Latest news with #Mideast
Bloomberg
3 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Dubai Real Estate Boom Sparks Investor Rush Despite Warnings
Welcome to the Mideast Money newsletter, where we chronicle the intersection of money and power in a region that's become one of the most influential in global finance. I'm Laura Gardner Cuesta, Bloomberg News' Middle East equity capital markets reporter, filling in for Adveith Nair. This week: Saudi Aramco's borrowing spree, HSBC's job cuts and a plunge in private equity fundraising. But first, let's break down the broader signals from two recent IPOs in the region.
CTV News
4 days ago
- General
- CTV News
Climate activist Greta Thunberg joins aid ship sailing to Gaza aimed at breaking Israel's blockade
Climate activist Greta Thunberg with other activists from a human rights organization meets with journalists in Catania, Italy, Sunday, June 1, 2025, ahead of their departure for the Mideast. (AP Photo/Salvatore Cavalli) ROME — Climate campaigner Greta Thunberg and other 11 activists set sail on Sunday afternoon for Gaza on a ship aimed at 'breaking Israel's siege' of the devastated territory, organizers said. The sailing boat Madleen -- operated by activist group Freedom Flotilla Coalition -- departed from the Sicilian port of Catania, in southern Italy. It will try to reach the shores of the Gaza Strip in an effort to bring in some aid and raise 'international awareness' over the ongoing humanitarian crisis, the activists said at a press conference on Sunday, ahead of departure. 'We are doing this because, no matter what odds we are against, we have to keep trying,' Thunberg said, bursting into tears during her speech. 'Because the moment we stop trying is when we lose our humanity. And no matter how dangerous this mission is, it's not even near as dangerous as the silence of the entire world in the face of the live-streamed genocide,' she added. Israel, which was founded in the aftermath of the Holocaust, has adamantly rejected genocide allegations against it as an antisemitic 'blood libel.' In mid-May, Israel slightly eased its blockade of Gaza after nearly three months, allowing a limited amount of humanitarian aid into the territory. Experts have warned that Gaza is at risk of famine if more aid is not brought in. U.N. agencies and major aid groups say Israeli restrictions, the breakdown of law and order, and widespread looting make it extremely difficult to deliver aid to Gaza's roughly 2 million Palestinians. Among those joining the crew of the Madleen are 'Game of Thrones' actor Liam Cunningham and Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament who is of Palestinian descent. She has been barred from entering Israel due to her active opposition to the Israeli assault on Gaza. The activists expect to take seven days to get to their destination, if they are not stopped. Thunberg, who became an internationally famous climate activist after organizing massive teen protests in her native Sweden, had been due to board a previous Freedom Flotilla ship last month. That attempt to reach Gaza by sea, in early May, failed after another of the group's vessels, the 'Conscience', was attacked by two alleged drones while sailing in international waters off the coast of Malta. The group blamed Israel for the attack, which damaged the front section of the ship, in the latest confrontation over efforts to send assistance to the Palestinian territory devastated by nearly 19 months of war. The Israeli government says the blockade is an attempt to pressure Hamas to release hostages it took during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered the conflict. Hamas-led militants assaulted southern Israel that day, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. Hamas is still holding 58 hostages, 23 of whom are believed to be alive. In response, Israel launched an offensive that has killed over 52,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between fighters and civilians. Israel's bombardment and ground operations have destroyed vast areas of the territory and left most of its population homeless. The Flotilla group was only the latest among a growing number of critics to accuse Israel of genocidal acts in its war in Gaza. Israel vehemently denies the allegations, saying its war is directed at Hamas militants, not Gaza's civilians. 'We are breaking the siege of Gaza by sea, but that's part of a broader strategy of mobilizations that will also attempt to break the siege by land,' said activist Thiago Avila. Avila cited the upcoming Global March to Gaza -- an international initiative also open to doctors, lawyers and media -- which is set to leave Egypt and reach the Rafah crossing in mid-June to stage a protest there, asking Israel to stop the Gaza offensive and reopen the border. Giada Zampano, The Associated Press
Bloomberg
26-05-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Middle East Wealth Fund Titans Deliver Rare, Blunt Warnings
Welcome to the Mideast Money newsletter, I'm Adveith Nair. Join us each week as my team and I chronicle the intersection of money and power in a region that's become one of the most influential in global finance. You can sign up here. This week: Qatar's push to build a Wall Street of its own, surging demand for Middle East IPOs, how Gulf nations are cultivating soft power and a new contender in the global wealth race. But first, rare and unusually blunt warnings from the heads of three wealth funds.
