Geneva, Switzerland -- The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released data for February 2024 global passenger demand, with total demand, measured in revenue passenger kilometers (RPKs), rising 21.5 percent year-on-year (YoY). Total capacity, measured in available seat kilometers (ASK), grew 18.7 percent YoY. The February load factor was 80.6 percent...

Abu Dhabi, UAE -- AD Ports Group and the General Company for Ports of Iraq (GCPI) sign an agreement to establish a joint venture to develop Al-Faw Grand Port and its economic zone, as well as any future expansion. Furthermore, the agreement also encompasses the potential investment, management, and operation...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - The Saudi Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources on Wednesday announced six new mining opportunities for local and international investors. The opportunities are part of the fifth round of mining competitions for exploration licenses and encompass gold, copper, zinc, lead, and silver ores in various regions...

Vienna, Austria--The participants of the 53rd Meeting of the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, OPEC+, agreed to keep current oil production levels unchanged. During the meeting which took place via videoconference today, the JMMC reviewed the crude oil production...

Paris, France - They didn't exist a century ago but today PFAS "forever chemicals" contaminate the environment from groundwater to Antarctic snow to turtle eggs, and concern over their possible toxicity is growing. Lawsuits and regulations targeting per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are multiplying, with France becoming the latest jurisdiction to...

NEW TAIPEI CITY, TAIWAN - Liu watched intently as rescuers carefully picked their way through the remains of a warehouse that crumbled like a house of cards Wednesday during Taiwan's strongest earthquake in 25 years, telling AFP it "was like a mountain collapsed". Propping ladders against the debris, the rescue workers...

Abu Dhabi, UAE -- The value of real estate transactions in Abu Dhabi reached AED 15.9 billion ($4.32 billion) during the first quarter of 2024 (Q1 2024), recording 5,127 sales and mortgage transactions on various types of real estate units. According to data from the DARI platform of the Department...

Tehran, Iran--The trade exchanges between Iran and Turkey in the first two months of 2024 reached $930 million, showing a one percent increase compared to the same month last year. According to the latest figures released by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TURKSTAT), Iran’s trade with the neighboring country stood at...

Jerusalem--Four Israeli police were injured in a car-ramming attack at a checkpoint in the centre of the country, police said Wednesday, adding that the assailant was killed after trying to stab other security forces. The 26-year-old attacker crashed into four police officers at a checkpoint in the town of Kochav...

The British-born official, who spent a week in the besieged Palestinian territory last month, said even when aid got through the border, there were still major problems getting it to those who need it most, particularly women and girls.

"From different doctors, particularly in the maternity hospitals, they're reporting that they're seeing a big rise in children born with low birth weight, and just not surviving the neonatal period because they're born too small," WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris said at a briefing in Geneva.

Dhahran, Saudi Arabia – Saudi energy giant Aramco Tuesday awarded engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts worth $7.7 billion for a major expansion of its Fadhili Gas Plant in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. The project is expected to increase the plant’s processing capacity from 2.5 to up to 4...

Abu Dhabi, UAE -- The UAE's national carriers have witnessed significant growth in their destination network, reaching approximately 603 destinations worldwide by the end of the first quarter of 2024, compared to 586 at the close of 2023. This 3 percent increase reflects the rebounding aviation sector and caters to...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) announced on Monday that the share of retail consumer electronic payments - one of the Financial Sector Development Program’s KPIs -  reached 70% of total retail payments in 2023, up from 62% in 2022.  The achievement is attributed to the significant...

Beirut, Lebanon--Lebanon's Iran-backed Hizbollah group warned Tuesday that Israel will pay for killing high-level Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) in a strike on the country's consulate in Damascus, Syria, the day before. Hizbollah has exchanged near-daily cross-border fire with Israel in support of its ally Hamas since the Gaza war erupted in...

Washington, US - A digital tool considered vital in tracking viral falsehoods, CrowdTangle will be decommissioned by Facebook owner Meta in a major election year, a move researchers fear will disrupt efforts to detect an expected firehose of political misinformation. The tech giant says CrowdTangle will be unavailable after August 14,...

Palestinian Territories - Israeli forces on Monday pulled out of Gaza's largest hospital complex after an intensive two-week military operation, leaving behind charred buildings and bodies strewn at the sprawling complex. Israel said it had battled Palestinian fighters hiding inside Gaza City's Al-Shifa Hospital, killed at least 200 enemy fighters...

