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Italy’s Fincantieri launches Saudi shipbuilding unit to strengthen collaboration 

Italy’s Fincantieri launches Saudi shipbuilding unit to strengthen collaboration 
Fincantieri Arabia will highlight the group’s wide-ranging capabilities in shipbuilding, maritime equipment and systems. Fincantieri
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Updated 25 May 2024
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Italy’s Fincantieri launches Saudi shipbuilding unit to strengthen collaboration 

Italy’s Fincantieri launches Saudi shipbuilding unit to strengthen collaboration 
Updated 25 May 2024
ARAB NEWS 
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RIYADH: Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri plans to enhance collaboration with Saudi Arabia through a newly established unit, the company said. 

Fincantieri Arabia will bolster the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 development agenda in the cruise, defense, and offshore sectors, the group disclosed in a press release, issued on the sidelines of an industrial conference in Riyadh. 

Fincantieri is the only shipbuilding group active in all high-tech marine industry sectors, the release added. 

The new unit aims to highlight the group’s wide-ranging capabilities in shipbuilding, maritime equipment and systems, and naval logistic support services, including training and simulation.  

It will also manage stakeholder relationships in the Kingdom and seek out local partners.  

Moreover, Fincantieri said it plans to share its technological expertise in shipbuilding across cruise, defense, and offshore sectors, thus opening up opportunities for Saudi nationals. 

The firm’s CEO Pierroberto Folgiero: “Our commitment to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is steadfast. Fincantieri stands out in the shipbuilding industry for its vertically integrated model and our leadership across naval, cruise, and oil and gas sectors. We are proud to offer these world-class capabilities built on decades of naval heritage and excellence to help the Kingdom achieve its Vision 2030 objectives.”  

He added: “Given the maritime industry’s pivotal role under Vision 2030, we eagerly anticipate establishing strategic partnerships. Through these collaborations, we aim to enhance local technological capabilities, create opportunities for Saudi talent, and foster knowledge exchange.” 

The state-controlled Fincantieri has expanded its presence in the Middle East in recent years. In March 2023, Folgiero stated that the group would venture into the Saudi market and was strategically positioned for growth in the region. 

The Italian group is also aiming to enhance its focus on defense, a sector that presently contributes to around a quarter of its revenues. 

On May 20, Fincantieri concluded a shipbuilding joint venture, named Maestral, with Abu Dhabi-based EDGE Group. The two entities announced the signing of a €400 million ($433 million) contract with the UAE’s Coast Guard Forces for the supply of 10 advanced 51-meter offshore patrol vessels. 

Topics: Tourism & Transport Fincantieri SHIPBUILDING Fincantieri Arabia

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Al Jazeera says the Palestinian Authority arrested one of its reporters

Al Jazeera says the Palestinian Authority arrested one of its reporters
Updated 20 min 45 sec ago
AP
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Al Jazeera says the Palestinian Authority arrested one of its reporters

Al Jazeera says the Palestinian Authority arrested one of its reporters
  • The Qatar-based news network reported that its reporter Mohammed Al-Atrash was arrested from his home
Updated 20 min 45 sec ago
AP

The Al Jazeera news network says the Palestinian Authority arrested one of its reporters after preventing him from covering an Israeli operation in the occupied West Bank.
The Qatar-based news network reported Thursday that its reporter, Mohammed Al-Atrash, was arrested from his home.
It said Palestinian security forces had earlier prevented him from reporting on a large Israeli military operation in Jenin, an epicenter of Israeli-Palestinian violence in recent years. The Palestinian Authority launched its own crackdown on militants in the city late last year.
There was no immediate comment from the Palestinian Authority.
Both Israel and the Western-backed Palestinian Authority banned Al Jazeera last year. Israel accuses it of being a mouthpiece of Hamas over its coverage of the war in the Gaza Strip and says some of its reporters are also militants.
The pan-Arab broadcaster has rejected the allegations and accused both Israel and the Palestinian Authority of trying to silence critical coverage.
The internationally recognized Palestinian Authority administers parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank and cooperates with Israel on security matters. It is unpopular among Palestinians, with critics portraying it as a corrupt and authoritarian ally of Israel.

