Kuwait City, Kuwait -- Kuwait has signed a deal worth $4.1 billion with China to complete the construction of a major port, as the oil-rich country seeks to diversify its economy with a bigger role in global trade. The State Audit Bureau, a government oversight body responsible for monitoring public...

Washington, United States -- Oracle tech tycoon Larry Ellison is offering a $40.4 billion personal guarantee to back Paramount's hostile bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, deepening a bidding war with Netflix, a statement said on Monday. The amended proposal, worth a total $108 billion from the company run by Ellison's...

Ganzhou, China -- Buried in the reddish soil of southern China lies latent power: one of the largest clusters of crucial rare earths is mined around the clock by a secretive and heavily guarded industry. The hills of Jiangxi province are home to most of China's rare earth mines, with...

New Delhi, India -- The World Health Organization opens a major conference on traditional medicine on Wednesday, arguing that new technologies, including artificial intelligence, can bring scientific scrutiny to centuries-old healing practices. The meeting in New Delhi will examine how governments can regulate traditional medicine while using emerging scientific tools...

Sair, Palestinian Territories - Despite the catastrophic state of the Palestinian economy, Faraj al-Atrash, operator of a quarry in the occupied West Bank, proudly points to an armada of machines busy eating away at sheer walls of dusty white rock that stretch into the distance. "This here is considered the...

Baghdad, Iraq -- Iraq's transport ministry said Tuesday that a flight operated by Greece's Aegean Airlines had been the first European aircraft in 35 years to land at Baghdad's international airport. In a statement, the ministry said the arrival signalled "Iraq's return to the European aviation map" and ushered in...

Washington, United States -- An aging president faces poor poll numbers and suspicions about his health but insists that America is thriving. Joe Biden? No, it's Donald Trump. The Republican, back in power for nearly a year, continues to compare himself to his predecessor. Biden would be senile, while Trump...

Yancheng, China -- In a light-filled workshop in eastern China, a robotic arm moved a partially assembled autonomous vehicle as workers calibrated its cameras, typical of the incremental automation being adopted even across smaller factories in the world's manufacturing powerhouse. China is already the world's largest market for industrial robots, and...

Paris, France -- Artificial intelligence tools can now help choose the most promising embryos for in vitro fertilisation (IVF), although experts have warned of some ethical concerns. Procedures such as IVF allow millions of children to be born across the world each year to parents who have otherwise struggled to...

Paris, France - AFP Sport assesses how the 2025 Formula One drivers' title can be won at the season finale in Abu Dhabi this weekend: The state of play After 23 races of the 24-race season Lando Norris leads the championship on 408 points, 12 clear of Red Bull's four-time...

Ashburn, United States -- As planes make their final approach to Washington DC's Dulles Airport, just below lies Ashburn, a town otherwise known as Data Center Alley -- where an estimated 70 percent of all global internet traffic at any moment finds its way. Decades ago, the expanse of empty...

Washington, United States -- OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has declared a company-wide "code red" as its ChatGPT technology faces stiff competition from other big tech rivals, especially Google, US media reported. In a memo to staff on Monday, Altman told employees that the company was "at a critical time for...

San Francisco, United States -- Amazon Web Services launched its in-house-built Trainium3 AI chip on Tuesday, marking a significant push to compete with Nvidia in the lucrative market for artificial intelligence computing power. The move intensifies competition in the AI chip market, where Nvidia currently dominates with an estimated 80-...

San Francisco, United States - Amazon on Monday began testing "ultra-fast" deliveries in two US cities, giving some shoppers the option of having groceries or household essentials at their doors within 30 minutes. An "Amazon Now" feature built into the e-commerce giant's app let shoppers in parts of Seattle, Washington,...

Dubai, United Arab Emirates -- A Dubai restaurant has opened that prides itself on having the world's "first AI chef", the latest ostentatious dive into new technology in a city obsessed with being on the cutting edge of the future. The Emirati city has become increasingly known for its growing...

Nuseirat, Palestinian Territories - With a pot of glue, a blade and a keen eye, Manal al-Saadani repairs tattered banknotes -- a necessity in the Gaza Strip, where the cash in circulation is wearing out. For every revived note she gives back to a customer, they give her a few...

