Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - Global credit agency Fitch Ratings has reaffirmed Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund's (PIF) long-term foreign- and local-currency issuer default ratings at "A+" with a stable outlook. In its assessment, Fitch highlighted the PIF’s robust financial autonomy and its critical role in bolstering Saudi Arabia’s non-oil gross...

Geneva, Switzerland - The heads of numerous United Nations agencies and other humanitarian organizations said on Thursday they would not take part in Gaza "safe zones" declared by only one side in the conflict. "As humanitarian leaders, our position is clear: We will not participate in the establishment of any 'safe...

DUBAI, UAE - EDGE, one of the world's leading advanced technology and defense groups, announced its first major order from the UAE Armed Forces for the locally-manufactured REACH-S fixed-wing UAV. Announced at the Dubai Airshow, the order to supply 100 REACH-S is the first of its kind for the for...

Dubai, UAE - Dubai-based Emirates on Thursday announced an order for 15 long-haul Airbus A350-900s, bringing to 110 the number of additional aircraft the company has ordered at this year's Dubai Air Show. "The A350-900s will add to our fleet mix and we are pleased to announce additional orders for this...

Kibbutz Beeri, Israel - EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Thursday called for Gaza hostages to be immediately freed, but asked Israel "not to be consumed by rage" in its battle with Hamas. "I ask for their immediate and unconditional release," Borrell said on a visit to a kibbutz community targeted...

Abu Dhabi, UAE – Bayanat, a leading provider of AI-powered geospatial solutions, and Al Yah Satellite Communications Company (Yahsat), the UAE’s flagship satellite solutions provider, on Wednesday announced the expansion of their ambitious Earth Observation (EO) space program from five to seven synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites. The expansion of...

Geneva, Switzerland - The UN human rights chief on Thursday decried serious allegations of international law violations in the Israel-Hamas war and suggested an international investigation was needed. Volker Turk said "extremely serious allegations of multiple and profound breaches of international humanitarian law, whoever commits them, demand rigorous investigation and full...

RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA - Since its foundation, the Kingdom has been keen to build bridges of communication with all the countries in accordance with a clear policy to build positive relationships based on respect, cooperation and common interests. The Kingdom's interest in establishing relations with the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) stemmed...

Abu Dhabi, UAE – EDGE, an advanced technology group specialising in precision engineering in the UAE’s aerospace, oil & gas, and defence industries, announced on Wednesday their contract to supply multiple hard metal parts on Boeing’s 777, 777X, and 787 commercial aircraft. The announcement was made during the ongoing Dubai...

The resolution, prepared by Malta and adopted with 12 votes in favor, "calls for urgent and extended humanitarian pauses and corridors throughout the Gaza Strip for a sufficient number of days" to allow aid to reach civilians in the besieged territory. The text raises the question of how many days...

Manama, Bahrain-- Bahrain and Russia have held discussions to enhance cooperation in various fields of the two countries' economies. In this regard, Dr. Mohammed bin Mubarak Bin Daina, Minister of Oil and Environment and Special Envoy for Climate Affairs, met Roman Panov, the President of the Russian GEOTEK company, a...

Dubai, UAE - Mukta A2 Multiplex WLL, the international subsidiary of Mukta Arts, one of India's leading film production houses, has signed an agreement with Al-Othaim Investment Company to operate cinemas across Saudi Arabia, Indian publication The Hindu Business Line reported on Thursday. The move expands the company's footprint in...

Doha, Qatar - The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has given the green light to three new national projects in Qatar, slated to commence in January and span over three years. These projects, approved by the IAEA, encompass critical areas including the management of Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material (NORM) wastes...

"The amount of humanitarian aid sent to Gaza is very small and almost zero, and it is necessary for the United Nations to take immediate and serious action in this regard," Amir-Abdollahian said in a meeting in Geneva with UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths.

The UN's World Meteorological Organization said levels of the three main greenhouse gases -- the climate-warming carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide -- all broke records last year.

ANKARA, TURKEY - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday called Israel a "terror state", stepping up his condemnation of the spiralling civilian toll of its war against Hamas in Gaza. Erdogan's latest -- and one of the most heated -- verbal attacks against Israel came two days before he plans...

