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The recently held Business Continuity and Resilience Conference (BCRC) 2025 concluded with key recommendations to strengthen organisational resilience in Qatar, under the theme ‘Business Continuity and Resilience – Smart Solutions and Artificial Intelligence’. Key recommendations of the conference included accelerating the integration of smart solutions and AI into continuity plans; emphasising adaptive, data-driven resilience powered by AI; using AI not only to forecast disruptions, such as cyber threats and supply-chain bottlenecks, but to automate crisis response; enhancing public–private collaboration to unify standards and share expertise; establishing specialised training programmes to improve team readiness; and building secure, resilient digital infrastructure to support sustainable transformation. Engineer Abdulatif Ali al-Yafei, BCRC chairman, said: “This conference reflects Qatar’s steadfast commitment to fostering a dynamic business ecosystem, one that does not merely face challenges, but transforms them into drivers of innovation, growth, and competitive advantage. “This year’s theme, ‘Business Continuity and Resilience – Smart Solutions and Artificial Intelligence’, embodies our ambitious vision for the future and presents a pivotal opportunity for collective progress.” The event was attended by Hassan bin Sultan al-Ghanem, Assistant Undersecretary for Consumer Affairs at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, along with CEOs from both the public and private sectors and senior representatives from various entities, underscoring the importance of strengthening institutional readiness to face challenges through the adoption of advanced technological solutions and artificial intelligence (AI). The conference also focused on the transformative role of AI and smart solutions in reshaping resilience strategies. These technologies have become essential tools for risk forecasting, crisis response, and accelerating disaster recovery, enabling Qatari organisations not only to withstand challenges but also to convert them into opportunities for growth and innovation. Al-Yafei said: “We stand at a defining moment in which AI, machine learning, and predictive analytics are revolutionising how institutions handle risks. These technologies empower organisations to move from reactive crisis management to proactive resilience, embracing change as a fundamental opportunity for advancement.” According to al-Yafei, the conference highlighted the critical role of risk management, business continuity, resilience, and crisis management in an era shaped by technological transformation. “We explored how AI and tools ranging from predictive analytics to automated crisis responses are redefining readiness. Modern resilience is no longer reactive: it is intelligent, cognitive, adaptive, and analytics-driven. The event demonstrated how these powerful technologies equip companies to anticipate disruptions, such as cyber threats or supply chain issues, and automate crisis response to ensure faster recovery and a robust, monitored infrastructure,” al-Yafei emphasised. He added: “Through this conference, the BCR Qatar network gathered industry leaders and experts in support of Qatar National Vision 2030. Our mission is to stimulate innovation, promote sustainable growth, and strengthen Qatar’s global position as a resilient, future-ready economy. Together, we explore how to transform challenges into opportunities for innovation, collaboration, and strategic advantage — turning resilience into a critical strategic asset that drives our success.” 

