Dubai, UAE -- Dubai's position as the leading hub for international dispute resolution has been further strengthened as the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Courts reported a staggering 692 percent increase in the overall value of claims during the first half of 2023 compared to the same period last year....

Sharjah, UAE-- Ruwad, or the Sharjah Foundation to Support Pioneering Entrepreneurs (Ruwad), has approved the financing of three projects after studying the feasibility of 15 requests for funding in various sectors between April and June. Sultan Abdullah bin Hadda Al Suwaidi, Chairman of the Sharjah Economic Development Department, praised the...

The social media network's website showed the company's new logo, but its URL was still showing as twitter.com and the blue "Tweet" button was visible, suggesting the rebrand was not yet finalized.Musk and the company's new chief executive Linda Yaccarino announced the rebranding Sunday, saying the company would be renamed...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund, announced Sunday it has established Al Madinah Heritage Company to improve the quality and production capacity of Ajwa dates in the Madinah region. The launch of the Company will help further develop the Saudi Food and Agriculture...

DUBAI, UAE - Keeping pace with the UAE’s strong economic growth, Dubai Customs cleared 14 million customs transactions during the first six months of this year, a 10 percent surge from the 12.7 million transactions registered in the same period last year. The UAE economy is poised to experience further...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- The Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) and Bahamas have signed a $10 million agreement to build state-of-the-art business incubation centers across three idyllic islands in the Bahamas. With the primary aim of bolstering the tourism industry, these centers will serve as nurturing hubs for new business...

Doha, Qatar-- Qatar has recorded a 70 percent growth in annual foreign direct investment (FDI) between 2019 and 2022. Just last year alone, the country received $29.78 billion in foreign investments, resulting in 13,972 jobs across sectors such as business services, technology, financial services and other industries. Investment Promotion Agency...

New York, US--The UAE and the UN have discussed joint cooperation and partnership on government experience exchange, global climate action and sustainable development as the UAE gears up to host COP28. In this regard, a senior UAE delegation met Selwin Charles Hart, the Special Adviser to the UN Secretary-General on...

NEW DELHI, INDIA - Energy ministers from the group of 20 nations meeting in India on Saturday failed to agree on a roadmap to phase down the use of fossil fuels in the global energy mix. A final statement after the meeting did not even mention coal, a major contributor...

JERUSALEM- More than 1,100 Israeli air force reservists -- including fighter pilots -- threatened to suspend volunteer service as protests intensified on Saturday ahead of final votes on a bill that aims to overhaul Israel's judiciary. The judicial revamp has split the nation and sparked one of the biggest protest...

NEW DELHI, INDIA - A Joint Arab-Indian Chamber of Commerce is to be “activated” soon. This was announced in the “Delhi Declaration” at the conclusion of the sixth India-Arab Partnership Conference in New Delhi, local media reports said. The Declaration asserted that “India and the Arab countries are witnessing a...

NABLUS, PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES - Israeli forces have shot dead a Palestinian in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian officials said on Saturday, in what the army described as a "car ramming attempt" near here. Fawzi Mukhalifa, 18, "was killed by the occupation (Israeli) bullets in the town of Sebastia" late on Friday,...

BERLIN, GERMANY - The European Central Bank (ECB) announced on Saturday it wants to monitor the liquidity of banks in the eurozone more frequently to reduce the future risk of a financial crisis. "We decided to send banks, starting in September, a request for information on a weekly basis, in order...

DUBAI, UAE - Authorities in Yemen have identified a suspect in the killing of a World Food Program official in the southern Taez province, a security official has told AFP. Moayad Hameidi, the head of the UN food agency's office in Taez, was killed in a shooting on Friday in the...

Dubai, UAE-- Bahrain and the US have reaffirmed their commitment to freedom of navigation in international waters. They reiterated the importance of ensuring safe passage for commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and condemned acts that put freedom of navigation in jeopardy. The joint statement came after a meeting...

Ras Al Khaimah, UAE: While the global news media world is being disrupted by Artificial Intelligence (AI) led by bigtime players, news organisations in the UAE have been slow in the use and adoption of AI in newsrooms, according to a paper authored by three university researchers. The findings suggest...

Beijing, China - China's traditional export sectors, such as apparel, home appliances, and furniture, have been surpassed by electric vehicles, lithium-ion batteries, and solar batteries as the primary drivers of foreign trade growth, People's Daily reported. These "new three" industries have contributed to an impressive 61.6 percent year-on-year increase in...

