DUBAI, UAE – Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza) is a major contributor to the growing trade between India and the UAE. There's been a significant increase in Indian businesses setting up there, with 28 percent more new companies in 2023 compared to the previous year. This resulted in over 190...

Washington, United States -- Since his tumultuous takeover of Twitter, Elon Musk has made an unabashed turn to the right politically, defying the orthodoxy that Silicon Valley is a citadel of well-heeled liberals beholden to Democrats. Long considered non-identifiable ideologically, Musk's politics are now hardline right wing as he uses his...

AMMAN, JORDAN – Data released by the Amman Stock Exchange reveals that non-Jordanian investors bought shares worth US$12.5 million (JD8.9 million) in February 2024, accounting for 8.7 percent of the month's total trading volume. Conversely, these investors offloaded shares valued at US$44.7 million (31.7 million dinars) during the same timeframe....

Canada and Sweden announced over the weekend they were resuming funding for the cash-strapped UN agency, weeks after having suspended it over Israeli accusations that several UNRWA employees were involved in the Hamas attack that triggered the ongoing war. Israel's foreign ministry called on both governments to cut funding and...

AMMAN, JORDAN - Amman Chamber of Industry (ACI) exports amounted to US$1.3 billion (JD926 million) during the last two months of 2024, compared to US$1.79 billion (JD1.272 billion) for the same period last year. According to statistical data obtained by Petra, exports of five sectors recorded an increase, while the...

Lagos, Nigeria - The holy fasting month of Ramadan begins early next week in Nigeria, with the worst economic crisis in a generation leaving many in Africa's most populous Muslim country struggling to buy food. With food inflation at around 35 percent, worshipers taking part in Friday prayers at the central...

Arbil, Iraq - A drone strike in northern Iraq killed a Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) commander, Kurdish authorities said, raising the death toll from strikes blamed on Turkey to three. Turkey often carries out ground and air operations in northern Iraq against positions of the PKK, which has waged a decades-long...

ROME, ITALY – The European country's data protection watchdog - Italian Data Protection Authority - said on Friday it has launched an investigation into Sora, a new artificial intelligence (AI) tool made by US firm OpenAI. The Italian Data Protection Authority said it was concerned over "the possible implications for the...

BERLIN, GERMANY – Saudi Tourism Authority (STA) and Trip.com Group have announced a significant global partnership, which will drive greater inbound tourists to Saudi Arabia as part of its Vision 2030 program. The joint effort aims to bring over 350 thousand additional tourists to Saudi over the course of the...

DUBAI, UAE – Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum said that under the guidance of Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the emirate has achieved remarkable success in expanding endowment assets and enhancing service endowments. Dubai witnessed an...

RAMALLAH, PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES – "I don't sleep anymore," Latifa Abu Hamid said while looking at pictures of her children hanging on the walls of her living room, two women and 10 men. All have passed through Israeli prisons. Four are still languishing in jail while a fifth died in custody 14...

ABU DHABI, UAE – Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) has approved the Board of Directors proposal to distribute a cash dividend of US$0.15 (AED0.56) per share, translating to a total pay-out of US$1.1 billion (AED4.099 billion) equivalent to 50 percent of its 2023 net profit. This came as the ADCB...

Specialized companies such as Grayscale and Wall Street giants such as asset manager BlackRock are among those investing in the digital token, theoretically opening up the sector to a wider public by allowing investors to bet on bitcoin's price without owning it directly.

Doha, Qatar--Qatar and Estonia have signed an agreement to avoid double taxation and prevent income tax evasion. The agreement was signed by Minister of Finance Ali bin Ahmed Al Kuwari and Minister of Economy and Information Technology in Estonia Tiit Riisalo. Stressing the importance of the agreement, Al Kuwari said...

Paris, France - An Israeli tank crew who killed one journalist and wounded six others in Lebanon in October then "likely" opened fire on them with a machine gun, an expert report said on Thursday. The strike in southern Lebanon near the Israeli border on October 13 instantly killed Issam Abdallah,...

New Delhi, India - India's embassy in Moscow has confirmed the death of a citizen recruited by the Russian army, days after a relative told AFP he had been sent to fight in Ukraine. Two years after Russia's invasion began, tens of thousands of its soldiers have been killed in Ukraine...

The success of ChatGPT, from Microsoft-backed OpenAI, has over the last year ushered in an age of popularity for generative AI, which can produce text, images, sounds and lines of code from a simple input in everyday language. It said that Midjourney had "performed worst" on its tests, "generating election...

