While officials initially said everyone aboard was feared dead, state health official Dhananjay Dwivedi told AFP later that one passenger had survived after the plane smashed into a residential area. Several videos posted on social media showed an aircraft rapidly losing altitude -- with its nose up -- before it...

Washington, United States -- Chip giant Micron Technology on Thursday said it was expanding its domestic investment plan to $200 billion as its seeks to boost US semiconductor manufacturing, with the backing of the Trump administration. The move, aimed at strengthening America's domestic chip supply chain, represents an additional $30...

Like the text blocked by Washington to protect its Israeli allies, the draft resolution before the General Assembly calls for "an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire." It also demands "the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages" seized during the unprecedented Hamas attack inside Israel on October 7

For humans, spotting the difference between a Lacoste polo shirt and a fake sporting the brand's crocodile logo can be tricky. French startup Vrai AI believes its artificial intelligence model can tell the two apart based on a simple photo.

Regional tensions, high-stakes defence deals, and new innovation-led collaborations defined the Middle East and North Africa landscape on Wednesday. Here’s your quick briefing:

Israel's defence minister on Wednesday called on Egypt to block two pro-Palestinian activist convoys planning to head to Egypt's Rafah border crossing with Gaza.

The Gaza civil defence agency said Israeli forces opened fire on people waiting to enter a US-backed food distribution centre on Wednesday, killing 31 and wounding "about 200".

"All its bases are within our reach, we have access to them, and without hesitation we will target all of them in the host countries," Iran's Defence Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh said in response to US threats of military action if the talks fail.

Turkey's defence sector, including the famous Bayraktar drones, accounts for a significant share of the country's export revenues.

Paris, France -- Drawing high-powered tech CEOs and a presidential visit, the Vivatech trade fair opened in Paris on Wednesday with a bang as Nvidia boss Jensen Huang announced a major push into Europe. "In just two years we will increase the amount of AI computing capacity in Europe by...

Trump said on his Truth Social platform that China would supply rare earth minerals and magnets -- vital elements for American industries -- while Washington would allow Chinese students to remain in US universities.

Brussels, Belgium -- The EU on Wednesday urged Israel to undo a move by a far-right minister that threatens to paralyze Palestinian financial institutions. Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich announced Tuesday that Israel had cancelled a waiver allowing its banks to work with Palestinian ones. "The European Union is deeply...

Sharjah, UAE --  Sharjah's real-estate market during May 2025 recorded a total of 8,415 transactions worth AED 5.5 billion.  Of these, 1,574 were sales transactions, accounting for 18.7% of the total, a clear indicator of increasing demand for real estate. The total traded area of sales transactions reached 13.2 million...

Australia qualified for next year's World Cup in North America while Oman ended Palestine's hopes of a first appearance at the finals with a last-gasp draw on Tuesday.

Iran has said it will present a counter-proposal to the latest draft from Washington, which it had criticised for failing to offer sanctions relief in return for curbs on its nuclear programme.

China has extended visa-free entry for up to 30 days to citizens of Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, and Bahrain—boosting bilateral tourism and commerce from June 9, 2025, through June 8, 2026.

Tel Aviv, Israel - Campaigner Greta Thunberg arrived home in Sweden late Tuesday, after Israel detained her and other activists aboard a Gaza-bound aid boat and deported some. Of the 12 activists on board the Madleen, which was carrying food and supplies for Gaza, four including Thunberg agreed to be deported...

Gazan mother Amal Abu Shalouf ran her hand over her son's face and hair, a brief farewell before a man abruptly sealed the body bag carrying the three-year-old who was killed just hours earlier on Tuesday.

The European Commission said it added Algeria, Angola, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Laos, Lebanon, Namibia, Nepal and Venezuela, along with Monaco, to the list of countries subject to extra monitoring of their money laundering controls.

Abu Dhabi, UAE -- ADNOC Gas announced Tuesday it has made a final investment decision on the first phase of its landmark Rich Gas Development (RGD) Project, awarding $5 billion in contracts to kickstart its largest-ever capital investment. The massive project is central to the UAE's strategy to boost liquid...

San Francisco, United States -- Technology veteran IBM on Tuesday laid out a plan to have a "practical" quantum computer tackling big problems before the end of this decade. Current quantum computers are still experimental and face significant challenges, including high error rates. Companies like IBM, Google, and others are...

The bank lowered its projection for global GDP growth to 2.3 percent in its latest economic prospects report, down from 2.7 percent expected in January, the latest in a series of downgrades by international organizations.

Key developments across the Middle East today highlight regional diplomatic, economic and humanitarian trends

The move, which reallocates assets such as HBO Max and CNN, is the latest reflection of how streaming is remaking a media business in which Warner Brothers Discovery and other legacy players traditionally garnered considerable revenues

The Al-Amal Hospital in Gaza, one of the few still operating in the Palestinian territory, is now "virtually out of service" due to intense military activity, the head of the WHO said Monday.

Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg and other activists detained aboard a Gaza-bound aid boat have been taken to a Tel Aviv airport for deportation, Israel said Tuesday, after their vessel was intercepted by naval forces.

