US Fed poised for first rate cut of 2025 as political tension mounts
The Fed's likely move would follow a monthslong push from President Donald Trump to slash rates, and comes amid growing...Economy
MBZUAI, G42 launch K2 Think: Leading open-source system for advanced AI reasoning
Abu Dhabi, UAE -- The Institute of Foundation Models at Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) and G42...Technology
Syria inks infrastructure and real-estate deals worth $14 billion
Since the overthrow of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December, Syria's new authorities have worked to attract investment for the...The plans include a $4 billion investment project for Damascus airport and $2bn in investment for a Damascus metro, as well as more than $2bn for a mall and two towers development
Last month, Saudi Arabia signed major investment and partnership deals with Syria, valued at $6.4 billion.
Trump says to raise tariff on India over Russia oil purchases
President Donald Trump threatened Monday to "substantially" hike US tariffs on goods from India over its purchases of Russian oil...Trump's heightened pressure on India comes after he signaled fresh sanctions on Moscow if it did not make progress by Friday towards a peace deal with Kyiv
Moscow is anticipating talks with the US leader's special envoy Steve Witkoff, who is expected to meet President Vladimir Putin this week
Jordan sees decrease in number of tourists over Gaza war
Amman, Jordan -- Jordan has seen a decrease in the number of tourists visiting its famed ancient city of Petra...According to figures from the Petra tourism authority carried by official media, 32 hotels have had to shut down and nearly 700 people have lost their jobs.
Petra, famous for its stunning temples hewn from rose-pink cliff faces, is a UN World Heritage site.
AI search pushing an already weakened media ecosystem to the brink
New York, United States - Generative artificial intelligence assistants like ChatGPT are cutting into traditional online search traffic, depriving news...A recent Pew Research Center study reveals that AI-generated summaries now appearing regularly in Google searches discourage users from clicking through to source articles
This represents a devastating loss of visitors for online media sites that depend on traffic for both advertising revenue and subscription conversions
Qatar to expand scheme to boost Syria power supply
Qatar is to expand its scheme to boost the power supply in Syria by paying for deliveries of Azerbaijani gas...The deliveries, aimed at alleviating chronic power outages in Syria, will increase the Qatari scheme's generating capacity to 800 megawatts per day
A first phase of the Qatari scheme to fund gas supplies for power generation rolled out in March via Jordan and provided 400 megawatts of electricity per day
World economies reel from Trump’s tariffs
The tariffs are a demonstration of raw economic power that Trump sees putting US exporters in a stronger position while...But the muscular approach has raised fears of inflation and other economic fallout in the world's biggest economy.
Stock markets in Hong Kong and London slumped as they digested the turmoil.
Trump’s global trade policy faces test, hours from tariff deadline
The last-gasp scramble to strike bilateral accords came as an appeals court in Washington considered the legality behind Trump's strategy...Trump doubled down on the wide-ranging levies, posting on Truth Social: "Tariffs are making America GREAT & RICH Again."
So far, Washington has announced pacts with Britain, Vietnam, Japan, Indonesia, the Philippines, South Korea and the European Union.
Saudi Arabia’s real GDP up by 3.9 percent in Q2 2025: GASTAT
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- Saudi Arabia's real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 3.9 percent in the second quarter of...Flash estimates of GDP for Q2 say non-oil activities recorded the highest growth at 4.7 percent.
The estimates, released by GASTAT, said oil activities grew by 3.8 percent and government activities at 0.6 percent.
Microsoft valuation surges above $4 trillion as AI lifts stocks
Shares of Microsoft vaulted 5.3 percent after it reported $27.2 billion in quarterly profits as it touted massive investments in...About 25 minutes into trading, the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index was up 1.3 percent at 21,396.04.
The gains came as President Donald Trump announced a trade deal with South Korea that imposes a 15 percent tariff on imports from the Asian country.
Trump hits India with 25% tariff and ‘penalty’ over Russia ties
US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that imports from India will face 25 percent tariffs, while also announcing an unspecified...The measures will kick in on Friday, Trump posted on his Truth Social platform, adding to a bevy of other tariff hikes -- some up to 50 percent -- set to take effect the same day
He had previously issued multiple delays to his so-called "reciprocal" tariffs since first announcing them in early April, while instituting an interim 10 percent baseline
