As Djibouti’s second-largest financial institution, CAC International Bank is reinforcing its security framework to address the growing risks of cyber threats. The bank has reached a significant milestone by securing the ISO 27001:2022 certification, an internationally recognized standard for information security, cybersecurity, and privacy protection. This achievement highlights the bank’s commitment to safeguarding customer data, enhancing cybersecurity measures, and ensuring compliance with global best practices in information security management.

Eligibility for ISO 27001:2022 certification

ISO 27001:2022 is awarded to organizations that demonstrate a robust Information Security Management System (ISMS). It recognizes institutions that effectively manage cyber threats, data breaches, and regulatory compliance risks.

For CAC International Bank’s customers, this means enhanced protection for online banking, mobile transactions, and personal data security—significantly reducing the risk of fraud and unauthorized access.

Rigorous audit process

To achieve this milestone, the bank underwent a thorough audit conducted by independent assessors. The evaluation confirmed its adherence to ISO 27001:2022 standards. This certification reflects the successful implementation of stringent security policies, advanced technological safeguards, and continuous monitoring systems designed to protect banking infrastructure and customer data.

“Our customers rely on us to provide secure and seamless banking experiences,” said Ahmed H. Al Dheeb, CEO of CAC International Bank.

“This certification is a testament to our commitment to safeguarding their financial information and staying ahead of evolving cybersecurity threats,” Al Dheeb added.

This achievement aligns with the bank’s ongoing commitment to investing in the latest technologies, furthering digitalization. It reflects a strong dedication to offering customer-centric solutions while ensuring secure, reliable, and innovative financial services.

The United States and Saudi Arabia will sign a preliminary agreement to cooperate over the country’s ambitions to develop a civil nuclear industry, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright told reporters in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Sunday.

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Wright, who had met with Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman earlier on Sunday, said Riyadh and Washington were on a “a pathway” to reaching an agreement to work together to develop a Saudi civil nuclear programme.

Wright, on his first visit to the kingdom as secretary as part of tour of energy-producing Gulf states, said further details over a memorandum detailing the energy cooperation between Riyadh and Washington would come later this year.

“For a US partnership and involvement in nuclear here, there will definitely be a 123 agreement … there’s lots of ways to structure a deal that will accomplish both the Saudi objectives and the American objectives,” he said.

A so-called 123 agreement with Riyadh refers to Section 123 of the US Atomic Energy Act of 1954 and is required to permit the US government and American companies to work with entities in the country to develop a civil nuclear industry.

Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, is seeking to generate substantial renewable energy and reduce emissions, under the crown prince’s Vision 2030 reform plan. At least some of this is expected to come from nuclear energy.

US President Donald Trump’s administration granted exclusions from steep tariffs on smartphones, computers and some other electronics imported largely from China, providing a big break to tech firms like Apple that rely on imported products.

Read-Trump tariff hike: China raises duties on US goods to 125%

China said it was evaluating the impact of the exclusions. In a statement on Sunday, the Ministry of Commerce called the move a “small step by US to correct its wrong practice of unilateral ‘reciprocal tariffs’.”

“The bell on a tiger’s neck can only be untied by the person who tied it,” the ministry said, urging the US to make a major step in correcting what it called its wrongdoing and cancelling the tariffs completely.

In a notice to shipperslate on April 11, the US Customs and Border Protection agency published a list of tariff codes excluded from the import taxes, with retroactive effect from 12:01 a.m. EDT (0401 GMT) on April 5.

Product categories

It featured 20 product categories, including the broad 8471 code for all computers, laptops, disc drives and automatic data processing. It also included semiconductor devices, equipment, memory chips and flat panel displays.

The notice gave no explanation for the move, but the exclusion provides welcome relief to major technology firms such as Apple, Dell Technologies and many other importers.

The action also excludes the specified electronics from Trump’s 10 per cent “baseline” tariffs on goods from most countries other than China, easing import costs for semiconductors from Taiwan and Apple iPhones produced in India.

Asked on Saturday about his reasoning for the exemptions and plans for semiconductors, Trump told reporters: “I’ll give you that answer on Monday. We’ll be very specific on Monday … we’re taking in a lot of money, as a country, we’re taking in a lot of money.”

Chinese imports

For the Chinese imports, the exclusion of the tech products applies only to Trump’s reciprocal tariffs, which climbed to 125 per cent this week, according to a White House official. Trump’s prior 20 per cent duties on all Chinese imports that he said were related to the US fentanyl crisis remain in place.

But the official said Trump would launch a new national security trade investigation into semiconductors soon that could lead to other new tariffs.

Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives called the announcement about the tech exclusions “the most bullish news we could have heard this weekend.”

“There is still clear uncertainty and volatility ahead with these China negotiations…. Big Tech firms like Apple, Nvidia, Microsoft and the broader tech industry can breathe a huge sigh of relief this weekend into Monday,” Ives said in an industry note.

