Middle East

Saudi Arabia’s Taqnia Space has contracted with Eutelsat, one of Europe’s largest satellite communications providers, to provide additional satellite capacity for Taqnia’s in-flight connectivity services on board Saudia flights.

Yahsat, the Abu Dhabi-based satellite communications operator, has completed its buyout of Dubai-based Thuraya, a leading mobile satellite services operator, and has also announced the appointment of a new chief executive officer for Thuraya, Ali Al Hashemi.

Israel's Gilat is becoming a major presence in the Latin American telecommunications market after it announced a deal with Hispasat, the Spanish satellite communications operator, to help commercialise Hispasat's Ka-band satellite capacity over Brazil.

The UK space sector is truly on the up. Years of hard work preparing the ground are finally paying off. With recent announcements promising long awaited spaceports, and the rapid growth and leadership of the UK in the smallsat industry, iconic Goonhilly Teleport is looking forward to a glittering future.

Etisalat Digital, a unit within the UAE's largest telecommunications provider Etisalat, announced on 30 July 2018 that it is working with Dubai Future Accelerators on using Artificial Intelligence (AI) via video surveillance systems to tackle crime and road congestion in the UAE.

Information from global users of the encrypted messenger app Telegram was purposefully directed through Iranian networks on Monday, 30 July 2018, according to several media reports.

A team from the UAE’s Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) consisting of Emirati officials and nine astronaut candidates are now in Russia, according to Russian state space agency Roscosmos.

Israel’s Gilat is expanding its geographical reach: a major Latin American telecommunications provider has selected Gilat to provide satellite backhaul for a mobile telephone network.

Pakistan's Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Khan Hasham Bin Saddique, met with Haitham A. Al-Ohali, the Saudi Arabian vice minister of communications and information technology, at his office in Riyadh on 24 July 2018, according to a report in the Saudi Gazette.

U.S. cyber security company Symantec has revealed the existence of a new Iranian proxy hacking group they have named ‘Leafminer’ and that have been operating since early 2017.