News Bites

In This Issue

Today’s issue will take around 7 minutes to read 🤓

Economy

• Money might be tight around the world, but not in Saudi Arabia! The Kingdom is set to move forward with $5 Billion worth of investments in Pakistan ASAP!!! Areas of investment include agriculture, technology and aviation (p.s. Pakistan International Airlines recently abandoned like 50 passengers in Jeddah cuz they didn’t realize their plane wasn’t big enough for them #sendhelp) ✈️

• According to PwC only 40% of women who take an extended break in Saudi Arabia will return to work. Certain social factors seem to be a prevalent reason why it becomes difficult to work again. One main reason for returning to work is the need for financial independence #GIRLBOSS 👩🏿‍💼

• The UAE is on a rollllllll. The World Bank revised its earlier projection of 3.7% GDP growth for 2024 to 3.9%. Investors from around the world are flocking to the region— and the booming real estate market is proof of this! 📈

Real Estate

• Dubai sold a STAGGERING 105 homes above the $10 million USD mark for the first three months of 2024. Do the math, and that’s over 1 billion USD worth of transactions on 105 homes!!! #UAEcribs 🏠

• The Middle East is taking centre stage at this year’s MIPIM - one of the world’s leading real estate exhibitions held in Cannes, France. BILLION DOLLAR real estate projects for countries like Oman, UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia will be sold there 🤑🤑🤑

• Toronto-based asset management company, Brookfield, sold 49% of its stake in its swanky mixed property development in Dubai’s International Financial Centre to a Saudi conglomerate 💸 They’re keeping a 51% equity stake split with Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD) in the property. With news like this, we foresee tons of other international parties showing more interest in the region (can we get some of that attention, too, pls kthxbai) 👀

Arts and Culture

• We weren’t at Coachella 😢 but Saint Levant was 🎤 The French-Algerian-Moroccan-Palestinian (yep, he’s the original Middle Eastern potpourri) musician used his stage to talk about the war on Palestine. Read more about it HERE

• You’ve heard of a lil’ something called Sotheby’s right (just your average super fancy auction house for all things artsy) - well they’ve got some Saudi artists on the roster for their giant sale going on till April 25th! Check out the beautifully crafted pieces HERE 🎨

• Violence against Asians in the UK has had a deep-rooted history - and Riz Ahmed is here to shed a light on it. He’s produced a new doc under his Left Handed Films banner: Fighting the Far Right. It’s releasing this month— be sure to watch it! 🎥

Technology

• Hold onto your screens, because Microsoft just pumped a cool $1.5 billion into G42, a hotshot AI company hailing from the UAE. And guess what? They're not just throwing money around; they're teaming up to take the AI game to the next level! G42 is set to unleash its AI magic onto Microsoft Azure, bringing cutting-edge solutions to companies worldwide. What’s cooler is that it isn’t about tech; it’s about safety AND responsibility #adulting 🦾

• You already heard about the rains; well if you thought it was cloud seeding and all that fancy jazz, you MAY be wrong 👀 the UAE got hit hard by heavy rains, and pointing the finger towards a storm/climate change could be a wake-up call. Are we taking action?? Or, shall we assume Rolls Royce will be selling yachts in this part of the world soon? Maybe we hail a #CareemBoat

P.S. it was argued that cloud seeding isn’t tech news; what do you think?

✨ akhbaar Spotlight ✨

Valedictorian of a prestigious top university (USC) - she’d make any brown parent proud 🥲 (we’re not jealous…) BUT the good news turned sour when Asna was told she could no longer give a valedictorian speech at her grad because of “safety” concerns. USC told the biomed major nothing more after Pro-Israel groups complained about her “anti-Israel” social media stance. What happened to free speech, friends? Here’s to hoping Asna can take the stage and mic on her big day!! #LetAsnaSpeak

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