Beijing increased its own tariffs on US imports to 125 per cent on Friday, hitting back against Trump’s decision to further raise duties on Chinese goods and increasing the stakes in a trade war that threatens to upend global supply chains.

On Wednesday, Trump had announced a reprieve for levies on dozens of countries while ratcheting up tariffs on Chinese imports effectively to 145 per cent.

Many tech company CEOs have embraced Trump as he begins his second term, attending his January 20 inauguration and celebrating with him afterward. Apple CEO Tim Cook hosted a pre-inaugural ball and has visited Trump at his home in Florida.

White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said in a statement that Trump has made clear the US cannot rely on China to manufacture critical technologies such as semiconductors, chips, smartphones and laptops.

But she said that at Trump’s direction, major tech firms, including Apple and chipmakers Nvidia and Taiwan Semiconductor 2330.TW “are hustling to onshore their manufacturing in the United States as soon as possible.”

Tariff pain

The exemptions suggest an increasing awareness within the Trump administration of the effect of his tariffs on US consumers who are weary of inflation.

Even at a lower 54 per cent tariff rate on Chinese imports, analysts predicted the price of a top-end Apple iPhone could jump to $2,300 from $1,599. At 125 per cent, economists and analysts have said US-China trade could largely halt.

Smartphones were the top US import from China in 2024, totaling $41.7bn, while Chinese-built laptops were second, at $33.1bn, according to US Census Bureau data.

Apple recently chartered cargo flights to ferry 600 tons of iPhones, or as many as 1.5 million, to the US from India, after it stepped up production there in an effort to beat Trump’s tariffs, Reuters reported on Friday.

Trump’s White House campaign last year focused on a vow to bring down prices. But he also promised to impose the tariffs that he views as essential to realigning the world trading order and he has dismissed turbulence in financial markets and price increases from the levies as a necessary disturbance.

His so-called “reciprocal tariffs,” however, have raised fears of a US recession and have drawn criticism from some of his fellow Republicans, who do not want to lose control of Congress in next year’s mid-term elections.

Trump told reporters on Friday he was comfortable with the high tariffs on China but had a good relationship with President Xi Jinping and believed something positive would come out of the trade conflict between them.

His tariff moves have caused turmoil on financial markets. US stocks ended a volatile week higher, but the safe haven of gold hit a record high during the session and benchmark US 10-year government bond yields posted their biggest weekly increase since 2001 alongside a slump in the dollar, signaling a lack of confidence in the US.

Abu Dhabi state oil company ADNOC is in the early stages of considering a bid for investment firm Aethon Energy Management’s US natural gas assets, according to a person familiar with the matter.

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ADNOC has done a string of acquisitions in gas and chemicals, which along with LNG and renewables it considers as pillars for its future growth.

Last year, the energy giant bought a stake in NextDecade’s liquefied natural gas export project in Texas along with a 20-year supply deal.

Deliberations regarding the US energy-focused investment firm’s assets also involve other parties, the source added.

Reuters in November reported that Aethon was exploring options for its natural gas production and midstream assets that included a sale or an initial public offering at a valuation of about $10bn.

The upstream assets of Aethon, which primarily focus on the Haynesville shale formation in Louisiana and East Texas, constitute one of the largest privately held US gas producers.

ADNOC and Aethon did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.

Bloomberg News first reported that ADNOC was mulling a bid for Aethon’s natural gas assets on April 11.

The 2025 Hajj will be the last pilgrimage to take place during the intense summer heat for the next 16 years.

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According to a report in The Express Tribune, Saudi Arabia’s National Meteorological Center has announced that the Islamic calendar is gradually shifting the annual event into cooler months.

Hajj moving into cooler seasons

Starting in 2026, the Hajj pilgrimage will move into spring and continue progressing into winter due to the Islamic lunar calendar’s annual drift of approximately 10 days.

It is expected that the pilgrimage will be held in the spring season from 2026 to 2033, and in the winter season from 2034 to 2042. The pilgrimage will return to the summer season only in 2042.

Relief for pilgrims after years of heat

The news has been welcomed by millions of pilgrims who, in recent years, have dealt with extreme heat during Hajj.

They have braved temperatures ranging between 46°C and 51°C in Makkah during the pilgrimage in 2024, according to a report by Samaa TV.

Hajj 2024: By the numbers

A total of 1,833,164 pilgrims participated in Hajj 2024. This included 221,854 internal pilgrims (12.1 per cent) and 1,611,310 external pilgrims (87.9 per cent).

Among internal pilgrims, 53.5 per cent were men and 46.5 per cent women. Among external pilgrims, 52.1 per cent were men and 47.9 per cent women.

In terms of arrival methods for external pilgrims in 2024, 96.0 per cent arrived in Makkah via air transport, 3.7 per cent by land, and 0.3 per cent by sea.