Dubai, UAE - The UAE’s Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy, and Remote Work Applications Office announced that Google Gemini has ranked first in the “AI in the Ring” Index, the world’s first benchmark designed to evaluate how effectively AI language models reflect Emirati culture, dialects, traditions, and national values through a...

Singapore, Singapore -- A plushy, AI-enabled teddy bear recalled after its chatbot was found to engage in sexually explicit conversations and offer instructions on where to find knives is again for sale, AFP found. Singapore-based FoloToy had suspended its "Kumma" bear after a consumer advocacy group raised concerns about it...

Frankfurt, Germany -- German insurance giant Allianz signalled Wednesday looming job cuts due to its adoption of artificial intelligence, with a report saying up to 1,800 roles, mainly in call centres, could be axed. Allianz Partners, the company's subsidiary dealing principally with travel insurance, said it was "leveraging AI" to...

Singapore -- The World Robot Olympiad opened in Singapore on Wednesday with hundreds of international students, some as young as eight, set to compete using automatons to solve real-world problems. The annual competition, which began in 2004 in Singapore and was held in Turkey last year, highlights the importance of technology...

New York, United States - "The 1980s are calling," a teenager with a throwback hairstyle tells viewers as "Everybody Wants to Rule the World," the Tears for Fears rock anthem from that decade, plays in the background. The fake montage -- entirely generated using artificial intelligence -- has racked up...

Beirut, Lebanon - Haytham Ali Tabatabai, Hezbollah's top military chief whom Israel killed on Sunday, had taken the role after the group's senior leaders died in the most recent war with Israel. He is the most important Hezbollah figure to have been killed since a November 2024 ceasefire sought to...

Muscat, Oman -- The GCC countries have seen a steady rise in foreign investment, according to data from the Statistical Center for the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC-Stat). In 2023, inbound foreign direct investment (excluding intra-GCC flows) totaled approximately US$523.4 billion, accounting for about 80...

The fresh North American investment pledge came after UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan promised in May to pump $1.4 trillion into the US economy over 10 years during a visit by President Donald Trump.

New York, United States - A self-portrait by legendary Mexican artist Frida Kahlo sold for $54.66 million in New York on Thursday, setting a new record for the price of a painting by a woman, the auction house Sotheby's said. The sale of Kahlo's 1940 artwork, titled "El sueno (la...

Washington, DC., US – AMD, Cisco, and HUMAIN, a PIF-backed company delivering full-stack AI solutions, have announced plans to establish a joint venture to position Saudi Arabia as a leading provider of world-class AI solutions for regional and global customers. The joint venture, which will begin operations in 2026, will...

Milan, Italy -- Italian defense group Leonardo said Wednesday it had agreed to launch a joint venture next year with the United Arab Emirates' state-owned defense conglomerate EDGE Group. Details of the sectors covered by the joint venture, which would be 51 percent owned by EDGE and 49 percent by...

Dubai, UAE -- Emirates, the Middle East's biggest airline, topped up its order of Boeing 777X planes on Monday despite years of delays, delivering a vote of confidence to the US manufacturer at the Dubai Airshow. The order of 65 777-9s, valued at $38 billion including engines, came despite last...

Geneva, Switzerland - A three-year campaign to bring vaccines against human papillomavirus (HPV) to low-income countries has prevented 1.4 million cervical cancer deaths, the vaccine alliance Gavi said Monday. "An estimated 86 million girls are now protected against the leading cause of cervical cancer, thanks to a concerted three-year effort...

Dubai, United Arab Emirates -- Rory McIlroy was on Sunday crowned the DP World Tour’s Race to Dubai champion for a seventh year, and four seasons in a row, but the world No.2 lost the $10 million Tour Championship to England’s Matt Fitzpatrick in the first playoff hole when he...

Seoul, South Korea -- South Korean conglomerate Samsung unveiled on Sunday a plan to invest $310 billion over the next five years mostly in technology powering artificial intelligence, aiming to meet growing demand driven by a global boom. The business group's flagship Samsung Electronics is already one of the world's...

Brussels, Belgium -- The European Commission on Friday greenlit the takeover of German chemical firm Covestro by UAE state oil giant ADNOC, after the Emirati firm promised steps to alleviate competition fears. Plastics maker Covestro accepted a bid from the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company in October, valuing the company...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo on Tuesday said next year's World Cup would be his last as he winds down one of the all-time great careers. The 40-year-old forward, with more than 950 club and international goals, also said he would retire from football in "one or...

