Turning rubble into homes, the Dutch style AMSTERDAM, 2 days ago In Dutch capital Amsterdam, a mobile factory, the size of two shipping containers, ingests rubble at one end, liquifies it into cement and spurts out Lego-shaped building blocks. Call it rubble for the people, converting the deadly debris from disasters into homes and hospitals, cheaply and quickly. It’s the brainchild of Gerard Steijn, a 71-year-old sustainable […]
|By TAP Staff| With the nuclear deal between Iran and the world powers complete, American business interests are looking for opportunities. But before all the sanctions are lifted, U.S. and global businesses will have to clear plenty of hurdles before they begin investing in and selling to Iran, Voice of America said. The agreement, which puts strict limits on Iran’s nuclear development for 10 years, calls for […]
BEIRUT, Lebanon — The security forces in Saudi Arabia have carried out a nationwide dragnet in recent months that resulted in the arrest of more than 400 people believed to be connected to the Islamic State jihadist group, the Saudi Interior Ministry said on Saturday. The people who were arrested were linked to recent attacks inside the kingdom; they planned attacks or monitored potential targets, or used […]
BAGHDAD — The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for a bombing in eastern Iraq, and Iraqi officials on Saturday said the death toll had risen to 100, with 20 more missing and more than 100 wounded. The bomb tore through a marketplace on Friday as shoppers prepared for a major Muslim holiday in Khan Bani Saad, a mostly Shiite town about 12 miles from Baquba, the […]
|By TAP Staff| The Saudi stock market, the largest market in the GCC with a total market capitalisation of approximately$550 billion, is drawing interest from a large number of potential foreign investors. The Saudi Stock Exchange opened to qualified foreign investors (QFI) for the first time one month ago. Increased participation from international financial institutions is primarily designed to help enhance the sophistication and stability of the […]
CAIRO — Security forces killed six antigovernment protesters at Islamist demonstrations near Cairo on Friday morning, highlighting continued tensions two years after the military takeover that removed President Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood. The clashes, in the Giza neighborhoods of Talbiya and Nahia, took place as crowds gathered after morning prayers that signaled the beginning of the Eid al-Fitr holiday, at the end of the holy […]
Google Inc’s (GOOGL.O) shares soared as much as 16.8 percent on Friday, crossing the $700 mark and adding nearly $68 billion to its market value, as strong growth in YouTube viewership allayed concerns about Facebook Inc’s (FB.O) push into video. The stock’s surge, which sent the Nasdaq composite index to a record intraday high, came a day after Google reported better-than-expected profit for the first time in […]
VIENNA — One by one, the roadblocks to a nuclear accord between Iran and the United States had been painstakingly cleared. But as the negotiations went into their third week in the neoclassical Coburg Palace hotel this month, a major dispute lingered over whether a ban on Iran’s ability to purchase conventional weapons and missile technology would remain in place. The American delegation, led by Secretary of […]
A man looks at a smartphone at the Intel booth during the 2015 Computex exhibition at the TWTC Nangang exhibition hall in Taipei, Taiwan, June 2, 2015. Reuters/Pichi Chuang Intel Corp (INTC.O) reported better-than-expected quarterly results on Wednesday as growth in its data centres and Internet-of-Things businesses helped offset weak demand for personal computers that use the company’s chips. Shares of the world’s largest chipmaker, which also […]
|By TAP Staff| The UAE is taking the world’s most popular landmarks and attractions in Vegas, Orlando, London, Paris, New York and Ibiza to the next level for 2020. “Dubai is now considered as an international city on the same stage as New York, London, Paris and Tokyo, and is leading the development of the UAE leisure market together with Abu Dhabi,” said Phil Taylor, Director of Team Leisure LLC, previously Chief Executive of […]
TEHRAN — “Happy nuclear deal” said Cyrus Razzaghi, a business consultant here, when he picked up the phone on Wednesday. Mr. Razzaghi has been trying to make a business of organizing seminars and meetings for European and American companies interested in Iran, but it had been a bit slow until now. Even though, technically, many of them could have done business here despite the sanctions, they feared […]
Anti-Houthi militiamen on Tuesday at the entrance to Aden’s international airport, which they recaptured from Shiite Houthi rebels. By SAEED AL-BATATI and KAREEM FAHIM July 14, 2015 AL MUKALLA, Yemen — Southern fighters battling Houthi rebels seized control of the international airport in Yemen’s port city of Aden on Tuesday, dealing the Houthis their most significant defeat in the city since they stormed it more than three months ago, witnesses and […]
