Kelsey Warner

4 days ago | semafor.com | Kelsey Warner

Gulf News has found the regional angle: “Will UAE residents turn to staycations as Iran-Israel conflict disrupts summer travel plans?” The headline over the weekend captured what is preoccupying some expats, who are often sanguine in the face of instability right in their own backyard, living as they do in a place that ranks at the top of world’s-safest lists, and who, as a group, over-index on employing the hashtag “wanderlust.” The Dubai newspaper queried hoteliers, who reported a small...

1 week ago | semafor.com | Kelsey Warner

Damac, Dubai’s largest private developer, is on a multibillion dollar spending spree to develop artificial intelligence infrastructure, this time in Indonesia. Subsidiary Edgnex is investing $2.3 billion in a 144 megawatt Jakarta data center. The land was acquired in March, and the company estimates it will begin operations by the end of next year.

1 week ago | semafor.com | Kelsey Warner

A weakened Iran is good for the Gulf and could expedite normalization of ties between Saudi Arabia and Israel, US Congressman Brad Schneider told Semafor in an interview in Abu Dhabi. The Illinois Democrat — who is visiting Bahrain, Saudi, and the UAE this week as part of a bipartisan legislative delegation, which also hopes to get to Tel Aviv — said officials in the region see a nuclear Iran as “an existential threat.”The war may even accelerate peace in the region.

1 week ago | semafor.com | Kelsey Warner

Wealth managers are driving a 20% rise in the number of financial services firms setting up shop at Dubai International Financial Center since the start of 2024, as the hub extends its lead over rivals in Abu Dhabi, Doha, and Riyadh in attracting global financiers. The DIFC’s pitch to firms: Dubai has become a playground for the global rich, a spokesperson said while revealing the data this week.

2 weeks ago | semafor.com | Mohammed Sergie |Kelsey Warner

Israel decapitated Iran’s military leadership, launching air strikes on nuclear facilities and ballistic missile bases intended to end Tehran’s atomic weapons program. Gulf countries condemned the attack: Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister held calls with counterparts in Iran, Jordan, and Egypt to avoid a wider flare-up, while the UAE urged “the utmost self-restraint” and called on the UN Security Council to take measures to “achieve a ceasefire.” Oil at one point spiked more than 10%.