UAE. The latest Towers Watson survey on Health Benefits reveals that employers are investing more in the health of their employees as many Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) countries have implemented new legislation and amendments to laws that deal with mandates for employee healthcare coverage. These changes are already in effect or will come into effect in phases over the next few years and will implicitly impact employers. […]
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 […]
As the civil war in Yemen continues, many families say they are living in constant fear. Parents say that their older children have been wetting their beds at night, and that younger ones are so traumatized that they are sent running for cover by the sound of a door slamming. The fighting between Houthi rebels and Saudi-backed government forces has displaced a million people, destroyed cultural heritage […]
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 […]
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 […]
Open Source By ROBERT MACKEY Dozens of Egyptian women on Sunday defied a nationwide ban on unsanctioned street protests, rallying for an hour outside the presidential palace in Cairo to demand the release of political prisoners. The demonstration, staged where 23 opposition activists were arrested a year ago while marching against the protest ban, was called by organizers a “stand,” a form of peaceful assembly used during […]
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 […]
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, right, and France’s foreign minister, Laurent Fabius, in Jerusalem on Sunday. By ISABEL KERSHNER June 21, 2015 JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel on Sunday rebuffed the French idea of restarting the Israeli-Palestinian peace process with international support and the backing of a United Nations Security Council resolution. Speaking at a joint news conference with France’s foreign minister, Laurent Fabius, who […]
WASHINGTONSurging investment by Chinese companies in U.S. research labs is yielding a fast-growing trove of patents, part of a push to mine America for ideas to help China shift from being the world’s factory floor to a driver of innovation. Largely absent from American research hubs a decade ago, Chinese firms including Huawei Technologies and ZTE Corp are now using U.S. researchers to create patents ranging from […]
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 […]
Non-oil to drive ME economies to 5pc growth DUBAI, 3 days ago Middle Eastern economies are anticipated to witness around five per cent growth this year due to the gradual shift in investment to non-oil sectors, a report said. However, implementing pragmatic macroeconomic policies to stabilise global oil prices at $50 to $60 per barrel is likely to remain a key challenge to revenue growth, added the […]
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 […]
WASHINGTON — Iran continued its “terrorist-related” activity last year and also continued to provide broad military support to President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, the State Department said Friday in its annual report on terrorism. The assessment suggests that neither the election of President Hassan Rouhani nor the prospect of a nuclear accord with the United States and its negotiating partners has had a moderating effect on Iran’s […]
By MICHAEL R. GORDON and ERIC SCHMITT June 19, 2015 WASHINGTON — Iran continued its “terrorist-related” activity last year and also continued to provide broad military support to President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, the State Department said Friday in its annual report on terrorism. The State Department’s assessment suggests that neither the election of President Hassan Rouhani nor the prospect of a nuclear accord with the United States and its negotiating partners […]
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 […]
Yemenis waited to buy food and water in Taiz on Friday. The United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, has appealed for a two-week humanitarian truce in honor of Ramadan, which began this week. By SOMINI SENGUPTA June 19, 2015 UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations mediator for Yemen peace talks said on Friday that four days of discussions had ended with no agreement for even a brief pause in […]
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 […]
LEBANON. Economena Analytics, a specialized economic information provider, released its Lebanese Economic Outlook (LEO) for the second quarter of 2015. Key forecast findings show heightened levels of pessimism in recent months, with growth forecasts for 2015 falling to 1.5% in the Q2 survey from 2% at the start of the year. The findings are based on the views of 17 leading Lebanese economists. None of the surveyed […]
Smartphone users can now access data on the potential for renewable energy around the world. The free app, called The Global Atlas pocket, has been launched by the International Renewable Energy Agency, and combines 1,000 maps from 67 governments and 50 data centres to provide information on renewable energy resources anywhere in the world. The app can tell users the renewable energy potential of a certain area, […]
MRC Global announced that its subsidiary, MRC Transmark Middle East FZE, has signed a framework agreement with Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC), naming MRC Transmark Middle East as one of SABIC’s primary valve suppliers to SABIC’s operations in Saudi Arabia. SABIC, headquartered in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, ranks among the world’s top petrochemical companies. It operates from more than 50 countries and has more than 60 manufacturing and […]
By RICK GLADSTONE June 17, 2015 The monitoring group overseeing the destruction of Syria’s chemical arms stockpile said Wednesday that almost all effluent from the neutralized weapons had been eliminated, portraying the progress as a great success in the nearly two years since Syria agreed to relinquish its arsenal. But the news from the group, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, was partly overshadowed by outrage over […]
