Middle East Experience

Wego reports Saudi summer 2025 travel split between Europe and staycations
Source: Arabian Business
Full Article: Saudi travellers 2025: Europe tops Wego searches as domestic bookings reach 35 per cent

Saudi Central Bank approves Saudi Real Estate Refinance Company to launch the Kingdom’s first mortgage-backed securities
Source: Arabian Business
Full Article: Saudi Arabia launches first mortgage-backed securities as SAMA boosts housing finance market

Dubai Police roll out 250 patrols, drones and student ambassadors under the “School Security” initiative to safeguard the 2025–2026 academic year
Source: Arabian Business
Full Article: Dubai Police unveil largest back-to-school safety plan for 2025–2026 with 250 patrols, drones and student ambassadors

Dubai real estate hits $17.3bn, UAE unveils AI school reforms, Saudi opens property to foreigners, Kuwait plans $32bn projects, and more GCC news
Source: Arabian Business
Full Article: Dubai real estate boom, UAE education reform; Saudi property rules; Kuwait megaprojects – 10 things you missed this week

By David MillikenLONDON (Reuters) -Former Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage set out plans on Saturday for "mass deportations" of migrants who have crossed the English Channel on small boats if his Reform UK party forms Britain's next government.In an interview with Saturday's edition of The Times newspaper, Farage said he would withdraw Britain from the European Convention on Human Rights and sign deals with Afghanistan, Eritrea and other top countries of origin to repatriate illegal migrants.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: UK's Farage sets out plan for 'mass deportation' of asylum seekers

ISTANBUL (Reuters) -Turkish First Lady Emine Erdogan has written to U.S. President Donald Trump's wife, Melania Trump, and urged her to contact Israel's prime minister and raise the plight of children in Gaza, authorities in Ankara said on Saturday.Emine Erdogan wrote that she had been inspired by the letter Melania Trump sent to Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this month about children in Ukraine and Russia.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Turkish first lady urges Melania Trump to speak out on Gaza

(Reuters) -Syria's first parliamentary election under its new Islamist administration, scheduled for September, will not include the southern province of Sweida and two other provinces because of security concerns, the electoral commission said on Saturday.Hundreds of people were reported killed in July in clashes in Sweida province pitting Druze fighters against Sunni Bedouin tribes and government forces. Israel intervened with airstrikes to prevent what it said were mass killings of Druze by government forces.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Syria delays parliamentary vote in Sweida after sectarian violence

Desperate Palestinians clutching pots and plastic buckets scrambled for rice at a charity kitchen in Gaza City on Saturday, a day after the United Nations declared a famine in the war-battered territory.AFP footage from Gaza's largest city, which Israel plans to seize as part of an expanded military offensive, showed women and young children among the chaotic jostle of dozens clamouring and shouting for food.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: 'Far too late': Palestinians despair after UN declares famine in Gaza

Saudi Arabia begins new school year with SR3.7bn projects and updated curricula featuring AI, cybersecurity, tourism and more under Vision 2030
Source: Arabian Business
Full Article: Saudi Arabia launches new school year with 6m projects and modern curriculum including AI, cybersecurity and tourism

The survey, carried out among 111 participants – including active-duty soldiers, career service members, reservists, and ZAKA volunteers – focused on post-traumatic symptoms.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: 'They no longer recognize themselves': The growing crisis among Israel's security forces - opinion