Sharjah, UAE-- Nearly 400,000 visitors from Europe have traveled to Sharjah during last year, marking a notable 28 percent increase compared to the previous year, with Europeans constituting 27 percent of the total visitor count. Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA) made the announcement during its press conference on...

Beirut, Lebanon - Gunmen thought to be linked to the Islamic State group in Syria killed 18 people searching for truffles in the desert Wednesday, a war monitor said. More than 50 people remained missing after the attack that saw heavy clashes with pro-government forces, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights...

Paris, France - A German man who deliberately got vaccinated for Covid-19 a whopping 217 times did not report any side effects from his many jabs, according to researchers studying possibly the "most vaccinated person in history". The immune system of the 62-year-old man from the central German city of Magdeburg...

Southeast Asia is home to about 40 percent of the world's Muslim population, and ASEAN heavyweights Indonesia and Malaysia are staunch supporters of the Palestinian cause. But other influential ASEAN nations such as Singapore have closer ties with Israel -- and are less eager to stoke controversy.

DUBAI, UAE – Dubai Mall welcomed a record 105 million visitors in 2023, a jump of over 19 percent on the previous year’s 88 million, according to latest figures released by the mall on Tuesday. Figures also showed a staggering 20 million people visited the mall in the first two...

PARIS, FRANCE – Heatwaves and floods inflict greater economic pain on rural women than men because climate change intensifies existing inequalities, the United Nations' food and farming agency said on Tuesday. Scientists say the effects of rising temperatures are already being felt most acutely by the poorest and most vulnerable people...

New York, United States -- Japanese architect Riken Yamamoto was awarded the Pritzker prize for architecture on Tuesday, the organizers said in a statement, praising his "reassuring style." Highlights of Yamamoto's work include Nagoya Zokei University in Japan completed in 2022, THE CIRCLE at Zurich Airport in Switzerland finished in 2020...

Hong Kong, China - Asian markets largely fell on Tuesday after China set an ambitious five percent annual growth target and Wall Street shares dropped ahead of the release of key US economic indicators. Tokyo finished flat, a day after Japan's benchmark Nikkei index hit a record high, closing above 40,000...

Michael Stuebgen, interior minister for Brandenburg state, said that "if initial findings are confirmed, this is a perfidious attack on our electricity infrastructure".

RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA - The seasonally adjusted Riyadh Bank Saudi Arabia Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), formerly S&P Global Saudi Arabia PMI, rose to 57.2 points in February. The PMI is a weighted average of five indices – new orders, output, employment, suppliers’ delivery times, stocks of purchases.    The PMI...

Abu Dhabi, UAE--Ireland wants to become a gateway for the UAE and other Gulf states to the European Union (EU) market, Simon Coveney, Ireland’s Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, told the Emirates News Agency (WAM). As evidence of thriving relations, he highlighted the growing Irish diaspora in Gulf Cooperation...

Tehran, Iran - Iran on Monday announced a turnout of 41 percent in last week's elections for parliament and a key clerical body -- a record low since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, according to voting records. Conservatives were reported to have secured the bulk of seats in Friday's elections for the...

Israel routinely demolishes the homes of Palestinians accused of carrying out attacks, arguing that such measures act as a deterrent, while critics say it amounts to collective punishment.

Geneva, Switzerland - The pernicious "'great replacement' conspiracy theories" spreading in many countries are "delusional" and racist and are directly spurring violence, the United Nations rights chief warned on Monday. United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk also took aim at the "war on woke", which he stressed was...

DUBAI, UAE – Dubai International Boat Show has wrapped up following a hugely successful week of high-value boat sales, important discussions addressing industry developments, groundbreaking agreements and partnerships set to shape the future of the yachting world. The exhibition, which concluded on Sunday, is recognized as one of the most...

Cairo, Egypt-- Qatar and Egypt have discussed enhancing ties in the field of civil aviation between the two countries. In this connection, the civil aviation officials from the two countries held talks in Cairo to boost the cooperation. Mohamed bin Faleh Al Hajri, in charge of managing Qatar Civil Aviation...

Tehran, Iran-- Iran and Russia have agreed to sign new contracts on developing oil and gas fields, according to the oil ministers of the two countries. Iranian Oil Minister Javad Owji held talks with Nikolay Shulginov, the Minister of Energy of Russia, on the sidelines of the GECF Summit in Algeria...

