Saudi Aramco says to offer shares worth over $10 billion on Saudi bourse

Saudi Aramco said on Thursday it plans to sell 1.545 billion shares worth more than $10 billion. (Aramco)
Saudi Aramco said on Thursday it plans to sell 1.545 billion shares worth more than $10 billion. (Aramco)
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Updated 30 May 2024
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Saudi Aramco says to offer shares worth over $10 billion on Saudi bourse

Saudi Aramco said on Thursday it plans to sell 1.545 billion shares worth more than $10 billion. (Aramco)
  • It is the firm’s second listing after an initial public offering in December 2019 that raised $25.6 billion

RIYADH: Saudi Aramco said on Thursday it plans to sell 1.545 billion shares worth more than $10 billion, one of the biggest such offerings in recent years.
In a statement posted to the Saudi stock exchange, Aramco announced a “secondary public offering of 1.545 billion shares,” with an expected price range between 26.70 and 29 Saudi riyals ($7 to $7.70).
The sale on the local bourse, which represents approximately 0.64 percent of the company’s issued shares, will commence on Sunday, Aramco said.
It is the firm’s second listing after an initial public offering in December 2019 that raised $25.6 billion, the biggest flotation in history.
Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest crude oil exporter and, before the announcement on Thursday, the government owned about 82 percent of its shares.


Netanyahu leaves for Washington looking to deepen ties with Trump

Netanyahu leaves for Washington looking to deepen ties with Trump
Updated 56 sec ago
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Netanyahu leaves for Washington looking to deepen ties with Trump

Netanyahu leaves for Washington looking to deepen ties with Trump
  • Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is the first foreign leader to visit Donald Trump since his inauguration last month
  • Netanyahu had strained relations with Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden and has not visited the White House since the end of 2022
JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepared to leave Israel on Sunday for a meeting with US President Donald Trump, looking to strengthen ties with Washington after tensions with the previous White House administration over the war in Gaza.
Netanyahu, the first foreign leader to visit Trump since his inauguration last month, leaves with the ceasefire in Gaza still holding and negotiations aimed at a second phase expected to begin this week.
“The decisions we made in the war have already changed the face of the Middle East,” he said at the airport before his departure.
“Our decisions and the courage of our soldiers have redrawn the map. But I believe that working closely with President Trump, we can redraw it even further and for the better.”
Netanyahu, who faces an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court over allegations of war crimes in Gaza, had strained relations with Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden and has not visited the White House since returning to office at the end of 2022.

Syria interim president to head to Saudi Arabia for first foreign visit

Syria interim president to head to Saudi Arabia for first foreign visit
Updated 1 min 17 sec ago
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Syria interim president to head to Saudi Arabia for first foreign visit

Syria interim president to head to Saudi Arabia for first foreign visit
  • Syria's President Sharaa to visit Saudi Arabia on Sunday in first foreign trip
  • The president will be accompanied by the country’s foreign minister, Asaad Hassan al-Shibani

DUBAI: Syria’s transitional President Ahmed al-Sharaa will visit Saudi Arabia on Sunday in his first foreign trip since he assumed power, Syrian state news agency Sana reported.

The president will be accompanied by the country’s foreign minister, Asaad Hassan al-Shibani. 

Al-Sharaa has been appointed Syria’s interim president, almost two months after his group helped topple Bashar al-Assad.

Last week, Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan has visited Damascus and said the kingdom was engaged in talks with Europe and the US to help lift economic sanctions imposed on Syria that had decimated its economy. 


Four paramilitary soldiers killed by firing, IED blast in northwest Pakistan— police 

Four paramilitary soldiers killed by firing, IED blast in northwest Pakistan— police 
Updated 22 min 51 sec ago
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Four paramilitary soldiers killed by firing, IED blast in northwest Pakistan— police 

Four paramilitary soldiers killed by firing, IED blast in northwest Pakistan— police 
  • Levies personnel were in Dera Ismail Khan district from Balochistan to retrieve stolen vehicle, say police official
  • Pakistan has suffered a surge in attacks in KP province since November 2022 after its truce with Pakistani Taliban ended 

PESHAWR: Four soldiers of the paramilitary Levies force were killed after they were targeted by firing and an improvised explosive device (IED) blast in northwestern Pakistan’s Dera Ismail Khan district, a police officer said on Sunday.

According to D.I. Khan police officer Amer Khan, the four Levies personnel were in the district from southwestern Pakistan’s Khanozai area to retrieve a stolen truck. 

Noor Ahmad Naib, ⁠Rasheed Zaman, ⁠Dawood Khan and Bilal Ahmad left for DI Khan on Feb. 1, the police officer said, adding that their vehicle was attacked in the district’s Daraban area. 

“Upon initial reports, all embraced martyrdom due to firing followed by an IED blast,” Khan told Arab News. 

So far no group has claimed responsibility for the attack but suspicion is likely to fall on the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) or the Pakistani Taliban, who have launched attacks on Pakistan’s security forces and law enforcement personnel for over a decade-and-a-half. 

