In power for the past decade, Sisi is set to remain president until 2030, after winning a December election with 89.6 percent of the vote against three relative unknowns. The six-year term is set to be the 69-year-old's last, unless he again ushers through a constitutional amendment prolonging his tenure.

In a statement, Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani "strongly condemned" the attack and said that Iran "reserves the right to carry out a reaction and will decide on the type of response and the punishment of the aggressor." Iran's ambassador in Damascus, Hossein Akbari, said, "the five-storey consulate building...

ABU DHABI, UAE - The UAE insurance sector continued to grow in Q4 2023, as reflected by the increase in the gross written premiums. As of year-end, the number of licencsd insurance companies in the UAE remained at 60, the CBUAE announced in its quarterly economic report Q4, 2023. The...

RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA - The Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani) has announced the addition of the new shipping service 'NRS' by Folk Maritime to Jeddah Islamic Port. This initiative aims to connect the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to various ports along the North Red Sea. The introduction of these two new...

Jerusalem, Undefined - Israeli police said Monday they had arrested the sister of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh "as part of a terror probe in southern Israel". Police told AFP that Sabah Abdel Salam Haniyeh, who is an Israeli citizen, was taken into custody in the town of Tel Sheva as part...

BANGKOK, THAILAND – Asian economies are not doing as well as they could and growth in the region is forecast to slow to 4.5 percent this year from 5.1 percent in 2023, Associated Press (AP) quoted a World Bank report as saying on Monday. Debt, trade barriers and policy uncertainties...

Observers called it Erdogan's worst election defeat since his party took power in 2002. Many blamed inflations running at 67 percent and a crashing devaluation of the lira currency over the past year.

The art of hand-weaving braided shiny ribbons to adorn traditional clothing and bags is called Al Talli, and is on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity list. But with the relentless pace of change in the United Arab Emirates, its days may be numbered.

Shenzhen, China--China's manufacturing activity expanded for the first time in six months in March. The official purchasing managers' index (PMI) rose to 50.8 in March from 49.1 in February, above the 50-mark separating growth from contraction and topping a median forecast of 49.9. Though the pace of growth was modest,...

Tokyo, Japan--The UAE exported 44.1 percent, namely 31.3 million barrels, of Japan's crude oil needs in February 2024, according to the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy in Tokyo. The agency, part of the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, stated that the amount of crude that Japan imported...

RAFAH, PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES – Meters away from the concrete and steel fence separating the Gaza Strip from Egypt, 11-year-old Malak Ayad flies a paper kite high in the sky -- a welcome distraction from the horrors of war. "Every day I play with my brothers and cousins with kites next to the Egyptian...

AMMAN, JORDAN – Products of the Kingdom’s pharmaceutical industries and medical supplies sector moved over the past quarter century to the global level, driven by its development, quality and competitiveness, a stakeholder said. This has placed Jordan among the top countries in this strategic industry. Representative of Pharmaceutical Industries and...

ABU DHABI, UAE - Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ruler's Representative in Al Dhafra Region, said that under the leadership of President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan the Emirates is at the forefront of leveraging cutting-edge technologies like AI to drive sustainable growth and progress, particularly in the...

While previous research has found climate change is causing heat waves to become longer, more frequent and more intense, the new paper differed by treating heat waves as distinct weather patterns that move along air currents, just as storms do. For every decade between 1979 to 2020,  researchers found heat...

Washington, US--The US Treasury Department pushed back on Friday against claims it had eased sanctions against West Bank settlers after pressure from Israel's finance minister. The US recently sanctioned seven Israeli settlers and two farming outposts in the West Bank in response to a surge in violence, freezing their assets...

Istanbul, Turkey - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will meet with US counterpart Joe Biden at the White House on May 9, a Turkish official told AFP on Friday. It would be the first White House meeting between the two leaders. The Biden administration in January approved $23 billion in F-16...

Istanbul, Turkey - Turkey's flagship carrier, Turkish Airlines, has resumed flights to Libya's capital, almost 10 years after they were suspended over security concerns in the conflict-torn country. The airlines's chief executive, Bilal Eksi, attended a ceremony at Mitiga International Airport on Thursday to mark its first flight to Libya since...

RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA – The General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) issued on Friday the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) statistics for Q4 of 2023, which show that the net flow of FDI in the Kingdom amounted to over US$3.4 billion (SAR13 billion), an increase of 16 percent or US$2.9 billion (SAR11...

Brussels, Belgium -- One of Belgium's most-wanted suspected drug smugglers was extradited from Dubai on Friday, the Belgian justice ministry said. Nordin El Hajjioui, a Belgian of Moroccan origin, is believed to be one of the main drug barons in Antwerp and is wanted in at least three cocaine-trafficking cases. Emirati...

JEDDAH, SAUDI ARABIA – The Ministry of Culture, represented by the Jeddah Historic District Program, has announced the completion of work in the project to restore ramshackle buildings in the district under the generous donation of US$13 million (SAR50 million) from the Kingdom's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The project...

Istanbul, Turkey--Recapturing Istanbul, the "jewel" of Turkey, in Sunday's local elections has become President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's obsession ever since losing the country's economic capital to the opposition in 2019. Erdogan's route to Turkey's presidency was launched in Istanbul, where he was elected mayor in 1994, and his allies held the...

Tokyo, Japan--Japan is preparing to resume funding to the UN's crisis-hit Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA), which coordinates nearly all aid to Gaza, the government said. Once the sixth-largest contributor to the agency, Japan joined more than a dozen countries in pausing funding after Israel claimed that 12 of UNRWA's 13,000...

Washington, US - "Concrete safeguards" for government use of artificial intelligence were announced by the White House on Thursday, as it vowed they would serve as a model for "global action." "When government agencies use AI tools, we will now require them to verify that those tools do not endanger the...

New York, US- Wall Street stocks saw a mixed start to Thursday, as traders digested the latest economic data ahead of the Good Friday holiday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.2 percent to 39,829.51. The broad-based S&P 500 Index was flat at 5,247.74, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index retreated...

Paris, France - The French parliament's lower house on Thursday approved a resolution condemning as "bloody and murderous repression" the killing by Paris police of dozens of Algerians in a crackdown on a 1961 protest to support Algerian independence. In recent years France has made a series of efforts to come...

ABU DHABI, UAE – The Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ADCCI) has formed a working group specifically for startups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) here.   This initiative aims to support and represent the interests of these businesses in the region. The goal is to make Abu...

Washington, United States -- When a rare total solar eclipse sweeps across North America on April 8, scientists will be able to gather invaluable data on everything from the Sun's atmosphere to strange animal behaviors -- and even possible effects on humans. It comes with the Sun near the peak of...

ABU DHABI, UAE – Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA), together with JERA Co., Inc on Thursday announced that they have entered into a power and steam purchase agreement with Saudi Aramco Total Refining and Petrochemical Company (SATORP), a joint venture company owned by Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco)...

AMMAN, JORDAN – Rising remittances from the Kingdom’s citizens working abroad has contributed to increasing demand for Jordanian dinar. Exchange companies in the Kingdom are experiencing a significant surge in demand for the Jordanian dinar, surpassing interest in other foreign currencies, the Petra news agency said. Speaking to Petra, Firas...

In November, the Houthis launched a campaign of drone and missile strikes against vessels in the Red Sea, an area vital for world trade, in professed solidarity with Palestinians during Israel's war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. US and British forces have responded with strikes against the Houthis, who...

Stockholm, Sweden - An Iraqi refugee in Sweden who stoked international outrage by repeatedly desecrating the Quran last year said Wednesday he was leaving the country for neighboring Norway after Sweden revoked his residency permit. Salwan Momika, a Christian Iraqi who burned Qurans at a slew of protests in Sweden over...

Palestinian Territories - The children of Gaza have little to eat, have had to flee their homes and have survived nearly six months of terrifying Israeli bombardment. But for a few precious minutes children in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the center of the Gaza Strip laughed and yelped with...

Hong Kong, China - The yen plunged Wednesday to a 34-year low against the dollar after a top Bank of Japan official indicated it would press ahead with a loose monetary policy, even after this month hiking interest rates for the first time since the global financial crisis. The fall raised...

The richest state in the United States by GDP, California is a hotbed of no-holds-barred tech innovation, but lawmakers in state capital Sacramento want to give the industry laws and guardrails it has largely been spared in the internet age. Brussels has enacted a barrage of laws on US-dominated tech...

