Economy

Gas prices increased on Tuesday (16 November) to the highest level in three weeks in the European Union. This is due to Germany's temporary shutdown of the certification process for the new gas pipeline Nord Stream 2. In addition, there is an outage at a major gas field in Norway, which is expected to last until Friday.

Kuwait will commence the first steps in a government restructuring plan in which some ministries will be merged while others will be abolished. The restructuring plan will stretch over the next four years and is aimed at changing the role of the government "from an operator to an organiser". 

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has announced measures to help diversify its economy away from dependency on hydrocarbons, and to create jobs for Emiratis in new private-sector opportunities. The package includes an investment of AED24 billion to create 75,000 new private-sector jobs. The UAE government is looking to balance between creating incentives for expats to relocate to the UAE and creating employment opportunities for its own population.

Egypt's capital, Cairo, is home to hundreds of bridges and bridge extensions scattered all over the metropolis. For long, under bridges were a place for the homeless, renegades and illicit activities but the scene is rapidly changing now as underbridges turn into cafes and social corners. 

Oil prices jumped to a new high after a disagreement between Saudi Arabia and the UAE about oil production quotas. West Texas Intermediate crude advanced to $76.98 a barrel, the highest since November 2014, as the OPEC+ talks are postponed indefinitely. Meanwhile, Brent crude, the global benchmark, maintained its three-year high of about $77 a barrel. 

On Tuesday, Saudi Arabia announced the launch of the country’s National Transport and Logistics Strategy. The comprehensive programme serves to make the Kingdom a global logistics hub connecting Africa, Asia and Europe, and improve all transport services as part of Saudi Vision 2030.

China was on everyone's lips at numerous summits and international gatherings in the last days and weeks, writes Benyamin Poghosyan in this op-ed for commonspace.eu. "China will be among the key world players throughout the 21st century; it will be the number one economic power, and all have to accept and adapt to this reality. No one has the necessary capacity to contain China, despite the fact that many want to, for the moment for doing that has passed."