China, UAE boost cross-border payment cooperation

China's Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS) and the central bank of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have signed a memorandum of understanding to enhance cross-border payment cooperation at the ASEAN-China-GCC Economic Forum 2025 in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, the People's Bank of China (PBOC), China's central bank, announced on Wednesday.

The signing is expected to improve payment infrastructure and the efficiency of cross-border payments, according to an online statement by the PBOC, which administers and regulates CIPS.

Accordingly, CIPS and the central bank of the UAE will work together to develop a cross-border payment connectivity program, which will provide local currency clearing services for financial institutions in the Middle East and North Africa.

The two sides will also deepen exchanges on risk management and compliance, and make cross-border payment systems safer and more stable, according to the statement.

The death toll in the war-torn Gaza Strip has risen to 71,455 since the conflict between Hamas and Israel erupted on Oct 7, 2023, with the number of injuries reaching 171,347, Gaza's health authorities said on Friday.

In the past 24 hours, hospitals in Gaza received 14 more bodies, including 12 new deaths and two bodies recovered from the rubble, in addition to 18 new injuries as of 11:00 on Friday, the authorities said.

Since the ceasefire agreement took effect on Oct 11, 2025, Israeli attacks have killed 463 people and wounded 1,269 others, according to the Gaza health authorities.