Greece's former prime minister Alexis Tsipras Monday released a long-awaited memoir, 10 years after the trauma of the country's debt crisis, as he reportedly mulls a political comeback.The ex-Communist youth leader, who came to power in 2015 as an anti-austerity firebrand at the head of the left-wing Syriza alliance, was forced to negotiate a multi-billion-dollar rescue with Greece's EU-IMF creditors.Now 51, he has said he felt an "obligation" to "recount the events as I experienced them, to capture the conditions, the conflicts, the dilemmas, and the cost"."It is time for my voice to be heard," he said in a statement this month.The memoir — an epic 730 pages — is titled *Ithaki, the Ionian island also known as Ithaca, where Tsipras in 2018 emphatically declared Greece's exit from its decade-long economic crisis.Much of his ire over Greece's troubled financial odyssey is directed at former comrades, including finance minister of the time Yanis Varoufakis.Tsipras said he picked the maverick economist to show "aggressive determination" but that ultimately he was a "celebrity" who became intolerable even to his own colleagues.There are also details about Tsipras' tightrope negotiations with world leaders, including former US president Barack Obama, Germany's Angela Merkel and Russia's Vladimir Putin.He recalled Merkel being left "speechless" by his decision to hold a referendum on the EU-IMF rescue deal.While Obama offered behind-the-scenes guidance, Putin bluntly turned down an offer to buy Greek government bonds, saying he would rather give the money to an orphanage.Tsipras insists the referendum, in which Greeks overwhelmingly voted to reject further cuts, was a "weapon" to stave off national "humiliation".But he also admitted that some members of his party had a tenuous grip on reality when it came to the issues at stake.Zoe Konstantopoulou, who was picked by Tsipras to be head of parliament but later fell out with him over the rescue deal he approved, Monday called him a "traitor".And some of Tsipras' attributions to the former leader of the socialist Pasok party Fofi Gennimata, who died in 2021, were untrue, one of her close aides said Monday.The book "puts words into the mouth of a person who can no longer respond and defend the truth", said former Pasok MP Manolis Othonas.Tsipras stood down as prime minister after losing a 2019 national election to the conservative New Democracy party of Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the current prime minister.He quit as party leader in 2023 after Mitsotakis inflicted an even broader election defeat in back-to-back polls. In October he also stepped down as MP.Syriza repeatedly fractured after Tsipras' departure, and currently polls in sixth place at around 5.0%.Tsipras last year formed a political institute, and is believed to be planning the creation of a new political movement or party, which polls show would be supported by about 20% of voters.

A Group of 20 leaders' summit in South Africa adopted a declaration addressing the climate crisis and other global challenges Saturday after it was drafted without US input. The declaration, using language to which Washington has been opposed, "can't be renegotiated," South African President Cyril Ramaphosa's spokesperson told reporters, reflecting strains between Pretoria and the Trump administration over the event."We had the entire year of working towards this adoption and the past week has been quite intense," spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said. Ramaphosa, host of this weekend's gathering of Group of 20 leaders in Johannesburg, had earlier said there was "overwhelming consensus" for a summit declaration. But at the last minute Argentina, whose far-right President Javier Milei is a close ally of US President Donald Trump, quit the negotiations right before the envoys were about to adopt the draft text, South African officials said. "Argentina, although it cannot endorse the declaration ... remains fully committed to the spirit of cooperation that has defined the G20 since its conception," its foreign minister Pablo Quirno said at the summit.Ramaphosa noted this, but went ahead with it anyway. In explanation, Quirno said Argentina was concerned about how the document referred to geopolitical issues. Envoys from the G20 - which brings together the world's major economies - drew up a draft leaders' declaration on Friday without US involvement, four sources familiar with the matter said.The declaration used the kind of language long disliked by the US administration: stressing the seriousness of climate change and the need to better adapt to it, praising ambitious targets to boost renewable energy and noting the punishing levels of debt service suffered by poor countries.The mention of climate change was a snub to Trump, who doubts the scientific consensus that global warming is caused by human activities. US officials had indicated they would oppose any reference to it in the declaration. In opening remarks to the summit, Ramaphosa said: "We should not allow anything to diminish the value, the stature and the impact of the first African G20 presidency".His bold tone was a striking contrast to his subdued decorum during his visit to the White House in May, in which he endured Trump repeating a false claim that there was a genocide of white farmers in South Africa, brushing aside Ramaphosa's efforts to correct his facts.Trump said US officials would not attend the summit because of allegations, widely discredited, that the host country's Black majority government persecutes its white minority. The summit came at a time of heightened tensions between world powers over Russia's war in Ukraine and fraught climate negotiations at the COP30 in Brazil. "While the G20 diversity sometimes presents challenges, it also underscores the importance of finding common ground," Japan Cabinet Public Affairs Secretary Maki Kobayashi told Reuters.

