Brexit may have come at the most fortunate time for the GCC. As the Gulf seeks greater support to fend off security risks in the region, including Iranian actions, and avenues to shore up bilateral trade in replacement of lost oil revenues, the UK is reaching out to old friends in a bid to strengthen non-mainland European relationships. “We will make it a priority, when the UK […]
Investors have valued Athene at about $7.4bn in a stock market launch of the US pensions provider, according to people familiar with the matter. Selling shareholders led by private equity house Apollo Global Management are set to raise $1.08bn as bankers handling the float prepare to price shares in the company at $40 apiece, the people said. That is the middle of a range of between $38 […]
Photo Closer Aroldis Chapman, left, with Starlin Castro, signed with the Yankees for five years, but he can opt out after three. Credit Mike Stobe/Getty Images NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — You might think a $17.2 million annual salary, a new benchmark for closers, would be enough to get a five-year commitment to the Yankees from Aroldis Chapman. But that is not how free agency works. The Yankees […]
ABU DHABI // The US presidential election, religious occasions and rainstorms were among the most discussed topics on Facebook by people in the UAE this year. On Thursday, Facebook released its Year in Review’s top moments of 2016 from people in the country and around the world. “As the year comes to a close, we have seen people in the UAE connect in big and small ways […]
Thursday 21:00 GMT Overview The European Central Bank’s latest policy surprise fuelled a volatile session for the euro and government bonds as participants appeared, initially at least, to struggle to assess its implications. But European stocks rose to 11-month highs while Wall Street overcame an early bout of fatigue to set yet more record peaks. Oil prices resumed their upward path, even as a stronger dollar unsettled […]
Idyllic archipelago of 115 islands will continue to enchant Middle Eastern guests in 2017 8 December 2016, Dubai UAE The Seychelles Tourism Board Office in Dubai is delighted to confirm that visitor numbers from the GCC region have shown impressive year-on-year growth over the past 12 months. The announcement comes with news of a portfolio of hotel openings for 2017 that look set to secure the market […]
The deals, if finalized, would bring much-needed expertise and foreign investment to Iran’s ailing energy sector. Continue reading the main story Just as important, the agreements provide a lifeline to the rest of the world, experts say, critical to keeping dollars flowing and in cementing relations with European and Asian countries. Few Iranian officials like to acknowledge that in public, insisting that the country is immune to […]
ABU DHABI // The US presidential election, religious occasions and rainstorms were among the most discussed topics on Facebook by people in the UAE this year. On Thursday, Facebook released its Year in Review’s top moments of 2016 from people in the country and around the world. “As the year comes to a close, we have seen people in the UAE connect in big and small ways […]
China’s Fujian Grand Chip Investment said it had dropped its offer for Aixtron, the German chip equipment maker, six days after President Barack Obama blocked the deal on national security grounds. Fujian’s takeover vehicle Grand Chip Investment said its offer had lapsed because it had failed to gain regulatory approval from the US Committee on Foreign Investment. Aixtron’s shares fell more than 4 per cent to €3.73 […]
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates: The Daesh group is calling for its followers to launch attacks in Bahrain, including those targeting American military personnel stationed on the tiny island.The call came in a video that also urges militants to attack the island’s Shiite population.Bahrain is home to the US Navy’s 5th Fleet, as well as an under-construction British naval base. Officials with 5th Fleet and the Bahraini government […]
He said that he was speaking from a makeshift medical clinic and that doctors were working in secret basement locations after being driven from hospitals. There were dozens of wounded and dead around him, including children, he added. Continue reading the main story “My neighbors have died; they were brought here,” he said. “I couldn’t ask them, ‘Where is my family?’ ” The latest round of fighting […]
National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) secured shareholders’ assent to merge with First Gulf Bank (FGB) at a meeting on Wednesday, a spokesman for NBAD said. First Gulf Bank also secured shareholders’ approval on Wednesday, FGB’s chief executive Andre Sayegh said. The pair announced in July that their boards had approved the tie-up, which will create one of the largest banks in the Middle East and Africa […]
