Ras Al Khaimah: Ras Al Khaimah seeks to welcome 3.5 million tourists annually by 2030, says Raki Philipps, CEO of Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority.In his address at a recent forum in the northern emirate, Phillips highlighted that tourism is Ras Al Khaimah’s fastest growing sector, contributing 5% to the GDP...

Fifty-four journalists were killed worldwide while carrying out their work or because of their profession in 2024, a third of them by the Israeli army, according to an annual report by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) published Thursday.

With Assad's overthrow plunging Syria into the unknown, its new rulers have sought to assure religious minorities that they will not repress them, pledging also justice for the victims of Assad's iron-fisted rule.

San Francisco, United States -- Google on Wednesday announced the launch of Gemini 2.0, its most advanced artificial intelligence model to date, as the world's tech giants race to take the lead in the fast-developing technology.CEO Sundar Pichai said the new model would be marking what the company calls "a new...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- Landmark talks on desertification are set to conclude in Saudi Arabia this week amid doubts that pledged funds will make a meaningful difference in the fight against the growing scourge.The 12-day meeting of parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), known as COP16, has already...

#South #Korean police raided President #Yoon Suk #Yeol's office as part of the investigation into his declaration of #martial law. his Second impeachment vote is set for Saturday

Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, the Islamist leader who headed the rebel offensive, had previously announced talks on a transfer of power and vowed to pursue former senior officials responsible for torture and war crimes.

Geneva, Switzerland -- Air passenger numbers are forecast to top five billion for the first time next year and the sector's revenues will break the trillion-dollar barrier, the global aviation body IATA said Tuesday."Passenger numbers are expected to reach 5.2 billion in 2025, a 6.7 percent rise compared to 2024 and...

Syria's Islamist rebel leader on Tuesday vowed to pursue former senior government officials responsible for torture and war crimes, a day after he began talks on the transfer of power following president Bashar al-Assad's ouster.

While Berlin and other governments said they were watching the fast-moving developments in the war-ravaged nation, Vienna signaled it would soon deport refugees back to Syria.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates -- The United Arab Emirates, home to the regional headquarters of numerous multinational companies, said Monday it would introduce a 15 percent tax rate on corporate profits from January 2025.The move will bring the UAE in line with efforts towards a global minimum corporate rate."This strategic step...

Major stock markets diverged as investors reacted to political crises in South Korea and France, and tracked the perspectives for interest rate cuts. Gold, seen as a haven investment, gained around one percent.

The European Central Bank is expected to cut interest rates again this week amid a darkening outlook, with political turbulence in the eurozone's two biggest economies adding to the troubled picture, It would be the ECB's third straight reduction

The Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham rebels shocked the world by swiftly seizing Aleppo and Damascus, overshadowing global focus on the Gaza war and Israel's strikes on Hezbollah in Lebanon.

London, United Kingdom -- Britain's leader Keir Starmer makes his first trip to the Gulf as prime minister from Sunday, seeking to attract investment from the region's oil-rich states, Downing Street announced.Starmer will first visit the United Arab Emirates and then travel to Saudi Arabia, before stopping off in Cyprus on...

In his first formal television interview -- and just six weeks before he takes office -- Trump again signaled that US support for Ukraine will scale back, saying he will "probably" cut the aid helping Kyiv repel the Russian invasion. Trump also said he would "very quickly" look at pardons...

Doha, Qatar - Qatar's prime minister said on Saturday that momentum had returned to talks aimed at securing a truce and hostage exchange deal in Gaza following Donald Trump's election as US president.The Gulf emirate, along with the United States and Egypt, had been involved in months of unsuccessful negotiations for...

Bashar al-Assad's whereabouts not clear, but his key backer Russia said he had resigned from the presidency and left Syria. Crowds loot his home and vandalize the Iranian embassy.

While Aleppo and Hama, the two other main cities taken from government control in recent days, fell to an Islamist-led rebel alliance, Daraa was taken by local armed groups, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Rome, Italy -- The benchmark for world food commodity prices rose in November to its highest level since April 2023, increasing by 0.5 percent from October, driven by surging international vegetable oil quotations, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations said Friday.The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks...

Abu Dhabi, UAE -- Startups within Hub71, Abu Dhabi's global tech ecosystem, have secured over AED 7 billion in funding, achieving revenues exceeding AED4 billion, according to Ahmad Ali Alwan, CEO of Hub71.Speaking to the Emirates News Agency (WAM) on the sidelines of Abu Dhabi Business Week, which concluded today...

A meeting was expected on the forum's sidelines between Turkey, and Damascus allies Iran and Russia.

The World Bank announced Thursday that it had raised close to $24 billion to provide loans and grants for some of the world's poorest nations, which it can leverage to generate a record $100 billion in total spending power

Doha, Qatar - Qatar has resumed its role as a mediator in efforts to secure a truce in the Israel-Hamas war following a brief suspension, a source with knowledge of the talks said Thursday.The Gulf emirate, along with the United States and Egypt, had been involved in months of unsuccessful negotiations...

