producing oil in the country dating back to the 1920s when it was still under British mandate.
- According to the World Bank, Iraq has 145 billion barrels of proven oil reserves -- among the largest in the world -- amounting to 96 years' worth of production at the current rate
Geostrategy
UNSC to hold emergency meeting over Hamas chief’s killing
The meeting has been requested by Iran and supported by representatives of Russia, China and Algeria, said a spokesman for...
- Iran's UN envoy Amir Saeid Iravani called on members to "condemn unequivocally and strongly the acts of aggression and terrorist attacks" by Israel.
- He also urged council members to take "immediate action to ensure accountability for these violations of international law," including potential sanctions.
Arts & Culture
World Rally Championship to add Saudi Arabia race to calendar
Paris, France -- World Rally Championship announced Wednesday that it will add races in Saudi Arabia, the Canary Islands and Paraguay...
- Rally Saudi Arabia will end the season on November 27-30 with the event in the Spanish archipelago on April 24-27 and the race in South America on August 28-31.
- It also added the Canary Islands and Paraguay to its calendar next year. Rallys in Croatia, Poland and Latvia are no longer on the circuit.