VIENNA — Secretary of State John Kerry began on Saturday what the Obama administration hopes will be the final push for a nuclear accord with Iran, just three days before a deadline for concluding an agreement. However, American officials have almost discounted the notion that a deal will be made by Tuesday’s deadline. Their goal is to bridge a number of technical and political divides over the […]
A Google self-driving vehicle is parked at the Computer History Museum after a presentation in Mountain View, California May 13, 2014. Reuters/Stephen Lam/Files REUTERS – Delphi Automotive PLC on Friday offered a new description of an encounter on a California road between one of its prototype self-driving cars and a self-driving vehicle operated by Google Inc, saying “the vehicles didn’t even come close to each other.” The […]
BEIRUT, Lebanon — Terrorists attacked sites in France, Tunisia and Kuwait on Friday, leaving a bloody toll on three continents and prompting new concerns about the spreading influence of jihadists. In France, attackers stormed an American-owned industrial chemical plant near Lyon, tried unsuccessfully to blow up the factory, and left behind a decapitated corpse. In Tunisia, at least one gunman disguised as a vacationer opened fire at […]
Sunil Bharti Mittal, chairman of Bharti Enterprises, speaks during the India Economic Summit 2014 at the World Economic Forum in New Delhi November 6, 2014. Reuters/Anindito Mukherjee/Files MUMBAI/CAPE CANAVERAL Privately owned OneWeb announced what it called the world’s largest commercial rocket deal on Thursday after raising $500 million from a group of global investors to support its plans to bring broadband to billions of people via satellite. […]
WASHINGTON — The State Department issued a dismal assessment of Iran’s record on human rights on Thursday, saying that the Iranian authorities had stifled dissent and engaged in “unlawful killings.” The assessment, part of a broad overview of human rights practices around the world, was published one day before Secretary of State John Kerry is to leave for Vienna to try to conclude a nuclear accord with […]
Five former members of President Obama’s inner circle of Iran advisers have written an open letter expressing concern that a pending accord to stem Iran’s nuclear program “may fall short of meeting the administration’s own standard of a ‘good’ agreement” and laying out a series of minimum requirements that Iran must agree to in coming days for them to support a final deal. Several of the senior […]
SANA, Yemen — For nearly three months, Saudi Arabia, along with its allies, has been bombing Yemen, its southern neighbor, hoping to force the retreat of Shiite rebels who have seized major cities and to return the country’s president from the Saudi guest mansion where he lives to the presidential palace. So far, it has not worked. The rebels, known as the Houthis, have gained ground, more […]
A construction site in Doha.Qatar has planned $200 billion in infrastructure spending. Qatar building boom a challenge for foreign firms DOHA, 10 hours, 44 minutes ago Qatar’s plans to splurge $200 billion on infrastructure as part of its 2030 development plan has lured foreign contractors to what promised to be big profits, but project delays and problems with contracts and bureaucracy have left many in difficulties and […]
A BlackBerry Passport smartphone is shown at its official launching event in Toronto, September 24, 2014. Reuters/Aaron Harris/Files WATERLOO, Ontario BlackBerry (BB.TO) shares fell on Tuesday as doubts surfaced about the sustainability of the sharp growth the former smartphone pioneer reported in crucial software revenues, an area BlackBerry’s CEO said he will augment via acquisitions. The company’s shares were down 3.5 percent in afternoon trading. They had […]
UAE. The latest Crédit Agricole Private Banking research report, ‘Macro Comment – MENA Update’, noted that the UAE and Saudi Arabia continues to witness growth despite lower oil prices. The UAE even recorded high levels of job creation during this period. “Interestingly in the UAE, once again new orders and new export orders components reflected strong growth, while job creation hit a three-month high. This is reflected […]
BAGHDAD — When Umm Ahmed returned to her Iraqi hometown, Tikrit, in recent days she found a city devastated by fighting with militants from the Islamic State: buildings burned, shops looted, schools shuttered and hospitals inoperable. Still, it was home, and it was good to be back. “Today, I am in the middle of Tikrit,” Umm Ahmed, 39, said last week, preferring to be identified by her […]
JERUSALEM — A United Nations investigation found “serious violations of international humanitarian law” that “may amount to war crimes” by both Israel and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip during their bloody battle last summer, according to a report released on Monday in Geneva. The report, written by a two-member independent commission of inquiry and submitted to the United Nations Human Rights Council, said that “impunity prevails […]