Topics: War on Gaza Palestine West Bank Al Jazeera

REVIEW: ‘Severance’ returns with more pleasurable mind bending 

REVIEW: ‘Severance’ returns with more pleasurable mind bending 
Updated 32 min 27 sec ago
Matt Ross
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REVIEW: ‘Severance’ returns with more pleasurable mind bending 

REVIEW: ‘Severance’ returns with more pleasurable mind bending 
  • Season two of Apple’s sci-fi thriller remains wonderfully weird
Updated 32 min 27 sec ago
Matt Ross

LONDON: Despite the fact it’s been nearly three years since viewers last got to see inside the world of “Severance,” Apple’s sort-of-sci-fi show picks up pretty much where it left off. We rejoin the story just a few moments after Mark S (Adam Scott) and his team of Lumon data refiners managed to break free of their ‘severed’ floor — where work and out-of-work memories and personalities are controlled and delineated by a chip embedded in their brains — and alert the outside world to the cruelties of their working conditions. Mark reawakens in the hellish officescape without his team of escapees — Helly (Britt Lower), Dylan (Zach Cherry) and Irving (John Turturro) — and immediately sets about trying to find out what happened to them. This means getting the best of returning supervisor Milchick (Tramell Tillman), his new teenage assistant Miss Huang (Sarah Bock), and a trio of new coworkers. 

Creator Dan Erickson and director Ben Stiller waste no time in rediscovering the subtle blend of tangible oddness and sinister dystopian creepiness that made the first season such an uncomfortable joy. And, perhaps emboldened by season one’s success, drop greater hints at just how weird the wider world of Lumen and its mysteriously enigmatic founder Kier Eagan might be. Mark and his team are told that their escape has led to sweeping reform across the company, but with Mark having learned that his wife on the outside may be trapped somewhere in the building — rather than being dead, as his ‘outie’ personality had been led to believe — the setup for more convoluted reveals is in place by the end of this season’s first episode. 

In all the best ways, “Severance” feels the same as it did. The surreal nightmare of its setting is as terrifying as ever, and the sharp juxtaposition of Mark and the others’ personalities remains joyfully jarring. The pace of plot revelation actually appears to have slowed even further — but while this is surface-level frustrating, it’s also a big part of why the show is so engaging. Is this new season likely to answer all your questions from three years ago? It is not. In fact, by the end of episode one, there’s more mystery, rather than less. But “Severance” remains the most captivating of headscratchers. 

Bangladesh student revolutionaries’ dreams dented by joblessness

Bangladesh student revolutionaries’ dreams dented by joblessness
Updated 37 min 3 sec ago
AFP
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Bangladesh student revolutionaries’ dreams dented by joblessness

Bangladesh student revolutionaries’ dreams dented by joblessness
  • Unemployment was a key driver of the protests last year and since the revolution, it has only grown worse in Bangladesh
  • By Sept. 2024, number of people seeking employment in the country of 170 million hit 2.66 million, marking 6% increase
Updated 37 min 3 sec ago
AFP

