Water security remains crucial for stability, prosperity
“Water is the fundamental element of life, enabling human societies to stabilize, develop civilizations, and achieve prosperity. Water is the...Economy
GCC and Turkey begin free trade negotiations to boost ties
Ankara, Turkey-- The Gulf Cooperation Council and Turkey have started off free trade negotiations to deepen their ties further.In this...Economy
London seeks to keep Europe fintech crown despite Brexit
London, United Kingdom -- From digital bank Revolut to money-transfer group Wise and payments company Checkout, London is Europe's fintech champion...Britain's exit from the European Union without an EU-London deal on financial services has complicated access to the gigantic market and talent.
The UK last year saw injections of funds into its fintechs slump by 56 percent to just over $17 billion.
UAE conventional banks’ assets $829 billion by end of Jan 2023
Gross assets of the Islamic banks operating in the country increased to AED620.9 billion as of the end of January...Conventional banks in the UAE accounted for nearly 83.1 percent of the total assets in the banking sector by the end of Jan 2023.
The Islamic banks’ deposits increased to AED434.1 billion in Jan 2023, an annual increase of 3.1 percent, compared to nearly AED421 billion in Jan 2022.
Eurozone economy accelerates to 11-month high in April
Cyrus de la Rubia, chief economist at Hamburg Commercial Bank (HCOB), said the indices for the eurozone showed "a very...Data from the HCOB Flash Eurozone purchasing managers' index (PMI) survey published by S&P Global rose to 54.4 in April from 53.7 in March
Inflation fell to 6.9 percent on an annual basis in March, but is still far above the European Central Bank's two-percent target
Erdogan launches Black Sea gas deliveries ahead of vote
The facility will begin producing 10 million cubic metres of gas daily in a first phase - which Erdogan said...The ceremony comes as Erdogan braces for a tight race on May 14 in what is widely seen as the most consequential vote in Turkey's modern history
In 2020, the country discovered gas reserves off the coast of Zonguldak in the Black Sea region, which Erdogan hailed as Turkey's largest ever natural gas field
Stock markets slip on auto woes, economy fears
Global equities mostly slid on auto sector woes and economic fears about the prospect of more interest rate hikes aimed...The dollar fell against its main rivals and crude oil tanked more than two percent.
Europe's main equity markets were mostly lower after a mixed session in Asia.
EU uncertain over biodiversity protection despite okaying climate change laws
STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN - EU lawmakers this week adopted new laws boosting Europe's climate change fight, but a parallel drive to protect...Negotiations between the European Commission, EU member states and the European Parliament on the issue have run into difficulty over the details.
Scandinavian countries are worried about forestry sector, while others believe the scope of the text proposed by the commission goes too far.
WTO, WBG, WEF launch scheme for trade, climate mitigation efforts
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND - The World Trade Organization (WTO), the World Bank Group (WBG) and the World Economic Forum (WEF) on...The initiative Action on Climate and Trade (ACT) . which starts with a pilot phase, will focus on working with participating developing economies.
ACT will provide participating economies with tailored insights so that they can plan for the impacts of climate change on trade.
EU parliament approves sweeping cryptocurrency rules
The European Parliament approved the comprehensive rules to regulate the "Wild West" world of cryptocurrencies, hoping to protect investors against...Under the regulation known as Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA), cryptoasset service providers (CASPs) must protect customers' digital wallets.
Large providers will also have to disclose their energy consumption as part of the EU's efforts to reduce cryptocurrencies' high carbon footprint.
67mn children missed out on vaccines because of Covid: UNICEF
A grim UNICEF report warns of a potential outbreaks of polio and measles in children who didn't get vaccinated because...Africa and South Asia were the hardest hit as vaccine coverage among children declined in 112 countries and the percent of children vaccinated worldwide slipped 5 points
Each year immunization saves 4.4 million lives, a number the United Nations figures could jump to 5.8 million by 2030 if its ambitious targets to leave "no one behind" are met
UN chief to host meeting on Afghanistan in Doha to seek ‘way forward’
Seeking a "durable way forward" for the war-scarred Afghanistan, the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is convening an international meeting in...In the wake of a ban on Afghan women working for the world body, the UN mission in Afghanistan has begun an assessment of its operations
The Doha meeting announcement follows the UN estimate that the number of Afghans in poverty has nearly doubled to 34 million since the Taliban takeover
