ALKHOBAR: Three years after Saudi Arabia identified generative artificial intelligence as a major opportunity for cooperation with France, the relationship is expanding into large language models, advanced research, robotics, and data governance. At the French-Saudi Investment Forum in Paris in Jun»»»

AMMAN — The Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA) on Sunday launched three new tourism support programmes for 2026 aimed at boosting demand, encouraging longer visitor stays and supporting the development and marketing of tourism products in Aqaba and Wadi Rum.The programmes were announced »»»

OTTAWA — Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced retaliatory tariffs on the United States on Saturday, after walking away from a "bad deal" on trade in a deepening rift between the long-time allies.Negotiations between the neighbouring countries broke down Friday in Washington, putting into f»»»

Europe this summer has had to face record breaking temperatures, which caused droughts, deaths, and caused devastating wildfires. While the latest heat dome has dissipated, the damage remains – the continent continues to be the fastest warming globally. Will this summer serve as a global climate re»»»

Doha: The Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) index closed higher on Sunday, gaining 5.73 points, or 0.06%, to 9,688.3 points. A total of 104,813,951 shares were traded during the session, with a turnover of QR 223,447,209.052 across 14,805 transactions in all sectors. Shares of 17 companies advanced, while»»»

It’s boom time for Greek yogurt and cottage cheese. The protein craze has catapulted these once-niche health foods into the zeitgeist, as people clamor to eat more of the macronutrient that’s important for everything from muscle and bone health to metabolism regulation. Though the hype has arguably»»»

JEDDAH: Saudi Arabian Mining Co. or Maaden has secured $1 billion in inaugural international syndicated credit facilities, with strong demand from global lenders resulting in the facilities being significantly oversubscribed. The transaction attracted participation from leading international banks »»»

A young motorcyclist has been praised for saving a choking child on Hungary’s Route 4 after reportedly being the only person to stop and help as around 30 cars passed the distressed family. The incident happened on Friday on the stretch of Route 4 between Nyíregyháza and Kisvárda, according to the »»»

LONDON: British MPs have urged the government to take tougher action against Israel after an investigation by The Independent and Independent Arabia raised questions over possible war crimes in an attack on Gaza’s Nasser Medical Complex that killed more than 20 people, including five journalists. T»»»

US President Donald Trump has broken into a scornful tirade against conservative journalist and podcaster Tucker Carlson, as well as his other allies-turned-critics, including former Congress members Marjorie Taylor Greene and Thomas Massie. In a Truth Social post on Friday, he branded the trio a b»»»

Strait of Hormuz tensions, fresh US sanctions and ongoing diplomatic efforts remain the key developments, while UAE travellers face continued flight changes. For UAE residents, the biggest concern remains the Strait of Hormuz, the vital waterway through which a significant share of the world's oil »»»

Dubai: Heavy rain lashed the Sa’a area of Al Ain on Sunday as the UAE continued to experience a mix of intense heat and unsettled weather. The country recorded a maximum temperature of 49.3°C in Sweihan, Al Ain, at 2.30pm, according to the National Centre of Meteorology. Get updated faster and for »»»

Riyadh: The High Committee tasked with following up on the implementation of decisions of the 19th Consultative Meeting of the GCC Supreme Council convened on Sunday. The meeting took place at the General Secretariat headquarters in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperati»»»

LONDON: The death of a 7-year-old girl who vanished in Dumair, a city in the Syrian Arab Republic’s Rif Dimashq province, is the latest in a series of cases involving missing girls found dead, heightening concerns over child safety in the war-weary country and prompting calls for accountability. As»»»

Dubai: Nearly 21,000 crimes were recorded in Oman in 2025, up 14.8 per cent from the previous year, with property-related offences accounting for almost two-thirds of all cases, according to official statistics. Figures from the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI) showed property »»»

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index rose on Sunday, gaining 124.22 points, or 1.13 percent, to close at 11,078.68. The total trading turnover on the benchmark index was SR4.57 billion ($1.21 billion), with 184 stocks advancing and 64 declining. Similarly, the Kingdom’s parallel market No»»»

