Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman concluded a visit to France with a raft of agreements covering many of his top priorities including AI, geopolitics, and even his favorite pastime: video games. France has become the fourth-largest investor in Saudi Arabia, and MBS is returning the favor: A €6 billion ...
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Kuwait continues to tighten citizenship rulesKuwait continues to tighten citizenship rules
Kuwait is advancing its citizenship crackdown under new rules introduced Sunday that bar naturalized citizens from voting and replace paper nationality certificates with electronic ones. Naturalized citizens could previously vote once they had held citizenship for 30 years, though they could not run for office or be appointed to parliament. ...
Famous London bakery fires warning shot at Saudi copycatFamous London bakery fires warning shot at Saudi copycat
A viral bakery in London has fired a warning shot at an alleged copycat in Khobar, whose owners had built an almost like-for-like replica in the Saudi port city. “It has recently come to our attention that a bakery is operating using our brand name and logo in Saudi Arabia,” ...
Canada set to announce retaliatory tariffs against USCanada set to announce retaliatory tariffs against US
Canada is set to unveil retaliatory measures against the US in an expanding trade war between the erstwhile allies. US President Donald Trump yesterday threatened 50% tariffs on Canada’s auto and steel sectors, demanding Ottawa “fall in line”; his northern neighbor appears set on fighting back, with Canadian Prime Minister ...
US cancels more military drills with South KoreaUS cancels more military drills with South Korea
The US cancelled planned military exercises with South Korea just weeks after scaling back separate drills with Seoul’s forces, amplifying worries in Asia over American support. The latest pullback was because of limited availability of US troops as a result of shortages caused by the Iran war; US President Donald ...
US prepares new immigration crackdownUS prepares new immigration crackdown
The Trump administration readied a fresh immigration crackdown that experts said could permanently damage the economy. White House officials said they would cancel the visas of 200,000 asylum seekers, potentially representing the single largest mass visa revocation in US history. The Trump administration also proposed charging more than $100,000 for ...
US removes Syria from state sponsors of terrorism listUS removes Syria from state sponsors of terrorism list
The US removed Syria from its list of state sponsors of terrorism, the latest step in Damascus moving to close the book on the Bashar al-Assad era and a decade-long civil war. Assad’s brutal dictatorship presided over mass human rights violations, an economic collapse, and ultimately a vicious internecine conflict ...
Germany’s economy defies downbeat expectationsGermany’s economy defies downbeat expectations
Germany’s GDP grew faster than previously thought in the second quarter, defying fears that higher energy costs driven by the Iran war would torpedo Europe’s biggest economy. German firms may have benefitted from the fact that Asian rivals were hit even harder by the choking off of trade via the ...
US tariffs target Chinese ‘overcapacity’US tariffs target Chinese ‘overcapacity’
The US is set to impose an additional 7.5% tariff on Chinese goods for industrial “overcapacity” before September’s meeting between the country’s leaders, Bloomberg reported, as Washington attempts to step up protectionist measures without drawing a reprisal from Beijing. The hike would keep US duties on China to around 20%, ...
China’s Xi Jinping likely to attend BRICS summit in IndiaChina’s Xi Jinping likely to attend BRICS summit in India
Chinese leader Xi Jinping is likely to attend September’s BRICS summit in New Delhi, Reuters reported, marking his first visit to India in seven years amid thawing ties between the Asian giants. About 400 officials are expected to accompany Xi to the gathering, where the two countries will attempt a ...