NEOM, Saudi Arabia: NEOM, a mega-city project in Saudi Arabia characterized by futuristic urban planning and advanced technologies, Sunday announced the launch of Topian, the NEOM Food Company. Neom said in a statement that Topian seeks to redefine food production, distribution, and consumption through the creation of sustainable and innovative food...

On Friday, it said 11 pro-government forces and five HTS fighters had been killed after the jihadists launched an attack in neighboring Aleppo province a day earlier. Late last month, Syrian government bombardment killed nine civilians including six children as they harvested olives in Idlib province, reported the Observatory, which...

Dubai, UAE--The Arab Centre for the Studies of Arid Zones and Dry Lands (ACSAD) will partner with the UAE's Ministry of Climate Change and Environment (MOCCAE) to realise the country's vision of reaching zero neutrality by 2050, according to a senior official of the Damascus-based centre. “As an Arab organisation...

Dubai, UAE - The OPEC oil cartel said Saturday there was no "single solution" to the energy transition as pressure grows to agree a phase-out of fossil fuels at the COP28 climate talks. "There is no single solution or path to achieve a sustainable energy future," said a speech by OPEC secretary...

Istanbul, Turkey - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday denounced the UN Security Council after the United States vetoed a ceasefire resolution for Gaza, describing the international body as the 'Israel protection council'. "Since October 7, the security council has become an Israel protection and defense council," Erdogan said. The United...

Tehran, Iran - Iran said on Saturday that attempting to revive its landmark nuclear deal with world powers that was effectively scrapped by former US president Donald Trump was increasingly "useless". "Today, the more we advance, the more the JCPOA becomes useless," Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said in a speech to...

PARIS, FRANCE - The family of Mahsa Amini, the Iranian Kurdish woman who died in custody, have been banned from traveling to France to collect a top rights prize awarded posthumously, their lawyer said on Saturday. Amini died aged 22 on September 16, 2022, while being held by Iran's religious police...

Dubai, UAE--The head of OPEC has urged members of the oil cartel to reject any deal at UN climate talks in Dubai that "targets" fossil fuels instead of emissions, according to a letter seen Friday by AFP. In the letter sent Wednesday, OPEC Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais said he...

Tehran, Iran - Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian held a phone conversation with Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh on Friday night to discuss the latest developments in the Gaza Strip. During the call, Amir-Abdollahian praised the invocation of Article 99 of the UN Charter by the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' as...

In recent years, dozens of studies have found that people who eat lots of UPFs have a higher risk of heart disease, cancer, asthma, depression and other illnesses. But these studies have almost entirely been observational, which means they cannot show that UPFs directly cause these health problems

New York, United States - Nasdaq Inc., headquartered in New York, has agreed to pay a $4 million settlement to the US Department of Treasury for apparent violations of sanctions against Iran by a former Nasdaq unit, according to the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). The violations stemmed from...

In a note to the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and UN Climate Change body, shared with AFP, climate scientists from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and Exeter University said there was very little room for anything but a total phase-out of fossil fuels.

Climate campaigners have viewed Jaber with deep suspicion due to his position as the head of UAE national oil firm ADNOC, but he has sought to assure sceptics by stating that a phase down of fossil fuels was "inevitable".

Dubai, United Arab Emirates – Over-confidence is leaving consumers in UAE open to becoming victims of fraud, according to Visa’s annual Stay Secure study released Thursday. Despite more than half of respondents (61 percent vs. 56 percent global average) claiming to be savvy enough to sidestep online and phone scams,...

Washington, United States -- The United States will have its first high-speed train -- between Los Angeles and Las Vegas -- in 2028, the Biden administration said Friday as it unveiled a series of major rail investments. This project called Brightline West, from the name of the Florida-based company that will...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, Prime Minister and Chairman of the board of directors of the Qiddiya Investment Co. (QIC) launched the urban design for the city of Qiddiya and Qiddiya’s brand, Saudi Press Agency reported. Qiddiya city will become, in the near future, the foremost...

Tehran, Iran – Iran and Oman have signed two memoranda of understanding to boost bilateral cooperation and using their national currencies in mutual trade instead of the dollar, mehrnews reported on Thursday. The MoUs were signed between Iran’s Minister of Industry, Mines and Trade Abbas Aliabadi, and Oman’s Minister of...

