Driven by Saudi Arabia's construction sector, near-term forecast remains positive for the GCC with more than $110bn worth of projects in the tender stage.

While 2022 saw record levels of demand for commercial office space as a result of ‘Programme HQ’, 2023 looks set to be dominated by the delivery of high quality residential-led mixed use schemes and a continued focus on tourism, leisure and entertainment projects, adds Burch, Partner and Head of Real...

There is a rise in the interest of foreign investors in the MENA startup ecosystem as their share increased from 20 percent in 2021 to 47 percent in 2022, reports suggest.

In terms of monitoring how the virus is evolving, surveillance and genetic sequencing has dropped sharply, making it harder to track the myriad variants and detect new ones in good time.

The area of land used for opium poppy cultivation expanded by a third to just over 40,000 hectares in 2021-22 -- the first full growing season since the coup -- according to a United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) report released Thursday.

Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella last week said he was laying off about five percent of the company’s workforce, just days before pumping several billion dollars into OpenAI, the company behind the controversial chatbot ChatGPT.

Advanced economies are expected to slow down further this year, while ASEAN-6 economies are more resilient to the current macro scenario and should present robust, mid-single digit growth. Three factors underpin expectations for an above-average outperformance for ASEAN-6 ntions, it adds.

The ILO said deficits in decent work had been worsened by multiple, overlapping crises, including Russia's war in Ukraine, emerging geopolitical tensions, an uneven recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic and continuing supply chain bottlenecks.

Around 1,700 people make a living from Petra as tour guides, trinket sellers or by taking visitors through the site on donkeys, horses, camels or electric buggies.

"There's no doubt that our 53rd annual meeting in Davos will happen against the most complex geopolitical and geoeconomic backdrop in decades. So much is at stake," said Borge Brende, a former Norwegian foreign minister who is now president of the meeting.

Exports fell 9.9 percent year-on-year to $30.6 billion, China customs said, their second consecutive month of decline and the biggest fall since the early days of the pandemic in 2020. They fell 8.7 percent in November. Imports were also down again in December, sinking 7.5 percent, following a 10.6 percent...

The pilgrimage - one of five pillars of Islam, and which all able-bodied Muslims with the means are required to perform at least once - is scheduled for June. In 2019, about 2.5 million people took part in the rituals. For the next two years numbers were drastically curtailed numbers...

"Robust labour markets" alongside "increases in national minimum wages" and "trade unions demand(ing) higher wage increases" are also set to place upward pressure on wages.

China is battling a surge in cases following its decision last month to lift years of lockdowns, quarantines and mass testing that had hammered its economy and sparked rare nationwide protests.

Michelin-starred sushi restaurant Onodera Group and Japanese wholesaler Yamayuki forked out 36.04 million yen ($273,000) for the 212-kilo bluefin tuna in the auction at Tokyo's Toyosu fish market. The figure was still only a fraction of the 2019 record price but marks a recovery for the symbolic auction after three...

The Middle East region welcomed 2023 with fireworks at Burj Khalifa as revelers rang in the New Year without being subjected to Covid-related curbs for first time since pandemic.

Organizations that decide not to or are unable to act will continue to find themselves patching together reactive solutions to problems. If 2023 is a year of slowdown, instead of battening down the hatches, firms should use the opportunity to move toward smarter manufacturing, he adds.

With 283 deals worth $23.8 billion in the first three quarters of 2022, the region’s M&A activity has returned to pre-pandemic levels, a BCG report has highlighted.

In a statement, the World Bank slashed its forecast to 2.7 percent from 4.3 percent predicted in June. It also revised its forecast for next year from 8.1 percent down to 4.3 percent.

Urging China to share information that might pinpoint how the pandemic started, the WHO has said that it was hoping that Covid-19 would no longer be a public health emergency in 2023. The WHO said the virus was here to stay and would have to be managed like other respiratory...

The first try last month came just 10 days after Musk's $44 billion takeover of the platform and a mass round of layoffs that saw company staff levels halved, including teams of workers moderating content. The subscription service costs $8 per month for users accessing Twitter on the web and...

As part of its monetary policy tightening, the ECB will on Thursday outline the next steps in its efforts to slim down the bank's massive balance sheet. It has already made changes to the terms of an ultra-cheap bank loan scheme, aimed at keeping credit flowing during the pandemic, in...

Musk also posted a meme showing Fauci telling US President Joe Biden, "Just one more lockdown, my king..." -- in apparent criticism of the Covid mitigation measure Musk has repeatedly slammed but has not been deployed in the country for over a year.

Industry experts stress the need for harnessing the momentum the industry has gained after the recovery from Covid setbacks.

After a decade of dynamic growth during the 2010s, Africa's second most populous country has suffered multiple shocks, including the Covid-19 pandemic, a record drought, a two-year war in its northernmost region of Tigray and the global impact of the invasion of Ukraine.

