DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Only the U.S. has the ability to break the cycle of violence in Gaza, Egyptian foreign minister says
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-29 | by ( Emma Graham | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry called on the U.S. to leverage its influence over Israel to prevent further bloodshed in Gaza. Speaking to CNBC's Dan Murphy on Sunday at a World Economic Forum meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, he said "only the United States has the overall ability to influence conditions, and to motivate all sides concerned to find the point of convergence, and to be able to break the cycle of violence." His words echoed other Arab leaders at the WEF meeting who believe that ending the war in Gaza falls on the United States. Shoukry pushed Washington to "leverage their ability to provide incentives, but also to indicate consequences for the lack of achievement or the lack of progress in the cessation of hostilities." Hamas is reportedly reviewing Israel's latest Gaza cease-fire proposal and a delegation from the group is scheduled to visit Cairo on Monday for talks, according to a Hamas official who spoke to Reuters.

Persons: Sameh Shoukry, CNBC's Dan Murphy, Shoukry Organizations: Egypt's, Reuters Locations: Israel, Gaza, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, United States, Washington, Cairo

DUBAI — One of the world's busiest airports temporarily halted operations as the United Arab Emirates experienced its heaviest rainfall on record. The airport said road blockages and flooding have prevented many passengers from reaching the airport for departing flights. Fly Dubai, a budget carrier owned by the government of Dubai, suspended all flights from the UAE hub until 10 a.m. local time on April 17, citing extreme weather. The UAE saw over 100 mm of rain, a 75 year record since the UAE began recording rainfall. It also advised people to take preventative measures to avoid property damage from heavy rain and hailstorms.

Organizations: United Arab Emirates, Dubai's, CNBC, Emirates, National, of Meteorology, Disaster Authority Locations: DUBAI, Dubai, UAE, Al Ain

☆ Social media firms reject ‘shadow banning’ allegations on Palestinian-related content
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-06 | by ( Emma Graham | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Social media firms have responded to allegations of "shadow banning" their users for Palestinian-related content amid the conflict in Gaza, saying that the implication that Big Tech "deliberately and systemically suppress a particular voice" is false. They have been accused of blocking certain content or users from their online communities since the onset of the war between Israel and Hamas which started in October. Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan, for example, criticized major platforms for allegedly limiting Palestinian-related content about the war. Yet, it is hard for users to trust platforms that control their content from the shadows, based on vague standards," Queen Rania told the Web Summit in Doha. Hussein Freijeh, the vice president of MENA for Snapchat, told CNBC's Dan Murphy at Web Summit Qatar last week that these firms have "a really important role to play in the region."

Persons: Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan, Queen Rania, Hussein Freijeh, CNBC's Dan Murphy, Freijeh, Israel Organizations: Tech, Hamas, Human Rights, Snapchat, Web Summit Qatar, Meta, Facebook, Journalists Locations: Gaza, Israel, Doha, Palestine

☆ Iran-backed Hezbollah joining Israel-Hamas conflict would be a 'game changer'
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-13 | by ( Emma Graham | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Supporters of Lebanon's Hezbollah party parade to mark the last day of Ashura ceremony in Beirut. Aziz TaherAn exchange of fire between Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and the armed forces in northern Israel signal that the conflict in Gaza could spread regionally. Political party and paramilitary groupHezbollah operates as both a political party and paramilitary group and is designated by the U.S. as a terrorist organization. It holds a great deal of power in Lebanon in the form of its Shiite political party, which holds 62 seats in the country's Parliament, alongside its Iran-backed proxy militant unit. Hezbollah "do have to take into consideration public opinion in Lebanon," Maksad told CNBC.

