Israel says intercepted missile launched from Yemen
The Houthis, who control large parts of Yemen, have repeatedly fired missiles and drones at Israel since the war in Gaza
Updated 26 April 2025
AFP
Israel’s military said Saturday it had intercepted a missile fired from Yemen, whose Houthi militants have launched attacks throughout the Gaza war, as well as a drone approaching “from the east.”
“Following the sirens that sounded recently in several areas in Israel, a missile that was launched from Yemen was intercepted” before “crossing into Israeli territory,” a military statement said.
In a later statement, it said a drone “that was on its way to Israeli territory from the east was intercepted” by the air force.
Yemen, large parts of which are under the control of the Iran-backed Houthis, is located to Israel’s southeast.
Other countries to Israel’s east include Iraq, where Tehran-aligned militants have claimed a number of attacks targeting Israel since the Gaza war began.
The Houthis have repeatedly launched missiles and drones at Israel since the war in Gaza broke out in October 2023 in what they say is a show of solidarity with the Palestinians.
The militants have also targeted ships they accuse of having ties to Israel as they travel on the Red Sea — a vital waterway for global trade.
They had temporarily paused their attacks during a recent two-month ceasefire in Gaza.
According to Israel’s army radio, the missile intercepted overnight was the 22nd fired by the Houthis since they had resumed their attacks as Israel renewed its Gaza offensive on March 18.
Since March 15, Israel’s key ally the United States has stepped up its attacks on the Houthis, targeting militants positions in Yemen with near-daily air strikes.
Photographs in Doha’s Tasweer photo festival explore belonging, identity and home in the Arab world
Updated 5 min 43 sec ago
Rebecca Anne Proctor
DOHA: A young Sudanese man sits in a chair dressed in an elegant off-white three-piece suit. He holds a small shotgun in one hand which he eyes solemnly while resting against the wall behind him on a crimson red tapestry is a rifle. The photograph is titled “Life Won’t Stop” and is one of several images by Sudanese photographer Mosab Abushama documenting his friend’s wedding in Omdurman, Sudan, a city constantly targeted by airstrikes.
The photograph is on view as part of the show “Tadween,” referring to the concept of recording of news and emotions through writing, photography, audio or video, and is one of several exhibitions in the third edition of Doha’s Tasweer Photo Festival, which runs until June 20.
“Life Won’t Stop” is one of several images by Sudanese photographer Mosab Abushama documenting his friend’s wedding in Omdurman, Sudan. (Supplied)
“Despite the clashes and random shelling in the city, the wedding was a simple but joyous occasion with family and friends,” wrote in the caption for the work. “The war in Sudan, which began in April 2023, brought horrors and displacement, forcing me to leave my childhood home and move to another part of the city. It was a time none of us ever expected to live through. Yet, this wedding was a reminder of the joy of everyday life still possible amidst the tragedy and despair.”
Abushama’s photograph earned recognition at the 2025 World Press Photo Awards in the Singles Africa category.
Abushama’s poignant image is one of many on show this year in the Tasweer Photo Festival that prompt deep reflection and compassion.
One of the numerous exhibitions on view is “Obliteration — Surviving The Inferno: Gaza’s Battle for Existence.” The images are displayed outside in Doha’s Katara Cultural Village unfolding in five stages to capture each chapter thus far of the war on Gaza. Each image, such as Abdulrahman Zaqout’s “When Food and Water Become Weapons,” has been shot by a Gazan photographer on the ground to witness and experience the catastrophe. From children extending bowls for food to mothers comforting terrified children, each image recounts the tales of horror that continue to unfold as the war in Gaza continues.
“As I Lay Between Two Seas,” another exhibition in the festival, is at the Doha Fire Station. Curated by Meriem Berrada, an independent curator and artistic director of the Museum of Contemporary African Art Al Maaden in Marrakech, the exhibition is a poignant and poetic display of 25 photographers from the Arab world and its diasporas grappling and coming to terms with ideas of identity, belonging and home.
“(The exhibition) approaches belonging not as a fixed state, but as a fluid, evolving condition shaped by memory, distance, rupture, and imagination,” Berrada told Arab News. “The exhibition unfolds through a non-linear narrative that invites diverse temporalities and perspectives to coexist.”
The title of the exhibition is drawn from a photographic series by Ali Al-Shehabi that conjures up a metaphor that speaks to the fluid, ever changing idea of understanding the self.
“Guided by the metaphor of the sea — shifting, unstable, and expansive — it draws inspiration from poets of the region whose writings on exile and longing offer a conceptual and emotional foundation,” Berrada said. “The selected works span a wide spectrum from documentary to conceptual and abstract practices. These works examine family and community dynamics, spiritual and philosophical relationships, and the sociopolitical structures that influence selfhood. They explore the symbolic ties to one’s roots, often shaped by personal memory and collective histories.”