Dubai, UAE - Trina Solar, a Chinese renewable energy company, announced on Thursday plans to invest US$5 billion to create an integrated solar power generation chain in the UAE, its CEO Katherine Gao said. The project is expected to create jobs for more than 7,000 people. Gao said Speaking to...

Dubai, UAE – Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, ahead of his visit to Moscow, has emphasized the importance of the North-South transport corridor project as a key topic in his upcoming bilateral talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, TASS reported, citing Iran's IRNA news agency. Speaking at Tehran’s Mehrabad airport before...

The medical charity's international president, who recently returned from the West Bank, said that since the war between Israel and Hamas erupted on October 7, there had been a "clear shift" in the injuries being witnessed by MSF staff in West Bank hospitals.

RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA - Saudi Arabia’s real gross domestic product (GDP) fell by 4.4 percent year-on-year (YoY) in the third quarter of 2023, data issued by the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) showed.  The real seasonally adjusted GDP eased 3.2 percent quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) in the three-month period.  Non-oil activities increased...

Manama, Bahrain - Real estate transactions in Bahrain recorded a marginal 2.5 percent decline in Q3 2023, totaling 5,145 compared to the previous quarter. Despite this dip, a promising 5.1 percent surge is observed in year-to-date transactions for the first nine months of 2023, showcasing overall resilience in the market, commercial real estate services...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in collaboration with the Ministry of Sports, has rolled out a new electronic visa issuance system in a bid to streamline travel arrangements for football fans gearing up to attend the FIFA Club World Cup Saudi Arabia 2023, Saudi Gazette...

Tehran, Iran - The UN cultural agency on Wednesday recognized iftar, the meal that breaks the daytime fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, on its list of intangible cultural heritage. The application for the sociocultural tradition was jointly submitted by Iran, Turkey, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan to the UN Educational,...

Dubai, UAE -- Building massive infrastructure for clean power projects in pursuit of climate goals will need nearly $4.5 trillion in investments by 2030, but more importantly, it will need a “people-positive” approach, experts have said. The people-positive approach has yet to acquire an industry definition. But experts and clean energy...

Dubai, UAE-- Since its launch two years ago, the First Movers Coalition (FMC) has become the world's largest private sector demand signal for emerging climate technologies. Its members have moved from commitment to action: signing offtake agreements, driving demand for low carbon products to global decarbonization initiatives, and collaborating with...

Beijing, China - The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Wednesday spoke over the phone to discuss the war in Gaza. "The Secretary discussed his recent travel in the Middle East and U.S. diplomatic efforts in the region," the US State Department statement said....

Dubai, UAE - The Saudi Electricity Company (SEC), the largest producer, transmitter, and distributor of electrical energy in the Middle East and North Africa, announced on Tuesday that it seeks to reach net zero emissions by 2050 in line with the Saudi Arabia’s target to reach carbon neutrality by 2060...

Warsaw, Poland - As Vladimir Putin touches down in the Middle East later on Wednesday for visits to the UAE and Saudi Arabia, the Russian leader is brimming with confidence that would have been unimaginable six months ago. A much-touted Ukrainian counteroffensive that was once expected to carve through Russian...

Dubai, UAE - The UAE announced the launch of the Industrial Decarbonization Roadmap at COP28 on Tuesday with the aim of reducing industrial carbon emissions by 2.9 gigatonnes cumulatively until 2050. Focusing on manufacturing and hard-to-abate sectors, including cement, iron, steel and aluminium, the strategic initiative reflects the country’s commitment...

LONDON, UK - A Western price cap imposed a year ago on Russia's oil has had limited success with Moscow increasingly finding ways to deliver crude at prices above the $60 limit. The cap, jointly imposed on December 5, 2022 by the European Union, Australia and the Group of Seven rich...

Doha, Qatar - Qatar's ruler hit out at "shameful" international inaction over the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza as he opened a Gulf Cooperation Council meeting in Doha on Tuesday. "It is shameful for the international community to allow this heinous crime to continue for nearly two months, during which the systematic...

Ramallah, Palestinian Territories -- Released under an exchange between Israel and Hamas, former Palestinian civilians held in various jails have described beatings, deprivation and a radical deterioration in conditions in Israeli jails following Hamas's October 7 attacks. On that day, Hamas fighters streamed across the Gaza Strip's militarized border into Israel,...

