Dubai, United Arab Emirates | AFP | Saudi oil giant Aramco has raised $25.6 billion in the world’s biggest initial public offering, sources told AFP. The oil-rich kingdom has put a value of $1.7 trillion on Aramco as it prepares to sell 1.5 percent of the company to fund its “Vision …
Read More »Don’t let able-bodied people leave for Middle East jobs –Experts
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The movement of able-bodied people from their countries for odd jobs in the Gulf States of Saudi Arabia, Oman, United Arab Emirates, and Qatar should be a cause for worry among African states. Hilda Namakula, a researcher from Makerere University says that Chinese and …
Read More »Another Ugandan shares the agony of exploitation in Saudi Arabia
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Another Ugandan woman who had travelled to Saudi Arabia to work as a housemaid is nursing life-threatening injuries sustained during the time of her employment in the Gulf. The victim, who requested anonymity, travelled to Saudi Arabia on a two-year contract, effective last year, …
Read More »Putin talks investments and space in Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates | AFP | Russian President Vladimir Putin signed deals worth over $1.3 billion with the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday, wrapping up a tour of the Gulf where he also courted investment in Saudi Arabia. A day after inking a major oil cooperation deal with Riyadh, …
Read More »Nicki Minaj cancels Saudi concert over women’s rights concerns
Los Angeles, United States | AFP | Nicki Minaj has canceled a performance in Saudi Arabia in a show of support for women’s and gay rights in the ultra-conservative kingdom, the US rapper said Tuesday. Minaj’s scheduled appearance in the western city of Jeddah next week as part of a cultural festival had triggered a …
Read More »Saudi gentrifies Shiite old quarter after crushing revolt
Awamiya, Saudi Arabia | AFP | Strip malls and palm-dotted boulevards stand in the once bullet-scarred old quarter of Awamiya, a Shiite-majority town on Saudi Arabia’s oil-rich eastern coast where the long-planned facelift fuelled deadly clashes. Until a year ago, Musawara neighbourhood resembled a war zone following skirmishes between militants …
Read More »Governments ponder what to do with returning jihadists
Paris, France | AFP | The imminent fall of the Islamic State’s caliphate in Iraq and Syria has left many countries grappling with what to do with jihadists who want to return. Several hundred foreign jihadists are being detained by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the main fighters on the …
Read More »Saudi Arabia hopes to lure over $425 bln in investments
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | AFP | Saudi Arabia on Monday launched an ambitious programme which it hopes will attract $427 billion in investments in the industrial and logistics sectors, as the OPEC kingpin bids to reduce dependence on oil. To kickstart the 12-year programme, the Gulf state announced the signing …
Read More »From Twitter to hotels, Saudi’s sprawling business interests
Paris, France | AFP | Saudi Arabia’s global investment reach is impressive, stretching from stakes in Twitter and Uber to AccorHotels and Virgin Galactic — but the Khashoggi affair has thrown a harsh spotlight on its economic footprint. The following is a synopsis of the Kingdom’s investment portfolio. A 2017 …
Read More »Mukwaya warns of threat of youth unemployment at Islamic Conference of Labour Ministers
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Uganda’s Minister of Gender, Labour and Social Development Janat Mukwaya has called on the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to visit Uganda and study youth and women programmes that can be adopted by member states. Speaking at the 4th Session of the Islamic Conference of …
Read More »
The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price