The UAE, which leads the Arab world for network readiness, must take full advantage of the potential offered by ICT solutions to drive social and economic transformation, according to experts. Considerable challenge is facing the UAE as it seeks to develop the infrastructure, institutions, and skills needed to reap the full benefits of ICTs, added senior executives from Cisco, a global leader in IT. Out of 143 […]
The recent action taken by the UAE to eliminate fuel subsidies has rekindled the debate on tax reform in the GCC, with the focus on domestic implementation of a broad-based Value Added Tax (VAT) on goods and services. While countries are facing an increasing amount of pressure on their national budgets, every GCC government understands the urgent need for fiscal-sustainability, added the report “VAT in the GCC […]
The UAE’s gross domestic electricity consumption has more than doubled over the past 10 years, and is expected to grow even more rapidly over the next five years as the country undergoes substantial population and economic growth, according to a recent study. The study by management consultancy Strategy&, formerly Booz & Company, revealed that energy usage in the UAE has grown at an annual average of four […]
Record trading of Dubai crude by two Chinese state companies this month on a decades-old oil pricing system has pushed the benchmark higher, even as other grades are being pressed lower by a global glut. The strong Dubai trade has forced Middle East producers to raise official selling prices (OSPs), driving Asian buyers to seek cheaper oil elsewhere or cut refinery runs due to low margins. Chinaoil […]
UAE. After a decade of finding bargains in real estate markets against the backdrop of a secular weak US Dollar, as well as a regime of declining interest rates, foreign investors in the last year have faced the prospect of sharply higher housing prices in Dubai, as their nations’ currencies have fallen against the US dollar. In times of a weak dollar market, real estate prices have […]
RIYADH // President Abdrabu Mansur Hadi has commended the UAE’s contributions in Yemen and praised the level of relations between the countries. The Yemeni leader said his meeting with Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, during his recent visit to the UAE had “widened the horizons of the distinguished relations between the two countries”. Mr Hadi […]
This device turns your TV into a large touchscreen tablet, allowing you to control everything with a swipe and a tap. Just clip it to the top of your TV and gain full touch control. Don’t sweat about greasy screens – you don’t have to actually touch the screen, just get close to it with a simulated tap. Touchjet Wave can also be controlled remotely using your phone. […]
Amnesty International issued a scathing report Tuesday on the Yemen conflict, accusing all armed antagonists there of complicity in war crimes, including indiscriminate attacks on civilians. The report, “Nowhere Safe for Civilians,” called on the United Nations to establish a panel of inquiry to “independently and impartially investigate alleged war crimes committed during the conflict.” Donatella Rovera, a senior researcher for Amnesty who has worked in many […]
MoneyGram, a global provider of money transfer and payment services, said its customers will now be able to send and receive funds at Al Noor locations in Baghdad, Basrah and Najaf in Iraq. Maher Haddad, senior regional director at MoneyGram, said: “The remittance industry in Iraq is growing and our presence in the country is growing with it to provide more choices for customers who need to […]
SpeedCast International, a leading satellite telecommunications service provider, has won a multi-year communications contract from Gulf Marine Services (GMS). The new dual-beam Ku-band satellite service will provide high-performance broadband connectivity for client office applications and voice services across nine GMS barges, said a statement. GMS is one of the largest providers of self-propelled, self-elevating accommodation jack-up barges in the world, it said. The vessels work in offshore […]
China’s Lenovo Group will lay off 10 per cent of white-collar staff after sales of Motorola handsets fell by a third, raising doubts over the personal computer giant’s bet that a money-losing brand it bought for nearly $3 billion will help it become a global smartphone leader. Shares in the world’s biggest maker of PCs slid nearly 9 per cent on Thursday after it said its quarterly […]
Oman Telecommunications (Omantel) reported a 15.5 per cent fall in second-quarter net profit on Thursday. The former monopoly made a net profit of OR26.7 million ($69.35 million) in the three months to June 30, down from OR31.6 million rials in the year-earlier period, according to Reuters calculations based on Omantel’s earnings statement. It had reported rising profits in six of the preceding seven quarters. EFG Hermes and […]
