Author: Steven Sahiounie

The Syrian air defenses responded to an Israeli missile aggression that targeted Damascus International Airport and points in Damascus countryside, causing the airport being put out of service. A military source said in a statement to SANA that, “At approximately 4:50 on Sunday afternoon, the Zionist enemy carried out an air aggression with missiles from the direction of the occupied Syrian Golan, targeting Damascus International Airport and some points in Damascus countryside.”. The source pointed out that the air defense forces responded to the enemy missiles and destroyed most of them.” The source added that the aggression caused Damascus International…

RIYADH: Egypt is set to enhance its gold sector as the Mineral Resources Authority has partnered with Canada’s Lotus Gold Corp. for a $2.5 million gold exploration project.   This collaboration, part of the second round of Egypt’s global gold bid, grants the Canadian firms three sectors covering 525 sq. meters. The Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources announced this development through an official statement on its Facebook page. The partnership with Lotus Gold Corp., a major player in the global mining industry, aligns with Egypt’s ongoing efforts to attract foreign investment and modernize its mining sector. The signing of…

RIYADH: Eyewear retailer MAGRABi is reworking its board structure by introducing industry professionals with diverse backgrounds and global experience. The company aims to meet international standards and reshape the region’s corporate governance landscape, highlighted a top official. The firm revealed to Arab News that the newly appointed board members, recognized for their “deep sector expertise and caliber” within their respective industries, have been selected to advance the goals outlined by the retail group. “They have been carefully chosen to align with the group’s strategic objectives. These specialisms include luxury retail, corporate finance, retail real estate, vertical integration including supply chain,…

RIYADH: Oman recorded a 13 percent decrease in its producer price index in the third quarter of 2023 compared to the corresponding period in 2022. According to data from the Omani National Center for Statistics and Information, the PPI, which measures the rate of change in prices of products sold as they leave the producer, saw a steady decline. The report further indicated that prices of oil and gas products decreased by 13.7 percent, while non-oil products recorded a decrease of 8.2 percent. The reduction in the prices of oil and gas products can be attributed to a 16 percent…

RIYADH: Local and global experts will convene in Riyadh for a forum exploring open data in Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority and the National Transformation Program are jointly launching the country’s first National Data Index, along with a developed version of the Open Data Platform and the Data Governance Platform. Scheduled for Monday, the forum aims to support the Kingdom’s efforts in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals 2030. The event will be attended by ministers, senior officials, and representatives from local and international companies. These three programs, the first of their kind in the country,…

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index rose on Sunday, gaining 12.34 points, or 0.11 percent, to close at 11,090.42. The total trading turnover of the benchmark index was SR3.73 billion ($997 million) as 122 of the listed stocks advanced, while 92 retreated. Similarly, the Kingdom’s parallel market Nomu also rose 218.62 points, or 0.91 percent, to close at 24,358.10. This comes as 25 of the listed stocks advanced while 26 retreated. On the other hand, the MSCI Tadawul Index slipped 3.02 points, or 0.21 percent, to close at 1,427.82. The best-performing stock of the day was Arab Sea Information…

RIYADH: Pakistan aims to bolster its workforce in Saudi Arabia’s developing projects to boost collaboration with the Kingdom’s government and the private sector, according to a senior official from the Asian nation. Jawad Sohrab, special assistant to Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar on overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development, told Arab News his country is focused on ensuring workers coming to the Kingdom have the required skill sets. He also underscored the strong and deep “brotherhood” relations between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan – evident by the almost 3 million-strong Pakistani diaspora in the Kingdom. “There are a lot of projects ongoing…

PARIS: The president of a pivotal UN climate summit defended on Saturday the large presence of industry representatives at the negotiations, saying private sector engagement was essential to curb global heating. “Everyone needs to be part of this process and everyone needs to be held responsible and everyone needs to be held accountable,” COP28 President Sultan Al-Jaber told AFP in an interview. “That includes all industries and in particular heavy emitting industries like aviation, transportation, aluminium, cement, steel, as well as the oil and gas industry,” he added.World leaders, country negotiators, activists, lobbyists and figures including Pope Francis will be…

Czech Trade Minister Jozef Sikela has denounced the imports that began in October Traders in the Czech Republic have recommenced the import of Russian natural gas since October, according to Jozef Sikela, the country’s Minister of Industry and Trade. “There is no need to supply Russian gas to the Czech Republic,” Sikela wrote in a Facebook post on Saturday, adding that the nation has no problems with accumulating supplies for the upcoming winter. “Despite this, this week, the Energy Regulatory Authority’s monthly report revealed that some companies began importing gas from Russia in October,” the minister stressed. Sikela also said that Russian…

The DED’s commercial licenses performance report noted that professional licenses hit a record growth of 129% in the reference period, followed by coomercial at 67.2% and then industrial licenses at 42.1% RAS AL KHAIMAH – New licenses issued until the end of September 2023 witnessed an 82.7% surge in capital value compared to the same period in 2022, according to figures released by the Ras Al Khaimah Department of Economic Development (DED). This substantial growth propelled the total capital volume to AED373.8 million, a significant increase from AED204.5 million in the corresponding period last year The DED’s commercial licenses performance…