Geneva, Switzerland -- Global demand for air conditioning could more than triple by 2050, the United Nations warned on Tuesday, calling for more sustainable cooling solutions. The UN Environment Programme said demand could surge due to increases in population and wealth around the world, combined with more extreme heat. Rising...

Abu Dhabi, UAE -- The United Arab Emirates is not planning to join the international stabilisation force for Gaza because it lacks a clear framework, a senior official said on Monday. "The UAE does not yet see a clear framework for the stability force, and under such circumstances will probably...

Paris, France -- There is no clear link between pregnant women taking the common painkiller paracetamol and autism in their children, despite repeated claims otherwise by Donald Trump, according to the most comprehensive review of the existing evidence published Monday. In September, the US president sparked outrage among the medical...

Jerusalem, Undefined -- Denied contact with his lawyer for months, now freed Palestinian prisoner Shady Abu Sedo said he lost all sense of time while he was held in Israeli jails during the war in Gaza. The 35-year-old resident of the Palestinian territory was arrested in March 2024, five months...

Dubai, United Arab Emirates - AD Ports Group of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) signed a $22 million agreement Thursday for a stake in the container terminal at Syria's port in Latakia -- as Damascus seeks investments to boost its war-ravaged economy. Abu Dhabi-based firm inked the deal with French...

The project in the Alam al-Roum area, in Egypt's Matrouh Governorate, will span "4,900 acres... extending across a coastline of 7.2 kilometres of the pristine Mediterranean shoreline", a statement from the Qatari Diar company said.

Washington, United States - In a victory speech capping his meteoric rise, New York's mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani quoted at length from the famous "Tryst with Destiny" address by independent India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru. As he left the stage to a cheering cross-section of the metropolis, the song on...

Dubai, United Arab Emirates -- US software firm Palantir launched a joint venture with the Dubai government's investment arm on Tuesday, as the United Arab Emirates continues its push into AI. The joint venture, named Aither, was unveiled a day after Microsoft announced $15.2 billion in AI and cloud computing...

Cairo, Egypt -- Thousands of visitors streamed through the Grand Egyptian Museum on Tuesday as almost the entire collection of King Tutankhamun's treasures -- over 4,500 artefacts -- was displayed together for the first time since the young pharaoh's tomb was discovered in 1922. Curated and conserved over nearly two decades,...

The deal sent US chip-maker Nvidia shares up 2.6 percent, buoyed by hopes the AI juggernaut could see access for its most advanced chips expand to more markets.

Busan, South Korea -- Rows of coffins line a university classroom in the South Korean port city of Busan, ready for use in training the funeral directors of the future in a rapidly ageing country. Growing numbers are finding work in the business of death as South Korea undergoes massive...

El Dorado Hills, United States -- Matt James has collected gold nuggets for years from the hills and riverbeds of California, but as the precious metal's price soars, he has found an unexpected El Dorado: on social media. Though the value has fluctuated, it has effectively doubled in the last...

Paris, France - An AI-generated video claiming to show one of the football stadiums for the 2034 FIFA World Cup in Saudi Arabia made waves on social media this week -- but it has nothing to do with the kingdom's official plans. The video of glowing arena built atop a...

Dubai, UAE - Deloitte Middle East has announced the launch of its Middle East Centre of Excellence for Oracle AI Agents, a specialized innovation platform aimed at accelerating the adoption of agentic AI – AI capable of autonomous thinking and action to enhance human decision-making – throughout the region. Bringing...

New York, United States -- Meta raised $30 billion in debt on Thursday, as tech giants flush with cash turn to borrowing to finance the expensive race to lead in artificial intelligence. On a day when Facebook-parent Meta's share price plunged on the heels of disappointing quarterly earnings, demand for...

Cairo, Egypt - With much pomp and circumstance, Cairo is due to inaugurate on Saturday the long-awaited Grand Egyptian Museum, widely presented as the crowning jewel on authorities' efforts to overhaul the country's vital tourism industry. With a panoramic view of the Giza pyramids plateau, the GEM houses thousands of...

Paris, France -- French oil and gas giant TotalEnergies reported on Thursday a sharp increase in third-quarter net profit despite lower crude prices as its production rose. The company said net income grew around 61 percent to $3.7 billion compared to the same period last year, even as oil prices...