Jerusalem--One of the Israeli hostages kidnapped during the October 7 Hamas attack has been killed and his body is being held in Gaza, two groups representing hostage families said Tuesday. Uriel Baruch, 35, a father of two, was taken from the Supernova music festival, where 364 people were killed during...

Doha, Qatar - Mediator Qatar said on Tuesday that talks between Hamas and Israel on a Gaza truce and hostage release are continuing, despite the warring parties trading blame over the lack of headway. Foreign ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari said the talks were "ongoing", adding there had not been "any development...

Madrid, Spain - Spain's government has acquired a three-percent stake in telecoms giant Telefonica following concerns over a Saudi firm taking a piece of a company that Madrid considers strategically important. Spanish state-owned holding company SEPI said in a filing with the stock market regulator late Monday that the move was...

ALULA, SAUDI ARABIA – Situated in the heart of Old Town here, Dar Tantora Hotel offers guests a chance to step back in time. Housed in beautifully restored mudbrick buildings, the hotel is imbued with the region's rich history and culture. The Old Town, with its origins going back over...

Amman, Jordan--Jordan's import bill for crude oil, derivatives, and mineral oils saw a notable decline in January this year, according to data released by the Department of Statistics on Tuesday. The figures revealed a decrease in the value of oil imports to the Kingdom, totaling $361 million for January, compared...

With dollars dominating the country's economy, Baghdad has imposed a series of restrictions on the use of American greenbacks domestically. At the end of 2022 the country's bankings sector also adopted the international financial messaging system known as SWIFT as part of the reforms, to help tackle money laundering and...

AL-DHAHRAN, SAUDI ARABIA – Aramco President and CEO Amin Nasser outlined the potential for stronger collaboration with Chinese partners in his speech on Monday at the China Development Forum in Beijing. Nasser underscored the possibility of fostering broader economic globalization by strengthening ties with Chinese partners and identified specific areas...

Manama, Bahrain--Saudi Arabia and Bahrain have signed a memorandum of understanding to boost road safety and maintenance in the two kingdoms. The agreement was signed in a meeting between Ibrahim bin Hassan Al Hawaj, Minister of Works, and Saleh bin Nasser Al Jasser, Minister of Transport and Logistics of the...

RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA – The Board of Directors of the Qiddiya Investment Company (QIC) revealed on Sunday the launch of Dragon Ball theme park. The park will set new standards in the entertainment industry, offering anime fans, families.   Nestled within Qiddiya City, just 40 minutes from Riyadh, this never-seen-before...

ABU DHABI, UAE – Minister of Economy and Chairman of Investopia Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri attended the unveiling of a new investment fund valued at US$10 million by the IOTA Ecosystem DLT Foundation during Investopia 2024. The fund's primary goal is to promote the development of TradeTech solutions and...

After four years of drought, Iraqi farmer Mohammed Sami was about to abandon his father's parched land, but then a water-saving irrigation system revived his crops and his hopes. He is among hundreds of farmers in the country battered by heatwaves, scarce rain and depleted rivers to benefit from new...

Sameh Makki's soup kitchen is barely 100 meters from the market, but it can take two hours to make the journey through Sudan's war-torn streets, often through hails of bullets. The 43-year-old, his family and local volunteers have risked everything to get supplies to feed around 150 families caught in...

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM – The EU will put more pressure on the most popular online platforms, like X and TikTok, to tackle the risk of election disinformation or face fines, an EU official said on Friday. The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, is expected to adopt new guidelines, likely on Tuesday,...

Tripoli, Libya - Libya's shutdown of its main border crossing with Tunisia this week will remain in force until authorities put an end to smuggling involving powerful armed groups, an official said on Friday. Authorities aim to "ensure the security of the borders and combat crime and smuggling," Interior Minister Imad...

MOSCOW, RUSSIA – US will no longer be able to dictate oil prices in the Middle East, Director of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Chief Sergey Naryshkin said. The Russian official made the statement in the documentary "Oil" on the premier online platform. “The ‘hegemon’ has lost a step. It is...

Adelaide, Australia--Britain and Australia declared the need for an "immediate cessation of fighting" in Gaza, as diplomatic pressure built on Israel Friday to ditch a planned ground assault on the southern city of Rafah. After a meeting of Australian and UK foreign and defence ministers in Adelaide, the allies issued a...