CAIRO: Two ​Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip on Sunday killed at least two people, including a 4-year-old boy, and wounded seven others, Palestinian health officials said. One of the strikes hit a building in Zawayda town in the center of the enclave and followed a warning by the Israeli army f»»»

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources has issued 50,030 certificates of origin in July, as part of its efforts to support and facilitate services for exporters across various sectors, including industry, commerce, and individuals. In a statement, the ministry explained t»»»

A fresh corruption scandal broke out in Ukraine – this time, it was racketeering by relative junior members of the Zelenskiy administration. Corruption is not a problem of the system in Ukraine; corruption is the system. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s deputy head of staff, Iryna Mudra, h»»»

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s space economy is projected to expand nearly fourfold to $31.6 billion by 2035 from $8.7 billion in 2024, as the Kingdom seeks to build space and digital technologies into new engines of economic growth and sustainability. More than 50 percent of essential climate variables ca»»»

A boat carrying Hungary’s defence and economy ministers was briefly left drifting on the Danube after its engine broke down during a live-broadcast inspection of the Paks nuclear power plant’s emergency river works. The unusual incident occurred on Sunday morning as Prime Minister Péter Magyar and »»»

Ukraine's anti-corruption agencies have accused a sitting MP, a former MP and at least two senior officials from the Presidential Office of running an organised scheme to seize companies and property with forged documents. The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialised An»»»

Dozens of coordinated arson and incendiary attacks across Thailand's insurgency-hit south late Saturday left at least three people wounded and government property burned, the military said. Multiple local government offices and several vehicles were damaged or destroyed in the 51 attacks, according»»»

The Veliko Tarnovo - Historical and Spiritual Capital of Bulgaria Association is calling for the city's unique national role to be formally recognized in the National Concept for Regional and Spatial Development 2026–2040, which has been recently adopted by the Council of Ministers. In a statement »»»

RIYADH: Dubai’s real estate sector completed 104 projects worth more than 111 billion dirhams ($30.22 billion) in the first half of 2026, with investment value rising 52 percent from a year earlier, official data showed. The number of completed projects increased 38.7 percent from 75 in the first h»»»

Dubai: As India marks 150 years of Vande Mataram, UAE-based Indian expat singer Suchetha Satish has given the national song a distinctly cross-border spin, taking the composition through seven Indian languages before closing with a verse in Arabic. The Guinness World Record holder for most language»»»

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia signed agreements for four battery energy storage projects with a combined capacity of 2,000 megawatts and four-hour storage duration, in deals worth more than SR4.35 billion ($1.16 billion). The Saudi Power Procurement Co., the Kingdom’s principal buyer, signed the storage ser»»»

Secretary's SpeechLebanon PalestineZionist EntityRegional and International International More Video Language Ar En Fr EsSubscribe for Weekly Updates Subscribe Iran Stands Firm amid Full-scale War: Pezeshkian 23-08-2026 13:35 PM Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in an image from archive.President»»»

Damascus, Aug. 23 (SANA) Gold prices in the Syrian market remained unchanged on Sunday from Saturday’s levels, according to the General Authority for Precious Metals Management. The authority set the selling price of 21-karat gold at 16,800 Syrian pounds ($137.70) per gram and the buying price at 1»»»

Egypt exported 4,370 food shipments totaling 208,000 tons between August 15 and 21, 2026, shipped by 1,410 exporting companies and covering around 758 food products, the National Food Safety Authority (NFSA) said on Sunday, August 23, 2026. In its 31st weekly report for 2026, the authority said the»»»

Stockholm: Around 10,000 people are expected to turn out for a climate demonstration in Stockholm on Sunday, according to Swedish police and organisers, just weeks ahead of a general election where the issue is among voters' top concerns. Since taking power in 2022, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson's»»»

US President Donald Trump slammed Canada on Sunday, saying the country wanted "the benefits of being a State, without being one", in response to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announcing retaliatory tariffs following failed trade negotiations.  Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announce»»»

JEDDAH: Oman’s inflation rate rose 3.2 percent year on year in July, while average inflation stood at 2.9 percent in the first seven months of the year, according to official data. Data from the National Centre for Statistics and Information showed that food and non-alcoholic beverages recorded the»»»