Bolivians have elected Rodrigo Paz of the center-right Christian Democratic Party (PDC) as their new president, ending nearly two decades of rule by the Movement for Socialism (MAS) party.With 97% of ballots counted, Paz secured 54.5% of the vote in Sunday's run-off, according to figures released by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE).Paz is scheduled to take office on November 8, succeeding outgoing President Luis Arce, who chose not to seek re-election after a five-year term marked by Bolivia's worst economic crisis in four decades.The country is currently grappling with a severe fuel shortage caused by collapsing gas exports and dwindling foreign currency reserves, which have pushed inflation above 23% and led to long queues at fuel stations.Paz's economic platform focuses on cutting government spending, particularly fuel subsidies, while encouraging private-sector expansion and implementing a model of "capitalism for all" based on decentralization and fiscal discipline before resorting to new borrowing.

US President Donald Trump affirmed that he is working hard on resolving the Ukrainian crisis, amid the ongoing Russian military operation against Ukraine since February 24, 2022. Trump added, in press statements, that he continues to work on ending the Russian war on Ukraine, saying he is working diligently on this file, ahead of the expected visit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the White House scheduled for Friday. On another note, the US President stated that the United States is in a trade war with China. In response to a question about the possibility of escalating relations with China into a trade war, Trump said, "We're in one now."

The dollar took a breather on Thursday after a strong run this week that has put it on track for its best performance in nearly a year, helped by a weak yen that has struggled amid a change of guard in Japan's ruling party. The Japanese currency was last a touch stronger at 152.49 per dollar, after having slid to an eight-month low of 153 per dollar overnight. The euro is also under pressure due to the escalating political crisis in France following the shocking resignation of Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu and his government, although French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to appoint a new prime minister within 48 hours. The moves in the yen and the euro have in turn provided support for the dollar, which is up more than 1% for the week. Sterling rose 0.07% to $1.3413, after having touched a roughly two weeks previous session, while the Australian dollar was last up 0.11% at $0.6594. The New Zealand dollar rose 0.1 % to $0.5792, after falling in the previous session following the Reserve Bank of New Zealand's 50 basis point interest rate cut. Against a basket of currencies, the dollar was little changed at 98.77.

In the modern, interlinked ecosystem, online footprints significantly influence career paths and organizational fortunes. Online reputation management has grown from a niche service to a core business activity. This growth has spawned a new generation of specialist crisis management companies, with ReputationUP emerging as a shining example of holistic digital reputation defense and restoration.The Evolution of Digital Risk ManagementThe internet era has transformed the ways reputations are established, sustained, and impacted. Conventional public relations strategies, which were previously sufficient to deal with corporate image management, are now not effective enough to counter the sophisticated issues of online defamation, viral lies, and organized digital assault. The advent of search engine defamation, compliance blacklist manipulation, and personalized disinformation campaigns has generated an increasing demand for professional intervention services.ReputationUP has systematized this challenge with its own certified proprietary framework that deals with the four pillars of contemporary online reputation management: cleaning, monitoring, protection, and improvement. This methodological framework is a significant break from the traditional crisis management practices of the past, providing clients with a step-by-step guide to digital reputation restoration and long-term safeguarding.Guided by CEO EMEA Andrea Baggio and CEO America Juan Ricardo Palacio, the company has forged what industry-watchers acknowledge as an overarching vision of digital crisis management. 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Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi welcomed the plan announced by US President Donald Trump regarding ending the war in the Gaza Strip. The Secretary General considered that any international effort aimed at ending the crisis and putting a stop to the humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip deserves praise, engagement, and contribution. He affirmed that a ceasefire, the direct and rapid lifting of restrictions on aid delivery, preventing the displacement of the population from the Strip and protecting them, are priorities that should be at the core of any responsible international action. He stressed that the success of any initiative is contingent on the seriousness of its implementation and on ensuring the protection of civilians and providing suitable conditions for stability. GCC Secretary General indicated that the Cooperation Council views the proposed steps positively, as they could contribute to paving a genuine and just path that guarantees the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, foremost among them the establishment of their independent state on the June 4, 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital. He also underscored the Cooperation Council's readiness to cooperate with regional and international partners to support every effort that leads to ending the crisis in the Gaza Strip and formulating a solution that preserves all the rights of the brotherly Palestinian people, based on the two-state solution, and achieves security and stability in the region.

