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Arab News
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[l] at 3/22/25 6:03pm
MOSCOW : The Kremlin on Sunday downplayed expectations for a rapid resolution to the Ukraine conflict, saying talks were just beginning and that “difficult negotiations” were ahead. Delegations from Russia and Ukraine are set to hold separate talks with US officials in Saudi Arabia over the next 48 hours as President Donald Trump pushes for a rapid end to more than three years of fighting. “We are only at the beginning of this path,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian state TV.
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[l] at 3/22/25 6:03pm
RIYADH: The historic Al-Hosn Al-Asfal Mosque in the Asir region has been restored as part of a national project, the Saudi Press Agency reported. The second phase of the Prince Mohammed bin Salman Project for the Development of Historic Mosques aims to protect Islamic heritage and highlight traditional architectural styles. Built in 1760, Al-Hosn Al-Asfal Mosque was renovated to preserve its original design and geometric shape while restoring its sustainable features.
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[l] at 3/22/25 5:03pm
RIYADH: The fifth National Campaign for Charitable Work, hosted on the Ehsan platform during Ramadan, continues to attract significant donations, focusing on mosque enhancements and worship services. The campaign has funded more than 3,000 Umrah trips, built five mosques, maintained 46, and provided essential resources to 12, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Sunday. Donations can be made via ehsan.sa or the donor service center at 8001247000, the SPA added.
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[l] at 3/22/25 5:03pm
RIYADH: Members of Saudi Arabia’s Project Masam removed 552 explosive devices from various regions of Yemen last week. The total included 513 unexploded ordnances, 35 anti-tank mines and four explosive devices, according to a recent report. Ousama Al-Gosaibi, the initiative’s managing director, said a total of 485,501 mines had been cleared since its inception in 2018. The explosives were planted indiscriminately and posed a threat to civilians, including children, women and the elderly.
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[l] at 3/22/25 5:03pm
RIYADH: The net profits of public joint companies listed on the Muscat Stock Exchange surged 52.6 percent year on year to reach 1.339 billion Omani rials ($3.48 billion) in 2024. This increase coincided with the listing of OQ Exploration and Production and OQ Base Industries in 2024, while energy companies recorded improved performance, with some moving from losses to profits, the Oman News Agency reported. This falls in line with strong growth in Arab stock exchanges in 2024, where trading values surged 58.1 percent to surpass $1.03 trillion.
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[l] at 3/22/25 5:03pm
JEDDAH: Riyadh has unveiled new investment opportunities for 2025, covering commercial, residential, retail, industrial, and leisure projects to boost the city’s economy and development.  The Riyadh municipality introduced 20 new investment prospects, covering more than 175,000 sq. meters across over 20 sites. These include mixed-use developments, existing retail spaces, mobile sports clubs, and areas allocated for concrete and construction material factories — along with a cafe and ATM setup. 
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[l] at 3/22/25 5:03pm
RIYADH: The Transport General Authority fined more than 400 foreign trucks in several regions of the Kingdom between March 16 and 21 for regulatory offenses. The actions were part of the authority’s field campaigns on land transport activities aimed at enhancing compliance with regulations and laws, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Sunday. The authority reaffirmed its zero-tolerance policy, which imposes a SR10,000 ($2,666) fine and a 15-day impoundment for first-time offenders.
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[l] at 3/22/25 4:03pm
RIYADH: Global economic growth is expected to average around 3.1 percent in the next five years, below the pre-pandemic level of 3.7 percent, according to an International Monetary Fund official. Speaking at the China Development Forum in Beijing on March 23, Nigel Clarke, deputy managing director of the IMF, said that total factor productivity internationally, which measures the ability to create more outputs with the same inputs, has been growing at a slower pace since the 2008-09 global financial crisis.
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[l] at 3/22/25 4:03pm
DUBAI: With Eid Al-Fitr on the horizon, you may be planning to host friends and family to mark the festivities. Nahel Selo, creative director at Sedar Global, shares his décor tips. Tip 1: Make a good first impression
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[l] at 3/22/25 4:03pm
JERUSALEM: The Palestinian foreign ministry condemned on Sunday an Israeli decision to recognize more than a dozen new settlements in the occupied West Bank, upgrading existing neighborhoods to independent settlement status. The decision by Israel’s security cabinet was a show of “disregard for international legitimacy and its resolutions,” said a statement from the Palestinian Authority’s foreign ministry.
