Made up of three component units, the huge Al-Zour refinery is one of the biggest in the Middle East. It was officially inaugurated on Wednesday, months after its output reached full capacity of 615,000 bpd. "We have succeeded in reaching an unprecedented refining capacity of 1.83 million bpd both domestically and abroad,"...

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum campaign group identified him as Alexander (Sasha) Trupanov, and called on the Israeli authorities to secure the release of all captives held in Gaza. It was unclear when the footage, in which he is seen wearing a T-shirt, was taken.

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - The Ministry of Media and Microsoft Arabia signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in Riyadh on Tuesday to collaborate in several areas, including developing technical aspects in data analysis, machine learning, artificial intelligence, security and privacy solutions, and software and service development solutions. The goal is...

Rafah, Palestinian Territories -- Hundreds braved roads in Rafah in south Gaza Tuesday as they fled Israel's expanding ground assault, with increased shelling, tanks in the city center, and forces positioned on higher ground. "We are panicking and afraid," 40-year-old Ihab Zorob of west Rafah told AFP. "Our children and wives...

President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan is the first sitting UAE president to make a state visit to Asia's fourth-largest economy. During Seoul's President Yoon Suk Yeol's visit to the country last year, the UAE said it would invest $30 billion in South Korea.

Israel launched its controversial assault on Rafah earlier this month, dismissing concerns for the safety of the 1.4 million Palestinian civilians then sheltering in the city

The meeting comes nearly 10 days since the royal court said the king had a lung infection and was undergoing treatment involving antibiotics.

For the second consecutive year, the Middle East is the fastest-growing real-time payments market globally, according to the 2024 Prime Time for Real-Time report, published by ACI Worldwide, a global leader in mission-critical, real-time payments software, in partnership with GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company. In the Middle East,...

Al-Qahera News, which has links to Egyptian intelligence, quoted a defence official as saying an initial probe of the shooting incident indicated that Israeli troops and Palestinian fighters had exchanged fire, "which led to shooting in several directions".

The plans were unveiled last week in a coordinated announcement by their prime ministers, with formal recognition to take place in all three countries on Tuesday. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez will give an address at 0630 GMT before his cabinet meets to adopt a decree recognizing Palestinian statehood.

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF)on Monday launched the Neo Space Group to work on the kingdom's nascent satellite and space industry, its first investment in the sector. One of the world's largest sovereign wealth funds, the PIF has already invested heavily in sports, gaming and so-called...

The UN called on Israel to conduct a "thorough and transparent" investigation into the Rafah strike, as the Israeli military said it was launching a probe into civilian deaths. French President Emmanuel Macron wrote on X that "these operations must stop. There are no safe areas in Rafah for Palestinian...

Employers must prioritize retention by understanding employee preferences for benefits, hybrid working, and workplace culture, as effective retention strategies enhance recruitment, boost positive ratings, and strengthen the employer brand, creating a virtuous cycle of talent acquisition and retention, he adds.

Rocket sirens blared in Tel Aviv for the first time in months, with an AFP correspondent reported hearing at least three blasts. Israel's offensive has killed at least 35,984 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry.

Abu Dhabi, UAE -- The Federal Tax Authority (FTA) has issued a guide outlining the application of Corporate Tax to Free Zone Persons in line with the Free Zone Corporate Tax regime, which enables Qualifying Free Zone Persons to benefit from a zero percent Corporate Tax rate on Qualifying Income....

A "strong" Palestinian Authority is needed to bring peace in the Middle East, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said just before going into the meeting with Mustafa. The talks were being held as efforts were narrowing to try to find a Gaza truce and a hostage-release deal.

The armed wing of Hamas said it had taken "prisoner" at least one Israeli soldier in an ambush on Saturday. The Palestinian group targeted Israeli forces in a tunnel in the Jabalia camp and "all their members were killed, wounded or taken prisoner," said Abu Obeida, spokesman for the Ezzedine...

Washington, United States - Billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk has told investors he plans to build a supercomputer dubbed "gigafactory of compute" to support the development of his artificial intelligence startup xAI, an industry news outlet reported Saturday. Musk wants the supercomputer - which will string together 100,000 Nvidia chips -...

Djerba, Tunisia - Only a dozen pilgrims turned up Friday at this year's Jewish pilgrimage on Tunisia's island of Djerba amid heightened security concerns after a deadly attack last year and as the Israel-Hamas war rages in Gaza. The pilgrimage to the Ghriba synagogue, Africa's oldest, usually draws thousands of...

New Delhi, India - India's six-week election resumes Saturday, with top rivals of Prime Minister Narendra Modi due to vote in the capital New Delhi after accusing him of unjustly targeting them with criminal probes. Modi, 73, remains roundly popular after a decade in office and his ruling Bharatiya Janata Party...

The International Court of Justice also demanded the immediate release of all hostages still held by Palestinian militants, hours after the Israeli military announced troops had recovered the bodies of three more of the captives from north Gaza. The Hague-based court, whose orders are legally binding but lack direct enforcement...

Alberta's tourism sector, with attractions resonating with GCC travelers, aims for a $25 billion visitor economy by 2035, says Joseph Schow in an exclusive interview with TRENDS.

Palestinian Territories - Israel launched devastating air strikes on Gaza Thursday, while also expressing readiness to resume stalled talks on a truce and hostage release deal with Hamas to pause the war raging since October 7. The Gaza Strip's civil defence agency said two pre-dawn air strikes had killed 26...

