US' Snap Inc to launch first Mena AR academy in Qatar
Snap Inc, an American technology company, will launch in Qatar its first augmented reality (AR) academy in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region.
In this regard, Snap Inc signed a landmark memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Government Communications Office (GCO) at the Web Summit 2025.
The partnership with GCO for the first AR academy will unlock new opportunities and empower the next generation of AR creators and developers.
This move also underscores Snap's long-term commitment to investing in Mena's digital ecosystem, by building AR capabilities for partners both old and new, which is critical to digital transformation agendas.
"This initiative aligns with Qatar's National Vision 2030 in building a knowledge-based economy and nurturing the next generation of creators by equipping them with the essential tools and skills to navigate global digital transformations. Through our investment in such pioneering programmes, we continue to strengthen Qatar's position as a regional centre for digital excellence and technological innovation," said Sheikh Jassim bin Mansour bin Jabor al-Thani, director of the GCO and chairman of the Permanent Web Summit Organising Committee.
Hussein Freijeh, General Manager of Snap Inc in the Middle East said the long-term success of the technology requires a vibrant developer and creator ecosystem, which is critical to the digital transformation taking place in the region.
"Once again we are honoured to work hand in hand with GCO to drive the growth and digital upskilling of the thriving talent pool and we cannot wait to see the groundbreaking work they produce," he added.
AR has played a pivotal role in visual communication for more than a decade, pioneered by Snapchat and widely loved by online communities and brands all over the world for its ability to elevate creativity, connection and self-expression. From retail try-ons, and now Gen AI, Snapchat has evolved AR into a tool for human connection and spatial computing. Today, more than 300mn people use AR on Snapchat and more than 85% of Mena daily users interact with Lenses every day.
In the fourth quarter of 2024 alone, more than 400mn Snapchatters engaged with Gen AI-powered Lenses over 4bn times.
At present, more than 375,000 AR creators, developers, and teams from nearly every country in the world have built over 4mn Lenses.
Many of these are created using fifth generation Snap Spectacles, which have capabilities to better build and experiment with AR, allowing users to interact with the world and each other in entirely new ways.
© Gulf Times Newspaper 2022 Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).
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Gulf Today
7 hours ago
- Gulf Today
Donald Trump has finally found a way to arm Ukraine
President Donald Trump has finally found a way to like arming Ukraine: ask European allies to donate their weapons, and sell them American replacements. Now comes the hard part — agreeing on who will actually give up their prized systems, including the Patriot missile batteries that Kyiv has been desperately seeking. "We're going to make top-of-the-line weapons, and they'll be sent to NATO," Trump said in the Oval Office on Monday. Some Patriot missile defence systems should arrive in Ukraine 'within days,' added Trump, who faces resistance from some high-profile figures in the MAGA movement who oppose US support for Ukraine. The costly Patriot systems — in high demand among US allies — have proven effective at destroying Russian ballistic missiles aimed at Ukraine's cities. The US has also signaled willingness under the proposed arrangement with European allies to send additional offensive weapons, said one source familiar with the matter, though Trump has said that Ukraine should refrain from attacking Moscow. The plan, which Trump and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte hatched in recent days, according to two sources familiar with the discussions, has been received positively by Ukraine and its allies. Leaders in Kyiv and elsewhere have celebrated a major tonal shift from Trump, who had until recent weeks spoken glowingly of Russian President Vladimir Putin. But since the announcement, it has become clear Trump presented a framework — not a fleshed-out plan. How material any support ends up being for Ukraine will depend on coming negotiations about who provides which equipment, according to 10 officials in the US and Europe. "As always with these things, the devil is in the details," said one northern European ambassador in Washington. The central question is who would donate the Patriot batteries, and when. During his Oval Office meeting with Trump on Monday, Rutte mentioned six NATO countries — Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands and Canada — that were willing to participate in the weapons-purchasing scheme. High-ranking sources at two of those countries' embassies in the US told Reuters they personally learned of the plan as it was announced. Even close US allies appeared to learn of the proposal in real time. "It is my clear sense that nobody has been briefed about the exact details in advance, and I also suspect that internally in the administration they are only now beginning to sort out what it means in practice," said a separate European ambassador. Kurt Volker, a former US ambassador to NATO, said Trump found a way to balance support for Ukraine with the political realities of the Republican Party. Having the European allies underwrite US arms supplies is "very consistent with what he (Trump) said during the campaign," he said. Throughout the campaign, Trump said he would push European countries to spend more on defense, to great applause from MAGA crowds. "You gotta pay," he said. "If they're not going to pay, we're not going to protect, ok?" Volker said Ukraine could ultimately receive 12 to 13 Patriot batteries but it could take a year for them all to be delivered. Asked for comment, a NATO official said the defense alliance would coordinate weapons deliveries through a mechanism known as the NATO Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine, a NATO mission located in Germany that is responsible for coordinating Western military aid for Kyiv. "Several European countries have already committed to support this initiative including Germany, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Canada and Finland," the official said. "Details are still under discussion." In response to a request for comment, the Pentagon referred Reuters to Trump's Monday remarks announcing his agreement with Rutte. The White House did not respond to a request for comment, nor did the Ukrainian or Russian embassies in Washington. The rapid hardening of Trump's rhetoric toward Moscow in recent weeks has come amid an increasingly firm belief that Putin is not engaging in good-faith negotiations, according to two US officials. "At a certain point, you know, ultimately talk doesn't talk. It's got to be action. It's got to be results," Trump said during his meeting with Rutte on Monday. One of the officials said Trump came to realize that Putin's ambitions extend beyond Crimea and four eastern regions of Ukraine, a point Kyiv and European allies have publicly and frequently made. Three Russian sources close to the Kremlin said Putin will not stop the war under pressure from the West and believe that Russia — which has survived the toughest sanctions imposed by the West — can endure further economic hardship, including Trump's Monday threat to impose US tariffs targeting buyers of Russian oil. Now, three US officials involved in weapons matters said, the real work begins. US officials are now talking with NATO allies and gauging who is willing to send what to Ukraine. European officials have been broadly receptive. "We are ready to participate," Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen told reporters in Brussels on Tuesday ahead of a meeting of European Union ministers. One official cited Germany, Greece, the Netherlands and Spain as good candidates to send a Patriot battery to Kyiv, either because they had multiple batteries or the threats they face are relatively remote. Some, including Greece and Spain, have previously resisted appeals from allies to give some of their Patriot systems to Ukraine, arguing that they are essential to defend their own countries and NATO as a whole. Trump's move to take credit for the additional weapons headed to Ukraine has created some mild friction in Europe. "If we pay for these weapons, it's our support," said EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, speaking after the Brussels meeting, adding that she welcomed Trump's decision. "So it's European support, and we are doing as much as we can to help Ukraine ... If you promise to give the weapons, but say that somebody else is going to pay for it, it's not really given by you, is it?" One of the officials said that the Trump administration has been going through NATO inventories to see what's available. Their next effort is to attempt to persuade the allies to gift the equipment to Ukraine in exchange for a "trade" of some sort, the official said. The trade could be a variety of things, the official said, including giving up an impending acceptance of a piece of military equipment through the Foreign Military Sales program, or sending munitions to Ukraine in exchange for an earlier replenishment date. Trump told reporters there was one country with 17 Patriots, some of which would go directly to Ukraine. The figure has caused widespread confusion among European allies and on Capitol Hill — many of whom have not been briefed — according to the US and European officials. No NATO member except the US has that number of Patriot systems, said two sources familiar with the matter, causing speculation that Trump may have been referring to particular Patriot components, like launchers or missiles. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, who visited the Pentagon on Monday, said the Germans would discuss sending Patriot batteries to Ukraine with the US in the coming days or weeks. But no Patriot system would arrive in Kyiv for months, he said, likely delaying any receipt until after the tactically crucial summer months. Another official said Trump was engaged directly in negotiations, though talks so far were "squishy." "So far folks have said, 'We can help,'" that official said. "Now, what that means, we don't know." Reuters
Middle East Eye
11 hours ago
- Middle East Eye
China's rise is exposing the cost of America's alliance with Israel
The rivalry between the United States and China has emerged as the defining feature of 21st-century geopolitics. As American global dominance frays after three decades of unipolarity, China's steady rise as an economic, military and diplomatic soft power signals a tectonic shift in the global order. At the same time, the US continues to entangle itself in regional struggles - particularly in the Middle East - that no longer yield strategic dividends but instead deepen perceptions of decline. Nowhere is this clearer than in America's unwavering support for Israel, especially after the 7 October attack, which has begun to reshape global perceptions of the legitimacy of both US power and the Zionist enterprise. Together, these developments mark the decline of US primacy and the emergence of a new international order no longer shaped solely by American imperial dominance. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters Strategic patience Since the end of the Cold War, China has pursued a long-term strategy of "strategic patience" - a multidimensional approach that emphasises economic growth, military modernisation and multilateral engagement. The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is the flagship of this strategy, aiming to weave a web of infrastructure, trade and investment agreements across Eurasia, Africa and Latin America. The initiative has allowed China not only to secure vital resources and influence global trade routes, but also to export its development model while bypassing western-dominated institutions. China's explosive growth has allowed it to secure vital resources, shape global trade routes and bypass western-dominated institutions China's economic growth has been staggering. In 1992, its GDP was just 6 percent of that of the US, at $367bn, while the US stood at $6.52 trillion. Today, it exceeds 65 percent, at $20 trillion compared with $30 trillion for the US. This explosive growth has funded an equally impressive military modernisation programme. While China has not yet supplanted the US as the dominant global military power, it increasingly asserts itself regionally, particularly in the South and East China Seas. With a military doctrine focused on anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) capabilities, China seeks to deter US intervention near its borders - an essential step towards becoming the dominant power in East Asia. In parallel, China has actively contributed to alternative international institutions that challenge western hegemony. Through Brics, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), and financial bodies such as the New Development Bank, China and its partners are steadily constructing a multipolar world order - one that erodes the primacy of the US-led liberal international system. US grand strategy After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the US emerged as the world's sole superpower - a unipolar moment it was determined to extend indefinitely. Since 1991, US grand strategy has revolved around preventing the rise of peer competitors, especially in the world's most critical regions: East Asia, Europe, and the Persian Gulf-Middle East. The logic was simple: if no other power became dominant in its own region, none could challenge American global supremacy. Trump's Middle East moves revive the question of who's in charge Read More » To that end, the US pursued two major policies to weaken its potential rivals in Europe and East Asia - both of which ultimately failed. In Europe, it expanded Nato eastward from 16 members in 1991 to 32 today, attempting to contain or politically transform Russia. The inclusion of post-Soviet states and support for pro-western movements such as the "colour revolutions" were intended to undermine Moscow's influence. Instead, these