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[l] at 3/15/25 10:03pm
Russia and Ukraine continued aerial attacks on each other, inflicting injuries and damages, officials said early on Sunday, as the fate of a proposed ceasefire to the three-year-old war remained uncertain. Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday he supported in principle Washington’s proposal for a 30-day ceasefire with Ukraine but that his forces would fight on until several crucial conditions were worked out.
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[l] at 3/15/25 9:03pm
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia's grape production surpassed 122,000 tonnes in 2023, reflecting the growth of the local agricultural sector and its ability to meet a big portion of market demands, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported Saturday. The figure accounts for 66 percent of current market demand in the Kingdom, said the report, citing a statement by the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture, or MEWA. MEWA said more than 7.13 million grape plants, with more than 6.1 million bearing fruit. 
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[l] at 3/15/25 9:03pm
Letpanhla: A Myanmar junta airstrike on a village held by anti-coup fighters killed at least 12 people according to a local administrative official, who said the bombardment targeted civilian areas. Myanmar's military seized power in a 2021 coup which has plunged the country into a fractious civil war and analysts say the embattled junta is increasingly using air strikes to target civilians. The Friday afternoon strike hit the village of Letpanhla around 60 kilometres (40 miles) north of the country's second biggest city of Mandalay.
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[l] at 3/15/25 7:03pm
WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke on Saturday to discuss the next stage in talks on ending Moscow’s war against Ukraine. According to State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce, the top diplomats “agreed to continue working toward restoring communication between the United States and Russia.” The statement gave no details on when the next round of US-Russia talks, which are being hosted by Saudi Arabia, would begin.
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[l] at 3/15/25 7:03pm
KHARKHORIN, Mongolia: Over a year after a devastating winter wiped out virtually his entire sheep flock, herder Zandan Lkhamsuren is still reckoning with the damage wrought by Mongolia’s increasingly erratic extreme weather. The vast country is one of the most affected by climate change, by some counts warming three times faster than the global average. The link between rising temperatures and extreme weather — ranging from droughts and floods to heatwaves and cold snaps — is well-established. In Mongolia the effects are stark.
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[l] at 3/15/25 6:03pm
Al-Hilal won 2-0 at Al-Taawoun on Saturday to cut Al-Ittihad’s lead at the top of the Saudi Pro League back to four points.  Both Hilal and Taawoun had enjoyed success in Asian competitions during the week, and returned home to play out a hard-fought clash in Buraidah.  The champions' form in the league may have been patchy of late but they bounced back to return to winning ways with a strong performance. 
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[l] at 3/15/25 6:03pm
ADDIS ABABA: More than two years after a peace deal ended the devastating war in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, a power struggle within the once-dominant TPLF party has sparked fears of renewed conflict. Could these rising tensions lead to violence so soon after one of the century’s deadliest conflicts that killed an estimated 600,000 people?
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[l] at 3/15/25 5:03pm
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump’s administration on Saturday put journalists at Voice of America and other US-funded broadcasters on leave, abruptly freezing decades-old outlets long seen as critical to countering Russian and Chinese information offensives. Hundreds of staffers at VOA, Radio Free Asia, Radio Free Europe and other outlets received a weekend email saying they will be barred from their offices and should surrender press passes and office-issued equipment.
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[l] at 3/15/25 4:03pm
Authors: Stephen Macedo and Frances Lee The Covid pandemic quickly led to the greatest mobilization of emergency powers in human history. By early April 2020, half the world’s population were living under quarantine. People were told not to leave their homes; businesses were shuttered, employees laid off, and schools closed. The most devastating pandemic in a century and the policies adopted in response to it upended life as we knew it.
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[l] at 3/15/25 4:03pm
Violent tornadoes ripped through parts of the US, wiping out schools and toppling semitractor-trailers in several states, part of a monster storm that has killed at least 26 people as more severe weather was expected late Saturday. The number of fatalities increased after the Kansas Highway Patrol reported eight people died in a highway pileup caused by a dust storm in Sherman County Friday. At least 50 vehicles were involved.
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[l] at 3/9/25 10:03pm
MANILA: China should recognize that the Philippines is an independent and sovereign state whose actions and decisions are driven entirely by national interest and not at the direction of other countries, Manila’s foreign ministry said on Monday. The Philippines’ foreign ministry also said the “real issue is China’s refusal to abide by international law” and how its “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive behavior at sea” have affected Filipino communities.

As of 4/8/25 11:17am. Last new 3/23/25 8:14am.

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