Algiers, Algeria - Algeria's state oil company announced Thursday it signed a memorandum with ExxonMobil to develop two gas fields, a move an analyst called "a big step" for the country's energy ambitions. The two companies plan to "study the existing opportunities to develop the hydrocarbon resources in the Ahnet basin...

Beirut, Lebanon -- A third of Lebanese people are impoverished with poverty rates tripling in a decade, the World Bank said Thursday, as the country grapples with years of economic meltdown and war in the south. One in every three Lebanese "was poverty-stricken in 2022," the World Bank said in a...

Men and women thronged the main boulevard of Mashhad, Iran's second city in the northeast where Raisi was born, bidding farewell to the late President

Asian markets diverged Thursday after minutes from the Federal Reserve's most recent policy meeting indicated officials would keep interest rates elevated for some time as they struggle to bring inflation down to target. The news, however, was offset slightly by forecast-busting earnings from US tech titan Nvidia that showed profits...

Venkatasubramanian (Subbu) Hariharan, MD of Canon Middle East and Turkey, highlights the significance of remanufacturing and refurbishment for reducing environmental impact, in an interview with TRENDS.

The investment will be made in data centers in Aragon region.

The agreement signed with Khaldoon Al Mubarak, managing director of the Abu Dhabi government-controlled fund Mubadala, opens "a new era of economic cooperation" in the burgeoning sector, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said. "France has chosen to be the leading country in Europe on AI, and for that, we...

As part of the “Quality of Life” program, these houses aim to upgrade cultural infrastructure and boost Saudi engagement in arts and culture.

The announcement is the second diplomatic blow this week after the International Criminal Court prosecutor said he would seek arrest warrants for Israel's prime minister and Hamas leaders.

Israel reacted with fury after three European countries said Wednesday they would recognize a Palestinian state, more than seven months into the devastating Gaza war. Ireland, Norway and Spain said they would formally recognize the State of Palestine on May 28. The Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) says European recognition was...

North Gaza's last two functioning hospitals, Al-Awda and Kamal Adwan, are barely operational, doctors and the World Health Organization said Tuesday with the Israel-Hamas war now in its eighth month. Hospital officials said Israeli forces had fired on the facilities and that snipers had been deployed near one of them....

France and the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday signed a "strategic partnership" on artificial intelligence (AI) aimed at boosting cooperation between them, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told AFP.

Washington, United States - Airplane turbulence, which led to the death of a passenger on a Singapore Airlines flight on Tuesday, is a complex phenomenon that is becoming increasingly common due to climate change, according to experts. Storms, cold and warm fronts, and the movement of air around mountains can all...

After shutting down offices and confiscating equipment of the Al Jazeera news channel in Israel, Netanyahu's government has shut down the video feed services of the American news agency Associated Press (AP). The United States and United Nations have expressed concern and shock over the Israeli move, while AP and...

New York, United States -- The women's tennis tour (WTA) on Monday announced "a multi-year partnership" with the Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund (PIF), emulating a deal made by the men's tour (ATP) in February. The WTA said in a statement that it shared with PIF an "ambition to grow women's...

Saudi Arabia and the UAE are the only high-income economies to rank among the top 10 most improved economies between 2019 and 2024, a WEF report says.

Israel and Hamas, engaged in heavy fighting in the Gaza Strip, both angrily rejected on Monday moves to arrest their leaders for war crimes made before an international court. The International Criminal Court's prosecutor Karim Khan said he had applied for arrest warrants for top Israeli and Hamas leaders over...

The company's pivot to AI has been celebrated by Wall Street.

Washington, United States - Amal Clooney helped the International Criminal Court weigh evidence that led to the decision to seek arrest warrants for top Israeli and Hamas leaders, the human rights lawyer said Monday. The high-profile British-Lebanese barrister posted a statement on the website of the Clooney Foundation for Justice, which she founded...

Paris, France -- Iran's powerful allies on Monday mourned the death of its President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash, while regional groups hailed him as a supporter of the Palestinian cause. Russia and China called the deceased leader a "friend", while Iran's arch-foes the United States and Israel had yet...

In a wide expansion of aviation services, Saudi Arabia's top airline Saudia Group has place an order of 105 aircraft from Airbus. Saudia airline will receive 54 A321neo aircraft, while budget offshoot Flyadeal will acquire 12 A320neo and 39 A321neo planes, they said in a statement.

Karim Khan said he was seeking warrants against Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for crimes including "starvation", "willful killing", and "extermination and/or murder". The ICC is the world's only independent court set up to probe the gravest offences including genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

"The president of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Ebrahim Raisi, had an accident while serving and performing his duty for the people of Iran and was martyred," Iran's Mehr agency said as other media outlets also reported the news.

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - Saudi Arabia's King Salman has a lung infection and is undergoing a treatment programme involving antibiotics, the Royal Court said Sunday in the latest update on the ageing monarch's health. Earlier in the day, the court said King Salman was suffering from "high temperature" and joint pain,...

Israel has also fought and bombed resurgent Hamas forces in northern and central areas of the coastal territory previously considered to be under army control, sparking US warnings that it could become mired in a lengthy counterinsurgency campaign.

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan says there is a potential of Israel-Saudi normalization deal if Netanyahu alters his political strategy for the future of the Palestinian enclave.

The setting for Red Sea Fashion Week, the St Regis Red Sea Resort on Ummahat Alshaikh island, is part of Red Sea Global, one of the giga-projects at the heart of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 social and economic reform program.