Dubai, UAE--Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has called on the public to take all necessary measures to avoid the risk of fire due to misuse of electrical appliances and connections with increasing temperatures in summer or failure to conduct periodic maintenance. DEWA called on customers to use its smart...

Mumbai, India: The world's biggest rice exporter India has banned some overseas sales of the grain "with immediate effect", the government said, in a move that could not only drive international prices even higher but also impact Middle East. However, India has not banned export of Basmati rice - a...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - Saudi Arabia exported 321,000 tons of dates in 2022 worth 1.28 billion Saudi Riyals ($342 million), marking a 5.4 percent growth compared to the previous year. The growth trend is even more impressive when considering the long-term figures. In 2022, the Kingdom's dates exports surged by...

Sunnyvale, CA: G42, the UAE-based technology group and Cerebras Systems, the company specializing in accelerating generative AI  on Thursday announced Condor Galaxy, a network of nine interconnected supercomputers, offering a new approach to AI compute that promises to significantly reduce AI model training time.  Cerebras Systems said that it has...

TABARKA, TUNISIA - Firefighters in Tunisia are battling a major blaze that has raged for two days in a pine forest near the border with Algeria, a civil defense official said on Thursday. Regional civil defense director Abdel Laabidi told AFP that around 470 hectares (1,100 acres) of forest had already...

PARIS, FRANCE - New carbon-cutting plans by this year's UN climate talks host the UAE were branded "insufficient" by an analysis on Thursday that hit out at the oil-rich nation for allegedly undermining its own targets with plans to increase fossil fuel production. The UAE, which will host the COP28 United...

Until now, Palestinians with United States citizenship could not enter Israel through Ben Gurion airport without obtaining visas, but had to enter through Jordan. Citizens of 40 countries are exempt from visas for short stays in the United States for leisure or business.

Abu Dhabi, UAE - The conditions determining taxable and exempt persons, corporate tax rates and tax periods. were highlighted at the second workshop on the recently launched corporate tax organized by the UAE Federal Tax Authority (FTA) here on Wednesday. Other key topics covered during the workshop included the Small...

Dubai, UAE - The UAE has witnessed 135 percent year-on-year (YoY) growth with AED 49.25 billion ($13.37 billion) project announcements in the second quarter compared to AED 21 billion ($5.71 billion) in the same quarter last year, according to the latest construction intelligence cited in BNC Projects Journal,  The surge...

Cairo, Egypt-- The UAE and Egypt are looking to ramp up cooperation in the fields of higher education and scientific research. In this connection, Sheikh Dr. Ammar bin Nasser Al Mualla, attaché of education and technology sciences of the UAE in Egypt, discussed with Mohamed Ayman Ashour, Minister of Higher...

Abu Dhabi, UAE - Khaled Mohamed Balama, Governor of the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE) discussed ways to enhance the integrity of the financial system in a meeting with Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Wednesday. They also discussed partnership between CBUAE...

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND - The extreme heat in the northern hemisphere is putting an increasing strain on healthcare systems, hitting those least able to cope the hardest, the World Health Organization said on Wednesday. The WHO said the heat often worsens pre-existing conditions, saying it was particularly concerned about those with cardiovascular...

AMMAN, JORDAN - The United Nations' World Food Program has announced it would reduce cash assistance to nearly 120,000 Syrian refugees in Jordanian camps, saying the move was "unavoidable as funds run precariously low". The UN logs about 650,000 Syrians in Jordan who fled their native country since war broke out...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - Saudi Arabia is the top-ranked country in the MENA region in terms of Venture Capital funding in the first half of 2023, with a deployment of $446M (SAR 1.67 billion). According to a report published by the venture data platform MAGNiTT, the Kingdom accounted for 42...

Sharjah, UAE--The Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) and Costa Rica have discussed ways to advance bilateral economic relations. The chamber also held fruitful discussions to strengthen commercial and industrial cooperation and investment among the private sector organizations, institutions, and events within the framework of the friendly relations binding...

Dubai, UAE - EdVentures, an Edtech corporate venture capital firm in the MENA region, has announced a strategic partnership with VMS, a Venture Studio helping entrepreneurs and startups in the Middle East to develop edtech industry in Saudi Arabia and Egypt.  Since its establishment in 2017, EdVentures, the investment arm...