QNB reported that the US dollar has maintained its status as one of the world's most important currencies and strongest financial assets over the past fifteen years, gaining more than 50 percent in value from the time of the global financial crisis and the European debt crisis (2008-2011) up to the second inauguration of Donald Trump as US president in 2025.In its weekly report, the bank said that the dollar's sustained rise was driven by the enduring outperformance of US financial markets and the reliance of global investors on dollar-denominated assets as a safe haven. Weak liquidity and heightened risk in both advanced and emerging economies drew capital flows into US Treasury bonds and equities, which benefitted from deep markets and unique advantages in security and innovation.However, QNB noted that the factors supporting the dollar's strength have come under significant pressure in 2025. The US Dollar Index (DXY) has fallen more than 10 percent since the start of the year, its largest annual drop since 1973, when President Richard Nixon ended the dollar's link to gold. The decline has been broad-based, spanning all major currencies in the index basket, including the euro, yen, British pound, Canadian dollar, Swedish krona, and Swiss franc.Trade-weighted, inflation-adjusted exchange rate measures continue to show the dollar as overvalued relative to historical norms, particularly over the long term, reflecting changes in trade patterns, economic imbalances, and inflation differentials.The report projected a marked decline in US exceptionalism, with growth and interest-rate differentials narrowing toward those of other advanced economies. QNB expects the gap in GDP growth between the United States and the euro area, which averaged 220 basis points in favor of the US in recent years, to shrink to about 70 basis points during 2025-2027. This shift is likely to be driven by US fiscal and immigration policies alongside more positive fiscal dynamics in the eurozone. The European Central Bank is expected to complete, or nearly complete, its monetary easing cycle, while the US Federal Reserve is forecast to implement significant interest-rate cuts through the remainder of 2025 and into 2026.As a result, the real interest-rate spread between the US and the eurozone is projected to narrow from the current 170 basis points to zero by late 2026, which would favor a stronger euro and push the US Dollar Index lower. Because the euro makes up 57.6 percent of the DXY basket, even moderate euro appreciation could have a notable impact.The report also highlighted US efforts to restructure its economy by reducing the current-account deficit and encouraging the reshoring of strategic industries. These moves could cut trade surpluses among key partners and reduce capital flows that traditionally support the dollar. Adding to the pressure is the United States' negative Net International Investment Position (NIIP), estimated at about $24.6 trillion, which implies a gradual adjustment that could weigh on the currency.Despite these headwinds, QNB concluded that the current indicators do not point to an excessive or disorderly decline in the dollar in 2025. While the first half of the year has seen a sharp drop, continued selling pressure is more consistent with a gradual correction driven by elevated valuations and cyclical and structural economic factors rather than a collapse in confidence.

Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi welcomed the announcement by the sisterly Arab Republic of Syria of reaching a roadmap to resolve the crisis in the As-Suwayda Governorate.Albudaiwi commended the efforts of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the United States of America in supporting this announcement, which will contribute to enhancing security and peace in the Arab Republic of Syria and achieving the aspirations of the brotherly Syrian people for stability, development, and prosperity.

C.V.Rappai, prominent Indian entrepreneur and a long-time resident, has condemned the Israeli aggression on Qatar, terming it “totally unacceptable”.Qatar has been working very hard as a mediator to find a peaceful solution to the crisis in Gaza.“I have been in Qatar for the last 45 years. Qatar is very peaceful and among the most peaceful countries in the world. The aggression on Qatar is totally unacceptable. I hope countries around the world will protest the flagrant violation of Qatar’s sovereignty and a blatant breach of international laws and norms,” Rappai said.