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Economy & Business

Haitham AL-SHUKAIRI / AFP via Getty Images

Oman enters Gulf AI race with new special economic zone in Muscat

Oman will create an AI-focused special economic zone in Muscat governorate.

A pumpjack stands idle in the Huntington Beach oil field, with port cranes visible in the distance, on April 23, 2026, in Huntington Beach, California.

Oil surges past $120 to war-time high as Trump rejects Iran overture

Benchmark Brent crude surpassed $120 per barrel on Wednesday, reaching the highest levels yet seen during the US-Israel-Iran war.

An Iraqi money dealer counts Iranian rial banknotes bearing a portrait of the late founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, at an exchange office in Baghdad on Feb. 3, 2012.

Iranian rial hits new record low as blockade, war take toll: What to know

The rial had another collapse in late 2025, triggering massive protests and riots in the country that were ended by a forceful government crackdown.

GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

UAE’s OPEC exit rattles cartel as Gulf alliances shift

OPEC's fourth-largest producer will leave the cartel on May 1, marking the most significant departure in the group’s history as the war changes Abu Dhabi's relationship priorities.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Latest News

Why UAE's decision to leave OPEC is major shift for cartel

MUMEN KHATIB/AFP via Getty Images

United Arab Emirates

First LNG tanker transits Strait of Hormuz since Iran war began

Yuichi YAMAZAKI / AFP via Getty Images

Pistachios reach highest prices in eight years amid Iran war

An Iranian grocer sells pistachios imported from Iran at a Persian products shop in the Gulf emirate of Dubai on July 10, 2019. (Photo by Karim SAHIB / AFP) (Photo credit should read KARIM SAHIB/AFP via Getty Images)

UAE’s cash request tests US ties as Iran war strains Gulf financial muscle

A view of Dubai Marina in Dubai on March 3, 2026.

United Arab Emirates

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

Tunisians line up with their vehicles outside a gas station, Tunis, Tunisia, Oct. 13, 2022.

Fuel shortage, long queues anger Tunisians

Tunisians are growing angry amid successive crises, most recently a fuel shortage, while the government sits idle.

Israel gas

Lebanon asks TotalEnergies to start gas exploration 'quickly'

The move follows Israel and Lebanon finally reaching an agreement on their disputed sea border.

A man walks in front of a screen showing rates against Turkish lira near a currency exchange agency at Kaarakoy in Istanbul on Dec. 16, 2021 in Istanbul.

Erdogan’s staunchest backers 'tired' of interest rate debate

The Turkish president’s controversial economic policies have led to rare public criticism by a business group that has long backed his party.

The national flag of Algeria flies near the Bay of Algiers with the old town of the capital known as the "Kasbah" (L) and cargo containers (R) in Algiers, Algeria, Aug. 25, 2022.

Algeria relaxes rules for foreign investors

Following years of social and political uncertainty triggered by popular uprisings in 2019, Algeria has updated laws to attract investment.

A Japanese and an Emirati man in traditional clothes check their phones at the Arabian Travel Market.

UAE and Japan agree to visa-free travel

The two countries also recently pledged to boost economic, industrial and energy cooperation.

United Arab Emirates

Palestinian men gather to apply for work permits in Israel.

Gazan workers fall prey to brokers claiming to offer work permits

Amid the poor economic conditions and as thousands of Gazans seek to obtain work permits inside Israel, fraudulent brokers have spread in the besieged enclave claiming to be able to secure permits.

RODGER BOSCH/AFP via Getty Images

Saudi Arabia, South Africa sign agreements worth $15 billion

Saudi Arabia is increasing its economic footprint on the African continent, in part because of its rivalry with Iran.

VLADIMIR SIMICEK/AFP via Getty Images

OPEC members back Saudi Arabia in dispute with US

The oil cartel and Russia recently agreed to a significant oil production cut, leading to public criticism from the United States.

A worker prepares an order at a cafe after authorities relaxed the coronavirus lockdown measures, Cairo, Egypt, June 27, 2020.

Can coffee be grown in Egypt?

Decades of experiments have proven that coffee crops can be grown on Egyptian soil.

beekeeper

Lebanese women find sweet success with beekeeping

Beekeeping, once a niche hobby, is flourishing in Lebanon, providing women with a means of surviving the financial crisis.

The Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) provided a soft loan to light roads using solar energy in the Central African Republic.

Saudi economic relations with sub-Saharan Africa continue to grow

South Africa's president will soon visit the Saudi kingdom, and the Saudi Fund for Development recently agreed to help the Central African Republic develop solar energy.

Plastic Coca-Cola bottles.

Coca-Cola to sponsor COP27 in Egypt, sparking criticism

The company has been ranked as the world’s top corporate plastic polluter for years and is blamed for spending millions of dollars greenwashing its brand and lobbying to derail regulations.