From Lebanese artist Ziad Antar’s dreamy and edgy photographs of abandoned and unfinished buildings in Beirut and on the Lebanese coast and Saudi artist Moath Alofi’s series of desolated mosques along the winding road to Madinah, Saudi Arabia, to Palestinian Taysir Batniji’s “Just in Case #2” (2024), portraying images of a series of keys representative of feelings of loss and exile, the photographic works on show oscillate between feelings of pride, belonging, loss and longing.
A poem by Palestinian poet and author Mahmoud Darwish titled “I Belong There,” appears on one wall between the display of several photographs reflecting through words many of the feelings expressed in the images on display. “I belong there. I have many memories. I was born as everyone is born […] I have lived on the land long before swords turned man into prey. I belong there.”
Elsewhere in Tasweer, a solo exhibition at Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art on the works of Moroccan photographer and filmmaker Daoud Aoulad-Syad titled “Territories of the Instant” presents the essence of Moroccan popular culture and remote regions in the country. Another exhibition, “Threads of Light: Stories from the Tasweer Single Image Awards,” presents 31 captivating images from 2023 and 2024 awards highlighting the extraordinary in daily life, including sacred traditions in Oman, dynamic street scenes in Yemen and moments of contemporary change in Iraq and picturesque marine views of traditional boats in Doha.
As Berrada said of the festival, which can arguably apply to numerous works and shows in Tasweer this year: “It also reflects on the photographic medium itself — how image-making can question fixed and often deterministic categories of belonging and become a powerful tool for reimagining identity in a deeply interconnected world.”
Egypt's annual inflation rises to 13.5% in April: CAPMAS
Updated 5 min 58 sec ago
Mohammed Al-Kinani
JEDDAH: Egypt’s annual inflation rose to 13.5 percent in April from 13.1 percent the previous month, driven by higher prices across key sectors including healthcare, transport, and housing, official data showed.
According to data released by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics, or CAPMAS, the monthly consumer price index rose 1.3 percent to 253.8 points, up from 250.6 in March.
The data indicates continued inflationary pressures across essential sectors, affecting households nationwide, as Egypt grapples with the compounded impact of currency devaluations, ongoing subsidy reforms, and external shocks to global food and fuel prices.
The healthcare sector recorded the sharpest monthly gains, rising 7.7 percent, with prices of medical products and equipment surging 11.4 percent. Outpatient services rose 2.1 percent, while hospital services increased 1.6 percent, according to CAMPAS data.
Transport costs climbed 7.5 percent on the month, led by an 8.6 percent jump in private transport spending and an 8.2 percent increase in transport services. The cost of purchasing vehicles rose 1.3 percent.
Housing, water, electricity, gas, and fuel prices increased 2.8 percent. Electricity, gas, and fuel prices alone climbed 6.7 percent, while actual rent increased by 1.1 percent and home maintenance and related services rose by 1.0 percent.
Food and beverage prices declined 1.2 percent on a monthly basis, providing some relief to consumers. The decline was led by a 3.5 percent drop in meat and poultry, a 0.6 percent fall in dairy, cheese, and eggs, a 0.1 percent decrease in oils and fats, and a steep 5.1 percent drop in fruit prices.
However, prices in several other categories within the food segment increased. Cereal and bread prices rose 0.5 percent, fish and seafood increased by 1.7 percent, vegetables gained 1.2 percent, sugar and sugary foods edged up 0.4 percent, and other food products rose 1.2 percent.
Coffee, tea, and cocoa prices rose 0.4 percent, while mineral water, carbonated beverages, and natural juices were up 1.5 percent.
The restaurants and hotels category posted a 4.1 percent increase in April, as ready meal prices climbed 4.2 percent and hotel services rose 1.5 percent. Cultural and entertainment services prices rose 0.7 percent, including a 15.6 percent increase in costs tied to leisure and recreational services. The clothing and footwear division saw a 1.7 percent increase, with prices of garments, accessories, and cleaning services all moving higher.
Furniture and household equipment prices increased by 1.1 percent, while miscellaneous goods and services climbed 2.2 percent, driven largely by a 2.4 percent rise in personal care expenses and a 4.3 percent increase in prices of personal luggage items.
RIYADH: Jordan’s exports to countries in the Greater Arab Free Trade Area rose 12.2 percent year on year to 515 million Jordanian dinars ($726 million) by the end of February, amid strong demand for key goods.
