By JODI RUDOREN May 31, 2015 JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said on Sunday that his country faces “an international campaign to blacken its name” based not on his policies toward the Palestinians but “connected to our very existence,” likening the mounting boycott movement to anti-Semitic “libels” of earlier eras. Speaking to his cabinet after Israel’s successful diplomatic blitz to block a Palestinian bid to suspend […]
By SAM BORDEN and JODI RUDOREN May 28, 2015 ZURICH — The protesters outside the arena where FIFA staged the opening ceremony for its annual congress Thursday held Palestinian flags and blunt banners. “Red Card Israel Apartheid,” one read. “Occupation = Segregation,” another said. “EXPEL Israel, Say NO to racism and discrimination.” But as the congress convened, the Palestine Football Association’s proposal to oust its Israeli counterpart from FIFA, soccer’s international […]
Buildings that were destroyed during the 50-day war last year between Israel and Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip. By DIAA HADID May 22, 2015 RAMALLAH, West Bank — Gaza’s war-battered economy is on the “verge of collapse,” dragged down by soaring unemployment rates that followed last summer’s war with Israel, border restrictions and government dysfunction, the World Bank says in a new report. Infighting between Gaza’s Islamist Hamas […]
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 […]
Most major Gulf stock markets, led by Dubai, rose on Sunday after the Brent oil price hit a 4-1/2-month high, while the bourse of energy importer Egypt closed in the red. Brent crude climbed to $65.80 a barrel on Friday because of continued fighting in Yemen and, although U.S. crude fell on concerns about another upcoming stock build, both benchmarks posted weekly gains. The main Saudi equities […]
Op-Ed Contributor By MORIEL ROTHMAN-ZECHER January 11, 2015 TEL AVIV — “WHAT are you,” he asked, “a leftist?” We were both wearing the surplus United States Marines uniforms given to prisoners at Israeli Military Jail No. 6. “It depends how you define ‘left,’ ” I said. “Don’t get clever with me. Why are you here?” “I didn’t want to be part of a system whose main task is the violent […]
Bisco Misr… bidding battle Kellogg outbids Abraaj third time for Bisco CAIRO, 2 days ago Breakfast cereal maker Kellogg Co has again raised its bid for Egyptian snack maker Bisco Misr, outbidding private equity group Abraaj for the third time and snatching the lead in a $140 million takeover battle. Kellogg said on Thursday it would improve its offer to EGP86.36 ($12.04) per share, hoping to secure […]
DUBAI, 2 days ago Developing countries in Asia—particularly China and India—are rapidly becoming the biggest trading partners with Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) countries ahead of other regions, according to a new report released by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) in conjunction with Falcon and Associates. The study, entitled ‘GCC Trade and Investment Flows,’ explored the GCC’s economic ties with each world region and identifies major growth drivers. […]
Watan inks strategic tie-up with Natixis RIYADH, 2 days ago Natixis, the corporate arm of France’s banking group Groupe BPCE, and Saudi Arabia’s Watan Investment & Securities Company have signed a strategic cooperation agreement. The signing, which took place at the Council of Saudi Chambers in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, marks the start of expectantly a long-term cooperation between the two institutions on a wide range of Natixis […]
Women in the Mena region mostly seek employmentin order to be more financially independent. Majority of Mena women see gender equality in jobs DUBAI, 2 days ago While 51 per cent of women in the Mena region consider recruitment and selection opportunities are regardless of gender, 31 per cent believe that women are treated less favourably in terms of salary, a report said. Women in the Mena […]
Gulf governments seek to improve the livesof citizens and create jobs. Oil slump won’t derail $500bn Gulf infrastructure plan DUBAI, 2 days ago Slumping oil prices will not halt a massive ramp-up in Gulf infrastructure spending, as rich nations deploy huge reserves to maintain a breakneck development pace and the rest turn to buoyant funding markets. However, states are being urged to consider the most effective funding […]
Cancer and heart disease death rates have fallen. Global population living 6 years longer than in 1990 LONDON, 2 days ago Global life expectancy has risen by more than six years since 1990 thanks to falling death rates from cancer and heart disease in rich countries and better survival in poor countries from diarrhoea, tuberculosis and malaria. In an analysis from the 2013 Global Burden of Disease […]