DHAKA: Bangladeshi students braved bullets to overthrow an autocratic government, but six months after the revolution, many say finding a job is proving a harder task than manning the barricades.
Dhaka University student Mohammad Rizwan Chowdhury’s dreams of ample opportunities for youth have been badly dented, saying he had seen little action from the caretaker government of Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus.
“I can’t see any fruitful initiatives taken by the government so far,” Chowdhury grumbled, a 25-year-old student who took part in the protests that drove autocratic ex-leader Sheikh Hasina into exile on August 5.
Unemployment was a key driver of protests last year. Since the revolution, it has only grown worse.
At the end of September 2024, the number of people seeking employment in the country of 170 million hit 2.66 million, a six-percent increase from 2.49 million the year before, according to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS).
The International Monetary Fund warned in September that economic activity had “slowed markedly, while inflation remains at double-digit levels,” with tax revenues down while spending pressures had increased.
For many, the euphoria of Hasina’s ouster is fading.
Chowdhury said that while Yunus handed cabinet posts to student leaders, he felt demands were being ignored.
“Although our representatives are part of the administration, I’m not sure whether our voices are being heard,” the political science graduate said.
Literature graduate Shukkur Ali, 31, scrapes by on odd jobs to support his elderly and sick parents.
“I do anything and everything just to cover the bare minimum,” he told AFP, adding that newspaper job advertisements have dried up.
“I used to apply only for white-collar jobs in educational institutions or banks — but failed,” he said.
“Now, anything is good for me. I just want a job.”
Independent analyst Zahid Hussain, 71, former lead economist at the World Bank in Dhaka, said that around a third of the working labor force are “underemployed doing whatever jobs they can to pay the bills.”
Bangladesh’s economy grew dramatically after its independence in 1971.
That was largely due to its textile industry producing global brands in a multi-billion dollar business as the world’s second-largest garment exporter.
But jobs outside the crowded clothing factories for university graduates are far fewer.
Educated Bangladeshis make up 87 percent of those without work, according to BBS figures.
The government says it is making every effort to address the issue.
Shafiqul Alam, Yunus’ press secretary, said robust tax generation would allow the government to invest in the public sector and create a “huge” number of jobs.
“Ensuring better revenue collection is a priority, as the previous government left behind a broken economy,” Alam said.
But Yunus, an 84-year-old microfinance pioneer, is also swept up in what he calls the “extremely tough” challenge of restoring democratic institutions ahead of elections slated for this year or early 2026.
Those reforms include an overhaul of the constitution and the public administration to prevent a return to autocracy.
“The interim government is preoccupied with managing the mess they inherited,” said Hussain, adding there were only “sporadic attempts” to support the youth, such as hiring students to assist traffic police.
“The administration isn’t functioning at full speed,” he said. “I’d rate them 50 out of 100.”
Challenges are daunting.
“The public sector can recruit no more than 20,000 to 25,000 graduates, while around 700,000 graduates leave colleges each year,” said AKM Fahim Mashroor, chief of popular online job site Bdjobs.
The private sector provides around 85 percent of jobs, but there is little optimism there either.
“Both the public and private sectors have been slow in recruiting since August 5,” he added.
And the unrest has spooked investors.
Bangladesh’s central bank says foreign investment between July and November 2024 was $177 million — less than a third of the $614 million secured under Hasina’s iron-fisted rule during the same period the previous year.
Taskeen Ahmed, president of the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the government should roll out programs to support young job-seekers including “loan schemes for youth to start businesses.”
Some like Subir Roy, a 31-year-old finance graduate who was nominated to a government job only for it to be rescinded without reason, said it was already too late for him.
“My father sold a small piece of land to send me to university... now I’m returning home empty-handed,” Roy said.
“I’ll join my father in the paddy field.”

Topics: Bangadesh

India says 'open' to return of undocumented immigrants in US

India says 'open' to return of undocumented immigrants in US
Updated 37 min 26 sec ago
AFP
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India says 'open' to return of undocumented immigrants in US

India says 'open' to return of undocumented immigrants in US
  • India was working with the Trump administration on the deportation of around 18,000 Indians
Updated 37 min 26 sec ago
AFP

Washington: India is prepared to take back its citizens residing illegally in the United States, foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar has said after meeting the top diplomat of President Donald Trump’s new administration.
Jaishankar’s remarks came after a meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington on Tuesday a day after Trump’s inauguration.
Trump issued a raft of executive orders this week that aim to clamp down on illegal immigration and expedite his goal of deporting millions of immigrants.
Jaishankar said New Delhi was open to taking back undocumented Indians and was in the process of verifying those in the United States who could be deported to India.
“We want Indian talent and Indian skills to have the maximum opportunity at the global level. At the same time, we are also very firmly opposed to illegal mobility and illegal migration,” Jaishankar told a group of Indian reporters in Washington on Wednesday.
“So, with every country, and the US is no exception, we have always taken the view that if any of our citizens are here illegally, and if we are sure that they are our citizens, we have always been open to their legitimate return to India.”
Jaishankar was responding to a query on news reports that India was working with the Trump administration on the deportation of around 18,000 Indians who are either undocumented, or have overstayed their visas.
Rubio had “emphasized the Trump administration’s desire to work with India to advance economic ties and address concerns related to irregular migration,” State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a readout after Tuesday’s meeting.
India is the world’s fifth-largest economy and enjoys world-beating GDP growth, but hundreds of thousands of its citizens still leave the country each year seeking better opportunities abroad.
While its diaspora spans the globe, the United States remains the destination of choice.
The most recent US census showed its Indian-origin population had grown by 50 percent to 4.8 million in the decade to 2020, while more than a third of the nearly 1.3 million Indian students studying abroad in 2022 were in the United States.