Gaza: Five UAE humanitarian aid convoys entered the Gaza Strip this week, comprising 75 trucks carrying 800 tonnes of humanitarian assistance, as part of Operation Chivalrous Knight 3 and the UAE's continuing humanitarian efforts to support the Palestinian people and meet their basic needs amid the»»»

Dubai: Dubai Police has urged motorists and vehicle owners to check their traffic records regularly and settle outstanding fines before they build up, warning that failure to do so could result in vehicles being impounded and legal action being taken. Brigadier Juma Salem bin Suwaidan, Director of »»»

Ottawa: Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced retaliatory tariffs on the United States on Saturday, after walking away from a "bad deal" on trade in a deepening rift between the longtime allies. Negotiations between the neighboring countries broke down Friday in Washington, putting into for»»»

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said that he knows Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev well and suggested that the Bulgarian leader could face pressure to change his position after taking office. “I know the Prime Minister of Bulgaria Rumen Radev well. He appeared in the elections with »»»

Kuwait: A Bedoun man in his 30s has been arrested and charged with attempted murder after allegedly stabbing a Kuwaiti citizen during a dispute over parking priority at a shopping mall in Al Jahra Governorate, according to Al Anba newspaper. The incident began when the Ministry of Interior’s operat»»»

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s construction costs rose 2.3 percent year on year in July, driven by higher equipment and machinery rental charges across residential and non-residential projects, official data showed. The Construction Cost Index, published by the General Authority for Statistics, showed resi»»»

Doha, Qatar: Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) index gained 0.66 % at the start of trading Sunday, adding 63.95 points to its balance compared to the close of the last session, rising to a level of 9746 points, supported by all sectors. QSE figures showed positive performance for the telecommunications se»»»

Muscat: Oman has stopped issuing and renewing work permits for expatriate workers above the age of 60, reversing a policy introduced more than four years ago that allowed older foreign employees to remain in the private sector, according to a report by The Arabian Stories. Several expatriates said »»»

Hungary’s Paks Nuclear Power Plant has successfully restarted its sixth turbine, with the unit now generating electricity again as the country’s largest power plant moves faster than expected towards full capacity. Prime Minister Péter Magyar announced late on Saturday that the sixth turbine of Uni»»»

Declarations published by Bulgaria’s National Audit Office reveal a wide range of property and financial holdings among the country’s political elite, from ministers with dozens of real estate properties to politicians reporting hundreds of thousands of euros in cash and bank accounts worth million»»»

Dubai: More than 24,000 school leaders, teachers, advisors and support staff across the UAE are gearing up for the new academic year with a nationwide push to sharpen their skills in artificial intelligence, leadership and inclusive teaching, as the Ministry of Education (MoE) rolls out its Special»»»

DAMASCUS: Syria expects negotiations to resume soon with Israel over ​a security deal it hopes will lead to Israel’s withdrawal from Syrian land, a top Syrian minister said, urging Israel to seize a “historic opportunity” as the door for diplomacy is open. In a Reuters interview in Damascus on Satu»»»

Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi is expanding the use of sterilisation, vaccination and humane deterrents to manage its large population of stray cats, warning that simply removing the animals from neighbourhoods is unlikely to solve the problem in the long term. The Department of Municipalities and Transport »»»

STOCKHOLM: Around 10,000 people are expected to turn out for a climate demonstration in Stockholm on Sunday, according to Swedish police and organizers, just weeks ahead of a general election where the issue is among voters’ top concerns. Since taking power in 2022, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson’s»»»

Doha: Vodafone Qatar has unveiled a major upgrade to its Push-to-Talk Plus solution, introducing a new generation of mission-critical communications capabilities delivered over Vodafone Qatar’s nationwide mobile network, enabling organisations to connect their teams instantly, securely, and reliabl»»»

Doha, Qatar: The awards recognise QIIB’s leading role in shaping the future of Islamic banking and its proven success in developing innovative financing solutions and advanced banking services that meet the evolving needs of businesses and institutions, while keeping pace with the latest technologi»»»

DOHA: The Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, represented by the Department of Dawah and Religious Guidance and its Quran and Sciences Section, is organising a summer course for students of Al Noor Quranic Educational Centre from August 15 to 29, 2026, with the participation of 41 Qatari student»»»