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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

By Friday, the jihadists and their allies had taken more than 50 towns and villages in the north and entered western districts of Aleppo, a city of around two million people that was Syria's pre-war manufacturing hub.

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...

The stakes were laid bare in a warning from Britain's foreign intelligence chief that Iran's nuclear ambitions posed a major global security threat, despite its weakened position after setbacks dealt to its Islamist allies Hamas and Hezbollah in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon.

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the first woman and the first African to head the WTO, is the only candidate in the race, paving the way for the body's 166 members to re-elect the 70-year-old Nigerian at a closed-door meeting.

Hong Kong, China -- Crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun on Friday fulfilled a promise he made after spending $6.2 million on an artwork featuring a banana duct-taped to a wall -- by eating the fruit. At one of Hong Kong's priciest hotels, Sun chomped down on a banana in front of dozens...

Project management software solutions have emerged as essential tools to streamline construction operations, enhance efficiency, and improve project delivery. They simplify workflows by automating repetitive tasks, centralizing documentation, and enabling real-time collaboration

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - Saudi Arabia will host the COP16 UN conference on land degradation and desertification next week as the top oil exporter pitches itself as an environmental defender despite criticism of its role at climate talks. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called the meeting for the United Nations Convention...

The renewed war of words between the Middle East foes came as Iran prepares to hold key nuclear talks with European governments on Friday which have been overshadowed by their joining with Washington to have Tehran censured by the UN atomic watchdog.

Paris, France -- A handful of nations are trying to clean up social media with measures including robust privacy provisions and bans aimed at minors. Among the countries taking action is Australia, which on Thursday passed a landmark law banning children under 16 from social media, and threatening stiff fines against...

The 22-member OPEC+ group led by Saudi Arabia and Russia was due to decide on its 2025 output policy at a ministerial meeting originally scheduled for Sunday.

Iran is set to meet with Britain, France and Germany for talks on its nuclear program on Friday after the three governments joined with the United States to have Tehran censured by the UN atomic watchdog.