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND - Member states of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Thursday agreed to develop the first draft of a legally binding agreement designed to protect the world from future pandemics. This zero draft of the pandemic accord, rooted in the WHO Constitution, will be discussed by member states in...

Geneva, Switzerland— The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has upgraded its outlook for the airline industry’s 2022 financial performance as the pace of recovery from the COVID-19 crisis quickens. It expects Industry losses to reduce to -$9.7 billion (improved from the October 2021 forecast for an $11.6 billion loss) for...

Economists expect Germany and another major eurozone economy, Italy, to fall into recession. Britain's economy is already shrinking. Rating agency S&P Global foresees stagnation for the eurozone in 2023. The coronavirus pandemic, meanwhile, remains a wildcard for the global economy.

Cairo, Egypt—Egypt’s non-oil businesses have shown a contraction in November, resulting in output falling at the sharpest rate since the early pandemic as the country continues to face inflationary pressure, according to S&P Global. As a result Egypt’s Purchasing Managers’ Index fell from 47.7 in October to 45.4 in November...

The external debt of developing economies has more than doubled from a decade ago to US$9 trillion in 2021, the World Bank said. The pandemic has forced many countries to take on more borrowing and World Bank President David Malpass earlier warned that the world is facing a fifth wave...

Geneva, Switzerland— Total global air traffic has shot up 44.6 percent in October as against October 2021, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Total traffic in October 2022 (measured in revenue passenger kilometers or RPKs) rose 44.6 percent compared to October 2021. Globally, traffic is now at 74.2...

With data doubling in size every two years, effective info processing, analysis tools and storage technologies are required along with a defined digital strategy, says an expert.

The reading -- the lowest since Eurostat started compiling jobless figures in April 1998 -- was an indicator that the economies of the 19 EU nations using the euro had bounced back after the Covid pandemic. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was markedly less than the 7.3 percent recorded a...

The swift recovery from the effects of Covid-19 is expected to contribute to a rise in demand for luxury real estate units in the UAE by more than 30 percent next year, says a report.

Twitter's New boss Elon Musk believes that all content permitted by law should be allowed on the social media platform, and on Monday described his actions as a "revolution against online censorship in America."

Marrakesh, Morocco—The UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) convened its 117th Executive Council in Marrakesh, Morocco, as the sector’s recovery continues to gather pace. According to UNWTO data released this week, international arrivals are on track to reach 65% of pre-pandemic levels by the end of the year. However, building on...

Dubai, the world's busiest airport for international passengers before the Covid-19 pandemic, had 18,455,938 visitors in the three months to September, the biggest number since 17.8 million in the first quarter of 2020. "The growth in passenger traffic has been terrific throughout the year and continues to exceed our expectations...

Lufthansa had 108,000 employees at the end of September.

Britain unveiled a painful budget with $65 billion of tax hikes and spending cuts despite confirming its economy was in recession. A day after official data showed UK inflation rocketing to a 41-year high above 11 percent, Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt triggered an era of austerity following the calamitous tenure...

In order to shore up its economy battered by the Covid pandemic and political turmoil, the EU has signed off on a $103 million grant to cash-strapped Tunisia. The grant, according to EU, aims to support economic recovery efforts and consolidate the progress already made in distributing social aid.

Beijing, China— China said on Monday it hopes a meeting between President Xi Jinping and his American counterpart Joe Biden ahead of the G20 summit will bring relations "back on track". Asked by AFP at a regular press briefing what China's expectations were from the face-to-face talks in Bali, foreign ministry...

The G20 health ministers have agreed to establish a pandemic fund.

The four largest banking markets in the GCC -- UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar — are expected to 'nearly approximate' pre-pandemic profitability ranks by the end of 2022.

Revenues in H1 of 2022-2023 surged 131% to $13.7 billion.

Humanity is in "the fight of our lives" as climate change intensifies droughts, floods and heatwaves, UN chief Antonio Guterres warns world leaders in Egypt.

Dubai, UAE—The United Arab Emirates has dropped almost all Covid restrictions as the rate of infection considerably drops in the country. Wearing masks in the UAE will now be optional in all open and closed facilities, including places of worship and mosques, except for health facilities and centers for people...

The war raging in Ukraine and other overlapping crises are taking a toll on labor markets worldwide, the UN said, suggesting a "sharp" slowdown was already underway. In a fresh report, the International Labor Organization said the outlook for global labor markets has deteriorated in recent months. ILO warned that...

The Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) -- a key gauge of manufacturing in the world's second-biggest economy -- came in at 49.2, down from September's 50.1 and below the 50-point mark separating growth from contraction, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

It, however, reported a 3.79% increase in sales.

A panel of experts, bankers, politicians, top executives had predicted the fallout from the pandemic, runaway inflation, and war in Europe in May 2022 and it's coming true.