Author: arabcolumnist.com
WASHINGTON, December 4, 2025: The World Bank has projected that the United Arab Emirates’ economy will expand by 4.8 percent in 2025, driven by balanced growth across both oil and non-oil sectors. The forecast was released in the Gulf Economic Update (GEU) Fall 2025 report titled “The Gulf’s Digital Transformation: A Powerful Engine for Economic Diversification.” The report confirmed that the UAE continues to record broad-based growth supported by its diversified economic structure and resilience to global fluctuations. Innovation and investment power the UAE’s economic expansion. It said that real GDP growth of 4.8 percent reflects the country’s success in developing a dynamic export base and advancing…
NEW YORK, Dec 3, 2025: Starbucks has agreed to pay $38.9 million to settle claims by New York City regulators that it violated worker protection laws by failing to provide predictable scheduling and stable hours for thousands of baristas across the city. The agreement, announced by Mayor Eric Adams and the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP), represents the largest worker protection settlement in the city’s history. The settlement concludes a three-year investigation that found Starbucks committed more than 500,000 violations of the city’s Fair Workweek Law at more than 300 locations. The law, enacted in 2017, requires fast-food employers to provide predictable…
SHANGHAI, December 3, 2025: Tesla reported a 9.9 percent year-on-year increase in sales of its China-made electric vehicles (EVs) in November, marking the company’s strongest growth in more than a year, according to data released by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA). The U.S. automaker sold 86,700 vehicles produced at its Shanghai Gigafactory during the month, covering both domestic deliveries and exports. The figure represents a sharp recovery from October, when Tesla’s China-made vehicle sales fell to 61,497 units, down 9.9 percent from the same period a year earlier. Tesla manufacturing performance reflects stable recovery in EV market momentum. (Credit – Tesla) November’s…
STANFORD, California, December 2, 2025: Researchers at Stanford Medicine have reported a significant advance in the treatment of Type 1 diabetes, demonstrating a complete reversal of the disease in laboratory mice through an immune system reset and transplantation of donor cells. The findings, announced by Stanford University School of Medicine in late November, describe how scientists successfully combined two established medical procedures blood-forming stem cell transplantation and pancreatic islet cell transplantation to restore normal insulin production in diabetic mice. The approach effectively stopped the animals’ immune systems from attacking the insulin-producing cells that are normally destroyed in Type 1 diabetes. In…
LUGANO, Switzerland, November 29, 2025: Tattoo ink can migrate through the body, damage immune cells, and alter vaccine responses, according to new research from scientists at the Università della Svizzera italiana (USI). The study, conducted using laboratory models, provides the clearest evidence to date that tattoo pigments do not remain confined to the skin but instead travel through the lymphatic system, potentially affecting immune function. Researchers found that after tattooing, ink pigments rapidly drain from the skin into nearby lymph nodes. Within minutes, microscopic pigment particles were detected in the nodes, and concentrations continued to rise over several weeks. The pigments were primarily…
SANTA CLARA, California, November 21, 2025: Nvidia Corporation’s stock fell sharply on Thursday despite the company reporting another record quarter that exceeded Wall Street’s expectations. The decline came as analysts cautioned that the semiconductor leader’s exceptional growth may be approaching a natural slowdown, even as demand for artificial intelligence hardware remains historically high. The company reported quarterly revenue of approximately 57 billion dollars, surpassing analysts’ forecasts and marking a year-over-year increase of more than 70 percent. Net income rose sharply on strong sales from Nvidia’s data-center segment, which accounted for about 51 billion dollars of total revenue. The company also projected fourth-quarter sales near 65 billion dollars,…
WASHINGTON, November 19, 2025: The United States has approved the sale of F-35 Lightning II fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, marking a significant shift in American defense exports and signaling closer strategic ties between Washington and Riyadh. President Donald Trump confirmed the decision this week following months of discussions with U.S. defense officials and Saudi representatives. The proposed sale includes up to 48 F-35A aircraft, the conventional takeoff and landing variant used by the U.S. Air Force, along with a package of maintenance support, weapons systems, and pilot training. The agreement forms part of a broader U.S.-Saudi Strategic Defense Framework that also includes the planned…
Sharjah, United Arab Emirates: The Sharjah International Book Fair 2025 marked a defining cultural highlight with the debut of Marwa and Mervat and the Snake, a handwritten children’s book by acclaimed Emirati storyteller Heba Al Mansoori, widely known as “Al-Haka’ah.” The title, launched on Saturday, drew enthusiastic praise from readers and strong interest from parents, educators, and literary critics attending one of the region’s most significant annual book events. Published by Erteqaa Publishing, Marwa and Mervat and the Snake delivers a story that balances simplicity with profound themes of identity, patriotism, and belonging Written entirely in Al Mansoori’s own hand and complemented by vivid, expressive…
SEOUL, November 17, 2025: Samsung Group announced on Sunday that it will invest $310 billion over the next five years to expand its technology capacity, with a focus on artificial intelligence and advanced semiconductors. The South Korean conglomerate said the investment aims to meet the growing global demand for high-performance chips that support AI-driven systems. The company confirmed that a significant portion of the funding will be used to construct a new semiconductor manufacturing facility, Pyeongtaek Plant 5, within its existing chip complex in Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul. The plant is being developed to address increasing demand in memory-chip production and to enhance the…
MANILA, November 6, 2025: President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. declared a state of emergency across the Philippines on Thursday after Typhoon Kalmaegi killed at least 114 people and left 127 others missing, making it the country’s deadliest natural disaster this year. The government said the storm caused widespread flooding, landslides, and infrastructure damage across several central provinces, with Cebu among the hardest hit. The Office of Civil Defence reported that most of the fatalities occurred in Cebu, where rivers and waterways overflowed after continuous torrential rains inundated low-lying communities. Many victims drowned in flash floods that struck as the typhoon made landfall on Tuesday, prompting large-scale evacuations and…