"The so-called safe zones... are not scientific, they are not rational, they are not possible, and I think the authorities are aware of this," James Elder, spokesman for the UN children's agency UNICEF, told reporters in Geneva.

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- The seasonally adjusted Riyad Bank Saudi Arabia Purchasing Manager's Index (PMI), formerly S&P Global Saudi Arabia PMI, fell to 57.5 points in November 2023. The index indicated a significant improvement in the Saudi non-oil private sector but attributed the decline in the main index to a lower...

The fate of oil, gas and coal is the thorniest issue being thrashed out at the COP28 UN climate talks in Dubai and divisions around their future have dominated the conference. The second version of the negotiating text puts three options on the table, setting the stage for a grueling...

Abu Dhabi, UAE--ADQ and Qazaqstan Investment Corporation have established a co-investment platform focused on high-growth sectors such as food and agriculture, mobility, healthcare, energy transformation and clean technology, financial services technology, and education technology. The platform aims to explore and leverage investment opportunities in Kazakhstan as well as other countries...

DUBAI, UAE - The Emirati president of the UN's COP28 talks said on Monday he respects climate science, after a leaked video showed him declaring that no science says phasing out fossil fuel will achieve climate goals. Sultan Al Jaber also repeated his past statements that a phase out of fossil...

"Unlike the small change offered for loss and damage from our partners in developed countries, the Kingdom through its South-South cooperation announced in the Saudi Africa Summit in Riyadh last month the allocation of up to $50 billion," Prince Abdulaziz said in a video message to the Saudi Green Initiative...

Abu Dhabi, UAE -- The financial sector of the United Arab Emirates commits to mobilizing more than AED 1 trillion ($272 billion) in sustainable finance by 2030, the UAE Banks Federation announced at an event on Monday. Coinciding with the UAE’s hosting of COP28, the Central Bank of the United...

Dubai, UAE – Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar), the UAE’s clean energy powerhouse, and EDF have signed an agreement with the Ministry of Energy of the Kyrgyz Republic to explore the development of hydropower and renewable projects with a combined capacity of up to 3.6 gigawatts (GW). The agreement...

Dubai, UAE - Rebels from the Yemeni Ansar Allah movement (the Houthi) have staged a drone attack on a British commercial vessel in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the Al Hadath television channel reported, citing sources. According to Al Hadath, the ship with the British crew was flying the British flag. According to...

Dubai, UAE - Tunisia has set a goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 45 percent by 2030, and is one of the first countries to announce its intention to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, Mohamed Zmerli, Official Representative of Tunisia in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change...

Dubai, UAE -- Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) has signed agreements to collaborate with Indonesia’s state-owned utility company, PLN, to move ahead with major development plans for Southeast Asia’s largest floating solar power plant and explore green hydrogen opportunities. The partnership has already resulted in the launch of Southeast...

The hostages, most of whom were freed during a seven-day truce between Israel and Hamas, spoke in a video broadcast before a crowd of thousands at a rally in central Tel Aviv. In the brief interviews, four women who were held by Hamas related the fear, hunger, and sleeplessness of...

Dubai, UAE -- "World Bank has offered to host the Lost and Damage Fund, so we'll work very closely with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) to create that fund," according to a World Bank's official. In a statement to the Emirates News Agency (WAM) during the...

Dubai, UAE--The UK government has ordered a formal probe into the proposed sale of the Telegraph Media Group to an Abu Dhabi-backed investment fund. The investment fund, RedBird IMI, disclosed earlier this month that it was set to take control of The Daily and Sunday Telegraph sister newspapers and The...

DUBAI, UAE - Fifty oil and gas companies representing 40 percent of global production pledged to decarbonize their operations by 2050 at the UN's COP28 climate talks in Dubai on Saturday. Saudi giant Aramco and ADNOC of the UAE were among 29 national companies to sign a non-binding agreement that also...

Istanbul, Turkey - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday pushed back against mounting US pressure to cut Ankara's historic ties with Hamas in the wake of the group's unprecedented attacks on Israel. The US Treasury's top terrorism financing official conveyed Washington's "profound" alarm about Ankara's past relations with Hamas during...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - The Saudi Space Agency (SSA) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Sierra Space, a leading US company in the field of space technologies, to exchange knowledge, skills and experiences and develop national capabilities and competencies in fields related to the space sector. The memorandum was...