actions triggered a powerful backlash. Viewing Nato enlargement as an existential threat, Russia reasserted itself, culminating in the 2022 invasion of Ukraine - a conflict that has shifted in Moscow's favour despite massive western military aid and economic support for Kyiv. Since the 1990s, the US has pursued a policy of engagement with China, assuming that economic integration would inevitably liberalise the Chinese political system and bind it to the US-led international order. China was admitted to the World Trade Organization in 2001 and became a hub for US and global investment. But rather than transforming into a neoliberal democracy, China retained its authoritarian governance structure while amassing extraordinary economic wealth and technological power. This, in turn, enabled a surge in military spending and regional assertiveness - precisely what Washington had hoped to prevent. Imperial overreach The third pillar of US hegemony lies in the Persian Gulf and the broader Middle East. Control over this oil-rich region has long been central to US strategic planning - not only for energy access but to maintain the primacy of the US dollar. After its 1971 delinking from gold, the dollar's status as the global reserve currency was sustained by petrodollar recycling. Ensuring that oil is traded in dollars and that regional regimes remain friendly and under American influence has been critical. After 9/11, US foreign policy took an ambitious and hubristic turn towards social engineering. It invaded Afghanistan and Iraq under the banner of democratisation, regime change and national security. Follow Middle East Eye's live coverage of the Israel-Palestine war As former Nato commander General Wesley Clark revealed in 2003, the Pentagon had plans to attack seven Muslim countries in five years: Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Iran. But these grand designs unravelled in the deserts and mountains of the region. The US was defeated in both Iraq and Afghanistan, despite massive military expenditures and the loss of thousands of soldiers. The dream of remaking the Middle East in America's image collapsed into chaos, insurgency and failure. Strategic liability A central dimension of US Middle East policy has always revolved around its relationship with Israel. Since Israel's 1967 victory over three Arab states, it has been viewed by the American establishment as a valuable strategic ally. But Israel is not merely a foreign policy concern; it is deeply embedded in American domestic politics through the influence of the Israel lobby. The rise of the neoconservatives in the early 2000s - figures such as Paul Wolfowitz, Douglas Feith, Scooter Libby, Elliott Abrams and Richard Perle - marked the increasing convergence of US strategic goals with those of the Israeli and Zionist-American right. Ever since, American "Israel-firsters" have not merely knocked at the door of policymaking; they now occupy multiple seats at the table. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's 2023 speech at the UN encapsulated Israel's ambitions. Promoting the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), Netanyahu positioned Israel as a central node in global trade and infrastructure, while completely ignoring the Palestinians. The speech embodied Israel's hegemonic aspirations and bid to solidify normalisation with Arab and Islamic states, particularly Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and Pakistan. But this disregard helped provoke the 7 October 2023 attack by Hamas - an operation that shattered the illusion of Israeli invincibility and triggered a cascade of strategic losses for the Zionist project. Historic rupture The Toufan al-Aqsa operation marked a historic rupture in the region's balance of power. Despite possessing one of the most technologically advanced armies in the world and a vast intelligence apparatus, the Zionist regime was caught entirely off guard. The operation exposed deep failures in Israel's deterrence strategy, military doctrine and internal cohesion. In response, Israel launched one of the most devastating genocidal campaigns in modern history, reducing Gaza's civilian infrastructure to rubble. Despite 21 months of bombing, siege and genocide, the Palestinian resistance remains undefeated - waging a war of attrition and negotiating from a position of resilience Tens of thousands of Palestinians were killed - two-thirds of them women and children - while hundreds of thousands were injured and millions displaced. Yet despite 21 months of continuous bombing, siege and genocide, the Palestinian resistance remains undefeated. It continues a painful war of attrition and engages in negotiations from a position of resilience. Israel's military goal of achieving "total victory" by dismantling Hamas, exiling its leaders or