Palestinian Territories - The health ministry in Gaza said Monday that at least 32,845 people have been killed in the territory in the Israeli aerial and ground assault since Oct 7. The toll includes at least 63 deaths over the past 24 hours, a ministry statement said, adding that 75,392...

Abu Dhabi, UAE -- The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE) expects the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to grow by 4.2 percent in 2024, rising to 5.2 percent in 2025, while maintaining its estimate for a 3.1 percent growth in 2023. In its quarterly economic review report...

The new accounts were distributed over the months of the year, with a notable YoY spike of 151.5 percent in March 2023.

Sharjah, UAE--Expo Centre Sharjah (ECS) has unveiled its future projects and forthcoming initiatives to develop and enhance the exhibitions sector and bolster its role in driving the growth of Sharjah’s economy. Promoting the emirate’s business tourism potential and opening up growth prospects across various sectors, the ECS’s plans are geared...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - The unemployment rate among Saudi women witnessed a historic decline, plummeting to 13.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023, as per the latest figures released by the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT). This marks a notable 2.6 percent drop from the third quarter's 16.3 percent....

Abu Dhabi, UAE – Rotana, one of the leading hotel management companies in the region with over 100 properties in the Middle East, Africa, Eastern Europe, and Türkiye (MENAT), announces on Sunday the soft opening of Dar Rayhaan by Rotana, Al Khobar, in Saudi Arabia. The opening is in line...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- ROSHN Group has launched ALMANAR, its fifth integrated mixed-use community and its first venture in Makkah, the group said in a press release.The first phase of ALMANAR, the release said, will provide 4,149 residential units that will house over 17,000 people on a footprint of 2.5...

Dubai, UAE -- The Dubai Land Department (DLD) has embarked on the first phase of a series of strategic partnerships with nine leading developers, aimed at bolstering the "Dubai Real Estate Programme." DLD said the initiative underscores its commitment to cultivating a skilled citizenry proficient in professional ethics and principles,...

LONDON, UK – Thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters rallied in London on Saturday, in the latest demonstration in the British capital demanding a ceasefire in Gaza and more aid for the war-ravaged territory. The event, organized by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, began at Russell Square in the city center before attendees marched...

TABUK, SAUDI ARABIA – A few days ago, the Red Sea destination hosted several international football stars from Saudi Pro League teams. Accompanied by their families, the players stayed in the resorts of this distinguished destination, indulging in its charming turquoise waters and vast desert dunes. They also engaged in...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - Saudi Arabia's tourism sector contributed to a record-breaking $36 (SR135 billion) in spending by international visitors. The surge, reported by the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA), represents a substantial 42.8 percent increase from the previous year. The Kingdom's remarkable performance in tourism was further highlighted by its...

Media outlets pay for the journalists to fly on the government plane with US president, along with the meals and drinks served in-flight, the crew also distributes as souvenirs small packages of M&M's chocolates bearing the presidential seal. But that is not good enough for many of those aboard the...

Gaza City, Palestinian Territories - The Palestine Red Crescent said five people were killed and dozens wounded by gunfire and a stampede during an aid delivery Saturday in northern Gaza, where famine looms. AFP video footage shows a convoy of trucks moving past burning debris near the distribution point in pre-dawn...

Beirut, Lebanon - The death toll in Israeli air strikes on Syria has risen to 52, including 38 government soldiers and seven members of Lebanon's Hizbollah movement, a war monitor said on Saturday. Friday's strikes fueled concerns of a wider regional conflagration. They targeted "a rocket depot belonging to Lebanon's Hizbollah"...

Russia's invasion of Ukraine more than two years ago upended European leaders' sense of unshakeable post-war peace, prompting many countries to gear up weapons production to supply both Kiev and their own militaries. Former European Council president Tusk, whose country has been one of the staunchest supporters of neighbouring Ukraine,...

Abu Dhabi, UAE--The UAE and Kenya have signed an investment memorandum establishing a framework for investment cooperation in digitalisation and technology. In addition to exploring investments in digital infrastructure and artificial intelligence (AI) services in Kenya, the cooperation may include developing data centre projects with a total capacity of up...

