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Economy & Business

UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed and Manchester City's Emirati owner and UAE Vice President Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed

Analysis

How Manchester City fallout tests Gulf’s global investment model

The Premier League’s historic financial misconduct ruling against the Emirati-owned club has sparked a media firestorm and experts say fallout could extend beyond the pitch to impact Gulf investment in sports and other industries.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

A Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft of Saudi airline Riyadh Air is pictured on the tarmac at King Khalid International Airport, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, June 7, 2026.

Explainer

What Houthi airport attacks mean for Saudi Arabia’s aviation ambitions

The kingdom has spent recent years pouring billions into a new airline and airport infrastructure amid efforts to compete with established Gulf travel hubs.

Guests attend the 25th WPC Energy Congress, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Oct. 12, 2026.

Saudi Arabia outlines oil export plans amid escalating Houthi attacks

Saudi authorities said on Monday they were extending the suspension of operations at King Khalid International Airport after deadly attacks over the weekend by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis.

Cars drive past the gates of King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Sept. 19, 2026.

Riyadh’s skies remain unsettled after deadly Houthi strikes

Saudi authorities confirmed Friday that Thursday’s first attack struck airport facilities and the second hit a Saudia aircraft.

Latest News

Riyadh airport issues travel alert as Yemen's Houthis claim fresh attack on Saudi Arabia

Travelers queue to check in their luggage at the terminal at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, on March 10, 2026.

Iraq devalues dinar 13% as Hormuz disruption hits oil revenue

A man walks past a closed foreign exchange office in Baghdad on October 7, 2026. Iraq's central bank devalued the dinar currency against the dollar on October 7, with the country facing a deepening crisis brought on by the Middle East war. (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP via Getty Images)

Explainer

Rubio says Iran ‘lost’ Hormuz. Has it?

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks at the Pnyx hill, where ancient Athenians held democratic assemblies, with the ancient Parthenon temple atop the Acropolis seen in the background, in Athens on October 7, 2026. (Photo by Mark Schiefelbein / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)

Flights continue in Saudi Arabia despite Houthi attacks, airspace threats

Travelers consult the departures screens at the terminal at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, on March 10, 2026.

Samuel Wendel

Senior Analyst, Middle East Business & Tech

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

KHALED DESOUKI/AFP via Getty Images

Egypt to give Cairo's historic downtown major facelift

The project is part of a wider plan to develop Cairo’s downtown area to boost tourism and the economy.

Turkey inflation 1

Turkey’s Central Bank raises interest rates to 45%

A pause in hikes will follow, ahead of upcoming local elections in March, when Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is looking to regain control of key cities.

GAVRIIL GRIGOROV/AFP via Getty Images

What does Sisi-Putin latest nuclear plant deal mean for Egypt, Russia?

Egypt is hoping nuclear energy will help meet its substantial power needs as Russia eyes a greater nuclear foothold in the region.

Lebanese bartender Hadi Ghassan prepares a drink behind the counter at "Meraki Riyadh", a pop-up bar offering non-alcoholic bellinis and spritzes, served in chilled cocktail glasses, in Riyadh on January 23, 2024. The bar's success highlights widening acceptance of more daring non-alcoholic fare even as booze itself remains strictly off-limits in the Gulf kingdom, home to Islam's holiest sites. (Photo by Fayez Nureldine / AFP) (Photo by FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images)

What does Saudi's first-ever alcohol store say about new Gulf culture?

Alcohol-free 'mocktails' are also becoming increasingly popular across the region.

A picture taken on April 14, 2015 shows a view of a plant processing phosphates in the port of the Tunisian southern city of Sfax. / AFP / FETHI BELAID (Photo credit should read FETHI BELAID/AFP via Getty Images)

Tunisia’s phosphate industry still not ready to help country navigate economic crisis

Francisco Serrano

Francisco Serrano

In Lisbon, reporting on North Africa business

A ship transits the Suez Canal toward the Red Sea on Jan. 10, 2024, in Ismailia, Egypt.

Red Sea trade hit can be 'managed' amid weak global demand, says WEF

Maroun Kairouz, director of the World Economic Forum for the Middle East and North Africa, told Al-Monitor that the Israel-Hamas conflict has not had a material impact on global energy markets so far.

Group Chairman & CEO, DP World Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem speaks during the 2023 Concordia Annual Summit at the Sheraton Hotel, New York, Sept. 19, 2023.

EV charging infrastructure needed to accelerate carbon emission cuts, says DP World

The UAE-headquartered company's CEO Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem told Al-Monitor that the sector could place more emphasis on equipment providers to allow for cost-competitive electric equipment to drive forward decarbonization goals.

United Arab Emirates

Foreign labourers work on the construction of new luxury houses in the Saudi capital Riyadh on April 13, 2019. - Housing is a potential lightning rod for public discontent in a country where affordable dwellings are beyond the reach of many, posing a key challenge for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as he seeks to overhaul the oil-reliant economy. (Photo by FAYEZ NURELDINE / AFP) (Photo credit should read FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images)

Saudi Arabia bolsters expat incentives as war complicates efforts to lure foreign talent

Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

AFP via Getty Images

How Red Sea tension is hurting China's auto industry in EU, US

The Houthis initially claimed to be only targeting ships linked to Israel, but Chinese shipping is also in peril despite its friendliness to the Houthis' supporter Iran.

In this photograph taken on August 25, 2023, Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Chair, WTO's 13th Ministerial Conference and Minister of State for Foreign Trade of United Arab Emirates, addresses the gathering on the first day of the three-day B20 Summit in New Delhi.

Davos 2024: Gold, precious minerals to drive UAE-Turkey trade in 2024, says minister

Since 2021, diplomatic ties between the two countries have greatly improved after years of antagonism over differing attitudes toward the Muslim Brotherhood and governance in Egypt.

United Arab Emirates

Newly elected President of the Sixth UN Environment Assembly (UNEA 6), Morocco's Minister for Energy Transition and Sustainable Development, Leila Benali (L) adresses delegates at the 50th anniversary of the UN Environment Program (UNEP) in Nairobi on March 3, 2022 - The world has a "historic" opportunity to address plastic pollution by starting discussions in early March on a treaty to regulate this phenomenon that chokes biodiversity, according to the Executive Director of the UNEP, Inger Andersen (Photo

Davos 2024: Green ammonia expansion integral to Morocco’s new hydrogen economy, minister says

Morocco's Minister of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development Leila Benali told Al-Monitor in an interview that the COP28 declaration marked the first time an emergence of more inclusive messaging has been seen in official climate text.

A photo taken on October 11, 2023 shows the empty Mount of Olives touristic site overlooking Jerusalem's Dome of the Rock (background), as the ferocious war between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement further south enters its fifth day. Hamas has branded its coordinated land, air and sea offensive against Israel that began on October 7 "Operation Al-Aqsa Flood". (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP) (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images)

Gaza war interrupts tourism recovery for Israel and neighbors

David Rosenberg

David Rosenberg

In Tel Aviv, reporting on business and tech