In a key sticking point, Iran has insisted on the right to enrich uranium at low levels for civilian use -- as allowed under a 2015 deal negotiated by former president Barack Obama which Trump tore up in his first White House term.

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- Saudi Arabia’s first quarter real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 3.4 percent year-on-year, according to the latest report from the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT), primarily driven by a 4.9 percent surge in non-oil activities and a 3.2 percent rise in government activities. GASTAT’s data...

The deal makes Alphawave the latest tech company to depart London.

Growing anxiety over Trump's unilateral push to fast-track deep-sea mining in international waters shot to the surface at the opening of the UN Ocean Conference in France.

Dubai, UAE -- The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has kicked off 2025 with a record-breaking first quarter in mergers and acquisitions (M&A), as deal value soared to $46 billion—a 66% increase year-on-year (YoY). According to Saudi M&A Consulting, this robust growth reflects rising investor confidence, favorable regulatory...

After a round of talks in Geneva last month, the United States and China will sit down at the negotiating table in London on Monday to attempt to preserve a fragile truce on trade, despite simmering tensions.

Brussels, Belgium - Ukraine's "creativity", including its massive "Spider's web" drone attack deep inside Russia, holds profound lessons for Western militaries, the top NATO commander overseeing battlefield innovation told AFP. "What the Ukrainians did in Russia was a Trojan horse -- and the trojan horse was thousands of years ago,"...

The Madleen departed from Italy on June 1 to bring awareness to food shortages in Gaza, which the United Nations has referred to as the "hungriest place on Earth", with the entire population at risk of famine.

Nice, France - A global summit on the dire state of the oceans kicks off Monday in France, with calls to ban bottom trawling and bolster protections for the world's overexploited marine areas. World leaders attending the UN Ocean Conference in Nice have been told to come up with concrete...

New York, United States -- US airlines and aerospace manufacturers insist they have no use for tariff protections, warning that the proposed Trump administration levies could eat into the healthy trade surplus the sector has enjoyed for more than 70 years. At the request of President Donald Trump, Commerce Secretary...

Tehran, Iran -- Iran's parliament speaker said on Sunday that the latest US proposal for a nuclear deal does not include the lifting of sanctions, state media reported as negotiations appear to have hit a roadblock. The two foes have held five rounds of Omani-mediated talks since April, seeking to...

I have instructed the military to prevent the Madleen flotilla from reaching Gaza," Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement from his office. "Turn back because you will not reach Gaza," Katz added, calling the activists "Hamas propaganda mouthpieces".

Xingyi, China -- Surrounded by the rubble of demolished homes, Chen Tianming's ramshackle tower of faded plyboards and contorted beams juts into the sky in southwestern China, a teetering monument to one man's stubbornness. Authorities razed most of Chen's village in Guizhou province in 2018 to build a lucrative tourist...

Only eight countries have won the World Cup in 22 editions up to the most recent tournament in Qatar, when Argentina defeated France on penalties in an epic final. That was their third title, a tally bettered only by Brazil with their record five crowns.

Nice, France -- France is hosting world leaders this week to confront what the United Nations calls a global "emergency" in the oceans -- but what is expected, and can the summit make a difference? There is pressure on the UN Ocean Conference starting Monday in Nice to show that...

Qatar's foreign reserves rise 3.6 percent year-on-year despite a dip in bonds and treasury holdings, Iraq releases Australian and Egyptian engineers and other developments.

Apple will showcase plans for its coveted devices and the software powering them at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) kicking off Monday in Silicon Valley.

Cairo, Egypt - An aid ship with 12 activists on board, including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, is nearing Gaza, having reached the Egyptian coast, organisers said Saturday. The Madleen, part of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, left Sicily last week with a cargo of relief supplies "to break Israel's blockade...

Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli forces killed at least 13 Palestinians on Saturday, six of them in a shooting incident near a US-backed aid distribution centre in the territory's south.

Tehran, Iran - Tehran denounced on Saturday the US travel ban on Iranians and citizens of 11 other mostly Middle Eastern and African countries, saying Washington's decision was a sign of a "racist mentality". US President Donald Trump signed on Wednesday an executive order reviving sweeping restrictions that echo his...

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted that Israel is supporting an armed group in Gaza that opposes the militant group Hamas, following comments by a former minister that Israel had transferred weapons to it.

Washington, United States - US President Donald Trump said Friday that Elon Musk had "lost his mind" but insisted he wanted to move on from the fiery split with his billionaire former ally. The blistering public break-up between the world's richest person and the world's most powerful is fraught with...

Thursday's attacks on what the Israeli military said were underground Hezbollah drone factories came after an Israeli evacuation call on the eve of Eid al-Adha, a key Muslim religious festival, and sent huge numbers of residents of Beirut's southern suburbs fleeing.

The Ukrainian air force said Russia had fired 206 drones and nine missiles and added that "the air attack was repelled by aviation, anti-aircraft missile troops, electronic warfare and unmanned systems units, and mobile fire groups of the Ukrainian Defense Forces".