Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - Oil giant Saudi Aramco said Sunday that international investors had snatched up the bulk of shares sold in its latest offering, which was set to raise $11.2 billion. The secondary offering was expected to provide a short-term boost to Saudi Arabia's finances as the Gulf kingdom builds...

Bonn, Germany -- The incoming president of the COP29 UN climate summit in Azerbaijan told AFP on Friday that his country would keep increasing fossil fuel production "in parallel" with investments in cleaner alternatives. Mukhtar Babayev defended his country's hosting of the world's most important climate summit despite its surging natural...

Geneva, Switzerland -- The war in Gaza has seen the unemployment rate in the besieged Palestinian territory surge to nearly 80 percent, the United Nations said Friday. The UN's labour agency said the war between Hamas and Israel had "caused loss of jobs and livelihoods on a massive scale". Since the...

Hong Kong, China - Palestine created history when they booked a place in the third round of the FIFA World Cup qualifiers for the first time following a goalless draw on Thursday against Lebanon in Doha. Against the backdrop of the war in Gaza, the Palestinian team has already claimed a...

Jerusalem, Undefined -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that Israel was "prepared for a very intense operation" along the border with Lebanon, where Israeli troops have exchanged near-daily fire with Hezbollah fighters. Almost eight months of exchanges between Israel and Hezbollah have intensified over the past week, with Israel...

Djerba, Tunisia - In an unassuming house on the Tunisian island of Djerba, Said al-Barouni embarked on a mission to safeguard his Muslim community's little-known heritage, using technology and AI to save age-old religious manuscripts. The 74-year-old librarian and member of the Islamic offshoot Ibadism took up the reins of his...

Dubai, UAE – Danube Group, a leading conglomerate in the Middle East and Dubai SME, a subsidiary of the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) have signed a Cooperation Agreement to diversify the buyer base and expand market opportunities for Emirati-owned SMEs. The signing ceremony took place at Danube...

Geneva, Switzerland – The latest Chief Economists Outlook released on May 29 presents a growing sense of cautious optimism about the global economy in 2024. More than eight in ten chief economists expect the global economy to either strengthen or remain stable this year – nearly double the proportion in...

Geneva, Switzerland -- Some 55 percent of all structures in the Gaza Strip have been destroyed, damaged or possibly damaged since war erupted in the Palestinian territory eight months ago, according to preliminary satellite analysis by the UN. The analysis showed more than 137,000 buildings affected, UNOSAT, the United Nations satellite...

Deir El-Balah, Palestinian Territories -- Amira al-Taweel scoured pharmacies in northern Gaza for milk to feed her child but could not find a single bottle to satisfy his hunger. "Youssef needs treatment and milk, but there' none available in Gaza," the 33-year-old mother told AFP at Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in central...

Rafah, Palestinian Territories - Qatari, Egyptian and US mediators called on Israel and Hamas Saturday to "finalise" the truce deal outlined by US President Joe Biden, as Israeli forces pounded Rafah in southern Gaza. Fighting has raged in the besieged Gaza Strip since Biden said Israel was offering a new roadmap...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - Oil giant Saudi Aramco said on Thursday it plans to sell 1.545 billion shares worth more than $10 billion in one of the biggest such offerings in recent years. In a statement posted to the Saudi stock exchange, Aramco announced a "secondary public offering of 1.545 billion...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- The Red Sea has announced the opening of its third resort, Nujuma, a Ritz Carlton Reserve. Inspired by the word Nujum, meaning "stars" in Arabic, Nujuma invites travelers to one of the world's most secluded and protected archipelagos. “Designed by Foster and Partners, Nujuma’s sweeping shell-inspired...

Geneva, Switzerland -- Humanity is in a race against time to harness the colossal emerging power of artificial intelligence for the good of all, while averting dire risks, a top UN official said Thursday. "We've let the genie out of the bottle," said Doreen Bogdan-Martin, head of the United Nations' International...

Cairo, Egypt - Egypt's cabinet decided Wednesday to raise the price of subsidized bread for the first time in 30 years, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said. The price of a loaf, long set at five piastres ($0.001), would quadruple to 20 piastres ($0.004) from June 1, Madbouly told a news conference....

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - The Ministry of Media and Microsoft Arabia signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in Riyadh on Tuesday to collaborate in several areas, including developing technical aspects in data analysis, machine learning, artificial intelligence, security and privacy solutions, and software and service development solutions. The goal is...

Rafah, Palestinian Territories -- Hundreds braved roads in Rafah in south Gaza Tuesday as they fled Israel's expanding ground assault, with increased shelling, tanks in the city center, and forces positioned on higher ground. "We are panicking and afraid," 40-year-old Ihab Zorob of west Rafah told AFP. "Our children and wives...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF)on Monday launched the Neo Space Group to work on the kingdom's nascent satellite and space industry, its first investment in the sector. One of the world's largest sovereign wealth funds, the PIF has already invested heavily in sports, gaming and so-called...

Abu Dhabi, UAE -- The Federal Tax Authority (FTA) has issued a guide outlining the application of Corporate Tax to Free Zone Persons in line with the Free Zone Corporate Tax regime, which enables Qualifying Free Zone Persons to benefit from a zero percent Corporate Tax rate on Qualifying Income....

Washington, United States - Billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk has told investors he plans to build a supercomputer dubbed "gigafactory of compute" to support the development of his artificial intelligence startup xAI, an industry news outlet reported Saturday. Musk wants the supercomputer - which will string together 100,000 Nvidia chips -...

Djerba, Tunisia - Only a dozen pilgrims turned up Friday at this year's Jewish pilgrimage on Tunisia's island of Djerba amid heightened security concerns after a deadly attack last year and as the Israel-Hamas war rages in Gaza. The pilgrimage to the Ghriba synagogue, Africa's oldest, usually draws thousands of...

Algiers, Algeria - Algeria's state oil company announced Thursday it signed a memorandum with ExxonMobil to develop two gas fields, a move an analyst called "a big step" for the country's energy ambitions. The two companies plan to "study the existing opportunities to develop the hydrocarbon resources in the Ahnet basin...

Beirut, Lebanon -- A third of Lebanese people are impoverished with poverty rates tripling in a decade, the World Bank said Thursday, as the country grapples with years of economic meltdown and war in the south. One in every three Lebanese "was poverty-stricken in 2022," the World Bank said in a...

The agreement signed with Khaldoon Al Mubarak, managing director of the Abu Dhabi government-controlled fund Mubadala, opens "a new era of economic cooperation" in the burgeoning sector, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said. "France has chosen to be the leading country in Europe on AI, and for that, we...

Washington, United States - Airplane turbulence, which led to the death of a passenger on a Singapore Airlines flight on Tuesday, is a complex phenomenon that is becoming increasingly common due to climate change, according to experts. Storms, cold and warm fronts, and the movement of air around mountains can all...

New York, United States -- The women's tennis tour (WTA) on Monday announced "a multi-year partnership" with the Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund (PIF), emulating a deal made by the men's tour (ATP) in February. The WTA said in a statement that it shared with PIF an "ambition to grow women's...

Washington, United States - Amal Clooney helped the International Criminal Court weigh evidence that led to the decision to seek arrest warrants for top Israeli and Hamas leaders, the human rights lawyer said Monday. The high-profile British-Lebanese barrister posted a statement on the website of the Clooney Foundation for Justice, which she founded...

Paris, France -- Iran's powerful allies on Monday mourned the death of its President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash, while regional groups hailed him as a supporter of the Palestinian cause. Russia and China called the deceased leader a "friend", while Iran's arch-foes the United States and Israel had yet...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - Saudi Arabia's King Salman has a lung infection and is undergoing a treatment programme involving antibiotics, the Royal Court said Sunday in the latest update on the ageing monarch's health. Earlier in the day, the court said King Salman was suffering from "high temperature" and joint pain,...

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan says there is a potential of Israel-Saudi normalization deal if Netanyahu alters his political strategy for the future of the Palestinian enclave.

Rabat, Morocco -- Fadoua Lamrani was elated when she was hired as a waitress at a restaurant in Morocco which employs people with mental disabilities. The 33-year-old is among some 60 people with mental health conditions working at the eatery located on a farm and run by the Centre for Integration and...

Rumaylah, Iraq - Hussein Julood is taking legal action against British energy giant BP after he lost his son to leukaemia, which he alleges was caused by gas flaring at Iraq's largest oil field. The bereaved father, who lives near the Rumaila field in the southern province of Basra, is...

San Francisco, United States -- OpenAI on Friday confirmed that it has disbanded a team devoted to mitigating the long-term dangers of super-smart artificial intelligence. OpenAI weeks ago began dissolving the so-called "superalignment" group, integrating members into other projects and research, according to the San Francisco-based firm. Company co-founder Ilya Sutskever...

