Fox News anchor Bret Baier takes a look at key shipping routes in the Middle East and breaks down how Iran's actions in the Red Sea could impact global trade on'Special Report.' Oil prices are on the rise amid attacks on ships in the Red Sea. Prices are at around $80 a barrel, which is far lower than prices were when Russia invaded Ukraine. Oil futures had then jumped to more than $100 a barrel. The prices have remained low since June 2022.

The United States and United Kingdom authorities say their warships have shot down 15 attack drones over the Red Sea as Israel's war on Gaza threatens to spread in the region. The US Central Command (CENTCOM) on Saturday said its guided-missile destroyer responded to a wave of drones from "Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen" over the Red Sea, downing 14 suspected attack drones. It described the launches as "one-way attack drones", saying they were "shot down with no damage to ships in the area or reported injuries". UK Defence Secretary Grant Shapps also said the Royal Navy destroyer HMS Diamond fired a Sea Viper missile and destroyed a drone that was "targeting merchant shipping". Meanwhile, Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis said the group attacked the Israeli city of Eilat on Saturday with a swarm of drones, according to spokesman Yahya Sarea who referred to the Red Sea resort city as being in "southern occupied Palestine".

In the wake of COVID-19, all kinds of technological processes have been considered in an attempt to make up for supply chain complications and labor challenges. In this unstable environment, artificial intelligence has been instrumental in streamlining shipping logistics to accommodate the new normal, and the implications of this tech are widespread. AI itself has had a heyday in modern industry. One study found the use of AI in business processes has jumped 25 percent year-over-year as companies of all kinds integrate smarter computing processes to increase efficiency. The power of this tech across shipping and supply chains, in particular, is transforming the industry in the form of data analytics, connected monitoring systems, and automated processes.

King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) IS Collaborating with Tabadul, Saudi Arabia's leading digital logistics services provider, to undertake research and innovation projects which aim to create solutions to advance global trade in Saudi Arabia. Both parties signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) during a virtual ceremony with KAUST President Tony Chan and Tabadul CEO Abdulaziz Alshamsi. Tabadul will be able to tap into the KAUST talent pool and their expertise in the area of artificial intelligence (AI), Blockchain and related areas to enhance efficiency in logistics and mobility. Working together, KAUST and Tabadul plan to launch technology innovation activities which include hackathons, bootcamps and similar initiatives which KAUST has a successful and long track-record history of hosting. "This new agreement marks a significant step in KAUST's strategy to partner with companies powering the next wave of innovation in Saudi Arabia," said Dr. Chan.

While we have made some progress towards the UN's 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), we need to work even more effectively together to create and scale approaches that address global inequalities and preserve our planet's precious resources. Part of being laser-focused on the SDGs means bearing in mind the transformative technologies that now underpin modern civilization and that will help drive solutions to these issues: the new digital frontier. This frontier is based on a single resource - data - and is underpinned by constant connectivity and the disruptive power of computing. Data generation is exploding, and mainly at the edge; our phones, cars, fridges, factories, medical equipment, fields and satellites are generating unprecedented amounts of data. The promise of the new digital frontier lies in our ability to extract actionable insights from this information. By leveraging data collected from connected platforms and devices, and by processing it at the edge, organizations can tap into critical insights that can inform quicker decisions – within digital classrooms, health centres or autonomous vehicles, for example – to make our world a better, safer place.

Efforts to develop artificial intelligence (AI) are increasingly being seen as a global race, even a new Great Game. Apart from the race between countries to become more competent and establish a competitive advantage in AI, enterprises are also in a contest to acquire AI talent, leverage data advantages, and offer unique services. In both cases, success would depend on whether AI solutions can be democratized and distributed across sectors. The global AI race is unlike any other global competition, as the extent to which innovation is being driven by governments, the corporate sector or academia differs substantially from country to country. On average, though, the majority of innovations so far have emerged from academia, with governments contributing through procurement, rather than internal research and development.

The report shows that digital technologies are likely to further reduce trade costs and boost trade significantly, especially in services and for developing countries. Global trade is projected to grow by an additional 2 percentage points annually between 2016 and 2030 as a result of digitalization, falling trade costs and the increased use of services. The share of services in global trade is projected to grow from 21 per cent in 2016 to 25 per cent in 2030. The report also finds that the reduction in trade costs could be especially beneficial for micro, small and medium sized enterprises (MSMEs) and firms from developing countries, provided they have the ability to keep up with the adoption of digital technologies. In the best scenario, developing and least-developed economies' share in global trade is predicted to grow to 57 per cent by 2030, from 46 per cent in 2015, whereas if they cannot keep up, this share is predicted to rise to 51 per cent.

Efforts to develop artificial intelligence (AI) are increasingly being framed as a global race, or even a new Great Game. In addition to the race between countries to build national competencies and establish a competitive advantage, firms are also in a contest to acquire AI talent, leverage data advantages, and offer unique services. In both cases, success will depend on whether AI solutions can be democratized and distributed across sectors. The global AI race is unlike any other global competition, because the extent to which innovation is being driven by the state, the corporate sector, or academia differs substantially from country to country. On average, though, the majority of innovations so far have emerged from academia, with governments contributing through procurement, rather than internal research and development.

International trade has dominated the global headlines recently. Much of the discussions have been focused on the threat of a trade war, the tit-for-tat tariffs, and the health of the global trade order. While extremely important, these conversations are missing a brighter side of international trade – how innovative technologies in the Fourth Industrial Revolution are transforming trade by making the processes more inclusive and efficient. The steam power revolution connected the world like never before. The invention of shipping containers laid the foundation for globalization.

The innovation engine of the IBM corporation is rolling out the technology with one of its first clients, GIA (Gemological Institute of America) -- an independent non-profit that protects gem and jewelry customers, to help them evaluate and grade diamonds. Objects and substances that are worn, eaten or used every day will also be open to the scrutiny of the IBM Crypto Anchor Verifier software as it can validate a product's unique optical patterns, sometimes undetectable by the human eye, that differentiates them from each other. Within the next five years, IBM has stated that the digital ledger, blockchain, and cryptographic anchors, which are computers that are smaller than a grain of salt, will be able to prove the authenticity of a product. IBM has stated that, within the next five years, cryptographic anchors and blockchain digital ledger for recording transactions will ensure a product's authenticity -- from its point of origin to the hands of the customer. In a blog post, IBM stated: "By collaborating with GIA, we're taking this research outside of the lab and into a real-world setting.