Technology

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Thursday held a phone call with billionaire businessman and former senior figure in the Trump administration Elon Musk, during which the two discussed the potential of Musk entering Lebanon’s telecom and internet sectors. What happened: A statement from the Lebanese presidency said that in their phone call, Musk “expressed his deep interest in Lebanon and its telecommunications and internet sectors.” Musk also expressed his desire for his companies to “have a presence

Elon Musk calls Lebanon’s Aoun, signals plans to bring Starlink to Beirut

A senior Starlink official met with Joseph Aoun last month for ongoing talks on bringing the technology to Lebanon.

A drone flies beside a damaged building following a strike by an Iranian missile in the Israeli city of Bat Yam, south of Tel Aviv, early on June 15, 2025.

Analysis

Israel's war in Iran redefining AI’s warfare role: The Gulf is taking notes

Israel’s AI-driven assault on Iran signals a new era of warfare in the Middle East, and Gulf states are watching closely.

Francesco Schiavi

By Francesco Schiavi

In Bologna, reporting on security, defense, economy, governance

Men walk past shops selling mobile phones in the Damascus Tower market, which specializes in the smart phone business, in the Syrian capital on January 12, 2025.

Analysis

Syria’s internet reboot takes shape amid outreach to Gulf telecoms

The new government is taking steps to rapidly overhaul one of the world’s most troubled internet systems by working with Gulf telecoms to build a new fiber-optic network.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

5g egypt

Egypt launches 5G network as North Africa's digital push accelerates

North African states are moving to introduce high-speed internet and data-intensive applications to business and government sectors in the face of increasing demand.

Latest News

AI chips, drones, jets: A look at Trump's $3.2 trillion megadeals during Gulf trip

BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images

US eases foreign investment rules days before Trump Gulf visit: What to know

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Mubadala investments soar by 33% as UAE deepens AI ties with US

Khaldoun al-Mubarak, Managing Director and Group Chief Executive Officer of the Mubadala Investment Company, speaks at a panel session during the World Government Summit in Dubai on February 12, 2024. (Photo by RYAN LIM / AFP) (Photo by RYAN LIM/AFP via Getty Images)

United Arab Emirates

Interview

Qatar’s digital future offers opportunities in AI, energy, says head of US-Qatar Business Council

Sheikha Mayes Al-Thani speaks at inaugural USQBC-SelectUSA event in Washington, DC, February 25, 2024.

Sheikha Mayes Al Thani

Sheikha Mayes Al Thani

Managing Director, US-Qatar Business Council

Yasser Hassan

Exclusive

'Cloud First' policies give Saudi Arabia, UAE edge in AI race: Amazon exec

In March 2024, AWS announced plans to invest $5.3 billion in Saudi Arabia to launch a cloud infrastructure region in the kingdom by 2026.

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

chip

How UAE AI firm's past China links stalled this US chipmaker's IPO

Cerebras Systems executives had been hoping that the Trump administration would fast-track the national security review that has left the chipmaker’s initial public offering in limbo for five months, Reuters reported Tuesday.

United Arab Emirates

Sheikh tahnoon

UAE seals cloud deal with Microsoft, Core42 as Sheikh Tahnoon visits US

The deal follows Microsoft's $1.5 billion investment last year in G42 to accelerate AI development.

United Arab Emirates

KARIM SAHIB/AFP via Getty Images

UAE’s Sheikh Tahnoon makes first US visit since Trump reelection: What to know

The UAE's influential national security advisor, who chairs some of the country's most important funds and firms, will reportedly meet with White House officials and business leaders including Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos.

United Arab Emirates

NYSE

Analysis

US stock plunge poses dilemmas for Gulf investors while exposing PIF, Mubadala risks

Middle East investors are bracing for steep losses and questioning about their long-term investments in America amid a drop in the US stock market.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Saudi digital economy expert Deemah Al-Yahya speaks onstage during the 2024 Concordia Annual Summit at Sheraton New York Times Square, New York, Sept. 24, 2024.

Interview

As AI superpowers clash, Saudi tech diplomat pushes collaboration over competition

Deemah AlYahya

Secretary General, Digital Cooperation Organization

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, accompanied by his son, X Musk, speaks to the press as President Donald Trump looks on in the Oval Office at the White House, Washington, DC, Feb. 11, 2025.

Elon Musk's Boring Co. to build Dubai Loop network of tunnels

The loop is a network of underground tunnels, similar to one being developed in Las Vegas, that allows passengers to be transported nonstop, in electric vehicles, to 11 stations.

United Arab Emirates

An unidentified man speaks at the preliminary meeting for the fourth edition of the LEAP technology conference, set for Feb. 9-12, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Feb. 4, 2025.

Billions invested in AI, data centers at Saudi's LEAP summit: What to know

The four-day event saw billions of dollars worth of investment poured into artificial intelligence projects — many of them in Saudi Arabia.

UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan (L) and French President Emmanuel Macron talk as they attend an agreement signing ceremony as part of Zayed al-Nahyan's visit to France at the presidential Elysee palace in Paris, on Feb. 6, 2025.

After Rafale jets, UAE's MBZ inks $50B AI deal with France in landmark visit

Only a week after the delivery of the first batch of Rafale F4 fighter jets to Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates will invest billions of dollars in a new AI center in France.

United Arab Emirates

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman

Amid DeepSeek competition, Altman visits UAE seeking OpenAI investment

Gulf investors are betting big on AI, with sovereign wealth funds in the UAE and Saudi Arabia making the booming tech sector a core component of their portfolios.

United Arab Emirates

Analysis

China’s DeepSeek triumph sparks billion-dollar AI dilemmas for Gulf investors

Middle Eastern countries could benefit from new cost-effective AI systems such as those created by DeepSeek in lieu of US AI companies.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

President-elect Donald Trump listens as DAMAC Properties CEO Hussain Sajwani speaks to members of the media during a press conference at the Mar-a-Lago Club on Jan. 7, 2025 in Palm Beach, Florida.

UAE’s Damac founder praises Trump after $20B US data center pledge

Joining Trump for a rally in Florida on Tuesday, Sajwani, the president-elect’s self-styled right-hand man in the Middle East, announced that his company would invest at least $20 billion in new US data centers from Arizona to Ohio.

United Arab Emirates