INTERNATIONAL. In the last quarter of 2014, in the face of possible oversupply, Saudi Arabia abandoned its traditional role as the global oil market’s swing producer and therefore it role as unofficial guarantor of existing ($100+ per barrel) prices. In October, Saudi sources first prepared the market with statements that the country would be comfortable with oil prices as low as $80 per barrel for “a year […]
ABU DHABI // Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, and a 21-gun salute greeted Indian prime minister Narendra Modi at the Presidential Airport on Sunday. Sheikh Mohammed, also Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, welcomed Mr Modi and invited him to inspect the honour guard. He said the visit, the first by an Indian prime minister in 34 years, came within the context […]
BENGHAZI, Libya — Libya’s internationally recognized government has asked fellow Arab states to conduct airstrikes against the Libyan branch of the Islamic State in the coastal city of Surt, a cabinet statement said on Saturday. In the past few days, the Islamic State has crushed a revolt by a rival Salafist group and armed residents who tried to break its grip on the city. Dozens of people […]
We’re revisiting Oregon. Last time we were there, it was 1954! But this isn’t Portland. Click here for full-size version. This time we’re visiting Jackson Street, Roseburg. The source said that it was 1950s, but I could quickly tell that it was wrong. All one has to do is look at the cars… –Tigerstrypes References: http://timetravelnow.tumblr.com This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service – if this […]
Saudi Arabia has long enjoyed the status of being the top crude oil exporter in the world. With record production of 10.564 million barrels per day in June 2015, Saudi Arabia has been one of the major driving forces behind the current oil price slump. The Saudis have kept their production levels high since last year in order to drive other players (especially U.S. shale drillers) out […]
INTERNATIONAL. The word tragic has often been used to describe the civil war in Syria, but it is a pale description of the raging madness on the ground. The bloodletting and massive destruction that has swept the nation is not a mere tragic event; the magnitude of the destruction and loss of lives is catastrophic by any measure unseen since the horror of World War II. The […]
SANA, Yemen — After five months of war in which more than 4,000 people have been killed, Yemen’s government, exiled in Saudi Arabia, faces a fateful decision: leverage recent battlefield gains to negotiate a cease-fire with a weakened Houthi rebel movement, or try to rout the rebels once and for all. Backed by air support and ground troops from Persian Gulf nations, fighters allied with the government […]
Despite what pretty much every brand spouts, very, very few products are truly “classic’ or “iconic.” But the suede Desert Boot from Clark’s is on the list. Unchanged since its introduction in 1950, Clark’s is making 1,950 handmade & numbered pairs to celebrate the 65th Anniversary of this enduring design. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service – if this is your content and you’re reading […]
The numbers of women, African-Americans and Hispanic employees working at Apple over the past year have all increased by double digits, although the company’s U.S. workforce remains predominantly white and male — a trend that holds true across large swaths of the tech sector. “We are proud of the progress we’ve made . . . But we know there is a lot more work to be done,” […]
QADIYA, Iraq — In the moments before he raped the 12-year-old girl, the Islamic State fighter took the time to explain that what he was about to do was not a sin. Because the preteen girl practiced a religion other than Islam, the Quran not only gave him the right to rape her — it condoned and encouraged it, he insisted. He bound her hands and gagged […]
WASHINGTON — The State Department said Wednesday that a recent visit to Moscow by the head of Iran’s paramilitary Quds force had violated a United Nations travel ban that has been imposed because of concerns about Tehran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs. “We’ve raised this travel with senior Russian Foreign Ministry officials,” said Mark Toner, the deputy State Department spokesman. He added that Russia had not responded […]
UAE. After delivering strong results in 2014, Islamic banks in the Gulf region face a gradually weakening operating outlook in 2015-2016, largely due to declining oil revenues, says a report published today by Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services. But as the report, titled “Gulf-Based Islamic Banks Grapple With Weakening Regional Economies,” also points out, we believe investor demand for Sharia-compliant products and supportive government actions will enable […]
