By KAREEM FAHIM and RICK GLADSTONE June 1, 2015 CAIRO — Houthi rebels in Yemen on Monday released an American freelance journalist who had been in their custody for about two weeks, the State Department and the journalist’s family reported. The journalist, Casey L. Coombs, one of several Americans believed to be held by the Houthis, was freed as a video was released and published online of Isabelle Prime, a Frenchwoman […]
UAE. Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, achieved its strongest financial results to date in 2014, posting a net profit of US$ 73 million on total revenues of US$ 7.6 billion, up 52.1 per cent and 26.7 per cent respectively over the previous year. 2014 PEFORMANCE SUMMARY OF ETIHAD AIRWAYS *The above results represent the standalone airline business within the newly formed Etihad […]
|By K Raveendran| The battle for supremacy between American and European legacy airlines on one side and the Gulf carriers of Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways is apparently entering another interesting phase. An indication of how the tussle might play out in the days to come was available a couple of days ago, when one of the Gulf players threatened the other side with dire economic consequences […]
World Briefing By STEVEN ERLANGER May 27, 2015 LONDON — Tony Blair, former prime minister of Britain, will resign as special Middle East envoy at the end of June, he informed the United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, in a letter, diplomats said Wednesday. Mr. Blair took the job in 2007, representing the Middle East “quartet” of the United States, Russia, the United Nations and the European Union. But […]
A logo is pictured at Google’s European Engineering Center in Zurich April16, 2015. Reuters/Arnd Wiegmann WASHINGTON The Obama administration on Tuesday sided against Google Inc (GOOGL.O) and said the U.S. Supreme Court should not hear the company’s appeal in a case against Oracle Corp (ORCL.N) with wide implications for the technology industry, according to a court filing. The case involves how much copyright protection should extend to […]
By JODI RUDOREN May 26, 2015 JERUSALEM — Hinting at a new strategy as he starts his fourth term with a more conservative coalition, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel told the European Union’s foreign policy chief that he wants to negotiate with the Palestinians over which settlements in the occupied West Bank would be annexed by Israel, officials said Tuesday. Palestinian leaders quickly rejected the idea as a […]
Video | Reporter’s Brother on Iran Spying Trial Ali Rezaian — the brother of Jason Rezaian, a reporter for The Washington Post — spoke on Tuesday as his brother’s trial on espionage charges began in Iran. By THOMAS ERDBRINK May 26, 2015 Jason Rezaian, the Washington Post correspondent accused by Iran of espionage who has been imprisoned for more than 10 months, went on trial in a Tehran courtroom […]
|By K Raveendran| Samena Capital, which recently completed the purchase of UAE’s global ceramics leader RAK Ceramics, has acquired a significant stake in London-based private banking and corporate advisory Kleinwort Benson Bank. (KBBL) The transaction opens up the possibility of the bank establishing a new global merchant banking operation in Dubai to offer advisory services for corporate in the region. The transaction is expected to close by […]
By RICK GLADSTONE May 25, 2015 Ignoring foreign requests for court access, the Iranian judge presiding over the espionage case against Jason Rezaian, the Washington Post reporter imprisoned for 10 months, has barred everyone except the defendant and his lawyer, Mr. Rezaian’s brother said Monday on the eve of the trial. Not even Mr. Rezaian’s mother and wife, who as of last week had been led to believe they […]
A box from Amazon.com is pictured on the porch of a house in Golden, Colorado July 23, 2008. Reuters/Rick Wilking/Files NEW YORK Amazon.com Inc has started booking revenue from retail sales in individual European countries, instead of channeling all sales through low-tax Luxembourg, the Wall Street Journal reported Sunday. The change was made effective May 1, a company spokesman told the Journal. Amazon said it had started […]
Sepp Blatter, the FIFA president, center, with Ofer Eini, head of the Israeli soccer association, left, in Jerusalem on Tuesday. By JODI RUDOREN May 19, 2015 RAMALLAH, West Bank — The Palestinian grievances against Israel are familiar ones: hampering travel, blocking import of equipment, rampant racism and the treatment of settlements in the occupied West Bank. The Israeli response is also a repeat: security concerns, mostly. But this round […]
Plunging iron ore prices are providing a lifeline for some of China’s biggest steel mills, but raising the prospect of a rising tide of exports and increased friction with the European Union and countries such as India. Even as China’s domestic steel demand shrinks and the industry battles chronic overcapacity, lower iron ore prices have helped many large mills post better earnings in 2014 than a year […]