According to official statistics reported by the Jordan News Agency, or Petra, the rise from 459 million dinars in the same period of 2024 was driven by increased shipments of fertilizers, medicines, and fresh and frozen agricultural products. Additional contributors included skincare items, food preparations, and furniture, as well as fabrics, garments, and other goods.
The latest trade data aligns with broader optimism about Jordan’s economic outlook, with Central Bank Governor Adel Sharkas saying in March that the country's economy is projected to grow 2.7 percent in 2025, accelerating to 3.5 percent in the medium term.
“Foreign trade data from the Department of Statistics (DoS), monitored by ‘Petra,’ showed a decline in the Kingdom’s (Jordan’s) trade deficit with the GAFTA countries for the same period, reaching JD348 million, compared to JD369 million against last year,” the Petra report stated.
Established in January 2005, GAFTA operates as an economic alliance with the objective of promoting trade and economic unity among Arab nations. Comprising 18 member states, GAFTA is dedicated to bolstering regional trade by lowering customs tariffs.
GAFTA imports into Jordan also climbed, rising 4.2 percent to 863 million dinars from 828 million dinars, bringing the total trade volume to 1.37 billion dinars—up from 1.28 billion dinars a year earlier.
Jordan’s imports primarily include crude oil and its derivatives, jewelry, and food products. Other major import categories are plastic items, titanium dioxide, and polyethylene, as well as polystyrene, iron, and various other goods.
Saudi Arabia remained Jordan’s top regional trade partner, accounting for 141 million dinars in exports — a 6.8 percent rise—and 519 million dinars in imports, resulting in a bilateral deficit of 378 million dinars.
Iraq followed with 136 million dinars in Jordanian exports, up 15.3 percent, while trade with Syria surged to 35 million dinars — a 483.3 percent jump from the previous year.
In March, Sharkas shed light on how inflation in Jordan reached 2.2 percent in the first two months of this year and is expected to stabilize at 2 percent for 2025.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan-based health tech platform MedIQ recently announced it has raised $6 million in a series A funding round led by Saudi Arabia’s venture capital Rasmal Ventures and the Kingdom’s investment company, Joa Capital.
MedIQ was founded by Dr. Saira Siddiqui, a doctor who holds a PhD in Health Economics from the University of Yorkshire, in 2020 in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad.
The startup aims to redefine health care through a digitally enabled hybrid ecosystem and is currently operating in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Canada.
“This over-subscribed round signals strong investor confidence in our accelerated market traction, validates our excellence in engineering to support in becoming the leading health tech player in MENA, and reinforces the great experience our customers have with MedIQ Solutions,” the platform said in a LinkedIn post on May 4.
“With fresh capital, a focused team, and a purpose-driven founder, MedIQ is now primed to scale across the GCC to become a regional leader,” it added.
The company, which expanded into Saudi Arabia in 2023, said it will use the funding to strengthen its technology stack, scale operations in the Kingdom’s health tech market and support entry into Qatar and neighboring Gulf markets.
In an interview with Arab News in 2023, Dr. Siddiqui expressed her desire to see the platform expand across GCC countries.
Siddiqui had said women were the bulk users of MedIQ’s products as it is usually hard for them to visit hospitals without male companions in Pakistan and the Middle East.
“According to the figures which we have, about 74 percent of our users are women and [the] women having children or dependents such as older parents,” she had said.
UAE launches 4th phase of Gaza water supply project
The UAE-supported project focuses on maintaining and restoring central wells across Gaza’s municipalities, ensuring the continuity of essential water services
Updated 32 min 17 sec ago
Arab News
DUBAI: The UAE has launched the fourth phase of its humanitarian water supply initiative in the Gaza Strip this week.
The project is part of the ongoing “Operation Chivalrous Knight 3,” aimed at alleviating the suffering of Palestinian civilians amid a worsening humanitarian crisis.
The UAE-supported project focuses on maintaining and restoring central wells across Gaza’s municipalities, ensuring the continuity of essential water services.
This latest phase includes the repair of 28 non-operational wells across several governorates, a move expected to benefit nearly 700,000 residents.
Sharif Al-Nayrab, media director for Operation Chivalrous Knight 3, praised the long-standing support of Emirati humanitarian organizations for Gaza’s critical sectors.
“This initiative reflects the UAE’s firm commitment to supporting the Palestinian people, especially during times of acute need,” he said.
This is the fourth water-related project implemented under the UAE initiative.
Earlier phases included daily distribution of water via tankers, the drilling of emergency wells along southern coastal areas and the construction of submersible wells to increase supply.
Operation Chivalrous Knight 3 has provided critical relief and development efforts across Gaza, delivering food, health and utility support.
