Saudi Awwal Bank (SAB), one of the leading banks in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, has been recognized with global and regional honors by Global Finance as part of its Innovators Awards 2026, reaffirming the bank’s leadership in financial innovation. As part of Global Finance’s thirteenth annual Innovators Awards program, recognizing entities that regularly identify new paths and design new tools in finance, SAB was awarded the Top Global Financial Innovation award for the world’s first Tokenized Islamic Repo experiment, a Shariah-compliant repo transaction on blockchain. SAB was also recognized among the Top Financial Innovations in the Middle East for…
Author: Editorial Team
RIYADH — Deputy Foreign Minister Waleed El-Khereiji reaffirmed Saudi Arabia’s longstanding commitment to assisting those affected by crises and providing humanitarian relief worldwide without discrimination during a seminar marking World Refugee Day. The seminar, organized by the Prince Saud Al Faisal Institute for Diplomatic Studies on Sunday, highlighted the Kingdom’s continued humanitarian, political, and economic role, which El-Khereiji said is rooted in the principles of moderation and responsibility. He stated that the Kingdom’s position on refugee issues at the international level is clear, explaining that “it is based on intensifying efforts to resolve conflicts and address crises at their roots…
MADRID —Spain’s Supreme Court on Monday sentenced former Transport Minister Jose Luis Abalos, a close ally of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, to 24 years in prison for corruption, marking the first verdict in a series of scandals affecting the ruling Socialist Party. Abalos was convicted of offenses including criminal organization, bribery, embezzlement and influence peddling, linked to the rigging of public contracts for medical supplies such as face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic, when he was in office. The court also sentenced his former aide Koldo García to 19 years in prison and businessman Víctor de Aldama to four and…
Saudi Awwal Bank (SAB), one of the leading banks in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, has been recognized with global and regional honors by Global Finance as part of its Innovators Awards 2026, reaffirming the bank’s leadership in financial innovation. As part of Global Finance’s thirteenth annual Innovators Awards program, recognizing entities that regularly identify new paths and design new tools in finance, SAB was awarded the Top Global Financial Innovation award for the world’s first Tokenized Islamic Repo experiment, a Shariah-compliant repo transaction on blockchain. SAB was also recognized among the Top Financial Innovations in the Middle East for…
VMO2 and VodafoneThree are reportedly implementing technology designed to disable smartphones stolen from their retail stores. This move marks a concentrated effort from UK operators to tackle organised device theft and curb their resale. Sources told the Financial Times (FT) once a handset reported stolen from a store is switched on, it is added to a manufacturer-operated database which automatically disables it. However, the technology only applies to unsold devices as operators cannot disable phones after ownership has transferred to the customer. The move aims to reduce the resale value of stolen handsets following a string of organised retail thefts…
PARIS — France has issued red heatwave alerts for around half the country including Paris for Monday as a heatwave pushes temperatures toward record levels. A heat wave gripping western Europe is forecast to strengthen this week, with days of dangerously hot and humid conditions and record-breaking temperatures in France, the UK, Spain and Germany. The heat — driven by a high-pressure heat dome and supported by a developing El Niño — has caused widespread disruptions, with school closures in France and a World Cup viewing party canceled in Spain. Highs of more than 40C (104F) are expected across parts…
SV3 didn’t start with a mood board. He started with a blueprint. And spent a decade building what Gulf fashion was missing before Street Visionaries ever hit the floor Published: Mon 22 Jun 2026, 2:47 PM Samuel III Verzosa – SV3 – spent a decade inside the architecture of fashion before the Street Visionaries founder ever put his name on it. It wasn’t just the aesthetic. The actual structure: manufacturing, sourcing, product development, and the margin discipline that separates brands that endure from those that simply launch. Aviation was the first ambition. Architecture was the degree SV3 completed. Street Visionaries…
RIYADH — Saudi Arabia produces over 620,000 tons of watermelon annually, making it the country’s top-produced fruit with peak demand in the summer. The Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture explained that the highly valued fruit — due to its refreshing taste and rich nutritional content — is widely cultivated across several regions, including Riyadh, Makkah, Eastern Region, Al-Jouf, Al-Baha, Madinah, Qassim, Tabuk, Hail, Aseer, and Jazan. This cultivation helps meet local market demand in the summer. Other than being an important raw material for the food-processing industry, the watermelon adapts well to different climatic conditions and is produced in…
RIYADH — Saudi Arabia’s industrial production rose 5.1 percent in 2025, driven by a 10 percent surge in environmental and water-related activities, according to the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT). The increase marks a reversal of the declines recorded in 2023 and 2024, according to GASTAT’s annual Industrial Production Index (IPI) report. Water supply, sewerage, waste management, and remediation activities recorded the strongest growth among all industrial sectors, rising by 10.0 percent year-on-year. Mining and quarrying activity increased by 5.8 percent, while oil activities grew by 5.4 percent and non-oil activities expanded by 4.3 percent. Within manufacturing, chemical products emerged…
LONDON — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer resigned on Monday, paving the way for the United Kingdom to have its seventh prime minister in just over a decade. He said he was stepping down as leader of the governing Labour Party but will remain caretaker prime minister until a new Labour leader is chosen by the party. Andy Burnham, who won a special parliamentary election last week, is the front-runner to replace Starmer as Labour leader. Starmer won a landslide victory at a general election in 2024, but a series of missteps badly damaged his credibility. “Walking up this street…