Analysts said they expected the fighters led by Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) to push on towards the city, a key link between Damascus and the Alawite heartland on the Mediterranean coast.

Under the agreement, ADNOC will supply 1m tons of LNG per year.

Donald Trump, who has vowed to make the US the 'bitcoin and cryptocurrency capital of the world' wrote 'Congratulations Bitcoiners...You're welcome'

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was still clinging to power Thursday, with his party announcing they will oppose an impeachment motion after his short-lived imposition of martial law stunned the world

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – Artificial intelligence (AI) has contributed to saving 150 million sheets of paper and conserving 1.5 billion liters of water, Saudi Data & AI Authority (SDAIA) President Abdullah bin Sharaf Alghamdi said on Wednesday.In a speech at the Saudi Green Initiative Forum 2024 held on the sidelines...

While the organization raised its 2025 global growth forecast to 3.3 percent, it cautioned that "greater trade protectionism, particularly from the largest economies" poses a "downside risk" along with geopolitical tensions and high public debts.

The French president said they want to involve both European and non-European allies who are ready to move in this direction but who are waiting for France.

South Korean stocks sank more than two percent Wednesday while the won rebounded from earlier losses after President Yoon Suk Yeol dramatically declared martial law overnight before reversing the decision hours later.

Tehran, Iran - Iran will consider any request from its Syrian ally for troops to help tackle a sweeping rebel offensive in the north, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Tuesday."If the Syrian government asks us to send forces to Syria, we will study their request," Araghchi said in an excerpt...

London, United Kingdom - The British government said Wednesday that it has agreed to a partnership with Qatar that will see the Gulf state invest 1 billion pounds ($1.3 billion) in climate technologies."The partnership is expected to create thousands of highly skilled jobs over its lifetime and will see the launch...

Smaller AI models save energy, reduce costs, and enhance data security but work alongside large models for advanced solutions.

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- French President Emmanuel Macron and over 100 CEOs besides members of OPSWF, asset managers, and private equity fund representatives attended the seventh annual summit for the One Planet Sovereign Wealth Funds (OPSWF) Group in Riyadh on Tuesday.Among the attendees was Yasir Al-Rumayyan, Governor Public Investment Fund...

The poorest countries paid out more than $96 billion to service their debts, the Bank announced in its latest report on international debt, noting that interest costs alone amounted to almost $35 billion. The high cost of servicing foreign debt has pushed many developing countries to borrow more money from...

While developing countries paid a record US$1.4 trillion to service debts, the non-oil sectors in the GCC countries are fueling growth and diversification,

In recent years, ‘wellness’ has come to mean many things for hotel operators. The term encompasses guest-centric experiences, environmental initiatives and architectural innovations – extending beyond the spa or health facilities to holistically shape the entire hotel journey.As Area Director of Spa & Wellness, Middle East with Mandarin Oriental Hotel...

Many strikes on villages in southern Lebanon on Monday, after Israel said it was taking aim at dozens of Hezbollah targets during a fragile ceasefire, Both Israel and Hezbollah faced accusations Monday of breaching the truce,

Doha, Qatar - Qatar has agreed to supply three million tonnes of gas a year to China in a deal with London-headquartered energy giant Shell, the emirate's state energy company said on Monday.The liquefied natural gas deliveries would begin in January as part of a "new long-term sale and purchase...

An agreement for the purchase of 10% equity stake was signed in June 2024.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz vowed a "harsh response" to a Hezbollah rocket launch targeting a military position on Monday

UN talks aimed at halting the degradation and desertification of vast swathes of land start in Saudi Arabia. Forest loss and degraded soils were reducing resilience to climate change and biodiversity loss.

City governments are usually equipped to promote their cities through websites, newsletters, communications, as well as hosting delegations visiting from overseas. By leveraging existing marketing and communications to promote their innovation sectors, local governments can amplify and accelerate the successes taking place within their cities, the author adds.

Busan, South Korea - Deeply divided negotiators failed on Sunday to reach a landmark global treaty to curb plastic pollution, missing a self-imposed deadline, and agreed to extend their talks.For a week, delegates from nearly 200 nations meeting in South Korea have wrestled with how to stop millions of tonnes of...

Washington D.C. -- US President Joe Biden on Sunday issued an official pardon for his son Hunter, who is facing sentencing for two criminal cases, despite assurances that he would not intervene in his legal troubles."No reasonable person who looks at the facts of Hunter's cases can reach any other...

Extremist-dominated rebel alliance, including ISIS supporters, runs over Syrian city of Aleppo allegedly backed by Turkey. Russia and Iran push to keep Assad in power.

Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Meshal al-Ahmad al-Sabah called on the international community to implement "an immediate ceasefire, providing international protection for innocent civilians and ensuring the opening of safe corridors and the arrival of urgent humanitarian aid".

Washington, United States -- President-elect Donald Trump on Monday threatened to impose a 100 percent tariff on the BRICS group nations if they undercut the US dollar."We require a commitment... that they will neither create a new BRICS Currency, nor back any other Currency to replace the mighty US Dollar or,...