Missiles in 2019 Saudi oil attacks came from Iran, UN says

Missiles and a swarm of drones set off fires at the crude processing plant in Afif in May 2019, causing extensive damage and causing a spike in global oil prices

Lockdowns may have helped prevent half a billion coronavirus cases

The virus has now caused some 7 million reported cases of Covid-19, with more than 400,000 fatalities

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Amazon suspends use of facial recognition technology by US law enforcement for a year

Amazon said that the reason was to give the US Congress time to develop stronger regulations to govern the use of the technology

Emirates announces four repatriation flights to Cairo from Dubai

The flights will depart from Dubai to Cairo on June 14, 18, 19 and 21

Twitter will prompt some users to read before retweeting

The prompt will only apply to Twitter users on the Android mobile operating system for now

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Cyber-attack forces Honda to halt production at a few of its factories

Investigators believe that the virus was a type of ransomware called Snake

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Ralf Brandstätter appointed as Volkswagen brand CEO

He previously occupied the position of COO of Volkswagen Passenger Cars

Four MENA IPO deals raise $814.2m in Q1 2020

Globally, 235 IPOs raised $28.5bn in Q1 2020, compared to $15.1bn in Q1 2019

Deutsche Bank’s head of EMEA to exit the company

Ashok Aram, who also heads the firm’s international private and commercial bank operations, is departing for personal reasons

Oil retreats toward $38 on signs US crude stockpiles expanded

Futures dropped 1.9 per cent in New York, erasing almost all of the gains from the previous session

Bank of America acquires stake in Dubai’s Emirates NBD

The acquisition of a 100 million shares is worth around Dhs900m

Uber’s Middle East unit Careem sees recovery after 80% slump

According to the CEO, Careem has ruled out further job cuts after reducing staff by 31 per cent in May

Google says China, Iran targeted American presidential campaigns

Google has alerted the respective campaigns and law enforcement agencies

Aramco backs New York fintech firm offering Islamic investments

Wahed Invest got the financing from Saudi Aramco Entrepreneurship Ventures unit as part of a $25m funding round

Revealed: Top 10 companies in the Middle East in 2020

In this year’s Forbes list of the Middle East’s Top 100 Companies 2020, Saudi Arabia led the pack with 33 entries

Video Conferencing Software Zoom

Zoom to add end-to-end encryption feature, unavailable to free users

The company says that it has done so to offer security officials the option to intercept calls if the service is being used for illegal purposes

OPEC+ extends oil cuts in win for Saudi-Russian alliance

All the member nations signed off on a new deal for a production cut of 9.6 million barrels a day next month

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UAE consulate in Houston issues advisory regarding tropical storm Cristobal

The consulate added that the storm, accompanied by heavy winds and rain, is expected on Saturday evening or Sunday morning

Google faces $5bn lawsuit on tracking Chrome users in ‘incognito mode’

The class action lawsuit demands damages of at least $5,000 for each person affected by Google Chrome’s privacy policy

Worst may be over for biggest Arab economies as businesses adapt

Following a pandemic-driven plunge, non-oil private sector activity improved in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates

Global smartphone sales down 20% y-on-y in Q1 2020

Nearly all the major phone manufacturers, except Xiaomi, recorded declining sales

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Aston Martin appoints SentinelOne as official cybersecurity partner

The cybersecurity firm’s endpoint protection platform will help secure the carmaker’s manufacturing, headquarters, supply chain, and field offices

Covid-19 impact on the power sector – what does the future hold?

In the wake of the pandemic, public and private power companies in the MENA region need to adjust their strategies

Women’s wealth in Middle East to rise 9% by 2023 – report

Women’s wealth in the UAE and Saudi Arabia amounts to $103bn and $224bn respectively

Google Stadia Pro

Google to launch six free games on its Stadia platform in June

The cloud gaming service is attempting to attract a wider subscriber base by way of these free games

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UAE consulate in New York issues advisory regarding George Floyd protests

Protests have erupted across several cities in the US following the death of 46-year-old George Floyd in Minneapolis last week

Samsung Money

Samsung Money debit card readies for summer launch

Reward points can be exchanged for cash which will be deposited into the customer’s Samsung Money by SoFi account

Boeing restarts 737 Max factory in step to jet’s comeback

The manufacturer is rolling out more than a dozen initiatives aimed at improving safety and quality on its 737 assembly lines

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Nissan posts biggest loss in 20 years, unveils turnaround plan

A four-year plan calls for production to be cut by 20 per cent to about 5.4 million vehicles a year

Oil extends slide below $32 on signs US stockpiles swelled

Oil is still up almost 70 per cent this month as supply curbs trim a global glut and pockets of demand emerged after the easing of lockdown restrictions