Jerusalem, Undefined -- New divisions have emerged among Israel's leaders over post-war Gaza's governance, with an unexpected Hamas fightback in parts of the Palestinian territory piling pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The Israeli army has been battling Hamas across Gaza for more than seven months while also exchanging near-daily fire...

Agra, India - Born at the bottom of the Hindu faith's rigid caste system, voters like Anil Sonkar will determine whether Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi returns to power next month. More than two-thirds of India's 1.4 billion people are estimated to be on the lower rungs of a millennia-old social...

Abu Dhabi, UAE -- The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) extended its gains at the close of trading today, adding over AED7 billion ($1.90 billion) to its market capitalization, driven by gains in leading bank stocks. Meanwhile, the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) closed slightly down, according to trading data. The...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) has licensed "Hala Financing" to provide debt-based crowdfunding solutions. With Hala Financing, there are now 11 authorized companies offering debt-based crowdfunding solutions in Saudi Arabia. The addition brings the total number of finance companies licensed and permitted by SAMA to 62,...

San Francisco, United States - The US Justice Department on Tuesday said Boeing can be prosecuted for two subsequent 737 Max crashes that killed 346 people approximately five years ago. Boeing breached obligations under an agreement that had shielded it against legal proceedings for the accidents, department officials said in a...

Paris, France -- Last year's northern hemisphere summer was the hottest in 2,000 years, according to a new study published on Tuesday. Scientists say 2023 was the hottest year globally since records began in 1850, but the study in the journal Nature indicates human-caused climate change pushed northern summer highs well...

Tehran, Iran - India and Iran on Monday signed a 10-year contract to develop and equip the strategic Chabahar port in Iran as India seeks to grow trade in west and central Asia. The agreement will give India 10-year access to use the port, located close to Iran's southeastern border with...

Iraq has now become self-sufficient in liquid gas and the surplus is usually exported abroad, strengthening the Iraqi economy.

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – The Saudi Tourism Authority (STA), in collaboration with the Saudi Ministry of Tourism, has announced the expansion of its eVisa program to tourists from the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, Barbados and Grenada. Nationals of these three countries can now apply for a visitor visa to Saudi either electronically...

Rafah, Palestinian Territories - Displaced Gazan Marwan al-Masri, sheltering in Rafah, said on Wednesday "life has completely ceased" since Israeli tanks and troops entered the city's east, sending desperate Palestinians fleeing north in the besieged territory. More than 1.4 million people had crammed into Rafah, a city on the Gaza Strip's...

Dubai, United Arab Emirates -- The head of Dubai's Emirates airline urged Boeing on Tuesday to "fix" its problems, warning the embattled aircraft-maker he was unhappy with delays to the 777X. Chairman and chief executive Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, briefing journalists on the sidelines of a trade show in...

San Francisco, United States - Apple on Tuesday announced a line of new iPad tablets revamped with a powerful AI chip that signaled the company is ready to introduce artificial intelligence across its devices. The latest version of the iPad Pro uses a new chip called the M4, which is stronger...

Dubai, UAE -- flynas, the Saudi budget carrier, has announced expansion plans for the UAE from September this year, which will increase the number of routes between Saudi Arabia and the UAE to nine, with flight frequencies surging to more than 20 daily flights. The carrier unveiled expansion plans for...

New York, United States - The war in Gaza featured prominently in Monday's Pulitzer Prizes, which included a special citation for journalists covering the Israel-Hamas conflict. The New York Times won a Pulitzer in international reporting for its "wide-ranging and revelatory coverage of Hamas's lethal attack in southern Israel on Oct....

Dubai, UAE -- Dubai welcomed 5.18 million international overnight visitors from January to March 2024, an 11 percent rise over the 4.67 million tourist arrivals during the same period in 2023, according to data published by Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) at the 31st edition of Arabian Travel...

Ajman, UAE - The Arabian Travel Market 2024 (ATM) kicks off in Ajman from May 6 to May 9, celebrating the emirate's cultural heritage, vibrant events, and array of tourism offerings. "ATM 2024 marks a pivotal moment for Ajman as we unveil our commitment to Ajman Vision 2030," Mahmood Khaleel...

NEOM, Saudi Arabia -- Saudi Red Sea Authority (SRSA) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with NEOM to collaborate on developing legislation, regulations, and technology in marine tourism.The partnership will promote the sharing of expertise and enable the implementation and activation of joint initiatives. The aim is to enhance...