Persons: Aziz Taher, Joseph Daher, Daher, Benjamin, Israel, Hezbollah's, Naim Qassem, Bashar Assad, Maksad Organizations: Hezbollah, Middle East Institute, CNBC, U.S, Party of God, Iran's Revolutionary Guard, doesn't, Lebanon's Party of God, Hilal, American University of Beirut, Reuters, United Nations Locations: Beirut, Israel, Gaza, Iran, Lebanon, country's, Israel's, Iraq, Yemen, Lebanese, Syria

☆ Lebanon's central bank chief steps down — and many blame him for the country's economic collapse
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( Emma Graham | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Riad Salameh's tenure as governor of Lebanon's central bank on Monday came to an end after 30 years, with many sharply critical of the legacy he now leaves behind. Lebanon has failed to find an official successor to Salameh, who has been governor of central bank since 1993 and has worked under 12 prime ministers and recurring political instability. Wassim Mansouri, the deputy governor of the central bank, told reporters that he will take the role on an interim basis. Lebanon's Rafik Hariri first became prime minister in 1992 and tapped Salameh to rebuild the country's post-war economy and banking sector. In 2022, the World Bank blamed the country's political elite for a "Ponzi Finance" scheme, saying the depression was "deliberate in the making over the past 30 years."

Persons: Riad, Nasser Saidi, CNBC's Dan Murphy, Salameh, Mansouri, Lebanon's Rafik Hariri Organizations: Liban, CNBC, World Bank Locations: Lebanon's, Banque, Lebanon

Drone footage shows clouds of black smoke over Bahri, also known as Khartoum North, Sudan, in this May 1, 2023 video obtained by REUTERSThe International Rescue Committee anticipates "a secondary humanitarian crisis" as refugees pour into neighboring countries escaping the escalating conflict in Sudan. Around 45 million people remain in Sudan, facing acute shortages of fuel, food, water and medical access. Multiple ceasefires have quickly dissolved into further violence, making it difficult for international bodies and NGOs to get humanitarian aid into the vast, sprawling country. According to the IRC, 30,000 refugees have crossed the border from the Darfur region in western Sudan into Chad since April 15. A further 15,000 have fled to South Sudan, many of whom are returnees that had previously fled their own country's conflict south of the border, while several thousand have also crossed into Ethiopia.

☆ Shares of family-owned UAE exchange Al Ansari Financial Services surge in Dubai trading debut
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Emma Graham | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Al Ansari Financial Services made its trading debut on the Dubai Financial Market Thursday. Shares surged over 17% for the family-owned remittances and money exchange firm, which marks the first IPO for Dubai this year. The Al Ansari family sold 750 million shares in the offering, which is equal to a 10% stake in the company. Al Ansari Financial Services' Group CEO Rashed Ali Al Ansari told CNBC's Dan Murphy the sheer size of the organization pushed the company to decide to list publicly. In 2021, Dubai announced a listing of 10 state entities which aims to double the size of the Emirate's capital market to $817 billion.

☆ 'Our movement is unstoppable': Exiled Belarusian opposition leader speaks out after receiving 15-year prison sentence
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Emma Graham | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the exiled opposition leader of Belarus, told CNBC she "wasn't surprised" by the court's verdict after she was handed a 15-year sentence in a prison camp. "It was predictable that Lukashenko would try to take revenge on me," Tsikhanouskaya told CNBC's Dan Murphy Tuesday after the verdict. Lukashenko's 2020 election victory, in which he claims to have won 80% of the vote, was called a "deeply flawed and fraudulent presidential election" by multiple western governments. The U.N. criticized Belarus "for police violence against peaceful protesters and journalists" following the "controversial presidential election." Tsikhanouskaya was forced into exile with her children a day after the 2020 vote.

☆ Uber-backed ride hailing app Careem is halting its operations in Qatar
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Emma Graham | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The Careem ride-hailing app on a phone outside the Mall of the Emirates in Dubai, United Arab Emirate. Uber-backed ride hailing service Careem announced on Tuesday an end to its operations in Qatar. While regulatory approvals in other countries were obtained, unfortunately, this did not happen in Qatar," Uber told CNBC. Careem told CNBC it "will no longer provide ride hailing services in the country as of 28 February 2023." Dubai-based Careem, which in other markets across the region offers its "Super App," initially ran a ride-only platform in Qatar, but launched food delivery in Qatar last February.

Search resuls for: "Emma Graham"

9 mentions found