Results

Why the Gulf Economy Held When the Region Didn't

A war that closed the Strait of Hormuz and hit every GCC state should have broken the region's economics. Reserves and diversification kept it standing.

Jul 16, 2026

Gulf Builders Keep Awarding Work While the Risk Premium Rises

Shipping, insurance and construction costs are all higher because of the Iran conflict. Saudi Arabia and the UAE are pressing ahead with project awards anyway, and the reasoning is deliberate.

Aug 4, 2026

Gulf Tourism Holds Its Nerve Through a Turbulent 2024

While war rattles the wider region, Dubai and Saudi Arabia are still posting visitor growth, and the numbers say the Gulf is winning the confidence contest.

Aug 14, 2024

Design

Gulf Architecture's Bold Decade: GCC Skylines Transform

Neom, Qiddiya, Red Sea Project. The GCC is building at a scale that rewrites the architectural conversation. These aren't buildings. They're competing visions for the future.

Jan 14, 2026

The World's Tourists Went Somewhere Else This Year, and the Gulf Is Counting the Difference

UN Tourism has global arrivals up two per cent in the first quarter and Middle East arrivals down fourteen. Bahrain lost more than a quarter of its visitors. Egypt, three hours away, gained sixteen per cent.

Aug 26, 2026

Is the Gulf at Risk From Earthquakes? A Straight Answer

The honest answer is low but not zero, and it is not evenly spread. Tremors felt in Dubai towers usually come from Iran. The region's own exposure sits in Oman, the eastern UAE and the Red Sea coast.

Aug 12, 2026

GCC Ministers Put Navigation and Diplomacy at the Center of Regional Talks

Gulf foreign ministers used a July 28 consultation to focus on practical understandings, de-escalation and the safe flow of ships through Hormuz.

Jul 29, 2026

The Gulf's Restaurant Scene Is Reinventing Itself in 2026

After two years of shocks, Gulf dining is rebuilding around homegrown brands and confident local concepts rather than imported franchise names.

May 19, 2026

Bookings Are Back, Confidence Is Still Catching Up

Two months after Iran and Israel's war grounded Gulf flights, travel demand is rebuilding, though not evenly and not everywhere at once.

Aug 28, 2025

Why Gulf Diners Are Eating Differently This Year

Boycotts, tighter budgets and a longer war are reshaping where GCC consumers eat, and Western fast food chains are the ones feeling it hardest.

Sep 10, 2024

Diving

Diving the UAE: Fujairah, Dibba and the Musandam Peninsula

The Gulf coast rarely gets mentioned in dive travel guides, but Fujairah and the Musandam peninsula quietly deliver some of the region's best reefs.

Nov 3, 2024

Gulf Aviation Is Heading for a $4.3 Billion Loss, and the Airspace Advisory Still Runs to 31 August

Middle East carriers earned 7.2 billion dollars in 2025 and are forecast to lose 4.3 billion this year. Emirates is flying at three quarters of capacity, jet fuel is up nearly half, and European regulators still advise avoiding four countries' airspace.

Aug 22, 2026

The Gulf's Next Decade Will Be Decided by Capital, Not Barrels

Roughly six trillion dollars of sovereign wealth now sits behind the region's funds. What that money buys, and where it is deployed, matters more to the next ten years than the oil price does.

Aug 8, 2026

The Gulf Was Forecast a Terrible Year. Brent Is at 84 Dollars

Early in the conflict the projections ran to 150 dollar oil and contracting Gulf economies. Halfway through August the numbers are less dramatic and more interesting than either the panic or the relief.

Aug 16, 2026

The Rest of the World Has Started Wearing Perfume the Way the Gulf Always Has

Higher concentrations, heavier notes, oud at the centre and fragrance treated as something you layer rather than spray. The global market has moved toward a regional habit, and Middle Eastern houses are no longer the niche option.

Aug 21, 2026

Lifestyle

Cooling Is More Than Sixty Per Cent of a Gulf Household's Electricity, Against About Twenty Five in America

Air conditioning is roughly half of peak electricity demand across the region, and nearly every building has it. Which means almost everything that reduces a household bill here is about heat getting in, not about appliances.

Aug 21, 2026

The Gulf Exhibition Season Starts in Two Weeks and Runs to December

Riyadh opens at the end of August, Abu Dhabi takes November, Dubai takes the rest. Four shows account for most of the region's commercial calendar between now and the new year.

Aug 14, 2026

One Visa, One Fee, Six Countries: the Gulf's Schengen Moment Is Reportedly Piloting This Year

A unified GCC tourist visa has been discussed for years and is now said to be entering a pilot phase, at an estimated 100 to 150 dollars for 30 to 90 days. The economics of it are more interesting than the convenience.

Aug 21, 2026

Twelve Days That Closed the Gulf's Skies

Israel's strikes on Iran and the retaliation that followed grounded Gulf carriers and shut down entire national airspaces within hours.