Pakistan has witnessed a surge in militancy in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which borders Afghanistan, since a fragile truce between the TTP and the state broke down in November 2022.

The TTP and other militant groups have stepped up their attacks against security forces, besides targeted killings and kidnappings of law enforcers and government officials, in recent months. 

Islamabad has frequently accused neighboring Afghanistan of sheltering anti-Pakistan groups that launch cross-border attacks. Afghan officials deny allowing the use of their soil against any country.

The latest casualties in the province come a day after the military said 18 Pakistani soldiers were killed in a militant attack in southwestern Balochistan province. The military said it had killed at least 23 militants in subsequent clearance operations.


India coach Gambhir says focused on winning Champions Trophy, not just Pakistan clash

India coach Gambhir says focused on winning Champions Trophy, not just Pakistan clash
Updated 02 February 2025
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India coach Gambhir says focused on winning Champions Trophy, not just Pakistan clash

India coach Gambhir says focused on winning Champions Trophy, not just Pakistan clash
  • India face arch-rivals Pakistan in highly anticipated tournament match on Feb. 23 in Dubai 
  • Pakistan, India, New Zealand and Bangladesh are members of Group A in Champions Trophy

ISLAMABAD: India’s cricket coach Gautam Gambhir has said he is focused on ensuring his side wins the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy tournament and not just its clash against arch-rivals Pakistan in Dubai. 

India and Pakistan are set to lock horns in the highly anticipated Champions Trophy encounter in Dubai on Feb. 23. The eight-nation tournament is scheduled to kick off from Feb. 19 in Karachi with hosts Pakistan taking on New Zealand. 

Cricket matches between the two Asian giants are always a treat to watch for millions of fans across the globe. The last time the two sides met in Dubai was in 2021 when Pakistan thrashed India by 10 wickets to register their first win over the arch-rivals in a World Cup contest. 

“Look, we don’t go to the Champions Trophy thinking that the 23rd is the most important game for us,” Gambhir, a former cricketer himself, told Star Sports at the annual BCCI awards night in Mumbai on Saturday.

 “I think five games, all the games are important.”

The matches will be held in Lahore, Rawalpindi and Karachi cities. India, however, will play all their matches in Dubai due to political tensions with Pakistan.

The Indian coach said the mission for his side to go to Dubai is to win the tournament, not just its match against Pakistan. 

“But yes, if that is one game in the middle of winning the Champions Trophy, we’re going to try and take it as seriously as possible,” he said. 

India and Pakistan are joined by Bangladesh and New Zealand in Group A of the tournament, with just two teams progressing to the knockout stages of the event.

Pakistan are defending champions of the tournament. They won the last edition of the 50-over tournament in 2017 by beating India in the final by 180 runs. 


Israeli-designed AI bot publishes pro-Palestinian messages

Israeli-designed AI bot publishes pro-Palestinian messages
Updated 02 February 2025
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Israeli-designed AI bot publishes pro-Palestinian messages

Israeli-designed AI bot publishes pro-Palestinian messages
  • The AI-powered social media profile called Israeli soldiers ‘white colonizers in apartheid Israel’

DUBAI: An AI bot designed to promote Israeli narratives on social media has turned itself into a pro-Palestinian machine, according to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.

FactFinderAI was reportedly developed at the beginning of Israel’s assault on Gaza in October 2023 to counter “misinformation” about Israeli hostilities.

However, the bot has generated anti-Israeli narratives on X, calling for solidarity with Gazans and referring followers to a charity organization to which they can donate in support of Palestinians, Haaretz reported.

The bot has denied claims that an Israeli family was killed in Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack and has accused Israel of proposing a US ban on TikTok.

With about 3,800 followers, the bot mainly comments on posts from X users rather than creating its own original posts.

In one response to a pro-Israeli user, the bot called Israeli soldiers “white colonizers in apartheid Israel.” In another — to a pro-Palestinian user — it concluded that former US Secretary of State Antony Blinken “will be remembered for (his) actions that have caused immense suffering and devastation in Gaza.”

The bot has also posted misinformation, falsely claiming that Israeli hostages released as part of the ongoing ceasefire with Hamas were still being held by the group.

Haaretz said it was unclear whether the bot had been officially funded by the Israeli government or developed independently by pro-Israeli activists.

Israel’s Diaspora Affairs Ministry has dedicated at least $550,000 since the start of the war in Gaza to projects that use AI to spread pro-Israeli propaganda. “One of these was Hasbara Commando, a project that also used AI to generate automatic comments,” Haaretz stated.

The newspaper quoted Israeli NGO FakeReporter’s findings that FactFinderAI posts AI-generated content about Israel’s war on Gaza. While the bot was designed to give a pro-Israeli take on other people’s posts, it ended up trolling pro-Israel accounts with pro-Palestinian opinions.

In one instance, the bot urged Germany to follow the lead of Ireland and Spain and officially recognize the state of Palestine.