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Economy & Business

AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP via Getty Images

Here's what to know about Iraq's corruption as Zaidi launches crackdown

Watchdogs and financial institutions regard Iraq as a significantly corrupt country as the new prime minister works to recover public funds.

AFP via Getty Images

Traffic plummets through Strait of Hormuz after Iran, US trade fire

Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz had recovered somewhat before renewed fighting between Iran and the United States saw traffic drop sharply over the weekend.

A student attends a training seminar at the Tourism Ministry Training center in the city of Riyadh on August 30, 2022.

Interview

Saudi labor localization will take ‘generation or two': Armada CEO

Around 70% of Saudi Arabia's population is 35 years old or younger, according to the kingdom’s General Authority for Statistics, providing ample opportunity for an educated and technology-savvy national workforce in the coming decades.

Olivier Badard

CEO of Armada Holding

A tourist boat passes near crude oil tankers, bulk carriers, and other vessels anchored off Port Sultan Qaboos in Muscat, Oman, June 19, 2026.

Analysis

Why the Hormuz oil shock never became an energy catastrophe

The US-Israel-Iran war produced a historic oil supply shock but not a severe global economic crisis, due to ample prewar supplies, China's energy pivot and strategic reserve releases.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Latest News

Explainer

Gulf states push incentives for investors, expats after war dents image

FADEL SENNA/AFP via Getty Images

United Arab Emirates

Explainer

After UAE and Qatar, could Iraq be next to leave OPEC?

A worker at a market for fuel oil and automotive fuel on March 17, 2026, in Erbil, Iraq.

Explainer

Syria’s energy push could soon get a major boost from Chevron: What to know

Amjad Kurdo / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images

Samuel Wendel

Senior Market Research Analyst

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Adam Lucente

News and Business Correspondent

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

Jack Dutton

Chief Business Correspondent

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

Sabena Siddiqui

In Karachi, reporting on South Asia, Middle East, Iran

Vanessa Ghanem

In Dubai, reporting on business, energy and politics

Francisco Serrano

In Lisbon, reporting on North Africa business

OPEC President UAE Energy Minister Suhail al-Mazrouei (C) speaks as he sits with Minister of Energy of Russia Alexander Novak (left) and OPEC Secretary General Mohammed Sanusi Barkindo (r) of Nigeria during a meeting at the headquarters of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) with OPEC members and non-OPEC members in Vienna, Austria on December 7, 2018. (Photo by JOE KLAMAR / AFP) (Photo credit should read JOE KLAMAR/AFP via Getty Images)

UAE joins India's Global Biofuel Alliance on clean energy ahead of COP28

The UAE minister of energy and infrastructure announced Wednesday that his country is a willing participant in the global alliance and has been investing heavily in biofuels.

A flame from a Saudi Aramco oil installion known as "Pump 3" is seen in the desert near the oil-rich area of Khouris, 160 kms east of the Saudi capital Riyadh, on June 23, 2008. Oil producers are at war with speculators but they have been left speculating themselves over the future of their precious commodity after a unique summit, analysts said. Government ministers and traders alike are anxiously waiting to see which way prices go in coming weeks after Sunday's summit of consumers and producers, which Sau

Saudi oil exports hit new low, dropping by more than one-third

In May of this year, Saudi Arabia’s value of oil exports hit a low of just over $19 billion, reported the kingdom’s General Authority for Statistics. This includes both crude and refined products.

JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images

Morgan Stanley lowers Israel’s sovereign credit as Moody's issues warning

Protests are mounting over the controversial judicial reforms, and the leading credit agency downgraded Israel earlier this year.

Hind Omar, an Egyptian woman metro train driver, poses through the entrance of a life-size train simulator at Adly Mansour station in the capital Cairo's northeastern neighbourhood of Heliopolis on May 31, 2022. - As it prepares to expand to serve a population now exceeding 20 million, the Cairo metro has recruited Egypt's first female train drivers, a novelty in a country where few women have formal jobs. Since April, commuters on the network's newest line have seen women take the controls in the driver's

Egypt’s bid to develop rail sector put to test by dire economic headwinds

The mission ahead to revamp Egypt's train network is daunting, especially at a time when the country faces serious economic woes.

Marc Español

Ursula von der Leyen

EU commission sees Tunisia's migration deal as 'blueprint' for region

On July 16, the bloc agreed to spend 100 million euros on Tunisia to combat human trafficking and illegal crossings of the Mediterranean Sea.

Kylian Mbappe of Paris Saint-Germain in action during the Ligue 1 match between Paris Saint-Germain and Clermont Foot at Parc des Princes, Paris, France, June 3, 2023.

Saudi Arabia's Al-Hilal makes record $332 million bid for soccer star Mbappe

Mbappe’s current club Paris Saint-Germain confirmed that the formal offer for its player took place.

The Vladimir Rusanov, a liquefied natural gas (LNG) Russian tanker ship.

Dampened China demand driving up Middle East purchases of Russian oil

China's appetite for fuel oil has been slowly increasing since the COVID-19 pandemic when the country implemented some of the strictest lockdowns in the world.

A Royal Moroccan Air Force CH-47 Chinook military helicopter takes off during the second annual "African Lion" military exercise in the Tan-Tan region in southwestern Morocco on June 30, 2022. (Photo by FADEL SENNA / AFP) (Photo by FADEL SENNA/AFP via Getty Images)

Supply and demand: North African military expenditures raise stakes for global defense suppliers

North Africa features three countries that rank among the world’s top 30 arms importers, but the region currently lacks any significant arms exporters.

A Sinopec employee looks at a group of jounalists visiting Polypropylene Plant No3 of the Sinopec Yanshan Petrochemical Company (SYPC) during a tour arranged by the State Council Information Office in Beijing on May 25, 2018. (Photo by WANG Zhao / AFP) (Photo credit should read WANG ZHAO/AFP via Getty Images)

Saudi Aramco acquires $3.4 billion stake in a China petrochemical firm

The world’s biggest oil exporter is making further inroads in China, Saudi Arabia’s top customer for crude.

Tunisian demonstrators raise national flags and protest placards as they take to the streets of the capital Tunis, on January 14, 2023, to protest against their president. - In July 2021, President Kais Saied sacked the government, froze parliament and seized far-reaching executive powers, later grabbing control of the judiciary -- moves opponents said aimed to install a new dictatorship in the birthplace of the Arab Spring uprisings. (Photo by FETHI BELAID / AFP) (Photo by FETHI BELAID/AFP via Getty Images

Saudi Arabia to give Tunisia $500 million amid economic crisis

Tunisia is seeking help from the kingdom as well as the EU and the IMF as it battles debt and inflation.

Man Utd

Manchester United takeover ‘paused’ amid Qatari frustration: reports

The club's owners the Glazer family reported they want around 6 billion pounds ($7.72 billion) for the soccer club, but the two bids value Manchester United at around 5 billion pounds.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - AUGUST 10: A Chipotle store signage is seen on August 10, 2022 in New York City. NYC Mayor Eric Adams announced on Tuesday that Chipotle Mexican Grill announced that they will be paying $20 million dollars to current and former workers in their NYC restaurants for violating city labor laws. The settlement will cover about 13,000 employees who worked at the chain's NYC stores between 2017 and this year. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Popular Mexican food chain Chipotle coming to UAE, Kuwait

The fast-food giant that specializes in Mexican food is one of the biggest in the United States.