The Independent
22-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Iran has several major nuclear program sites, now the subject of negotiations with the US
Iran has multiple major sites associated with its rapidly advancing nuclear program, now the subject of several rounds of negotiations with the United States. The sites across the country, including one in the heart of Tehran, the capital, show the breadth and history of the program. One in particular, Iran's Natanz enrichment site, has been targeted several times in suspected sabotage attacks by Israel amid tensions between the two Mideast rivals. Here's a look at some of those major Iranian sites and their importance in Tehran's program. Natanz enrichment facility Iran's nuclear facility at Natanz, located some 220 kilometers (135 miles) southeast of Tehran, is the country's main enrichment site. Part of the facility on Iran's Central Plateau is underground to defend against potential airstrikes. It operates multiple cascades, or groups of centrifuges working together to more quickly enrich uranium. Iran also is burrowing into the Kūh-e Kolang Gaz Lā, or 'Pickaxe Mountain,' which is just beyond Natanz's southern fencing. Natanz has been targeted by the Stuxnet virus, believed to be an Israeli and American creation, which destroyed Iranian centrifuges. Two separate sabotage attacks, attributed to Israel, also have struck the facility. Fordo enrichment facility Iran's nuclear facility at Fordo is located some 100 kilometers (60 miles) southwest of Tehran. It also hosts centrifuge cascades, but isn't as big a facility as Natanz. Buried under a mountain and protected by anti-aircraft batteries, Fordo appears designed to withstand airstrikes. Its construction began at least in 2007, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency, although Iran only informed the U.N. nuclear watchdog about the facility in 2009 after the U.S. and allied Western intelligence agencies became aware of its existence. Bushehr nuclear power plant Iran's only commercial nuclear power plant is in Bushehr on the Persian Gulf, some 750 kilometers (465 miles) south of Tehran. Construction on the plant began under Iran's Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in the mid-1970s. After the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the plant was repeatedly targeted in the Iran-Iraq war. Russia later completed construction of the facility. Iran is building two other reactors like it at the site. Bushehr is fueled by uranium produced in Russia, not Iran, and is monitored by the United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency. Arak heavy water reactor The Arak heavy water reactor is 250 kilometers (155 miles) southwest of Tehran. Heavy water helps cool nuclear reactors, but it produces plutonium as a byproduct that can potentially be used in nuclear weapons. That would provide Iran another path to the bomb beyond enriched uranium, should it choose to pursue the weapon. Iran had agreed under its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers to redesign the facility to relieve proliferation concerns. Isfahan Nuclear Technology Center The facility in Isfahan, some 350 kilometers (215 miles) southeast of Tehran, employs thousands of nuclear scientists. It also is home to three Chinese research reactors and laboratories associated with the country's atomic program. Tehran Research Reactor The Tehran Research Reactor is at the headquarters of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, the civilian body overseeing the country's atomic program. The U.S. actually provided Iran the reactor in 1967 as part of America's 'Atoms for Peace' program during the Cold War. It initially required highly enriched uranium but was later retrofitted to use low-enriched uranium over proliferation concerns. ___ The Associated Press receives support for nuclear security coverage from the Carnegie Corporation of New York and Outrider Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. ___
Washington Post
20-05-2025
- Business
- Washington Post
How much did Mideast countries promise to invest in the US? Trump keeps jacking up the number
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump loves big numbers — and he's always happy to talk them up. Trump, who coined the phrase 'truthful hyperbole' in his book 'The Art of the Deal,' over the last few days has been steadily increasing the amount of money he says that countries in the Mideast pledged to invest in the U.S. when he visited the region last week. He didn't provide underlying details.
