Author: Umair Abbas

Coalition forces were slightly injured in Iraq in a spate of drone attacks over the last 24 hours at U.S. bases in Iraq as regional tensions flare following what Palestinian authorities claim to have been a deadly bombing of a hospital in Gaza. Two drones targeted the al Asad airbase in western Iraq used by U.S. forces and one drone targeted a base in northern Iraq, a U.S. official told the Associated Press. U.S. forces intercepted all three, destroying two but only damaging the third, which led to minor injuries among coalition forces at the western base, according to a…

Archer Aviation Inc. a manufacturer of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft in San Jose, California, announced that it has entered into an agreement with the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) in which the which the emirate government and the company intend to collaborate on plans to commence air taxi operations in Abu Dhabi in 2026. With a range of up to 100 miles and an expected payload of approximately 1,000lbs, Archer’s Midnight is a piloted, four passenger aircraft designed to perform rapid back-to-back flights with minimal charge time in between flights. Archer’s goal is to transform urban travel,…

Saudi Minister of Tourism Ahmed Al-Khateeb chaired the 119th session of the Executive Council of the UN World Tourism Organization. The meeting was being held as part of the UNWTO General Assembly taking place in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, until Oct. 20. President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev opened the assembly’s 25th session, being attended by ministers and high-level delegates from more than 150 countries. On the sidelines of the assembly, Al-Khateeb met Moroccan Minister of Tourism, Handicrafts, and Social and Solidarity Economy Fatim-Zahra Ammor, Uzbekistan’s Minister of Ecology, Environmental Protection, and Climate Change Aziz Abduhakimov, and Argentina’s Secretary of Tourism Promotion and…

Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler and Kosovo’s President Vjosa Osmani met on Tuesday and discussed defense cooperation as well as other regional issues. “Our discussion focused on our shared commitment to bolstering defense cooperation between our two countries, strengthening the Kosovo and Türkiye partnership, and recent developments in our country and in the region,” Osmani said on X after meeting with Guler in the capital Pristina. Guler is currently on an official visit to Kosovo, where at least 450 Turkish troops are participating in NATO’s peacekeeping mission (KFOR). “During the meeting with Minister Guler, issues of cooperation in the field…

Türkiye and Greece Tuesday evening announced they will be building on a positive atmosphere that flourished since earlier this year in their bilateral relations. “The two sides agreed to build on the already existing positive atmosphere in order to identify areas of agreement and cooperation at the bilateral and international level,” the two countries said in a joint statement released after consultations between their deputy foreign ministers in the Greek capital Athens. On the 5th round of talks on Monday between Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Burak Akçapar and his Greek counterpart Konstantinos Frangogiannis on the Joint Action Plan in the…

Amazon launched the first test satellites for its planned internet service on Friday as a rival to SpaceX’s broadband network. United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket blasted off with the pair of test satellites, kicking off a program that aims to improve global internet coverage with an eventual 3,236 satellites around Earth. Amazon plans to begin offering service by the end of next year. Elon Musk’s SpaceX has a huge head start over Amazon and its founder Jeff Bezos, who has his own rocket company, Blue Origin. SpaceX flew its first test Starlink satellites in 2018 and the first operational…

Kuwaiti initiator Khaled Al-Rashed launched the first global legal platform “oqoud”, that uses artificial intelligence (AI) in both English and Arabic, during the GITEX Global 2023 exhibition held in Dubai. In a statement to KUNA on Tuesday, Al-Rashed, who’s the platform’s CEO, said that he chose to launch it in the UAE since it has the most developed legal technology. The platform is currently in the trial phase with technology experts and is dedicated to lawyers, advisors, judges, business owners, and students of law all over the world. The website’s AI technology can help in presenting different laws and suggestions…

Egypt’s Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly witnessed the signing of two major agreements with Chinese companies for green energy production in the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZONE) on Tuesday. The agreements were signed during Egypt’s participation in the third session of the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing. The first agreement was signed by Walid Gamal El-Din, head of the SCZONE, and Lu Zexiang, Chairperson of China Energy International Group. It aims to establish a project to produce green ammonia and green hydrogen from renewable sources in the Sokhna Industrial Zone, with an investment of $6.75bn. The second…

US-based fintech firm Tribal Credit has renewed its $150 million debt facility with global specialty lending firm Partners for Growth (PFG). This debt facility extension will support Tribal’s expansion plans in Saudi Arabia and Mexico. Tribal Credit – established in Silicon Valley in 2016 by Amr Shady, Duane Good, Hariraj Jayakumar, Mark Graves, Mohamed Elkasstawi and Prasant Sudhakaran – offers enhanced access to financial solutions for small businesses in emerging markets. The renewal of the debt facility through 2025 signifies Tribal’s strong credit performance and serves as a catalyst for the company’s growth in multiple countries. “Tribal Credit has consistently…

Saudi Arabia and Singapore signed seven Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) across various sectors during the third session of the Saudi-Singapore Joint Committee held in Riyadh on Tuesday. The co-chairmanship of the session was led by Minister of Transport and Logistic Services, Eng. Saleh Al-Jasser and Singapore’s Minister of Manpower and Second Minister for Trade and Industry Tan See Leng. Key agreements included an MoU between the Federation of Saudi Chambers and the Singapore Business Forum, signaling a commitment to strengthen business ties. Another notable agreement was signed by the Saudi Standards, Metrology, and Quality Organization (SASO), focusing on standardization and…