Jun 26, 2025

The Red Sea Crisis Is Squeezing Gulf Restaurant Margins

Shipping disruption is pushing up the cost of imported produce and packaging, and Gulf restaurateurs are running out of room to absorb it quietly.

Apr 9, 2024

Nutrition

Salt and Blood Pressure: The Evidence, and the Gulf's Convenience-Food Problem

WHO sets a 5 gram salt ceiling; the Gulf's average intake runs far above it, driven largely by bread and processed food.

Jan 16, 2025

UAE Stocks Meet a New Test as Regional Risk Returns to the Price Screen

A risk-off session in Dubai and Abu Dhabi shows how conflict, oil, aviation and investor confidence can move Gulf markets in different directions at once.

Jul 24, 2026

The Exchange Stopped Being Between Two Countries and Started Landing in Four Others

American strikes on Revolutionary Guard sites drew missile and drone retaliation aimed at American assets in Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait and Iraq. Iranian officials report at least eleven dead, including five at a wedding in the south.

Sep 2, 2026

Kingdom Holding's Profit Slips, and the Reasons Are Instructive

Weaker dividend income, higher operating costs and a bigger tax line pushed the Saudi investment house lower in the first half. Each of those pressures applies well beyond one company.

Aug 7, 2026

Plant-Based Dining Across the Smaller Gulf: Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman

A vegan bakery in Janabiyah, a Four Seasons tasting menu backed by a Saudi prince, and Muscat's coconut-bowl breakfast spot: the region's quieter vegan scene.

May 27, 2026

Fashion

The Gulf Lost Up to a Quarter of Its Luxury Shoppers. The Brands Responded by Moving Further Upmarket

Bain puts the shrinkage in the Gulf's luxury customer base at 15 to 25 per cent in early 2026 while the Americas surged. The industry's answer to losing aspirational buyers has been to stop trying to keep them.

Aug 18, 2026

The UAE's Quietest Business Problem Is How Long It Takes to Get Paid

Persistent payment delays and rising default concerns are squeezing liquidity across the Emirates, in the same half that produced the region's largest volume of new project awards. Both things are connected.

Aug 17, 2026

The UAE Now Earns Four Fifths of Its Economy Outside Oil

Non-oil activity reached 79.4 percent of national output in the first quarter, growing at 4.8 percent while the overall economy grew 3. The gap between those figures is the story.

Aug 6, 2026

What GLP-1 Drugs Actually Cost in the UAE Right Now

Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro are all prescribable in the UAE, but shortages and insurance gaps shape who can actually get them.

Mar 10, 2025

The Case for Travelling in the Weeks Nobody Else Books

Shoulder season is cheaper, emptier and usually better weather than the peak it sits beside. It also has failure modes, and knowing which ones apply is the difference between a bargain and a wasted trip.

Aug 8, 2026

How the Red Sea Crisis Is Reshaping Gulf Supply Chains

Houthi attacks on shipping have rerouted global trade around Africa, and Gulf importers are absorbing the fallout in freight rates and delivery times.

Feb 5, 2024

ADIPEC Still Runs on Oil, Whatever the Programme Says

Abu Dhabi's energy week arrives on 2 November with hydrogen and carbon capture across the agenda and hydrocarbons across the balance sheets. Both things are true at once.

Aug 14, 2026

Design

Big 5 Global Is Where Next Year's Buildings Get Specified

Twenty-seven hundred exhibitors at the Dubai World Trade Centre from 23 November, and three co-located shows that have quietly turned a construction fair into an urban development event.

Aug 14, 2026

The UAE's Outlook Depends on Turning Non-Oil Resilience Into Durable Growth

The UAE enters the next period with diversified trade, services and investment buffers. Energy and shipping volatility still make credit quality and project selection important.

Aug 2, 2026

Why Smash Burgers Took Over Dubai's Menus

Thin, crispy-edged patties have muscled aside gourmet stacks across Dubai and the wider Gulf, and the reasons go well beyond taste alone this time.

Oct 5, 2024

How the Middle East Became Specialty Coffee's Next Big Market

Dubai and Riyadh are hosting barista championships and single-origin tastings as third-wave coffee culture reshapes a region long defined by cardamom-spiced brews.

May 5, 2025

One in Five Adults in the UAE Has Diabetes. In Saudi Arabia It Is Closer to One in Four

IDF figures put UAE adult prevalence at 20.7 per cent and Saudi Arabia at 23.1 per cent, against a global figure around a tenth. The explanation is not one thing, and one of the contributing factors is barely three generations old.

Jul 16, 2026

Lifestyle

Earthquake Safety, Compared: What the Gulf, the US and Europe Actually Tell You to Do

Drop, Cover, Hold On is the near-universal instruction, and the exceptions matter. Here is the official guidance from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, the United States and Europe, and where it diverges.

