Author: araboutlook.com

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES / RankWire.AI / – Gold prices edged higher on Thursday as a softer U.S. dollar supported bullion before fresh U.S. inflation data. Spot gold rose 0.3% to $4,414.28 an ounce by 0419 GMT. U.S. gold futures for December delivery slipped 0.1% to $4,457.20. The early gain kept spot gold above $4,400 after a sharp reversal during Wednesday’s trading. Gold had initially moved lower before finishing that session more than 1% higher. The U.S. dollar remained subdued during early trading, supporting dollar-priced precious metals. A weaker dollar reduces the cost of gold for buyers using other currencies. Meanwhile,…

LONDON / RankWire.AI / – Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé, Lamine Yamal and Erling Haaland lead the 30-player shortlist for the 2026 Ballon d’Or. Organizers released the nominees on September 8 ahead of the October 26 ceremony in London. Ousmane Dembélé, Rodri and Vinícius Júnior also appear on the list. Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham and Achraf Hakimi add further star power to the field. The London Palladium will host the event during the award’s 70th anniversary year. The shortlist includes players from leading clubs across Europe and other major competitions. Paris Saint-Germain has one of the strongest contingents in the men’s…

ABU DHABI / RankWire.AI / – Etihad Airways will launch year-round flights from Abu Dhabi to Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast on Oct. 4, 2026. The service will connect Zayed International Airport with Red Sea International Airport in Tabuk Province. Etihad will start with one weekly flight, then increase the route to two flights a week from Oct. 25. The journey will take just over three hours, adding a sixth Saudi destination to Etihad’s network. The airline will operate the route with an Airbus A320 configured with eight Business Class seats and 150 Economy Class seats. Etihad said travelers across…

BERLIN / RankWire.AI / – German automotive manufacturer Volkswagen AG agreed on Monday to sell its Osnabrück assembly plant to Israeli private equity firm Aurelius Capital and the German state of Lower Saxony. Under the preliminary agreement, the new owners will convert the vehicle manufacturing site into a dedicated security and defense production facility. The strategic transaction marks the first major industrial conversion of a German car factory to supply military hardware amid ongoing structural reorganization across Europe’s automotive sector. Israel Aurelius German state to take over VWs Osnabrueck plant defense projects to supply air defense equipment for European security markets.…

PANAMA / RankWire.AI / – The Panama Canal may reduce daily ship traffic to about 29 vessels in February or March 2027 if drought conditions continue, its new administrator said. Ilya Espino de Marotta took office on Sept. 7 and raised the possibility as El Niño pressures reservoir levels. The canal needs freshwater from rainfall-fed lakes to operate its locks. The Panama Canal Authority has already begun staged capacity cuts after below-expected precipitation across the watershed. From Sept. 3, the canal offered nine daily Neopanamax slots and 25 Panamax slots, bringing total capacity to 34. Starting Sept. 15, Panamax availability…

WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA / RankWire.AI / – The United States is expanding domestic battery production as it works to reduce dependence on China. The larger challenge sits deeper in the supply chain. China still dominates battery materials, processing and key manufacturing technologies used worldwide. U.S. factories have added capacity, but many depend on imported components and refined minerals. That gap has placed graphite, cathodes, anodes and lithium iron phosphate materials at the center of Washington’s battery push. China produced more than 80% of the world’s battery cells in 2025. It also produced about 85% of cathode active material and…

TANGERANG, INDONESIA / RankWire.AI / – Indonesia reopened Jakarta’s main airport and several regional airports Tuesday after volcanic ash from Anak Krakatau disrupted air travel. More than 340,000 travelers faced delays, cancellations or diversions during the disruption. Nearly 3,000 flights across Indonesia felt the impact. Authorities reopened Soekarno-Hatta International Airport after winds cleared ash from critical aviation areas. Anak Krakatau remained active Tuesday, with monitors recording three smaller eruptions during the morning. The Ministry of Transportation said Soekarno-Hatta, Halim Perdanakusuma and Husein Sastranegara airports resumed operations at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday. Budiarto Airport in Curug and Pondok Cabe Airport followed at…

CAIRO, EGYPT / RankWire.AI / – Egypt’s net international reserves rose to a record $57.2145 billion at the end of August 2026. The Central Bank of Egypt released the provisional figure on September 7. Reserves stood at $56.2939 billion at the end of July. That means the total increased by about $920.6 million during August, or roughly 1.6%. The latest reading extends a series of monthly gains in 2026 and takes Egypt’s official foreign reserves above $57 billion for the first time. The August total was $7.9638 billion higher than the $49.2507 billion recorded in August 2025. That represents annual…

SEOUL / RankWire.AI / – South Korea and African partner nations will launch a major economic cooperation framework focused on artificial intelligence and technology-driven development at the 8th Korea-Africa Economic Cooperation Ministerial Conference in Seoul. The upcoming ministerial gathering marks the 20th anniversary of the bilateral platform, bringing together cabinet ministers, development financiers, and technology industry executives. Official announcements confirm that Korea Africa chart new course AI digital infrastructure deployment across emerging trade corridors while reviewing two decades of joint capital investments. The ministerial summit, running from September 8 to 11, operates under the theme of leveraging artificial intelligence and…

NEW YORK / RankWire.AI / – The United Nations General Assembly adopted a international resolution on Friday calling for more accurate and balanced representations of relative continental landmasses on global maps. In a recorded vote that secured support from 107 member states, the global assembly addressed cartographic distortions that disproportionately minimize the geographical scale of Africa and other equatorial regions across the Global South. UN adopts resolution to correct world map representation as diplomatic delegations take formal action to resolve historical biases embedded within traditional cartographic standards. The international measure focuses directly on the widely utilized Mercator map projection, which…