disarming its military structures remains unrealised. This has led to a strategic crisis. Israel's deterrence doctrine - inflicting overwhelming punishment to deter adversaries - has failed. Its regional image has eroded. Its intelligence services have lost credibility. Social cohesion within Israel has fractured under the weight of prolonged war and economic strain. Military morale has plummeted, while thousands of Israelis have either been displaced or emigrated due to growing instability. Internationally, Israel's narrative of victimhood has crumbled. Graphic footage of massacres, starvation and mass destruction has flooded social media. Public opinion has shifted dramatically, particularly in the US and Europe, with millions taking to the streets - including significant numbers of Jewish youth - to stand in solidarity with Palestinians. Major institutions such as the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court have taken unprecedented steps, issuing genocide warnings and arrest warrants for senior Israeli officials, including Netanyahu. Calls for boycott, divestment and sanctions are growing. The economy has suffered major setbacks, tourism has collapsed, and reverse migration threatens long-term demographic stability. Fractured alliance While Washington and Tel Aviv share strategic aims - defeating Palestinian resistance, containing Iran and preserving regional primacy - they diverge in their long-term goals. Israel seeks regional hegemony, driven by maximalist visions such as the "Greater Israel" project. Why Netanyahu is frantically trying to pull the US into Israel's war on Iran Sami Al-Arian Read More » This includes expanding settlements in the West Bank, as championed by extremist cabinet member Bezalel Smotrich, and provocative moves around the al-Aqsa compound, pushed by racist minister Itamar Ben Gvir. The destruction of Gaza and escalating settler violence in the West Bank appear calculated to induce mass Palestinian expulsion to "solve" Israel's demographic dilemma and avoid permanent apartheid. The US, by contrast, prefers managed stability - weakening Iran, securing energy markets, curbing Russian and Chinese influence, and preserving a compliant regional security order with allies like Israel and Saudi Arabia. With Israel's failure to subdue the resistance militarily, Washington aims to end the war while still realising its objectives and preserving the regional order. New order The rise of Trump's nativist "Maga" movement, the collapse of US strategic credibility, the emergence of China as a peer competitor, and the regional unravelling of Israeli deterrence have together created an opening for a historic reorientation of global power. For the Arab and Muslim world, this moment presents an urgent imperative: to break free from foreign domination and Zionist hegemonic control. The western-led international system has shown itself unwilling or unable to hold Israel accountable for its crimes - despite overwhelming evidence of genocide, war crimes and ethnic cleansing. This exposes a structurally unjust order in which sheer power, not law, determines legitimacy. The fundamental interest of Arab and Muslim peoples lies in dismantling this system and moving towards a multipolar order grounded in justice, sovereignty and human dignity. More critically, the unifying struggle today must be the eradication of foreign domination and Zionist influence. Without this, no revival - whether based on democracy, economic reform, scientific progress, Islamic governance or civilisational renewal - can succeed. For the Arab and Muslim world, this moment presents an urgent imperative: to break free from foreign domination and Zionist hegemonic control Israeli hegemony, backed by US military, political and financial support, is designed precisely to thwart any movement towards independence, unity or development. It is a blockade against the future. Only by confronting and dismantling these structures of domination can the region begin a genuine renaissance. Sovereignty and self-determination cannot coexist with fragmentation, dependency and occupation. This struggle must take precedence over all others - not as a vague ideal, but as a strategic necessity. The twilight of American primacy may not come overnight, but it is clearly underway. Its uncritical alignment with Israeli extremism risks sparking another wave of regional unrest - an Arab Spring 2.0 - directed not only at domestic autocrats, but also at dismantling Zionist racist structures and the US imperial order that sustains them. In this critical moment, the peoples of the Arab and Muslim world must chart a new course - one that asserts agency, reclaims sovereignty and redefines their place in a just and multipolar global order. The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Eye.
