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Oil prices experienced a slight recovery on Tuesday following a drop of more than 2% in the previous session for Brent crude and WTI. Brent futures increased by 27 cents, or 0.3%, reaching $92.44 per barrel by 0330 GMT. Meanwhile, U.S. West Texas Intermediate rose by 37 cents, or 0.4%, to $85.38. This rebound came after Monday’s significant decline, which marked the end of six straight sessions of gains across both major crude benchmarks.
Alibaba Group has set the price for an HK$80 billion share offering aimed at funding its investments in artificial intelligence and enhancing its AI infrastructure. The Chinese tech giant plans to issue 710 million new ordinary shares at HK$112.70 each, amounting to roughly US$10.2 billion based on current exchange rates. The company anticipates the transaction will finalize by August 26, pending usual closing conditions.Alibaba’s HK$80 billion share placement directs fresh capital toward AI infrastructure.Alibaba stated that all net proceeds from the offering will be allocated to advancing its comprehensive AI capabilities. This includes expanding and upgrading various aspects of its AI infrastructure. The firm has developed a broad AI ecosystem that includes cloud services, models, chips, and applications. Notable components of this platform are the Qwen model series and Alibaba Cloud offerings.
South Korea has initiated its inaugural container vessel expedition through the Arctic toward Europe. The PanStar Acro, with a capacity of 2,758 TEU, set sail from Busan New Port around 9 p.m. on August 22. The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries verified the departure and issued the schedule for the voyage. The vessel will navigate along the Northern Sea Route before stopping at three European ports. The entire round trip, lasting approximately 45 days, is planned to conclude back in Busan on October 5.
The Central Bank of Egypt kept its key interest rates unchanged on August 20, extending its policy pause for a fourth consecutive meeting. The Monetary Policy Committee maintained the overnight deposit rate at 19% and the overnight lending rate at 20%. It also kept the main operation and discount rates at 19.5%. The CBE said the decision reflected its assessment of current inflation conditions and the economic outlook since its July meeting. The rates have remained at these levels since February.
Travel
In July 2026, South Korea welcomed over 2 million international visitors, maintaining a level of inbound tourism that exceeds pre-pandemic figures. The Korea Tourism Organization reported that the country received a total of 2,093,223 foreign travelers during the month. This represents a 20.8% increase from the 1,733,199 visitors recorded in July 2025 and amounts to 144.6% of the July 2019 total, prior to the disruptions caused by COVID-19 to global travel patterns.
Health
Chad’s health officials have verified that a severe waterborne health crisis has led to 13 deaths since public alerts were issued late last month. As per the latest data from the Ministry of Public Health of Chad, epidemiological reports indicate that the cholera outbreak in Chad has resulted in 13 fatalities and increased the total confirmed and suspected cases to 239 nationwide. These figures show a nationwide case fatality rate of 5.4 percent, far above international standards for emergency outbreak response.
Data confirms obesity was linked to 8.2% of Belgium deaths as public health research quantifies weight-related mortality rates The post Obesity linked to 8.2% of Belgium deaths in new health report appeared first on Arabian Observer: Observe more. Understand Arabia..
European health groups are pressing the European Union to adopt stronger and binding heat protection measures as extreme temperatures raise public health risks. The Health and Environment Alliance, or HEAL, wants EU-wide standards for national climate adaptation plans and mandatory heat goals for member states. The campaign also calls for more funding for health resilience. The proposals follow a June heatwave that pushed temperatures above 40 C in parts of Europe.
Moderna has commenced a Phase 1 clinical trial for an experimental vaccine targeting Bundibugyo ebolavirus in Canada. The inaugural participant received the mRNA-1469 vaccine on August 3 at a facility in Truro, Nova Scotia. This development coincides with the continued spread of the virus across various provinces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The World Health Organization has categorized this outbreak as a public health emergency of international concern.
Michigan confirms two deaths as officials investigate a major cyclospora outbreak. Both individuals fell ill prior to the voluntary iceberg lettuce recall announced on July 17. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the Michigan deaths on Aug. 3, describing them as cyclosporiasis-related fatalities involving people with pre-existing health conditions. The total number of cases reported by Michigan includes all cases identified during the investigation and remains subject to change. Federal surveillance figures, which generally include laboratory-confirmed cases, may differ from state-reported totals that also encompass probable illnesses. Federal authorities are also probing a nine-state outbreak of Cyclospora infections linked to iceberg lettuce sourced from Taylor Farms de Mexico. By July 24, nine states had reported a total of 1,947 infected individuals, many of whom also reported exposure to Taco Bell. Of these, at least 98 required hospitalization. The onset of illnesses ranged from June 22 through July 20. The CDC later included Michigan’s two deaths in its report, which had not been reflected in the detailed federal totals from July 24. Recall involves iceberg lettuce imported from central Mexico Taylor Farms de Mexico withdrew all iceberg lettuce originating from central Mexico from the U.S. market. The recall affected several food-service products, including Marketside iceberg salad and shredded lettuce sold at specific Walmart outlets. The products had use-by dates from July 18 through Aug. 3. Between June 29 and July 16, Taylor Fresh Foods supplied affected lettuce to
The Ebola outbreak in DR Congo has reached the largest magnitude ever recorded within the country. According to health authorities, by July 30, there were 3,605 confirmed cases, which included 1,587 deaths. The case fatality rate stood at 44%. During the most recent full reporting week, teams documented 567 new infections and 296 fatalities, marking the highest weekly figures since the outbreak’s inception. This escalation has intensified pressure on surveillance efforts, treatment facilities, and community response initiatives.