Dubai, UAE-- Seeking to forge partnerships around the world, Dubai Chambers will host a two-day event in November this year called Dubai Business Forum, bringing together key public and private sector stakeholders. The event will be hosted at the city’s Madinat Jumeirah on 1st and 2nd November, 2023, under the...

The city of Sharjah accounted for the largest (3,794) share of the transactions.

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- Saudi Arabia’s exports to Turkey during the past three years amounted to SAR 52.280 billion ($13.93 billion), and the Kingdom’s imports from Turkey totaled SAR 16.787 billion. Saudi exports largely comprised plastics, metal products, organic chemical products, steel, precious metals and stones and its imports from Turkey were...

Dubai, UAE -- Dubai Ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum has issued a law (No. 16 of 2023) to regulate urban planning in Dubai. The law seeks to create an integrated and effective urban planning system that promotes investment, sustainable development, prosperity, and an improved quality of life for...

Abu Dhabi, UAE -- Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has commenced the construction of the Middle East's inaugural high-speed hydrogen refueling station. The station, situated in Masdar City and spearheaded by ADNOC, will utilize an electrolyser powered by clean grid electricity to produce clean hydrogen from water. Hydrogen, a...

New York, US--Saudi Arabia and Bahrain are looking to collaborate in order to speed up the sustainable development goals, aligning them with government programs under the 2030 Agenda. In this connection, discussion took place at a joint meeting between Amna bint Ahmed Al Romaihi, Minister of Housing and Urban Planning, Noor bint Ali Alkhulaif, Minister of...

Doha, UAE - The Commercial Bank, a Qatari public shareholding company, experienced an 8.5 percent upswing in net profit, reaching $421.38 billion in the first half of 2023, compared to a net profit of QR 1,432 billion ($388.32 billion) for the same period last year. The figures issued by the...

Abu Dhabi, UAE - The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has secured the top spot in the Arab region and risen to 29th globally in the United Nations Industrial Development Organization's (UNIDO) Competitive Industrial Performance Index (CIP).  The index, which evaluates 153 countries, assesses national industrial performance and competitiveness on a...

Dubai, UAE - The United States has announced plans to bolster its military presence in the Middle East in response to Iran's recent actions involving the seizure and harassment of commercial shipping vessels in key waterways. Reuters reported on Monday.  The Pentagon will be sending additional F-35 and F-16 fighter...

Dubai, UAE--Morocco said that Israel has recognized its sovereignty over the disputed territory of Western Sahara and is mulling opening a consulate there, according to media reports. A statement from Morocco's Royal Palace said Israel's position was expressed in a letter to King Mohammed VI from Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin...

Aboard Nautica , Yemen - The United Nations on Monday handed over a vessel that will take on board oil from a decaying tanker in the Red Sea off war-torn Yemen, an operation aimed at averting an environmental catastrophe. The handover ceremony took place aboard the Nautica, which is being renamed...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- Aramco, TotalEnergies and SABIC have completed for the first time in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region the first conversion of oil derived from plastic waste into circular polymers certified with the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC+). The plastic pyrolysis oil, also called...

DUBAI, UAE – The city has registered a strong year-on-year growth of 44 percent in business event bid wins in the first half of 2023. The outstanding growth in the number of global events being hosted by the city contributes further to its economic growth in line with the goals...

DUBAI, UAE - The Dubai Supreme Council of Energy (DSCE) has received the ISO 50001:2018 in energy management systems and the net-zero statement of verification and assurance certificate. This followed a comprehensive assessment conducted by W3 Solutionz - USA through CanaGulf International Standardization. The new accomplishment adds to DSCE's achievements...

Cristiano Ronaldo, who was long viewed as a possible MLS target, was the first to move to the Saudi league followed by Real Madrid and France striker Karim Benzema and Brazilian Roberto Firmino, among others. But Garber said he isn't worried about the new competition in the market for big-name...

Amman, Jordan--Jordan and the World Bank have signed a $250 million financing agreement for a water sector efficiency project in the kingdom. In this connection, Jordanian Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Zina Toukan and World Bank Country Director for the Middle East Department Jean-Christophe Carret signed Sunday the agreement....

DUBAI, UAE - Commercial transport sector contributed AED16.1 billion ($4.38bn) to Dubai's economy in 2022, said Mattar Al Tayer, Director-General, Chairman of the Board of Executives Directors of Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA). The sector employs around 242,000 jobs by more than 7000 companies, local media reports said. “The...