Topics: India US illegal immigrants

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Recipes for Success: Chef Garnaras Giorgos of Parea Greek Brasserie talks cooking with love

Recipes for Success: Chef Garnaras Giorgos of Parea Greek Brasserie talks cooking with love
Updated 47 min 2 sec ago
Shyama Krishna Kumar
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Recipes for Success: Chef Garnaras Giorgos of Parea Greek Brasserie talks cooking with love

Recipes for Success: Chef Garnaras Giorgos of Parea Greek Brasserie talks cooking with love
Updated 47 min 2 sec ago
Shyama Krishna Kumar

RIYADH: Parea Greek Brasserie, newly opened at the Hilton Riyadh Olaya, aims “to present Greek cuisine in a way that respects tradition but also embraces innovation,” head chef Garnaras Giorgos tells Arab News. 

“Parea offers a unique experience, not only through the stunning scenery and view but also through my personal take on Greek cuisine. I bring flavors and memories from across Greece — from Cyprus to the Zagori mountains and northern Greece. What I aim to offer my guests is a taste of my journey, along with a deep appreciation for Santorini, where I spent five years learning to respect nature and use exceptional ingredients.” 

Parea Greek Brasserie head chef Garnaras Giorgos. (Supplied)

The Greek chef says his grandfathers were his first mentors. “I vividly remember when I was four, standing alongside both my grandfathers — Panayioti and Yiorgo (whom I was named after). They were showing me how to prepare a whole lamb on the spit for our family celebrations. It’s a cherished memory I’ll never forget,” he explains. 

“I’ve been in love with food since a very young age, and that passion is the main driving force behind my career,” he adds. 

Here, he talks to Arab News about his time in Saudi Arabia, his top tip for amateur chefs and his management style. 

 

What has it been like living and working in Saudi Arabia so far? 

Having lived in various countries, what stands out most to me here is the sense of safety. I’ve never felt more secure. I’m still taking time to integrate into the local culture, which I deeply admire. I make it a point to explore new places in my free time. 

 

What’s your top tip for amateurs? 

Focus on using fresh, local, and seasonal ingredients. When you cook with what’s available at the right time of year, the results will always be delicious. 

 

What one ingredient can instantly improve any dish? 

Love! When you cook with love, the food is guaranteed to be full of flavor and soul. 

 

When you go out to eat, do you find yourself critiquing the food?  

I try to simply enjoy the moment and savor the flavors. I focus on the positives and appreciate the effort that goes into the dish, rather than being overly critical. 

 

What’s your favorite cuisine to order?  

It really depends on my mood. I can go from street food to a fine dining experience — I’m always eager to try something new. 

 

What’s your go-to dish if you have to cook something quickly at home? 

Trahanas — a traditional Greek hearty soup. It’s quick, healthy and full of flavor. I actually make my version of it at Parea. 

 

What customer request most annoys you? 

I’m usually able to accommodate any request. The key is understanding the guest’s needs and finding a way to deliver. 

 

What’s your favorite dish to cook and why? 

There’s no one particular dish — I love the ones that bring back memories, especially those with a story behind them. So I’d say anything hearty with personal significance. 

 

What’s the most difficult dish for you to get right? 

The whole quail. It’s a dish that always presents a challenge — but it’s also an opportunity to perfect my technique. 

 

Pare

Relaxed? Quite the opposite! While we do have our fun moments, when it’s busy there’s no room for democracy in the kitchen. It’s all about precision, teamwork and getting the job done efficiently. 

Topics: Parea Greek Brasserie Chef Garnaras Giorgos Hilton Riyadh Olaya

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