Mandy Rice Davies photographed in the 1960’s Photo: Rex Features I was 13 when it all happened. Parents in those days wished their children wouldn’t read scandals, with the predictable result that, for the first time in our lives, we read the papers avidly. Christine Keeler and Mandy Rice-Davies, the girls involved in the Profumo scandal of 1963, were of elder-sister age: the beehive hair, short shift-dresses and […]
Already well recognized for its efforts to develop self-driving cars, Google is reportedly also working on getting its Android mobile operating system built directly into a variety of vehicles. Such a system would allow drivers to use mobile apps without having to connect their cellphones to their cars, according to a Reuters article published Thursday. Google rolled out its preview of Android Auto in June. Designed to […]
Wireless giant T-Mobile has agreed to pay more than $90 million as punishment for placing unwanted third-party charges on phones, also known as “mobile cramming,” the Federal Trade Commission said Friday. If the announced agreement is approved by a U.S. District Court, it would resolve an FTC lawsuit filed in July that accused T-Mobile of billing customers for unwanted charges, including horoscope, love tip and celebrity gossip […]
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is pointing the finger of blame for the Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) cyberattack directly at North Korea. In collaboration with other U.S. government departments and agencies, the FBI said it has enough evidence to conclude that the Communist nation is responsible for the attack. Now, President Barack Obama is responding. The hackers compromised Sony Pictures’ computer systems, stole data and intellectual […]
Globally, banks will continue to make progressin restoring their financial fundamentals. Financial profiles of banks to strengthen in 2015 NEW YORK, 1 days ago The standalone creditworthiness of banks across the globe will continue to stabilise in 2015, a report said. At the same time, the number of negative banking system outlooks has risen, primarily reflecting the potential for a decline in systemic support, particularly in Europe, […]
Cyber threat… rise in malicious attacks on computers and mobiles Cyber threats increase by one billion in 2014 JEDDAH, 1 days ago A total of 6.2 billon malicious attacks on user computers and mobile devices were blocked by Kaspersky Lab antivirus products in 2014, one billion more than in 2013, the vendor of endpoint protection solutions reported. In 2014 Kaspersky Lab experts saw considerable growth in the […]
Family firms… ouperforming non-family companies Family firms ‘key driver of GCC growth’ DUBAI, 1 days ago Family firms, which represent around 75 per cent of the private sector economy in GCC, outperform non-family firms by 15 per cent, and their continued success is a vital contributor to overall GCC growth, a report said. Family firms, which represent around 75 per cent of the private sector economy in […]
Labour leader Ed Miliband with MP for Manchester Central Lucy Powell Photo: Steve Back / Barcroft Media It was only a matter of time before Lucy Powell got it in the neck for being successful, young – and above all female. Just days after Ed Miliband promoted her vice-chair of Labour’s election campaign, the briefings against her began. Yesterday they reached a new frenzy, after she was blamed […]
Microsoft on Monday made available the first public preview of Skype Translator, its service for real-time language translation. The preview program will kick off with two spoken languages, Spanish and English, according to Skype. Additionally, more than 40 instant messaging languages will be available to Skype customers who have signed-up via the Skype Translator sign-up page and are using Windows 8.1 on their desktops or mobile devices. […]
Measure-It is adhesive-backed measuring tape; actual tape, which is helpful when you don’t have a third hand. Stick it to the wall and technically you’re 100% less likely to screw up the measurement. It features ruler marks including 16”-on-center marks for locating studs. When you’re finished it peels off leaving no marks or residue behind. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service – if this is […]
UNITED NATIONS— The United Nations children’s agency UNICEF declared 2014 a devastating year for children on Monday with as many as 15 million caught in conflicts in Central African Republic, Iraq, South Sudan, Syria, Ukraine and the Palestinian territories. UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake said the high number of crises meant many of them were quickly forgotten or failed to capture global headlines, such as in Afghanistan, […]
By SOMINI SENGUPTA November 10, 2014 UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations secretary general announced on Monday that a five-member panel would investigate the attacks on more than 100 United Nations facilities and the death of 11 of its staff members during the Gaza conflict during the summer, defying Israeli demands to wait until the conclusion of its own government inquiry. The United Nations usually conducts such in-house inquiries […]