Alitalia SpA may follow British Airways parent IAG in quitting the Association of European Airlines as a rift widens over the competitive threat from Gulf carriers, which are the biggest shareholders at both companies. “A strong signal is needed and other airlines have already done that,” Alitalia Chief Executive Officer Silvano Cassano, whose Rome-based company is 49 percent owned by Etihad Airways PJSC, said in an interview. […]
|By TAP Staff| Investors see growing overvaluations in both equities and bonds and have signaled concern about a valuation bubble forming, according to the BofA Merrill Lynch Fund Manager Survey for April. The proportion of global investors saying equity markets are overvalued has reached its highest level since 2000. A net 25 percent of respondents to the global survey say that global equities are currently overvalued, up […]
Borse Dubai ruled out any sale of its shares in Nasdaq OMX Group on Thursday after shedding its entire 17.4 percent stake in the London Stock Exchange (LSE). The firm had been the biggest single shareholder in the LSE prior to the sale, which occurred on Wednesday through a so-called book building process which a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday happened at 22.50 […]
The next big threat to oil prices isn’t from OPEC or Bakken shale. It’s Russian samovars, or teapots. Simple refineries that process crude into fuel oil are scaling back, because when oil prices slump, the government reduces the discount that these refiners — known as teapots to those in the industry — get for exporting fuel. They use less crude, freeing it up for sale abroad, which […]
| By Michael Sasso| If you have to fly from New York to New Delhi on April 1, you can book through one of the three big U.S. airlines for at least $1,100 round trip. Or you can take one of Emirates’ luxurious Airbus A380s for less than $900. That choice is at the heart of the complaint raised by Delta, American, and United Continental with U.S. […]
Falcon Private Bank is open to buying rivals as it expects a wave of consolidation in the industry due to more onerous regulations, its global head of private banking said on Wednesday. Swiss-based but Abu Dhabi-owned Falcon would be open to deals covering its core target markets of the Gulf, Eastern Europe, Africa and South East Asia, according to Erich Pfister, who took up the role in […]
Dubai’s flagship airline Emirates contributes 6.8 billion euros ($7.6 billion) to the European Union economy, it said on Tuesday, in an apparent response to criticism from rivals that government subsidies give Gulf carriers an unfair advantage. Emirates’ operations, which include 220 unique connections to European destinations, supported 85,100 jobs across the EU in the 2013-2014 financial year, it said in a statement, revealing the results of a […]
Doha’s Khalifa International Stadium.Image: Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee November/December ‘the best World Cup option’ LONDON, 4 days ago By Mike Collett The Fifa Task Force set up to recommend the best time of year to stage the 2022 World Cup in Qatar were always in an impossible position, from the moment they sat down to consider the options. But Tuesday’s recommendation to stage it over November and […]
Gen Odierno said that British defence cuts are already jeopardising US-UK joint operations Photo: AP Ever since the Cold War ended more than two decades ago, America has never entertained any serious doubts about Britain’s ability to fulfil its commitment as a vital military ally when tackling threats to the Western alliance. Until now. For the dramatic cuts to Britain’s defence budget implemented since the Coalition took power […]
By Edward Taylor and Jan Schwartz GENEVA Sun Mar 1, 2015 11:43pm IST Customers gather for the opening of an Apple Store in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, January 24, 2015. Credit: Reuters/Stringer/Files GENEVA (Reuters) – The main talking point at this week’s Geneva car show is likely to be a vehicle that may never be built: the Apple car. The world’s automakers will gather in the Swiss city […]
Dubai is adjusting regulation of investment firms that handle the money of wealthy people in its financial free zone, a move that could help the zone win more wealth-management business from the Middle East and Asia. Like other financial hubs, the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) distinguishes between less-sophisticated retail clients and richer, more experienced professional clients, which are assumed to need less regulatory protection. New rules […]
Apple is reported to be planning a public beta for iOS, starting with iOS 8.3 next month. According to 9to5Mac, this first-ever beta program is aimed at reducing bugs in new versions of its operating system. Beta testers for iOS 8.3 will be drawn from the company’s invitation-only AppleSeed program, 9to5Mac reports. Apple reportedly also plans a public beta release for iOS 9 sometime this summer. By […]