Video | Iranians Celebrate Nuclear Deal Iranians took to the streets on Tuesday night to celebrate the nuclear accord between the United States and Iran. By THOMAS ERDBRINK July 14, 2015 TEHRAN — Weary of sanctions and isolation, many ordinary Iranians rejoiced on Tuesday over a historic nuclear agreement with world powers led by the United States, the main enemy for nearly four decades. But their excitement was tempered […]
|By TAP Staff| The end of sanctions could bring a rapid economic boom Iran, which had its oil exports halved by sanctions, and its economy cut by about 20 percent. The prospect of a deal has already helped push down global oil prices because of the possibility that Iranian supply could return to the market. Oil prices tumbled more than a dollar on Tuesday after the deal […]
|By Matein Khalid| Last week was a roller coaster and the Nikkei Dow closed at 19,800. Abenomics has had a seismic impact on Japan’s economy, financial markets and banking system. The yen has fallen from 76 on the eve of the election in 2012 to 122 against the US dollar. Corporate profits have exploded. Land price rises, job growth, bonuses, capex and consumer spending have lifted Japan […]
Shiite fighters launched a rocket on Sunday toward Islamic State militants from the outskirts of Fallujah, in Anbar Province, Iraq. By OMAR AL-JAWOSHY and ANNE BARNARD July 13, 2015 BAGHDAD — The Iraqi government declared on Monday that it was beginning a major military operation to retake the western province of Anbar from the Islamic State, which occupies much of the area including its major cities, Ramadi and Falluja. It was […]
By SAEED AL-BATATI and KAREEM FAHIM July 11, 2015 AL MUKALLA, Yemen — A cease-fire brokered by the United Nations that was intended to allow the delivery of relief supplies failed to take hold in Yemen on Saturday, as a military coalition led by Saudi Arabia carried out airstrikes, and fighting continued between the Houthis rebels and rival militias in several cities. The “pause” in the fighting had been scheduled to […]
Ellen Pao speaks to the media after losing her high profile gender discrimination lawsuit against venture capital firm Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield and Byers in San Francisco, California March 27, 2015. Reuters/Beck Diefenbach SAN FRANCISCO Ellen Pao resigned as acting chief executive of Reddit Friday in the latest sign of turmoil at the site, recently roiled by the firing of a popular employee and ongoing tensions over the […]
UAE. Core Savills, the largest commercial lease transaction and one of the leading international real estate companies in the UAE, is optimistic on the outlook for the Dubai real estate market. Research released today by the firm has suggested declining apartment and villas prices in the emirate since the market peaked late last year will stabilize during 2016 and return to growth later in the year or […]
DUBAI // All Emirates Airline flights to and from Bali have been suspended until at least Monday because of a volcano eruption in Indonesia. Denpasar airport, on the popular holiday island, was closed due to the resultant volcanic ash cloud and Emirates said it took action to cancel flights on Thursday night. An airline statement said: “Emirates has temporarily suspended services to and from Bali due to […]
A black-market fuel sale in Sana, Yemen, where food and fuel are in short supply because of the fighting. By SOMINI SENGUPTA July 9, 2015 UNITED NATIONS — The Saudi-backed government of Yemen has agreed to a “pause” in fighting, starting Friday, so that humanitarian relief can be delivered in the country, United Nations officials said Thursday. The Houthi rebels who control large parts of Yemen have agreed to […]
|By Matein Khalid| De Gaulle dissed gold as a “barbarous relic” and Lenin sneered the yellow metal was fit only to “pave capitalist latrines”. So what? Gold has been an monetary metal in human history for centuries, back to the time of Pharonic Egypt, the Inca Empire, King Midas and the Spanish conquistadores of Mexico. While President Nixon removed the gold/dollar Bretton Woods linkage in 1971 and […]
SAN FRANCISCO Microsoft Inc’s (MSFT.O) future in mobile devices likely hinges on the software maker’s ability to convince developers to create apps for the phone version of Windows 10 after its ill-fated Nokia acquisition helped trigger 7,800 layoffs. The job cuts announcement is an acknowledgement that its 2013 $7.2 billion purchase of Nokia was never going to help paltry sales of its Windows Phone, and that it […]
UAE. The global sukuk market is heading toward a correction in 2015 after the Central Bank of Malaysia (BNM)–one of the largest issuers of sukuk worldwide–stopped issuing earlier this year, says a report published today by Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services. But as the report, titled “Global Sukuk Issuance Stalls In 2015 As Major Issuer Exits The Market,” points out, BNM’s move leaves the door open to […]