"Once we've reached about 120 million (passengers a year), which is what we think our total capacity at DXB (Dubai International) is at the absolute maximum with everything optimized, we are going to need a new airport," Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths said.

Dubai, UAE -- EDGE, one of the world's leading advanced technology and defense groups, announced that it bagged an AED 4.1 billion ($1.1bn) contract for the supply of aircraft munitions at Dubai Air Show Wednesday. EDGE entity LAHAB DEFENCE SYSTEMS, the UAE’s sole munitions manufacturer, was awarded the contract which...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- Saudi Arabia's consumer price index experienced a slight decrease in October, dropping to 1.6 percent from 1.7 percent in September, according to the latest official data. The General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) reported that this decrease in inflation was primarily due to a 0.8 percent reduction...

DUBAI, UAE – Tawazun Council announced the signing of 11 deals, worth US$1.8 billion (AED 6.9 billion), with local and international companies on the second day of the Dubai Airshow 2023. Tawazun Council is an independent government entity that works closely with the Ministry of Defense and security agencies to...

Dubai, UAE--Dubai Airports is expecting annual passenger traffic at Dubai International (DXB) to touch 86.8 million – surpassing 2019 traffic, propelled by strong growth throughout the first three quarters of the year and anticipation of an exceptional surge in guest numbers in the final quarter. DXB commenced the second half...

Washington, United States - United States wants to see the war between Israel and Hamas contained to Gaza and not expanded to other areas of the region, US Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said on Tuesday. As of today, "we have not seen this war spill over into other...

Dhahran, Saudi Arabia - Aramco, one of the world’s leading integrated energy and chemicals companies, has successfully produced the first unconventional tight gas from its South Ghawar operational area two months ahead of schedule. The development supports Aramco’s strategy to increase gas production by more than half over 2021 levels,...

Washington, United States - The American company Apple intends to provide the possibility of downloading applications from outside its official App Store in line with the new laws established by the European Union (EU), and will begin during the first half of 2024. The company's customers will not have to...

The Israeli army said its forces conducted "counterterrorism activities" in the city, during which "engineering vehicles uncovered explosive devices planted on routes to attack the forces". "In addition, soldiers questioned and apprehended wanted suspects, and during exchanges of fire with armed assailants, a number of the assailants were killed," the...

Doha, Qatar -- Qatar has strongly condemned the Israeli shelling of the Qatar Committee for the Reconstruction of Gaza's headquarters, denouncing it as a blatant violation of international law. The incident, viewed as an extension of the occupation's pattern of targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure, has sparked international outrage, QNA...

Davos, Switzerland -- Denmark, the Netherlands, and Germany have emerged as the leading countries for remote working, offering the best combination of cybersecurity, economic stability, infrastructure, and social safety, the latest Global Remote Work Index 2023 said. The index, which evaluates 108 countries, is a crucial tool for remote workers...

Washington, United States - Israel and the Hamas are close to reaching agreements that will make possible to free the majority of Israeli women and children captured on October 7, a columnist of The Washington Post (WP) David Ignatius wrote in his op-ed, citing sources in the Israeli government. The agreement can...

Vienna, Austria--The UAE's non-oil economic activities continued to see robust performance and are expected to extend healthy development into 2024, the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said. In its OPEC Monthly Oil Market Report for November 2023, the organisation anticipated the upward trend in non-oil activities to continue...

Tehran, Iran – The Army of the Islamic Republic of Iran has made its newest operational drone Kaman-19, a drone for electronic warfare operations, mehrnews reported on Monday. The Kaman-19 stands out for its specialized design tailored explicitly for electronic warfare, enabling various Iranian military units to effectively counter diverse...

Dubai, UAE - The much-anticipated Hindi-language action film Tiger 3, starring Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif, has reportedly been banned in Gulf states Kuwait, Oman, and Qatar. Released on the occasion of Diwali, the film has marked its entry into the record books as the highest-grossing Diwali day release. While...

In Geneva, the second-largest UN headquarters after New York, the UN flag on Monday flew at half-mast and none of the other flags of the 193 member countries were hoisted along the main alley of the compound.

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia — The Public Investment Fund (PIF) has formally announced the signing of a share subscription agreement to infuse capital into Alkhorayef Petroleum, a subsidiary of Alkhorayef Group. Through this agreement, PIF secures a 25 percent shareholding in the oil and gas production optimization solutions provider, with Alkhorayef...