WASHINGTON, US – The US central bank's favored measure of inflation edged higher last month on the back of rising fuel prices, according to government data published on Friday, but another gauge stripping out volatile food and energy prices continued to ease. US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell told a conference...

Baghdad, Iraq -- Iraq said Friday a power line would soon bring electricity from Jordan to the border area as authorities aim to diversify energy sources to ease the country's chronic outages. With its generating capacity ravaged by decades of conflict and underinvestment, Iraq has long relied on imports of both...

Abu Dhabi, UAE-- The United Arab Emirates has been ranked first globally for the third consecutive year in the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) report for the year 2023-2024. The country recorded a rate of 7.7, a record number in the history of the report. The UAE was recognised as the...

Abu Dhabi, UAE--The Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA) expects the bank's annual financing to reach US$2.5 billion by the end of 2024. According to its director general, Dr. Sidi Ould Tah, the annual financing of the bank is witnessing a steady increase, rising from US$2 billion in...

MOSCOW, RUSSIA - Russia said on Thursday it had evidence the perpetrators of last week's massacre at a concert hall outside Moscow were linked to "Ukrainian nationalists", a claim that the United States called nonsense. President Vladimir Putin and his security services continue to allege Kyiv and the West were involved...

"The tragic events of the past 36 hours have resulted in a significant loss of life and injuries in south Lebanon. Up to 11 civilians were killed in a single day, including 10 paramedics," said Imran Riza, the UN's humanitarian coordinator for Lebanon.

Dubai, UAE -- UAE carrier Emirates defended its title as the fourth most valuable airline brand, with a staggering 30 percent increase in brand value, reaching $6.6 billion, according to Brand Finance, a brand valuation consultancy. With global travel recovering after the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, airline brands in the Middle East have...

Washington, United States - The Bidens' dogs grabbed headlines with their bad behavior, but "First Feline" Willow is getting a book all to herself. First Lady Jill Biden has written a children's story about the short-haired tabby's journey from a farm in Pennsylvania to the White House in 2022. With a...

Abu Dhabi, UAE--The Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry has signed an agreement with the UAE International Investors Council to collaborate in investment and futuristic economic sectors. According to the agreement, the Abu Dhabi Chamber and the Council will exert their best efforts to eliminate any obstacles that may...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - Saudi Arabia is considering transferring ownership of its national carrier, Saudia, to the sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF). Reports said that this transfer would encompass other assets under Saudia's umbrella, such as its low-cost unit, Flyadeal. Bloomberg initially reported the discussions regarding PIF's...

Abu Dhabi, UAE -- Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) has closed a sharia compliant syndicated transaction totaling AED865 million ($235 million) for BGN and Al Seer Marine to finance new and energy-efficient gas carriers. This financing marks the second tranche of a larger syndication amounting to US$370 million, which will...

Residents told AFP that Israeli forces entered Jenin and its adjacent refugee camp just after midnight (2200 GMT on Tuesday) and raided several houses. The area in the northern West Bank is a stronghold of Palestinian armed groups and the frequent target of Israeli military incursions.

Abu Dhabi, UAE -- SeaWorld Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, has been recognized as the largest indoor marine life theme park globally. Covering a sprawling expanse of over 183,000 square meters and spanning five indoor levels, this facility stands as the inaugural marine life theme park in the region. Featuring eight...

Dubai, UAE--Lapita, Dubai Parks and Resorts, has reported a surge in demand, bookings from across leisure and corporate segment last year, With its convenient location between Dubai and Abu Dhabi, expansive outdoor spaces, word-class facilities that include seven meeting rooms, and the Tamure Ballroom able to accommodate up to 700...

Doha, Qatar-- Qatar is looking to develop "plans and strategies" to streamline procedures and regulations in order to solve solve all obstacles facing the sector and align its development with the state's overall progress. This was stated by Chairman of Qatar Tourism Saad bin Ali bin Saad Al Kharji at...

Nashville, United States - "Twenty-three in Music City / With dreams and high-heeled boots / Singin' for a crowd of blue eyes / Will they want me too?" croons Julie Williams at the Blue Room venue in Nashville. The 26-year-old, who is biracial, is one of many Black female artists carving...

Abu Dhabi, UAE--The General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) has launched the Cargo Data Reporting System (CARDS), which provides a range of technical services to government entities, national airlines, ground handling agents and express service providers. CARDS is the first platform of its kind to provide an analytical view of air...