AMMAN, JORDAN - Chairman of the Amman Chamber of Commerce (ACC) Khalil Haj Tawfiq said the Jordanian Economic Forum with some countries of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will be held in March 2024. In a statement on Saturday, he said the agreement to set a date for the...

Moscow, Russia-- Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Saturday on the 75 anniversary of the country's founding and called for stronger ties "on all fronts". "I am convinced that thanks to our joint efforts we will continue to strengthen... bilateral ties on all fronts", Putin...

Tehran, Iran--Russia’s largest lender, SBERBANK, is presenting a new service that allows its clients to transfer money to the Islamic Republic of Iran, the bank announced on Thursday. The service is available to both individuals and businesses using their Sber accounts, according to the bank.   “The money transfer service...

Dubai, UAE - Alif, a Central Asian fintech leader, is expanding its presence into the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with the launch of Alif Pay. This new venture is geared towards offering a range of financial services and global remittance solutions to meet the needs of UAE residents. Among the...

Dubai, UAE – The Dubai Land Department (DLD) reported over 3,200 transactions worth AED 24.7 billion last week and this upwards trend appears to have become a staple of permanence in the emirates’ real estate market. Sales frequency has surged on the heels of investor confidence being renewed amid continued...

Washington, US - The REPO (Russian Elites, Proxies and Oligarchs) task force, set up to search and freeze Russia-related assets, estimates the overall value of sovereign Russian assets, blocked by the West, at $280 billion. “The total value of assets <…> is estimated at around $280 billion, the majority of which is held in the European Union,” the US Department of the Treasury...

LYON, FRANCE - President of Saudi Arabia’s Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority ‘Nazaha’ Mazin bin Ibrahim Al-Kahmous on Friday visited the headquarters of the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) here. The Saudi and Interpol staff discussed several topics of common interest.    The two sides discussed cooperation between Nazaha and Interpol...

Jelassi argued that such "methodical censorship" aims to remove the voices of the opposition or civil society organizations from broadcasts or the press.

An AFP correspondent in Sidon reported the sound of intermittent automatic weapon fire and rocket launchers emanating from within the camp on Friday morning.

TEHRAN, IRAN - Foreign companies and governments committed some US$6.7 billion worth of investments during an exhibition that was held in early May here, Iran’s deputy foreign minister for economic diplomacy affairs said.   Mehdi Safari said on Thursday that Iran seeks to break new records in foreign investment attraction and...

RAS AL KHAIMAH, UAE - Ras Al Khaimah Economic Zone (RAKEZ) and the Indian Economic Trade Organization (IETO) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen trade and investment ties between the UAE and India. The MoU was signed by RAKEZ Chief Commercial Officer Anas Hijjawi and IETO President...

Abu Dhabi, UAE - The UAE Ministry of Economy has announced that Zencargo, a UK-based company with expertise in digital freight forwarding, is joining its NextGenFDI program, a government initiative to attract international investment to the UAE. The company plans to establish operations in the Emirates with a view to...

DOHA, QATAR - The volume of real estate trading in non-residential sales contracts at the Department of Real Estate Registration at the country’s Ministry of Justice from August 27 to August 31, 2023, reached US$ 68 million (QR 250,159,704). The total sales contracts for residential units in the Real Estate...

It accuses Google of breaching competition law by shutting out mobile search competition and using its market dominance to increase the prices paid by advertisers for their prominence on the Google search page.

DUBAI, UAE – Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in a telephonic conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed readiness to build an economic partnership with the BRICS countries. The Saudi Press Agency said the two sides had discussed various issues at the BRICS summit, where Saudi Arabia...

Millions of Syrians have fled abroad since their country's civil war broke out in 2011 following the government's repression of peaceful pro-democracy protests.

Tencent on Thursday gave a live demonstration of Hunyuan Aide's capabilities, with the bot introducing itself in response to questions typed by an employee on a laptop, and solving a simple arithmetic problem. Vice-President Jiang Jie said at the livestreamed summit that the bot outperformed US-based Open AI's earlier model...

Ankara, Turkey - Turkiye and European Union (EU) on Wednesday discussed the resumption of talks to modernize the customs union agreement between Ankara and Brussels. Turkish Trade Minister Omer Bolat said that his country, alongside the EU, was determined to enhance cooperation in the field of trade and economy. Following...