The downturn in the helicopter will likely last18 to 24 months, say experts. Helicopter makers upbeat despite slump PARIS, 17 hours, 21 minutes ago Top US and European helicopter executives said this week that the oil price-led commercial helicopter market slump would be temporary and that they will keep investing in new technologies given the sector’s positive long-term outlook. The downturn will likely last 18 to 24 […]
|By K Raveendran| There is much hype about the opening up of the Saudi stock market, but any detached view is least supportive of optimism. The more realistic assessment is based on the fact that the market has already factored in the positivity and moved too far ahead in the expectation of large foreign inflows, making the market expensive for any new entrants. According to the assessment […]
Saudi leaders, whose portraits are displayed at the stock exchange in Riyadh, have not confirmed the leak’s authenticity. By BEN HUBBARD June 20, 2015 BEIRUT, Lebanon — It seems that everyone wants something from Saudi Arabia. Before becoming the president of Egypt, Mohamed Morsi wanted visas to take his family on a religious pilgrimage. A Lebanese politician begged for cash to pay his bodyguards. Even the state news agency […]
UAE. On 14 June 2015, the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) published the final version of its first raft of regulations, including the Employment Regulations (the Regulations). In this article, we examine the Regulations and contrast them to the employment provisions in operation in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and the UAE Labour Law (the Labour Law). Background In 2004, the UAE amended its constitution to […]
Humans will be extinct in 100 years because the planet will be uninhabitable, according to Australian microbiologist Frank Fenner, one of the leaders of the effort to eradicate smallpox in the 1970s. He blames overcrowding, denuded resources and climate change. Fenner’s prediction is not a sure bet, but he is correct that there is no way emissions reductions will be enough to save us from our trend […]
Mohamed Alsawafiri, the presenter of “The News Program,” playing with a prop on the set last month. By DIAA HADID and MAJD AL WAHEIDI June 19, 2015 GAZA CITY — Men and women stood with suitcases at the port, waiting for a boat. Suspicious, Tarek, a 13-year-old tea seller, wandered over and asked, “Are they really leaving?” He had never seen anyone leave Gaza before, he explained. As it turned out, his […]
UAE. Dubai and Abu Dhabi have been ranked as the 23rd and 33rd most expensive cities to live in (respectively) according to Mercer’s 2015 Cost of Living Survey. The two cities have experienced a significant jump compared to 2014, with Dubai soaring 44 places from last year’s position at 67 and Abu Dhabi going up 35 places 68th in 2014. Dubai and Abu Dhabi are the most […]
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis on Thursday called for a radical transformation of politics, economics and individual lifestyles to confront environmental degradation and climate change, as his much-awaited papal encyclical blended a biting critique of consumerism and irresponsible development with a plea for swift and unified global action. The vision that Francis outlined in the 184-page encyclical is sweeping in ambition and scope: He described a relentless […]
Trevor Tasin with three of his sons: John, 11; Ben, 13; and Dominic, 2. Mr. Tasin, a pilot who retired as a major in 2014 after flying Predator drones and training new pilots. By CHRISTOPHER DREW and DAVE PHILIPPS June 16, 2015 CREECH AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. — After a decade of waging long-distance war through their video screens, America’s drone operators are burning out, and the Air Force is being […]
Visitors at the exhibit “A Brief History of Humankind” at the Israel Museum. The museum is Israel’s largest cultural institution, presiding over Jerusalem from a hilltop site alongside the Knesset and the Supreme Court. By ISABEL KERSHNER June 17, 2015 JERUSALEM — A softly lit case displays a small, gnarled implement that is said to be the world’s oldest known complete sickle, dating back 9,000 years. On a wall […]
ME firms facing challenges in human capital trends BEIRUT, 1 days ago The readiness to address challenges in learning & development, reinventing human resources (HR), leadership, and culture & engagement is decreasing in Middle East organisations, a report said. This raises the question of whether leaders are doing enough to prepare their organisations to respond to today’s most pressing business and human capital needs, added the Global […]
UAE. Private wealth in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) showed solid growth in 2014 (8.4 percent), according to a new report by The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), Global Wealth 2015: Winning the Growth Game, being released today. In the UAE, the growth of private wealth was driven mainly by equities. After all, between 2013 and 2014, the amount of wealth held in equities rose by 13.8 percent […]
