CAIRO: Growing up in Egypt, Mina and other Copts remember all too well the anti-Christian slurs they used to hear at school and on the street.Once, while playing football, a Muslim youth snatched Mina’s necklace and crucifix and stomped on it.“I won’t forget that day,” said Mina, now in his 30s.Egypt is now trying to come to terms with the kind of religious bigotry behind a December […]
BEIJING Beijing’s city government has ordered 1,200 factories near the Chinese capital, including an oil refinery run by state oil major Sinopec and a Cofco food plant, to either shut or cut output following its highest possible air pollution warning. Environmental authorities issued a red alert that started on Friday night and will run until Wednesday after warning of a smog build-up across China’s north. That will […]
ABU DHABI // A joint military exercise by UAE and American ground forces that began last Monday in the capital has concluded. The five-day Iron Claw 2 drill was designed to help the soldiers enhance capability, gain more field experience and understand military doctrines, reported state news agency Wam. The drill, which included the use of sophisticated weapons and equipment, was also undertaken to increase coordination between […]
By Ori Lewis and Matt Spetalnick | JERUSALEM/WASHINGTON JERUSALEM/WASHINGTON A senior Palestinian official warned on Friday that implementation of Donald Trump’s pledge to relocate the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem would destroy any prospects for peace with Israel, even as a spokesman for the U.S. President-elect said he remained committed to the move. Saeb Erekat, secretary-general of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, issued the grim prediction just a day […]
By James Oliphant and Emily Stephenson | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON With more than 20 nominees now selected, Donald Trump’s cabinet appears much like the president-elect himself: mostly older, white males, many of them wealthy, who see themselves as risk-takers and deal-makers and prize action over deliberation. Trump, who says Washington is “broken” and controlled by special interests, has largely eschewed technocrats with long government experience. Instead, he has […]
There’s a great scene in The Big Short, the movie of Michael Lewis’ book about the mortgage crisis, where two shiny-suited brokers brag about how many loans they’ve been producing — for big commissions — to unsuitable borrowers. “We call those loans ‘Dorothys’ ‘cause they’re magic,” grins the one in black. “No credit, no income, no problem: just tap your shoes together three times and say ‘There’s […]
If there was a way to end the year on a bright note for as many businesses as possible, a deal to cut oil production was probably the most likely news to hit the spot. Of course, there will be some sectors not sharing in the joy – those that rely heavily on oil to fuel, such as aviation, manufacturing and agriculture, may be dreading increased costs. […]
By Lisa Baertlein and Svea Herbst-Bayliss Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc (CMG.N), under pressure from activist investor Bill Ackman, named four new board members on Friday, paving the way for a reunion of sorts between its chief executive and a former top executive at McDonald’s, which once owned the burrito chain. Matthew Paull, a former McDonald’s Corp (MCD.N) chief financial officer, will join the Chipotle board. Media executives […]
The global benchmark interest rate for trillions of dollars of corporate loans, credit cards and derivative contracts is approaching 1 per cent for the first time since the US emerged from recession, as global markets reach the end of a turbulent week. With the US Federal Reserve anticipating greater US economic strength in 2017, this has pushed the dollar to a 14-year high and spurred further selling […]
Vanity Fair is the latest news organization to profit from President-elect Donald Trump’s Twitter ire. The Condé Nast magazine has seen its subscriptions rise 100 fold Thursday after Donald Trump tweeted that the publication was “way down, big trouble, dead.” This is the highest number of subscriptions sold in a single day ever at Condé Nast, according to a spokesperson. Has anyone looked at the really poor […]
Real estate investment made easy as 1,2,3; lucrative rental yields await investors Dubai, United Arab Emirates – 15 December 2016 DAMAC Properties, one of the leading luxury real estate developers in the region, today announced the launch of MOD, a collection of townhouses in the heart of international golf community AKOYA Oxygen. The homes in this community, with a contemporary expression of luxury, are priced to be […]
Despite economic uncertainty, almost two thirds of family businesses in the Middle East have grown over the past year, according to a new survey conducted by PwC. The poll showed that while the region’s family businesses continue to be active and successful, the changing political and economic environment is affecting both their current performance and their growth expectations. Respondents to the PwC survey said that the three […]