Beijing, China--China's exports and imports sank again in August, data showed Thursday, as the world's second-largest economy struggles with sluggish global demand and a wider slowdown. However, the pace of contraction slowed from the previous month and not as bad as feared. Overseas shipments sank 8.8 percent on-year, the customs authority...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia-- Saudi Arabia's economy is in a state of prosperity and growth, and that the kingdom's fiscal position is strong, primarily driven by Vision 2030 which has been steadily diversifying the economy since its launch in 2016, according to the International Monetary Fund.   The IMF said in a statement...

EU chief Charles Michel said last month that the bloc should get ready to admit new members from eastern Europe and the Balkans by 2030.

Tehran, Iran -- Production of pick-up trucks and vans in Iran in the first five months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21 to August 22, 2023) registered a 52 and 70 percent growth respectively compared to the same period of last year, Tasnim News Agency reported. In this...

Billionaire Musk has also previously been accused of fueling anti-Semitic tropes, including attacks against Jewish philanthropist George Soros. According to the ADL and the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), problematic and racist speech has sharply risen on X since Musk completed his $44 billion takeover in October.

Cairo, Egypt-- Vowing to expand their relations to cultural, educational, environmental, and energy fields, Arab states and Japan have expressed satisfaction with the level of cooperation between the two. Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al-Zayani, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bahrain, participated in the third session of the Arab-Japan Political Dialogue...

Doha, Qatar--Sustained investment in healthcare infrastructure in Qatar has seen a rapid transformation in the sector as promotion of health and prevention against diseases are set to yield long-term growth for health care sector in the country. A new study issued by Investment Promotion Agency of Qatar (IPA Qatar) indicated...

Tehran, Iran - The CEO of Iran’s largest car manufacturing company, IKCO (Iran Khodro Industrial Group), said that his company will import the first batch of electric vehicles (EVs) bought from China’s Dongfeng Motor Corporation. IKCO’s CEO Alimardan Azimi said on Monday that EV imports by the company will amount...

Cairo, Egypt -- Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi called Tuesday for measures to slow the birthrate in the Arab world's most populous country, citing China's one-child  policy as an example. "We need 400,000 births per year," said the leader of the country of 105 million inhabitants which recorded nearly 2.2 million...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia-- The gaming industry has witnessed exponential growth in Saudi Arabia with an average revenue per paying user touching $270 as compared to $181 in MENA. With the game live streaming market poised to an annual growth rate (CAGR 2023-2027) of 10.08% in Saudi Arabia, esports is gaining...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- The Saudi Heritage Commission announced on Monday the nomination of 50,000 urban heritage assets across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for registration. This process is being carried out in close coordination with various stakeholders, following the Antiquities and Urban Heritage regulations.  ]The Commission has outlined its...

A statement said he was "looking forward to conducting visits in the region and meetings, engaging all concerned ahead of the issuance of the report of the Secretary-General to the Security Council in October". The conflict dates back to 1975, when colonial occupier Spain withdrew from Western Sahara, sparking a 15-year war...

Tehran, Iran--Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi has termed Saudi Arabia and Iran as the two most influential countries in the region and the Islamic world as he lay emphasis on the need for strengthening relations between the two. The president made the remarks In a meeting with Iran's newly-appointed ambassador to...

Islamabad, Pakistan - Pakistan's caretaker Prime Minister, Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar, announced on Monday that Saudi Arabia plans to invest up to $25 billion in Pakistan over the next two to five years across various sectors. The investment is part of a concerted effort to boost foreign direct investment in the South...

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director general Rafael Grossi "requests Iran to work with the agency in earnest and in a sustained way towards the fulfilment of the commitments," the agency said in a confidential report seen by AFP. Tehran in March vowed to reactivate surveillance devices which were disconnected...

"The foreign minister and I agreed that we should work together to increase the number of direct flights, the tourism, the trade volume, the investment," Eli Cohen said during a ceremony to inaugurate Israel's new embassy. The embassy in the capital Manama will replace the first embassy Israel opened in...

Chancellor Olaf Scholz will officially inaugurate the IAA mobility show, held in Germany every two years, on Tuesday. But Monday's press preview will already give carmakers a chance to show off some of the new models that will be hitting the road soon.

