Donald Trump vowed to make America “greater than ever before” as he stood framed by Washington’s Lincoln Memorial and addressed a crowd of supporters on the eve of his inauguration as the 45th president of the United States. “It’s a movement like we’ve never seen anywhere in the world,” the former property developer and reality television star declared before fireworks lit up the sky above the National Mall […]
Many worry it would only set off new fighting with the Palestinians as well as the rest of the Arab world, a big price tag for a symbolic change that would hardly move the ball on the broader conflict. Continue reading the main story “I don’t know what’s in it for Trump,” said Akiva Eldar, a longtime Israeli columnist and co-author of a book on the issue […]
DUBAI/BEIRUT: Iran’s government and entities close to the elite Revolutionary Guards have signed major economic contracts with Syria, reaping what appear to be lucrative rewards for helping President Bashar Assad regain control of parts of his country from rebels.An opposition group condemned the telecommunications and mining deals signed with Iran, Damascus’s main regional ally, as “looting” of the Syrian people and the country’s wealth by the “Iranian […]
By Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON More than 80 Islamic State militants, some of whom were believed to be plotting attacks in Europe, died in U.S. air strikes on camps outside the group’s former North African stronghold of Sirte in Libya, the United States said on Thursday. “These strikes were directed against some of ISIL’s external plotters,” U.S Defense Secretary Ash Carter told a […]
Western Union agreed on Thursday to forfeit $586m after admitting that it violated US anti-money laundering laws by ignoring evidence that thousands of its agents were involved in sending illicit cash to criminals, including human traffickers in China and bookies in Costa Rica, the US Department of Justice announced. From 2004 to 2012, Western Union, a global money services business based in Englewood, Colorado, “processed hundreds of […]
GENEVA — Deliveries of lifesaving aid to Syrian civilians trapped in besieged areas are at their lowest level in almost a year, despite a cease-fire that has curbed fighting across much of the country, the United Nations said on Thursday. In Idlib Province, residents of some towns are dying for want of medical care. Armed opposition groups and government forces “are routinely doing what they can, all […]
19th January 2017 Profile Software, an international financial solutions provider, today announced its sponsorship of the Middle East Wealth Management Forum organized by Hubbis, taking place on the 24th of January at the Ritz Carlton, DIFC in Dubai, UAE. Profile’s executives will demonstrate the client centric and innovative platforms that address the Wealth Management industry’s requirements. Profile supports thought provoking industry leading events for the Wealth Management […]
Lawmakers, government officials, and aid workers are bracing themselves for a broad offensive from President-elect Donald Trump against federal programs that support family planning and gender equality around the world. As one of his first acts in the Oval Office, the Republican president-elect plans to restore the “Mexico City policy” as soon as Sunday, a congressional staffer told Foreign Policy. Also known as the “global gag rule,” […]
Donald Trump has chosen Woody Johnson, the billionaire owner of the New York Jets American football team and veteran Republican political donor, as his ambassador to Britain. Speaking to Republicans at a lunch in Washington ahead of his inauguration on Friday, Mr Trump revealed that he had chosen the owner of the sports team as ambassador, as he kept his penchant for announcing appointments of his team […]
WASHINGTON President-elect Donald Trump’s spokesman said on Thursday there will be an announcement on whether the United States will move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. “Stay tuned,” incoming White House spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters, asked about the issue at a briefing the day before Trump takes office. “There’ll be a further announcement on that.” While campaigning for the presidency, Trump pledged to switch the […]
Steven Mnuchin, Donald Trump’s nominee to be Treasury secretary, clashed with Democrats over the business practices of the lender he once chaired, saying he had been wrongly accused of taking advantage of unfortunate borrowers and that he would work “tirelessly” to boost the economy and US hiring. The former banker told the Senate finance committee that he had been maligned and that OneWest, the bank, had extended 100,000 […]
Kraft is still a very hands-on owner, but three of his sons have taken on greater responsibilities with the Patriots and the family’s portfolio of company investments, including a Major League Soccer team, the New England Revolution. More and more, Kraft said, he is focusing on strategizing and bringing people together. Like Arabs and Jews. He has sought to broker Middle East conciliation through sports and investments, […]
Appoints Industry Veteran Amid Al-Shanteer to Lead Regional Office in Dubai Covering Middle East and North Africa 19 January 2017 FREMONT, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE/ME NewsWire) Responding to growing business in the Middle East and North Africa, AlertEnterprise, the leading Silicon Valley based provider of Security Convergence software, has appointed Amid Al-Shanteer as Vice President of Sales for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) market effective January 16, […]
January 19, 2017 by: Claire Jones in Frankfurt The European Central Bank has kept interest rates at record lows and the terms of its landmark quantitative easing package unchanged as its president prepares to field questions on an economic outlook full of threats. The bank’s governing council, meeting on Thursday in Frankfurt, left its benchmark main refinancing rate at zero. Its deposit rate, in effect a levy […]
If this week’s speech by Theresa May on her Brexit plans was designed to reassure the City of London and stop banks from shifting jobs out of the UK, early indications are that it appears to have failed. The prime minister is scheduled to address business leaders at the annual World Economic Forum in Davos Thursday morning, but in the meantime a flurry of senior financiers popped […]
19 JANUARY 2017 – DUBAI, UAE: Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor, Founding Chairman of the Al Habtoor Group, hosted his inaugural ‘Open Talk’ session with a group of 50 of his social media followers. Open Talk is a monthly series of face-to-face discussions on key issues impacting the UAE and wider region. Al Habtoor said, “Social media is such a powerful platform. I have many followers who I […]
By Lisa Barrington | BEIRUT BEIRUT After years of political deadlock, Lebanon finally has a new government. Now it needs a new economy. Battered by war in neighbouring Syria, neglected by wrangling politicians and caught in rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran, the pillars of the economy – remittances from overseas workers, tourism and real estate – are not what they were. Long-term, Lebanon is searching for […]
Sir Paul McCartney has sued Sony’s publishing arm as he looks to reclaim US rights to songs he co-wrote with John Lennon in the 1960s and 70s. Sony owns the publishing rights, last year buying out the Michael Jackson estate’s 50 per cent stake in Sony/ATV, the music publishing group, for $750m. The Lennon-McCartney catalogue represents one of Sony/ATV’s crown jewels, spanning the bulk of Beatles’ songs written […]
Lt. Gen. Talib Shaghati of the Iraqi Army said on Wednesday that his forces had effectively taken control of the eastern side, declaring that “important lines and important areas are finished.” He spoke at a news conference in Bartella, a town east of Mosul. Continue reading the main story Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi of Iraq, in a statement posted on his Twitter account, extolled what he described […]
WASHINGTON: In the first visit of its kind since 2012, US Democratic Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard has traveled to Syria on a trip that has taken her so far to Aleppo and Damascus.The move, according to Syrian-conflict watchers, indicates that President Bashar Assad “is no longer beyond the pale in US politics and policymaking.”Gabbard, who made news in November with her meeting with President-elect Donald Trump, and was […]
Support from alumnus creates new opportunities for scholarship and academic exchange CAMBRIDGE, United States of America, January 18, 2017 The Center for Middle Eastern Studies (CMES) (https://CMES.fas.Harvard.edu) at Harvard University today opened its first overseas office, in Tunisia, home to a tradition of learning and research that extends from Antiquity to the present. The office and the year-round programs run from the location are made possible by […]
Senegalese troops were massed last night on the Gambian border, preparing for a possible invasion if Yahya Jammeh, Gambia’s president, refused to step down by midnight. Minutes after midnight, the official end of his term in office, there was no word from Mr Jammeh. As the clock ticked down on Mr Jammeh’s term, diplomatic efforts to persuade him to go had continued. Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, Mauritania’s […]
New Zealand is pressing to finalise a stalled free trade deal with the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) that includes two of the Middle East’s largest economies, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Trade Minister Todd McClay visited the UAE and Kuwait this week in an effort to promote the deal with the GCC, his country’s sixth largest trading partner. The GCC comprises Saudi Arabia, the […]
At The World Economic Forum’s Middle East and North African (MENA) Regional Business Council At The World Economic Forum’s Middle East and North African (MENA) Regional Business Council 18 January 2017, Davos The World Economic Forum’s Middle East and North African (MENA) Regional Business Council today launched a report outlining six policy reforms to create jobs and stability in the region. “We cannot continue to have one […]