SHARJAH, UAE – A total of 3,798 transactions were conducted here in October 2023 across various regions of the emirate, amounting to US$980 million (AED3.6 billion) in trade value and involving 8.2 million square feet, the Sharjah Real Estate Registration Department said in a report.   This surge reflects a...

Dubai, UAE -- Dubai Taxi Company Monday announced its intention to proceed with an Initial Public Offering (IPO) and to list its ordinary shares for trading on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM). In a statement on Monday, the company said that 624.750 million shares, each with a nominal value of...

Abu Dhabi, UAE - The CBUAE will provide UAE nationals with job opportunities across various banking and insurance specializations in an effort to meet the financial sector’s Emiratization objectives during its participation in the 17th annual Tawdheef exhibition taking place between November 13-15, at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- The Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPPC) has released request for qualification (RFQ) for the fifth round of solar projects under the National Renewable Energy Program (NREP) which is led and supervised by the Ministry of Energy. The combined capacity of Round 5 projects is approximately 3700...

Erdogan returned from a summit on Saturday of Arab and Muslim leaders in the Saudi capital Riyadh, which condemned Israeli forces' "barbaric actions" in Gaza without approving concrete punitive measures. He is due to visit Germany on Friday and plans to travel to Egypt and host Iran's president in the...

Paris, France-- The UAE has made a fervent appeal to members of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to join the country and its group of friends to lead climate efforts on the occasion of the UAE hosting COP28 in Expo City Dubai from 30th November to...

New York, USA - There are no safe zones left in Gaza amid Israeli strikes, Russian Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya said. "(Israel’s) deliberate strikes on civilian facilities are a blatant violation of international humanitarian law," he pointed out at a UN Security Council meeting on the...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - Saudi EXIM Bank has signed multiple agreements and memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with African banks and financial institutions on the sidelines of the Saudi-Arab-African Economic Conference recently held in Riyadh. Saad Al-Khalb, the CEO of the Saudi EXIM Bank, signed Line of Credit agreements worth $185...

Abu Dhabi, UAE -- The UAE’s EDGE Group, one of the world’s leading advanced technology and defence groups, has announced the acquisition of a 50 percent stake in Flaris, a pioneering Polish aviation company specialising in the development of state-of-the-art personal jets. The two companies will also establish a joint...

New Delhi, India - US Secretary of State Antony Blinken wrapped up a marathon diplomatic push on Friday in India after a whirlwind Middle East trip and G7 talks, saying Israel's pauses in its Gaza offensive would "save lives" but more was needed. "Far too many Palestinians have been killed," Blinken...

The high-level meeting in Cairo comes ahead of Saturday's summits in Saudi Arabia, where Arab and Muslim leaders are expected to press for an end to more than a month of fighting.

President Ebrahim Raisi has said Iran sees it as "its duty to support the resistance groups" but insisted that they act independently.

"The present course chosen by the Israeli authorities will not bring the peace and stability that both Israelis and Palestinians want and deserve," Philippe Lazzarini, head of the United Nations' agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), wrote in a media opinion piece.

Dubai, UAE -- The total value of real estate transactions conducted in Dubai during the week ending 10 November 2023, exceeded AED 10.3 billion ($2.80 billion), according to figures released by the Dubai Land Department (DLD). The DLD report showed that 1,782 sales transactions worth AED7.4 billion were conducted, with...

Doha, Qatar - The real estate market in Qatar witnessed a significant surge in trading activity as the Department of Real Estate Registration at the Ministry of Justice reported QR 220 million ($60.42 million) in sales contracts from Oct 29 to Nov 2, 2023. According to the latest Real Estate...

Dubai, UAE – Dubai government on Thursday approved several initiatives to stimulate the industrial sector in the emirate besides announcing incentives for the agricultural technology sector, and a policy banning single-use pla The initiatives to boost industrial sector is in line with the goals of the Dubai Economic Agenda D33...

Washington, United States - Over the last three weeks, Iran-backed militia groups have attacked US bases and facilities in Iraq and Syria 41 times. The US has defended itself against those attacks and will continue to do so, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East said. Following...