BAGHDAD, IRAQ – Economic growth of the country is projected to continue amid fiscal expansion, an International Monetary Fund (IMF) team said. The team said that medium-term vulnerabilities to oil price volatility have increased significantly. Growth in the non-oil sector has rebounded strongly in 2023 while inflation receded. Supported by...

RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA – The Directorate of Public Security stressed that anyone who facilitates the entry, transfer or employment of violators of border security into the Kingdom or provides them with shelter or any service or help of any type will face imprisonment up to 15 years and a fine...

SAMAWAH, IRAQ – Far from the hustle and bustle of major cities, young Iraqis are increasingly taking advantage of a renewed sense of safety to explore the country's serene desert getaways. Sheltering amidst the golden dunes, Ghadanfar Abdallah and his friends gather around a flickering campfire in the Samawah desert south...

Yemen's government also said earlier Saturday that the ship which was departed UAE and was bound for the Bulgarian port of Varna, had sunk. Since November, the Houthis have been carrying out attacks on ships linked to Israel in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, saying they are...

Doha, Qatar-- Businessmen and entrepreneurs from Qatar and China have discussed opportunities to set up joint ventures and commercial partnerships in various sectors, including technology, healthcare, energy, and real estate. This came in the Qatari-Chinese Business Meeting, hosted by the Qatar Chamber (QC) in the presence of QC's First Vice-Chairman...

RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA - According to data released by the National Center for Palms and Dates (NCPD), the value of Saudi Arabia's date exports increased by 14 percent in 2023, reaching US$389 million (SAR1.462 Billion), compared to US$341 million (SAR1.280 billion) in 2022. By the end of 2023, the number...

Paris, France - Elon Musk has launched a legal case against OpenAI, the AI firm he helped to set up in 2015, accusing its leaders of a "betrayal" of its founding mission. The tycoon, who left OpenAI in 2018, argued in documents filed in a San Francisco court late on Thursday...

Paris, France - Extraction of Earth's natural resources could surge 60 percent by 2060, imperiling climate goals and economic prosperity, the UN said on Friday, calling for dramatic changes in energy, food, transport and housing. Enormous expansion of infrastructure, energy demand and consumer consumption over the last half century, particularly in...

ABU DHABI, UAE- Gold prices hovered near a month high on Friday after data suggested easing US price pressures, while traders awaited remarks from several Federal Reserve officials. According to Reuters, spot gold edged 0.2 percent higher to $2,047.29 per ounce, as of 0635 GMT, after hitting $2050.59 on Thursday...

Abu Dhabi, UAE-- The UAE and Russia have held talks to enhance the parliamentary cooperation between the two countries. In this connection, a remote meeting was held between Dr. Ali Rashid Al Nuaimi, Chairman of the Defence, Interior and Foreign Affairs Committee of the Federal National Council (FNC), and Grigory...

Arbil, Iraq - A Turkish drone strike in northwestern Iraq killed two members of a group affiliated to Turkey's outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) Thursday, said Kurdish authorities. The fighters were members of the Sinjar Resistance Units, a group founded among the district's Yazidi community in response to occupation by the...

London, United Kingdom - Major stock markets traded mixed Thursday before the release of US inflation data that could present a clearer idea on when the Federal Reserve will start cutting interest rates as inflation cools. Traders reacted also to yet more earnings, with the Paris CAC 40 reaching a fresh...

ABU DHABI, UAE - Abu Dhabi’s residential sector has witnessed one of the best years on record, where a total of 11,200 units were sold across the capital, up 83 percent y-o-y. The increase in demand for residences has been driven by several positive initiatives and announcements by the government,...

Lebanon's Hizbollah, a Hamas ally, has exchanged near-daily fire with the Israeli army since war erupted between Israel and the Gaza-based Palestinian fighting group in October, while Palestinian groups in Lebanon have also occasionally claimed attacks. The exchanges have killed at least 286 people on the Lebanese side, most of...

The 39-year-old mixed business with pleasure while in Japan, going skiing with his family and learning about sword-making from a master craftsman. Zuckerberg arrived in Seoul on a private flight on Tuesday night for the second leg of his Asia trip and is expected to meet South Korean President Yoon...

Istanbul, Turkey--The commodity markets saw supply concerns and rises by optimism from China, despite the negative impact of the Fed's announcements, sanctions, and ongoing geopolitical risks. Uncertainties as to when the Fed will start cutting interest rates persist, and the minutes of last week's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting...