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Kim Kardashian pays $1.26m fine for paid Instagram crypto post

Kim Kardashian has promoted everything from appetite-suppressing lollipops to melon-flavoured liqueur to toilet paper, but it was her foray into the murky world of cryptocurrencies that got her into hot water. The reality television star and influencer has agreed to settle charges of unlawfully touting a crypto security and to pay $1.26 million in penalties […]

French cities to ban Qatar World Cup fan zones

Several major French cities including Lille, Strasbourg and Bordeaux said they will not organise fan zones or put up giant outdoor screens to show Qatar World Cup soccer matches in protest against ecological and humanitarian issues. Leftist and ecologist mayors in those cities said the loss of immigrant workers’ lives during construction of the stadia […]

US robotics specialist Gecko to set up shop in UAE

Gecko Robotics, a US firm that makes wall-climbing robots to inspect oil, gas and power infrastructure, is setting up an international HQ in the UAE. The move, announced today, is part of the UAE Ministry of Economy’s NextGen FDI programme, which aims to attract 300 digital companies over the next year. “Our industrial base is […]

Booking.com adds safety advisory for West Bank properties

Online travel agency Booking.com has added safety labels to listings in the occupied West Bank, which Israel, having initially opposed the move, welcomed for not singling out Jewish settlements. The move was rebuked by Palestinian officials, who said the advisory should only be used for Israeli settlements. The company now posts an advisory on its […]

King Charles will not attend Cop27 climate summit in Egypt

Britain’s King Charles III will not attend the United Nations climate change summit in Egypt next month, a royal source said on Sunday, as the new monarch steps back from his previous high-profile campaigning. Buckingham Palace sought government advice about the Cop27 summit and it was unanimously agreed that it would not be right for […]

Egypt has been suffering a severe shortage of foreign currency despite a 14.5 percent devaluation on October 27

Egypt’s net foreign assets sink again in August

Egypt’s net foreign assets fell by 18.06 billion Egyptian pounds ($925 million) in August, resuming a near year-long decline that had paused the month before, according to central bank data. The central bank has been relying on net foreign assets (NFAs) – banking system assets owed by non-residents minus liabilities – to help support the […]

Four golfers drop out of LIV lawsuit against PGA Tour

Hall of Famer Phil Mickelson and three other golfers dropped out of a lawsuit on Tuesday which was filed against the PGA Tour last month over its decision to suspend players who participated on the new LIV Golf circuit. Mickelson, who counts six major championships among his 45 career PGA Tour wins, asked to be […]

Saudi Arabia to boost spending in 2023, GDP growth to slow down

Saudi Arabia expects to post a surplus of 0.2 percent of GDP in 2023, a drop from an expected surplus of 2.3 percent this year, which was revised downwards slightly, a preliminary budget statement showed on Friday, as it boosts spending amid a windfall from oil revenues. Saudi Arabia expects total revenues at 1.123 trillion […]

Coin, Money, Nickel

Tunisia’s dinar hits record low, may erode forex reserves

Tunisia’s dinar currency has fallen to a record low versus the dollar, central bank data showed on Thursday, a decline that threatens to erode Tunisia’s foreign currency reserves and will increase inflationary pressures. Tunisia’s annual inflation rate rose to 8.6 percent in August, the highest level in nearly three decades. The dinar traded at 3.309 […]

Turkey’s state banks suspend use of Russian Mir payment system

Turkey’s three state banks have suspended the use of the Russian Mir payment system, Finance Minister Nureddin Nebati told Reuters on Thursday. The suspension comes as the United States cracks down on those accused of helping Moscow skirt sanctions and as Western nations grow concerned over increased economic ties between NATO-member Turkey and Russia. Turkish […]

Medication, Pill, Capsule

Europe drugmakers may cut output due to high energy bills

Europe’s drugmakers have warned they may stop making some cheap generic medicines because of surging electricity costs and are calling for an overhaul of the way they are priced, the latest industry to seek help as the energy crisis deepens. The generic drug industry lobby group Medicines for Europe, which represents companies including Teva, Novartis’s […]

Israel-South Korea free trade deal to take effect December 1

A free trade agreement between Israel and South Korea will go into effect on December 1, Israel’s economy ministry said on Wednesday, in a move expected to lower the prices of Korean-made cars, toys, video game consoles and soy sauce. The agreement was ratified by Korea’s parliament on Tuesday. The ministry estimated that it would […]

Erdogan hopes policy rate will fall to single digits by year-end

Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday said he hopes the central bank’s monetary policy committee will deliver another cut to its policy rate next month and bring it down to single digits by year-end. Erdogan, speaking in a televised interview with broadcaster CNN Turk, said Turkey aims to strengthen the lira by reducing interest rates. […]

Tie, Accessories, Accessory

Egypt wants to discuss climate change compensation at Cop27

Egypt, which is hosting the upcoming Cop27 climate negotiations, is working on how to include compensation for economic losses due to climate catastrophes on the formal agenda of the November summit, as pressure grows from vulnerable countries to prioritise the issue, the country’s special representative of the summit said on Wednesday. Wael Aboulmagd, Egypt’s special […]

WTO chief expects downside revisions in global trade forecast

The head of the World Trade Organization (WTO) told Reuters on Tuesday that she expects that global trade forecasts will be revised lower from the current three percent for 2022, citing the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and related food and energy crises. “We are in the middle of revising our forecasts now but it’s not looking […]

Egypt’s import squeeze hobbles economy as US dollars run short

Christeen Aiad from eastern Cairo had been hoping to buy a small automatic car this year, but rules preventing importers trading in scarce dollars put paid to that and she is having to get around on her bicycle instead. The war in Ukraine has deepened Egypt’s economic woes. It sent the import-reliant nation’s bill for […]

Qatar launches new initiative to boost stock market liquidity

The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) tweeted on Tuesday that it launched a new market making initiative to boost liquidity at the Qatar Stock Exchange as part of a wider raft of reforms to attract foreign investors. The $445 billion sovereign wealth fund said that licensed market markets would be able to access some of QIA’s […]

Interior Design, Indoors, Auditorium

With flowers and a gun salute, Japan bids farewell to Shinzo Abe

With flowers, prayers and a 19-gun salute, Japan honoured slain former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday at the first state funeral for a former premier in 55 years – a ceremony that has become as divisive as he was in life. The ceremony started at 2:00 p.m. (0500 GMT), with Abe’s ashes carried into […]

Malaysia and Indonesia interested in buying Turkish armed drones

Malaysia and Indonesia have expressed keen interest in buying armed drones from Turkish defence firm Baykar, according to Ankara’s foreign minister. “Many Asian countries, especially Malaysia and Indonesia, show great interest in our defence industry products. Agreements are being signed,” Mevlut Cavusoglu told a press conference in Tokyo on Monday. Cavusoglu, who was in Japan […]

Lebanon passes 2022 budget that falls short of IMF demands

Lebanon’s parliament passed its 2022 budget on Monday using an exchange rate for customs tax revenues that lies far below the market value of the Lebanese pound, falling short of economic reform measures that would pave the way for an IMF deal. An agreement with the lender of last resort is seen as a first […]