Ahead of feared Rafah invasion, Palestinians mourn bombardment dead
Israeli government spokesman David Mencer said Israel's war cabinet was meeting Thursday "to discuss how to destroy the last battalions...Geostrategy
Rockets fired from Iraq at US-led coalition base in Syria
Rockets were fired late Sunday from northern Iraq at a military base in Syria housing a US-led coalition, according to...Geostrategy
UAE Ministry of Finance, Dubai Free Zones Council sign MoU on sharing of information
DUBAI, UAE - UAE Ministry of Finance (MoF) Tuesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Dubai Free Zones...The Ministry of Finance makes efforts to ensure that government entities in the UAE are committed to international tax pacts the country has signed.
Dubai Free Zones Council will provide the necessary tax information to the ministry of finance.
Financial innovation vital but checks needed for stability: Saudi minister
Mohammed Al-Jadaan also warned of risks if the central bank digital currency was introduced as it will require citizens to...Saudi Arabia is likely to be among the world's fastest-growing economies in 2023, he said, citing the IMF global economic growth expectations for 2023.
He also emphasized the importance of financial institutions, such as banks, for countries in combating global shocks, while continuing to develop technology in this sector.
Iran releases celebrity chef held in crackdown, say activists
PARIS, FRANCE - Iran has released a prominent chef and Instagram influencer who was detained earlier this month in its crackdown...Navab Ebrahimi, known for his videos promoting Persian cooking, was arrested in Tehran on January 4 and taken to the city's Evin prison.
Iran has arrested at least 14,000 people in protests sparked by the September 16 death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman.
Egypt’s economic turmoil squeezes struggling middle class
Steve Hanke, an economist at Johns Hopkins University who measures inflation based on purchasing power parity and factoring in black...Egypt's official annual headline inflation hit 21.9 percent in December, and food prices surged 37.9 percent
According to the World Bank, nearly one-third of Egypt's 104 million people already live below the poverty line
FNC looks to deepen parliamentary cooperation with Morocco
Abu Dhabi, UAE-- The UAE and Morocco have agreed to deepen parliamentary cooperation between the two countries in order to...The two sides reviewed aspects of enhancing parliamentary cooperation for the benefit of their peoples, highlighting the depth of the UAE-Morocco fraternal ties
The UAE's support for sustainability efforts, enhancing energy security and climate action was emphasized in the meeting
Iranian diaspora demand EU blacklisting of Revolutionary Guards
Pressure is growing among opposition exiles and activists for the European Union and United Kingdom to follow the United States...European parliament speaker Roberta Metsola pledged to the demonstrators that the EU was standing with the protesters in Iran
Activists accuse the Revolutionary Guards of playing a key role in the crackdown on the protests which according to rights groups has left hundreds dead
Violence erupts in Morocco in operation to clear out migrants
Violence broke out in an illegal camp in Casablanca when police sought to remove migrants, injuring an officer and leaving...The area on the edge of Casablanca is periodically the scene of tensions between authorities and migrants living in scattered, unsanitary camps
The Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH) denounced police "violence" during the operation
AI-powered project in Turkey improves wildfire prediction
Geneva, Switzerland: A project powered by Artificial Intelligence piloted in Turkey last year has improved wildfire prediction by combining static...The FireAId initiative, launched by the World Economic Forum in Jan 2022, is being scaled for wider use.
In the US, there have been around 1.5 million wildfires since 2000, burning an average 7 million acres annually.
Global recession likely in 2023, say WEF chief economists
Almost two-thirds of chief economists believe a global recession is likely in 2023, with 18 percent of them considering it...In China, expectations of growth are polarized, with respondents almost evenly split between those who expect weak or strong growth.
One positive signal is that supply chain disruptions are not expected to cause a significant drag on business activity in 2023.
Countries which transform food system can meet net-zero goals, says WEF report
DAVOS, SWITZERLAND – A  report launched Monday at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2023 shows how countries can accelerate...Food systems, when transformed, can help solve some of the world’s toughest problems, from climate change to resilient livelihoods.
The report identifies models for businesses and policy-makers and a roadmap of priorities for countries to improve productivity and sustainability.
