Business
NEW DELHI: India’s Union Cabinet has approved a new state-backed venture capital initiative, clearing the Startup India Fund of Funds 2.0 with a corpus of ₹10,000 crore (about $1.1 billion) to mobilize venture capital for the country’s startup ecosystem, the government said in a statement issued Feb. 14. The program, launched under the Startup India initiative, sets out a segmented funding approach…
SHARJAH: Air Arabia (PJSC) reported a record AED 1.8 billion net profit before tax for 2025 and said its board has proposed a cash dividend of 30 fils per share, subject to shareholder approval. The Sharjah-headquartered low-cost airline said the results cover the year ended Dec. 31, 2025, and marked its strongest annual financial and operational performance to date.…
CryptoWire, ABU DHABI: The Central Bank of the UAE has approved the launch of a UAE dirham-backed stablecoin called DDSC, enabling it to go live on ADI Chain, the companies behind the project said on February 11, 2026. The approval adds another regulated digital payment instrument to the UAE’s expanding financial technology ecosystem, with the sponsors positioning DDSC for institutional-grade payments and…
EuroWire, PETROPAVLOVSK-KAMCHATSKY: The 6th Sustainable Development Forum is scheduled to be held in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky from Feb. 17 to Feb. 21, bringing together government officials, business representatives and industry specialists for a multi day program focused on regional development in Kamchatka Krai and the wider Russian Far East. Organizers describe the forum as an interregional platform covering multiple sectors, with the Government…
BEIJING: China’s rapid shift to electric vehicles is reshaping the world’s largest auto market and dulling growth in the transport fuel demand that once underpinned its appetite for imported crude, including heavy oil from Venezuela. The International Energy Agency said China sold over 11 million electric cars in 2024, with electric models accounting for almost half of all car sales,…
MENA Newswire, SEOUL: South Korea’s consumer inflation eased to 2.0% in January from 2.3% in December, as measured by the consumer price index, government data released Tuesday showed. The CPI, with 2020 set to 100, rose to 118.03 in January. On a month-to-month basis, prices increased 0.4%, following a 0.3% rise in December. The CPI report, published by the Ministry of Data…
Sports
Brazil has officially qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup following a 1-0 victory over Paraguay in a South American qualifier held at the Neo Química Arena in São Paulo. The win, witnessed by over 45,000 fans in cool winter conditions, confirms Brazil’s place in the tournament, which will be jointly…
The Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) has confirmed the global calendar for its major world championships in 2026, reinforcing the Middle East’s role as a key destination for international motorsport. The announcements were made during the FIA World Motor Sport Council meeting in Macau, led by FIA President…
The Abu Dhabi Team for Powerboat Racing has set a new world record in the Pavia–Venice race, the world’s longest river powerboat competition, marking a significant achievement in the history of marine sports. Veteran Italian driver Guido Cappellini, representing the team, piloted the vessel to the record-breaking finish on Tuesday.…
Mohamed Salah has been named the Football Writers’ Association (FWA) Footballer of the Year for 2025, marking the third time the Liverpool forward has received the prestigious individual honor. The Egyptian international now equals the record held by former Arsenal striker Thierry Henry for the most wins of the…
PSL faces low engagement and international obscurity while the IPL grows as a billion-dollar sports entity.
Japan has secured its place as the first team to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, following a 2-0 victory over Bahrain at Saitama Stadium on Thursday. Goals from Daichi Kamada and Takefusa Kubo in the second half ensured the Samurai Blue maintained their dominance in Group C of Asia’s qualification preliminaries. Kamada,…