Who is Handala, the hacktivist group US ties to Iranian intelligence? Handala Hack Team portrays itself as a pro-Palestinian group but is widely believed to be linked to Iranian intelligence. Iran
Iran names US tech, finance firms in new Middle East threat list Firms listed as potential targets included Oracle, Microsoft, Apple, Google, Meta, IBM, Palantir and Nvidia, while banking giant JPMorgan and UAE-based AI firm G42 were also listed. Iran
Gulf AI deals continues to lure investors despite US-Iran war Blackstone committed $250 million to a payment infrastructure platform in Abu Dhabi as the US investment firm's president lauded the UAE's strong investment credentials despite the conflict. Saudi Arabia
Analysis Iran’s longest-ever internet blackout leaves 99% offline: What to know Facing a historic internet blackout, Iranians are locked in a struggle with authorities to find loopholes to get around this communications crackdown, leading to "shutdowns within a shutdown." By Samuel Wendel In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech
Analysis India's Modi arrives in Israel as fears grow of US-Iran conflict By Rina Bassist In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs
Saudi firms face 6.7% higher Twitter verification fees than US Syria, Sudan, Iran, the West Bank and Gaza Strip are not on the price list and appear to be unable to purchase this subscription. Legacy: Gulf
Report: Israel tech sector still among world’s strongest Judicial fallout and layoffs have not hurt the industry's world standing, according to a report from Dealroom.co and Tel Aviv Tech. Israel
UAE, India to boost cooperation via digital currency The Emirati Central Bank has begun implementing its digital dirham strategy following a financial cooperation agreement with India and the UAE's cryptocurrency push. Legacy: Gulf
Elon Musk denies report that Saudi Arabia, UAE intend to invest in SpaceX An arm of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and an Abu Dhabi-based company were reported to be looking to invest in Elon Musk’s SpaceX, according to The Information, which cited people familiar with investor discussions. Legacy: Gulf
UAE, Oman call for bids on $3 billion transnational railway project The move aims to expand the role of the private sector in the state-owned project and promote regional integration, with the project connecting Oman’s Sohar Port with the UAE's National Rail Network. Legacy: Gulf
UAE center unveils Falcon LLM, 'better, faster' ChatGPT rival The model claims to use only 75 percent of GPT-3’s training compute time, and 40 and 80 percent of DeepMind’s Chinchilla NLP and Google’s PaLM-62B compute times, respectively. Legacy: Gulf
UAE unblocks several Qatar news sites as ties between two nations warm Several Qatari-owned news websites had been inaccessible to UAE residents since relations worsened in 2016 over Doha's support for the Muslim Brotherhood, but at least four are now unblocked. Legacy: Gulf
Turkey fines Elon Musk over Twitter purchase The decision follows the implementation of a controversial social media law in Turkey that prompted Twitter to open an office in the country. Turkey
UAE sends second astronaut to space on longest Arab mission Sultan Saif AlNeyadi will collaborate with NASA and other international space agencies to conduct 19 scientific studies in a wide array of fields. Legacy: Gulf
UAE, Egypt, Jordan, Bahrain sign 12 industrial agreements worth $2 billion The third Higher Committee Meeting of the Industrial Partnership for Sustainable Economic Development wrapped up in Amman with 12 new agreements on industrial projects. Legacy: Gulf
New rail network on track to bring billions into UAE economy The railway will serve the UAE’s sustainability goals by reducing carbon emissions in the road transportation sector. Legacy: Gulf
UAE's IDEX weapons fair brings in Russia, China, and billion-dollar deals The United Arab Emirates’ defense expenditure amounted to $22.5 billion last year and is expected to reach $28.6 billion by 2027. Legacy: Gulf
