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Vinod Adani

India’s richest expat lives in Dubai, earning $12.45m a day

Dubai-based Vinod Shantilal Adani, elder brother of Indian billionaire Gautam Adani, is the world’s richest non-resident Indian, earning $12.45 million (Rs 102 crore) daily, according to the latest figures from the IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich List 2022. Vinod Adani manages trading businesses in Dubai, Singapore and Jakarta and saw his wealth increase by 28 […]

Arab youth’s negative stance on Israel challenges trade growth

Israel is still seen as an enemy by the majority of young Arabs, despite the thaw in relations after the signing of the Abraham Accords in 2020. The sentiment could impact future business growth projections, experts have said.  Eighty-eight percent of Arab youth described Israel as an enemy or somewhat of an enemy, according to […]

Expats need to plan how to put their cash surplus to work

Expats staying in the UAE longer, but stress levels are rising

Expats stay for longer in the UAE than in any other country but workplace stress is a growing problem, a new study has found. The 2022 edition of the 360° Global Well-Being Survey, compiled by health services firm Cigna, reported that some employees in the Emirates were complaining of unmanageable stress and burnout caused by long […]

Britain's Catherine, Princess of Wales, wears the Queen's Bahraini pearl earrings

Bahrain pearls given royal stamp of approval

The UK’s Princess of Wales put Bahraini pearls back in the spotlight this week when she wore a pair of earrings made from the precious stone for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. Her timing was perfect as Bahrain aims to re-establish itself as the global centre for sustainable pearls. Catherine, Prince William’s wife, sported […]

Saudi crown prince will not attend Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is not expected to attend Queen Elizabeth’s funeral on Monday, Reuters reported, citing a source at the British foreign office. The Gulf state will be represented by Prince Turki bin Mohammed al Saud, the source added. Prince Turki is a minister of state and a member of the […]

Middle East royals and leaders to attend Queen Elizabeth’s funeral

Royals and leaders from the Middle East will attend Queen Elizabeth II’s state funeral at London’s Westminster Abbey on Monday (September 19). Britain’s longest-reigning monarch died on September 8 aged 96. Although no official guest list has been issued, media reports suggested invitations have been sent. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is likely to […]

Medhat Karam, ArpuPlus

Medhat Karam, ArpuPlus

Medhat Karam is CEO and managing director of ArpuPlus, a telecommunications service which provides entertainment and communication solutions across the Middle East and North Africa. ArpuPlus was set up in 2003 and is a subsidiary of A15, a Cairo-based venture capital firm. What does your company do? Entertainment-wise, we specialise in affordable music, video, gaming, […]

King Charles III

Charles III will build on his mother’s close ties to the Gulf

While the great republics of the United States and France, and the governments of China and Russia, grapple for influence in the Arabian peninsula, Britain’s constitutional monarchy has often provided an edge in fostering relations with the Gulf states. Much of the Arab world reacted with deep sadness to the death of Queen Elizabeth II. […]

Marvel anti-heroes steal the show at Disney’s D23 fan convention

The anti-heroes stepped into the spotlight Saturday at Walt Disney Co’s D23 Expo fan convention, as Marvel Entertainment announced casting for “Thunderbolts.” Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige announced that actors Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, David Harbour and Julia Louis Dreyfus will join the cast of the new film, whose team of villains is akin to […]

Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, with Queen Elizabeth II during a private audience at Buckingham Palace in London in 2018

Middle East royals and leaders pay tribute to Queen Elizabeth II

Middle East royals and leaders have paid tribute to Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, who died on Thursday 8 September at the age of 96. Her eldest son Charles, the 73-year-old former Prince of Wales, was immediately declared King Charles III following the announcement of her death by Buckingham Palace. The world mourns Queen Elizabeth II: […]

Justin Bieber puts world tour on hold, including Dubai concerts

Pop singer Justin Bieber’s Dubai concerts next month look unlikely to go ahead after the Canadian performer announced he was taking a break from his rescheduled Justice World Tour due to mental and physical health issues. Although no official statement has been issued yet on the Dubai shows, the two concerts were scheduled on October […]

Person, Human, Crowd

Music, acting and activism: Life Lessons with Stevie Van Zandt

It is rare enough to have one career that becomes part of a pop-culture phenomenon. Stevie Van Zandt has two. As a musician, including as a member of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band, and as an actor with “The Sopranos,” Van Zandt has bottled lightning twice. For the latest in Reuters’ Life Lessons series, Van […]

Banks battle back-to-office fatigue with ping pong, indoor gardens

Finance bosses are offering more incentives, including free meals, ping pong and “contemplative spaces” as they battle to get staff back to the office, while concerns about the cost and value of commuting to work weigh on attendance worldwide. Hybrid working policies were introduced across the industry during the COVID-19 pandemic, but data seen by […]

Palestinian comedians strike a chord in occupied cities

Palestinian American Amer Zahr is on a mission to heal through humour. In 2015 he started bringing fellow Arab American comedians from the United States to perform stand-up across occupied Palestinian cities including Nablus, Bethlehem and Ramallah. Seven years later, Zahr’s now annual Palestine Comedy Festival is still going strong. “Laughter is therapy,” he told […]

Stage, Person, Human

Gulf’s first weekly lottery eyes expansion as revenues rise

Sales for Mahzooz, the Gulf’s first weekly lottery, have surged since the game’s format was tweaked to make it easier to win, its operator has told AGBI. The change last November was prompted by the players themselves, according to Farid Samji, co-CEO of Ewings, the Dubai-based company that runs the game. “The feedback we got, […]

Last Soviet leader Gorbachev, who ended Cold War, dies at 91

Mikhail Gorbachev, who ended the Cold War without bloodshed but failed to prevent the collapse of the Soviet Union, died on Tuesday at the age of 91, hospital officials in Moscow said. Gorbachev, the last Soviet president, forged arms reduction deals with the United States and partnerships with Western powers to remove the Iron Curtain […]

From Chauf-fur to diamond dog collars, UAE pet sector booms

Whether it’s on a doggie cut and blow dry, a luxury kennel stay, or the finest food and bling accessories, UAE households spend nearly a quarter of a billion dollars on their four-legged friends every year. Market research firm Euromonitor International estimates that the UAE pet care industry will be valued at around AED854.4 million […]

Person, Human, Word

‘House of the Dragon’ renewed for second season

“House of the Dragon”, the highly anticipated “Game of Thrones” prequel, has been renewed for a second season after its first episode proved a hit. Based on George RR Martin’s “Fire & Blood”, the drama is set 200 years before the events that played out in “Game of Thrones” and focuses on how the House […]

Water, Waterfront, Watercraft

Kuwait City leads the world for billionaires

Kuwait City is home to more billionaires per capita than anywhere else in the world, according to the latest data. The Gulf capital boasts one billionaire for every 33,090 inhabitants, making it the most densely populated city for those with more than ten digits of wealth, reports the Billionaire Census 2022 from New York-based consultancy […]

Arabic club music takes off in New York

A music venue and nightclub in Brooklyn, New York, is putting the spotlight on music from the Middle East and North Africa. Laylit, or “the night of” in Arabic, is a party night at Elsewhere with Syrian resident DJ Saphe Shamoun. Launched last October, the event had become popular, attracting over 800 people. On the […]