Khaleej Times
13 hours ago
- Khaleej Times
Trump sets 19% tariff on Indonesia goods in latest deal, EU readies retaliation
President Donald Trump on Tuesday said the U.S. would impose a 19% tariff on goods from Indonesia under a new agreement with the Southeast Asian country and more deals were coming, while offering fresh details on planned duties on pharmaceuticals. Trump announced the pact with Indonesia, a relatively minor U.S. trading partner, as he continued to press for what he views as better terms with trading partners and ways to shrink a huge U.S. trade deficit. Letters setting tariff rates for dozens of smaller countries were also coming soon, he said on Tuesday. The deal with Indonesia is among the handful struck so far by the Trump administration ahead of an August 1 deadline when duties on most U.S. imports are due to rise again. The accord came as the top U.S. trading partner - the European Union - readied retaliatory measures should talks with Washington fail. As that deadline approached, negotiations were under way with other nations eager to avoid more U.S. levies beyond a baseline 10% on most goods that has been in place since April. Trump's roll-out of the policies has often been chaotic. His moves have upended decades of negotiated reductions in global trade barriers, unsettling international financial markets and threatening a new wave of inflation. Based on Trump tariff announcements through Sunday, Yale Budget Lab estimated the U.S. effective average tariff rates will rise to 20.6% from between 2% and 3% before Trump's return to the White House in January. Consumption shifts would bring the rate down to 19.7%, but it's still the highest since 1933. Trump outlined an Indonesia deal similar to a preliminary pact struck recently with Vietnam, with a flat tariff on exports to the U.S. roughly double the current 10% and no levies on U.S. exports going there. It also included a penalty rate for so-called transhipments of goods from China via Indonesia and a commitment to buy some U.S. goods. "They are going to pay 19% and we are going to pay nothing ... we will have full access into Indonesia, and we have a couple of those deals that are going to be announced," Trump said outside the Oval Office. Trump later said on his Truth Social platform that Indonesia had agreed to buy $15 billion of U.S. energy products, $4.5 billion of American farm products and 50 Boeing jets, though no time frame was specified. He told reporters the deal with Vietnam was "pretty well set" but said it was not necessary to release details. India talks Indonesia's total trade with the U.S. - totalling just under $40 billion in 2024 - does not rank in the top 15, but it has been growing. U.S. exports to Indonesia rose 3.7% last year, while imports from there were up 4.8%, leaving the U.S. with a goods trade deficit of nearly $18 billion. The top U.S. import categories from Indonesia, according to U.S. Census Bureau data from the International Trade Centre's TradeMap tool, last year were palm oil, electronics equipment including data routers and switches, footwear, car tires, natural rubber and frozen shrimp. Susiwijono Moegiarso, a senior official with Indonesia's Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, told Reuters in a text message: "We are preparing a joint statement between U.S. and Indonesia that will explain the size of reciprocal tariff for Indonesia including the tariff deal, non-tariff and commercial arrangements. We will inform (the public) soon." Trump had threatened the country with a 32% tariff rate starting August 1 in a letter sent to its president last week. He sent similar letters to about two dozen trading partners this month, including Canada, Japan and Brazil, laying out tariff rates ranging from 20% to 50%, plus a 50% tariff on copper. Speaking in Pittsburgh on Tuesday, Trump said he favored blanket tariffs over complicated negotiations, but his Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick were keen to land more trade agreements. Upon his arrival back in Washington, Trump told reporters that letters would be going out soon for many smaller countries, suggesting they would face a tariff of "a little over 10%." He said his administration would also announce tariffs on pharmaceuticals imported into the United States, probably at the end of the month, starting with what he called a low tariff rate to give companies time to move manufacturing to the U.S. before imposing a "very high tariff" in a year or so. The August 1 deadline gives targeted countries time to negotiate about lower tariff rates. Some economists have also noted Trump's pattern of backing off his tariff threats. Since launching his tariff policy, Trump has clinched only a few "framework" agreements, falling short of earlier promises to land "90 deals in 90 days." So far, such deals have been reached with the United Kingdom and Vietnam, and an interim deal has been struck with China to forestall the steepest of Trump's tariffs while negotiations continue between Washington and Beijing. Trump said talks with India were moving "along that same line," saying the agreement would give U.S. firms access to the large Indian market. EU readies retaliation The breakthrough with Indonesia came as the European Commission, which oversees trade for the EU, prepared to target 72 billion euros ($84.1 billion) worth of U.S. goods - from Boeing aircraft and bourbon whiskey to cars - for possible tariffs if trade talks with Washington fail. Trump has threatened a 30% tariff on imports from the EU from August 1, a level European officials say is unacceptable and would end normal trade between two of the world's largest markets. The list, sent to EU member states and seen by Reuters on Tuesday, pre-dated Trump's move over the weekend to ramp up pressure on the 27-nation bloc and responded instead to U.S. duties on cars and car parts and a 10% baseline tariff. The package also covers chemicals, medical devices, electrical and precision equipment as well as agriculture and food products - a range of fruits and vegetables, along with wine, beer and spirits - valued at 6.35 billion euros.