ABU DHABI // The UAE has appointed its first Ambassador to a Baltic nation. Hanan Al Alili will become Ambassador to Latvia when the UAE Embassy opens in the capital, Riga, next month. Inara Murniece, Latvia’s speaker of parliament, was in Abu Dhabi for the Global Summit of Women Speakers of Parliament when the announcement was made. “It is important to have women in key positions in […]
The hard-right views of David M. Friedman, a bankruptcy lawyer who is President-elect Donald J. Trump’s choice as the next ambassador to Israel, have drawn polarized responses in Israel and the United States. Mr. Friedman, who has represented Mr. Trump in matters involving Atlantic City casinos, has no diplomatic experience. He has long espoused hard-right, pro-Israel views that are often at odds with decades of United States […]
Makkah is facing an acute shortage of affordable housing, especially as the area around the Holy Mosque is being redeveloped to service religious tourists, according to a new report. Real estate consultants JLL said as with other major cities in Saudi, Makkah needs to address the growing issue against the need for seasonal accommodation and extreme land values. It said the Markazia – the area around the […]
Authored by Carl Bildt, originally posted at Project Syndicate, In August 2015, I tweeted that if Donald Trump were to be elected President of the United States, we would have to “head for the bunkers.” A Trump presidency was considered highly unlikely back then; but here we are. And while heading for the bunkers might not be the most appropriate response (yet), where we are is undoubtedly […]
By Andrew Osborn and Nick Tattersall | MOSCOW/ISTANBUL MOSCOW/ISTANBUL President Vladimir Putin said he and his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan are working to organise a new series of Syrian peace talks without the involvement of the United States or the United Nations. In a snub to Washington, Putin made clear on Friday that the initiative was the sole preserve of Moscow and Turkey and that the peace […]
BEIJING China expressed dissatisfaction on Friday after exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama met President Pranab Mukherjee, saying it hoped India would recognise the Nobel Peace Prize winning monk as a separatist in religious guise. Mukherjee hosted the Dalai Lama and other Nobel Peace laureates at a conference on children’s rights at the presidential palace on Sunday. Those who attended, and spoke, included Princess Charlene of […]
Photo A member of the Syrian government forces watched the evacuation operation of rebel fighters and civilians from Aleppo on Friday. Credit George Ourfalian/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images BEIRUT, Lebanon — The process of evacuating residents from the last rebel-held section of Aleppo broke down on Friday, a day after Syrian government buses and ambulances began taking residents out of the besieged area. The reason for halting […]
China has ceded its status as America’s largest creditor nation to Japan after spending a large portion of its foreign exchange reserves to defend the renminbi. Beijing’s ownership of US Treasuries fell by $41.3bn to $1.12tn in October, according to data from the US Treasury released on Thursday — the sixth straight month of decline. Japan’s holdings fell by $4.5bn to $1.13tn for the same period. Thomas […]
Friday marks the four-year anniversary of the gang rape that killed a 23-year-old student in India’s capital and triggered nationwide protests and more than a year of soul searching which lead to stricter laws for crimes committed against women. But are women safer today? (via WSJ)
16 December 2016 MARC has affirmed its rating of AA-IS on Jimah East Power Sdn Bhd’s (JEP) outstanding RM8.98 billion Sukuk Murabahah with a stable outlook. JEP was established to develop, design, construct and operate a 2×1,000-megawatt (MW) ultra-supercritical coal-fired power plant in Jimah, Negeri Sembilan under a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB). As at August 31, 2016, the power plant project […]
India is set to get more Trump-branded projects as local developers seek to capitalize on the brand. A story from The Wall Street Journal Friday took a look at the many projects around the world connected to the U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, including those in India. Unimark Group, a developer based in Kolkata, has tied up to rebrand a previously planned residential apartment building in the eastern […]
Chinese government bond yields retreated slightly after the central bank eased a credit squeeze that has been exacerbated by the US Federal Reserve’s rate increase. On Friday morning the People’s Bank of China injected a net Rmb45bn ($6.5bn) into the interbank market through reverse repos, bringing total net injections for the week to Rmb250bn. This marked a reversal from last week when the central bank drained more than […]