I spot the ship long before the car pulls up to the cruise terminal at Abu Dhabi’s Mina Zayed. Part of the Celebrity Cruises fleet, the stately Celebrity Constellation – dark blue and white, and marked with a distinctive “X” logo at the top – stands 13 decks tall. Orange lifeboats hang high on Deck 5, and the shaded gangplank looks like a tunnel boring into the […]
The European Central Bank has decided to scale back its landmark quantitive easing programme from €80bn to €60bn a month, in a move that responds to hawks’ concerns about ultra-loose monetary policy but which could unsettle markets. The bank confirmed that it would buy €80bn a month of bonds under the current leg of the programme until March, but added that it would reduce the purchase size […]
The UK’s National Grid has agreed to sell a 61 per cent stake in its gas distribution network to a consortium of global investors, a deal that will plug the 11m homes the network serves into investors such as China’s sovereign wealth fund and Australian investment bank Macquarie. The terms of the transaction imply an enterprise value for the division of around £13.8bn including debt. The investment […]
Dubai, UAE, 8 December Bollywood Parks™ Dubai, part of Dubai Parks and Resorts, the largest integrated theme park destination in the region, unveils Jaan-e-Jigar, the regions first Broadway-style Bollywood show in all its grandeur at the Rajmahal Theatre, which is located in the heart and soul of the park. Dubai’s answer to world-class entertainment, Jaan-e-Jigar is the biggest Bollywood style show to ever hit the region, where […]
Submitted by MiddleEastEye.net via TheAntiMedia.org, Saudi authorities banned journalist Jamal Khashoggi from writing in newspapers, appearing on TV and attending conferences, the Alkhalij Aljadid reported in Arabic. This came after Khashoggi’s remarks during a presentation he made at a Washington think-tank on 10 November in which he was critical of Donald Trump’s ascension to the US presidency. Two weeks ago, an official Saudi source was cited by […]
US stocks hit fresh highs on Tuesday led by transportation, as investors solidified their bets on an improving economy under the Trump administration. The benchmark S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq Composite each clinched their best daily performances since the day before the US election, with the first two also setting new records. Stock markets have been invigorated by the possibility of a wave of […]
A group of investors will pay $1.12 billion for Saudi Oger’s stake in Jordan’s Arab Bank and expects to complete the deal by mid-January, a member of the consortium told Al Arabiya TV on Wednesday. Saudi Arabian conglomerate Astra Group was part of the consortium, led by Arab Bank Group Chairman Sabih al-Masri, that was buying the 20 percent stake, Ghassan Akeel, chief executive for Saudi Arabia […]
Donald Trump is planning to hand responsibility for immigration and the US-Mexico border to John Kelly, a retired general who led US military operations in Latin America. The president-elect has chosen the former Marine general to be secretary of homeland security, head of the department that oversees immigration policy, US media reported on Wednesday. The job would give Mr Kelly, 66, a pivotal role in implementing border […]
By Hamid Shalizi and Josh Smith | KABUL KABUL Afghan and American officials are increasingly worried that any deepening of ties between Russia and Taliban militants fighting to topple the government in Kabul could complicate an already precarious security situation. Russian officials have denied they provide aid to the insurgents, who are contesting large swathes of territory and inflicting heavy casualties, and say their limited contacts are […]
News stories are released on weekdays. 2 hours ago Vatican confirms ban on homosexual candidates for priesthood The Vatican has confirmed that homosexual men should not be ordained to the priesthood. In a new instruction for the training of seminarians, entitled The Gift of the Priestly Vocation, the Congregation for the Clergy says that the Church “cannot admit to the seminary or to holy orders those […]
General assembly meetings of FGB and NBAD held on December 7th Combined bank has total assets of approximately AED655 billion (US$178 billion), representing a 27% market share of UAE banking sector[1] Shareholders approve combined bank’s board of directors from effective merger date Effective date of merger towards the end of Q1 2017 as initially planned. Abu Dhabi, 7 December 2016 Shareholders in First Gulf Bank PJSC (FGB) […]
Even Kurdish guerrilla units are fully integrated by gender: Women occupy the same combat roles as men, and when the military goes to war, it sends a woman to command one of its major units. Continue reading the main story There is one big problem with this aspect of Kurdish life, in Turkey at least: It has, in effect, been outlawed as part of the Turkish government’s […]