Tehran, Iran-- Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi expects cooperation between his country and Turkey to grow during the "new term" of Turkey's President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The president made the remarks during a meeting with with the visiting Turkish foreign minister and his accompanying delegation in Tehran on Sunday. Referring to...

Cairo, Egypt - Italian energy giant Eni has revealed plans to invest $7.7 billion in Egypt's energy sector over the next four years, according to Egyptian Presidential spokesman Ahmad Fahmi. "The President values the distinguished Egyptian-Italian relations and the extended partnership with Eni, which executes multiple activities in Egypt according...

Dubai, UAE -- The governments of the UAE and Brazil have launched a partnership to exchange knowledge and expertise in the economic fields, in a first-of-its-kind initiative within the Government Experience Exchange Programme. The Programme focuses on partnerships and enhancing cooperation with governments in sharing knowledge and expertise in the...

Large trees, broken limbs and tattered signs littered the side of the motorcade route, a testament to the power of the storm that hit the Florida coast Wednesday as an "extremely dangerous" hurricane, killing one person in Florida and one in Georgia. The president and first lady Jill Biden met...

Miami, United States--Two convictions in the FIFA corruption case have been overturned by a US federal judge citing a recent Supreme Court ruling. Hernan Lopez, a former executive with 21st Century Fox and Argentine sports marketing firm Full Play were found guilty in March of paying bribes and kickbacks to South...

Jabeur, who will now face China's Zheng Qinwen in the last 16 on Monday, said her punishing training regimen in Tunisia had helped prepare her for the demands of the tournament. "It was super hot in Tunisia, super humid," Jabeur said. "Honestly, I was fighting to just finish the practice....

Dubai, UAE--Oil prices rose to their highest in over half a year and snapped a two-week losing streak, buoyed by expectations of tightening supplies. A Middle Eastern country is widely expected to extend a voluntary 1 million barrels per day oil production cut into October, prolonging supply curbs engineered by...

BEIRUT, LEBANON - Sporadic clashes took place on Saturday in a Kurdish-held area of eastern Syria, a monitor said, after a curfew was imposed following the arrest of an Arab armed group's leader. Fighting erupted in the Kurdish-controlled areas of Deir Ezzor province on Monday after the Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces...

BEIJING, CHINA - Chinese developer Country Garden has won approval from creditors to extend a deadline for a key bond repayment, narrowly avoiding a potential default, Bloomberg reported on Saturday. One of China's biggest builders, Country Garden had racked up debts estimated at 1.43 trillion yuan ($196 billion) by the end...

AMMAN, JORDAN - Amman Chamber of Commerce (ACC) and the Iraqi Embassy here agreed to open Iraqi Trade Center at ACC's headquarters ahead the end of 2023. During his meeting with Chargé d'Affairs at Iraqi Embassy, Munif Ali Hussein, ACC Head, Khalil Haj Tawfiq, said Iraq is a "key" trade...

AMMAN, JORDAN - Representative of the leather industries and knitting sector at Jordan Chamber of Industry (JCI), Ehab Qadri, said the sector contributes 2.4 percent of the gross domestic product directly. Qadri noted the sector's exports achieved a "remarkable" growth during the past year by nearly 21 percent, reaching $2.3...

Dubai, UAE - UAE Astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi's return journey from the International Space Station (ISS) has encountered a delay due to adverse weather conditions. Originally scheduled for September 3, the departure was postponed because of unfavorable weather near the designated splashdown sites off the coast of Florida.  NASA and...

Baghdad, Iraq--A road accident killed 18 people, mostly Iranian pilgrims, north of the Iraqi capital Baghdad overnight, the state news agency INA reported Saturday. The "horrible accident" between Dujail and Samarra also injured 15 people, INA said, citing the toll from Khaled Burhan, director of health services in Salaheddine province....

Beijing, China--China has reported robust progress in its industrial development this year, marked by significant milestones in several sectors, according to the Chinese newspaper People's Daily Online. The nation's first domestically-produced large cruise ship has wrapped up its maiden test voyage, with plans for its official naming and delivery by...

Tehran, Iran - Iran has reported a 15% surge in its gasoline output this year compared to last year. The boost in production has come in response to a growing domestic demand for fuel in the country.  Alireza Jafarpour, Chief Executive of the Persian Gulf Star Oil Refinery, announced that...