KYIV — Russia and Ukraine exchanged deadly strikes overnight, killing civilians and injuring dozens on both sides as Moscow continued large-scale missile attacks while Kyiv pressed its campaign against targets inside Russia. In Russia’s border region of Belgorod, Ukrainian drone attacks killed five people and injured about two dozen others, including a 4-year-old boy, according to the regional administration. In Ukraine, Russian missiles struck a high-rise apartment building in Kharkiv, the country’s second-largest city, killing two people and injuring 13, regional head Oleh Syniehubov said. Eight more people were injured in the Black Sea port city of Odesa after “dozens…
Author: Editorial Team
RIYADH — The Ministry of Tourism is moving towards mandating a minimum number of employees for tourist hospitality facilities, based on the number of rooms and the establishment’s classification. This initiative is part of the scheme of “minimum staffing requirements for tourist hospitality facilities”, which was released for public consultation a few days ago. The aim is to ensure adequate workforce capacity, improve service quality, and enhance operational efficiency, in line with the significant growth witnessed in Saudi tourism. The draft requirements specify three employees per room for luxury five-star hotels, hotel villas, hotel apartments, and resorts; four employees per…
JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected US President Donald Trump’s 15-point plan for Gaza on Sunday, saying Israeli forces would not withdraw from the territory until Hamas is “genuinely” disarmed. “Israel rejects the 15-point document,” Netanyahu said during a Cabinet meeting, setting out his clearest opposition yet to the latest framework for implementing Trump’s Gaza peace plan. The Israeli military “will not carry out any withdrawal until Hamas is genuinely disarmed and will continue to thwart threats against our forces and our citizens,” Netanyahu said. Trump’s Board of Peace announced last month that an agreement had been reached…
RIYADH — Saudi Arabia continues to lead the tourism transformation in the Middle East region, with strong growth expected in the travel and tourism sector over the next decade, driven by rising investments, major tourism projects, and realization of the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030. The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), in its latest report, titled “Economic Impact Research: Global Trends Report, stated that the Kingdom’s travel and tourism sector accounts for approximately 14.1 percent of GDP. Across the Middle East markets, governments are investing heavily in tourism infrastructure, connectivity, visitor experiences, and destination development as part of broader…
LONDON — British Prime Minister Andy Burnham is set to announce a series of measures aimed at easing cost-of-living pressures as he begins a nationwide tour focused on his long-term plan to improve living standards and revive high streets. Downing Street said the measures, expected to be rolled out in the coming days, would seek to “give people some room to breathe,” with a particular focus on consumer protections and everyday costs. “He thinks Westminster has got used to telling people that everyday hassles — like hidden pricing and consumers being ripped off — must be accepted as part of…
RIYADH — The Saudi business environment witnessed increased momentum during the first half of this year, with establishing of 46,900 new companies. This reflects the continued growth of commercial activity and the expansion of the Kingdom’s business base, coinciding with government efforts to facilitate procedures for starting and operating businesses. The Saudi Competitiveness and Business Center provided more than 2.9 million services to business establishments during the first six months of 2026. These services included the establishment of 46,900 companies, the registration of 86,800 establishments, and the verification of 3,500 online stores. This growth in the number of establishments coincided…
JEDDAH — The Milky Way will paint a striking band across skies in the Arab world during August, visible to the naked eye, particularly from dark locations away from light pollution. The absence of moonlight over the coming evenings will provide ideal conditions for observing the Milky Way with the naked eye. Majed Abu Zahra, head of the Jeddah Astronomy Society, explained that the hazy band stretching across the sky is an edge-on view of our galaxy, with summer nights offering prime viewing toward its dense core of stars, gas and cosmic dust. Source: Saudi Gazette
New NVIDIA-powered facility will scale beyond 70,000 GPUs and 300MW of capacity as Firebird targets a 2GW global infrastructure network by 2028 HRAZDAN — Firebird has officially launched the CIS region’s largest artificial intelligence factory in Armenia, establishing the country as a strategic hub for advanced computing, AI research and technological innovation. Built using the NVIDIA DSX AI Factory reference design and deployed on Dell PowerEdge servers, the facility provides high-performance computing capacity for developers, startups, enterprises, universities and public institutions to train, fine-tune and deploy AI models locally. The inauguration was attended by Nikol Pashinyan, Prime Minister of Armenia;…
DUBAI, 9th August, 2026 (WAM) — Dubai Chambers is overseeing elaborate preparations to host the Dubai Business Forum – China in Shenzhen on 14th October 2026 as part of its sustained efforts to deepen engagement with the Chinese business community and support companies seeking to establish and expand their operations in Dubai. Being held under the theme ‘Momentum at Scale: Accelerating Shared Success,’ the event will bring together senior government officials, business leaders, investors, and representatives of the public and private sectors to explore new opportunities for cooperation, trade, and investment between Dubai and China. The upcoming forum reflects the…
DUBAI, 9th August, 2026 (WAM) — Supporting Emirati suppliers has become a strategic pillar in building a more competitive and sustainable economy and enabling national companies to grow, expand and compete. Guided by this approach, Dubai Customs has continued to develop an integrated framework of initiatives, facilitation measures, effective partnerships and flexible policies that have turned government procurement into a driver of economic growth. These efforts have expanded Emirati companies’ presence in government projects and opened wider prospects for national companies to compete, grow and become active partners in major government projects, with the capacity to expand into regional and…