Aug 12, 2026

Design

A Flat Painted Wall Cannot Meet Dubai's West Facing Numbers. A Shading Layer With Depth Can

Al Sa'fat caps glazing at a solar heat gain coefficient of 0.25 and a U-value of 2.0. Those two figures quietly rule out the all-glass tower that defined the region's skyline, and they are why shading is coming back.

Aug 19, 2026

Saudi Arabia Warned About the Tayyibat Diet. Here Is Why

A health ministry does not issue a public warning about an eating plan for the sake of it. This one followed reports of people reaching intensive care after stopping insulin.

Jun 13, 2026

Aramco's $67.2bn Half Year Was Built on a Supply Shock

Profit rose 29 percent as Hormuz disruption pushed crude to $108 a barrel in the second quarter. The number says more about the strait than about the company.

Aug 6, 2026

Recipes

Middle Eastern Rice Dishes, and How Each One Is Actually Built

Kabsa, machboos, maqluba, mujadara, freekeh. They look similar on a platter and are constructed by completely different methods. A guide to which is which and when to cook it.

Aug 14, 2026

Sports

New Rules Turned Formula One Upside Down: Antonelli Leads, Verstappen Is Sixth, and Two Gulf Races Are Gone

Twelve rounds into the most significant regulation change in a decade, the four time champion is more than a hundred points adrift and a driver in his second season leads by fifty. The war removed two races from the calendar as well.

Aug 24, 2026

Bahrain's Manama Declaration Puts Women-Led Businesses at the Center of Growth

The latest World Entrepreneurs Investment Forum connected women-led enterprise with green, blue, creative and digital industries, producing investment commitments as well as policy language.

Aug 3, 2026

The US Sank Five Iranian Tankers, Iran Fired Twenty Missiles at a Base in Jordan, and Oil Closed Above a Hundred Dollars

CENTCOM named the five crude carriers it disabled after two missile attacks on one of its warships. Iran answered at Al-Azraq, where Jordan says it intercepted eighteen of twenty missiles, and claimed strikes on ten ships. Brent closed at 101 dollars.

Sep 10, 2026

e& Walked Away From Vodafone With $5.95 Billion and a Lesson

Four years ago Etisalat surprised the market by buying into Vodafone. In July it sold the lot to a French billionaire's family vehicle. The exit says more about European regulation than about telecoms.

Aug 14, 2026

Recipes

Mandi, Kabsa and Machboos Are Not the Same Dish, and the Difference Is Mostly the Oven

One is cooked in a pit with the meat hanging above the rice. One is built on a tomato and spice base. One is the same dish under a different name across four countries. The word mandi comes from the Arabic for dew.

Aug 21, 2026

Nutrition

You Do Not Have to Give Up Rice. You Do Have to Change Which One, How Much, and What Is On It

Telling a household built around rice to stop eating rice is advice that gets nodded at and ignored. Four changes to the same plate do more for post-meal glucose than an instruction nobody will follow.

Aug 8, 2026

The Gulf's Autumn Route Map Is Being Redrawn Toward Asia and Russia

Gulf Air returns to Kuala Lumpur on 29 September, Riyadh Air adds London and Dubai, Sharjah gets a Gatwick link, and flynas is flying to St Petersburg and Sochi behind a new visa arrangement.

Aug 17, 2026

The Hormuz Talks Collapsed Before They Began, a Ship Was Hit Off Qeshm, and Trump Said the US Could Keep Iran's Oil

Oman's Salalah meeting was meant to draw the corridor maps and settle a toll. Saudi Arabia objected to language fixing a new status quo, Bahrain called it appeasement, and it was postponed. Hours earlier an Iranian cargo ship burned off Qeshm with one dead.

Sep 15, 2026

Crypto

How the UAE Turned Stablecoins Into Everyday Money

Dirham-pegged tokens are now licensed for retail payments across the UAE, part of a regulatory push that is reshaping remittances across the Gulf.

Mar 11, 2025

Exercise as Treatment: What Trials Show for Depression and Anxiety

Meta-analyses now put exercise's effect on depression in the same range as antidepressant trials, with real implications for regions like the Gulf.

Apr 14, 2026

Sports

The Asian Games Open in Nagoya on Saturday: 15,000 Athletes, 43 Sports, 469 Golds, and a Route to Los Angeles 2028

The second-largest multi-sport event on Earth returns to Japan for the first time since Hiroshima in 1994. The ceremony is at Paloma Mizuho Stadium at six on Saturday evening. What is new, where the swimming is, and why the Gulf's squads matter this time.

Sep 15, 2026

The UK-GCC Trade Deal Is Moving From Headline to Business Checklist

The concluded UK-GCC free-trade agreement could reshape services, procurement and investment, but companies should focus on implementation details rather than celebratory totals.

Aug 3, 2026

Technology

When AWS Was Actually Attacked: Drone Strikes Hit the Cloud

Drone strikes on AWS data centers in the UAE and Bahrain marked the first military attack on hyperscale cloud infrastructure, forcing a new kind of reckoning.

Mar 4, 2026