More than 105,500 Bahraini private‑sector workers could have their April salaries paid directly from the Unemployment Fund if a proposal gets approved.
The UAE is well equipped to withstand the current regional crisis and has overcome far more severe shocks in the past, prominent Emirati businessman Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor said on Thursday, reacting to warnings by American economist Jeffrey Sachs.
Dubai has announced a three-month deferral on collecting hotel sales fees and the Tourism Dirham, starting April 1, 2026 as part of its AED1 billion ($272 million) economic package for businesses and individuals.
The impact of the Middle East war is substantial, global, and highly asymmetric, disproportionately affecting energy importers, in particular low-income countries, said heads of the International Energy Agency, International Monetary Fund, and World Bank Group.
All eyes are on Pakistan's capital Islamabad as it hosts what are being described as “make-or-break” talks between the United States and Iran on Saturday, even as doubts persist over their prospects amid sharply divergent positions, ongoing violence in Lebanon, and renewed warnings from Donald Trump of intensified military action if diplomacy fails.
US President Donald Trump has lashed out at allies for not getting further involved in the Iran war, telling them to go to the Strait of Hormuz to take their own fuel and securing the strait is "not for us."
Opec oil output plunged in March to its lowest level since the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in June 2020, a Reuters survey found, as the US-Israeli war against Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz and forced export cuts.
Oil prices surged nearly 30% to more than $119 a barrel on Monday, hitting levels not seen since mid-2022, as some major producers cut supplies and fears of prolonged shipping disruptions gripped the market due to the expanding US-Israeli war with Iran.
Recent geopolitical developments involving Iran have heightened market sensitivity to oil prices, inflation, and interest rate expectations, according to Lale Akoner, Global Market Analyst.
The finance and energy ministers of the G7 group affirmed their readiness to take "all necessary measures" to ensure the stability of the energy market, as part of their efforts to address the economic repercussions of the war in the Middle East.
