HR technology trends in focus at Dubai summit DUBAI, 22 days ago The latest trends in implementing technology for human resources (HR) function in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region will be shared exclusively at a conference in Dubai, UAE next week. The HR Tech Mena, under the theme ‘Smart HR Evolution,’ will take place on May 13 and 14 at the Taj Towers Dubai, […]
Derek Donahue ….. Satcom EEMEA region’s regional director Satcom Direct appoints new regional director DUBAI, 22 days ago Satcom Direct, the leading provider of satellite voice and broadband data solutions for flight deck and cabin communications, has appointed Derek Donahue as its regional director for the Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (EEMEA) region. Currently based in the Dubai office, Donahue’s new role has him managing the […]
UAE. The private equity market in the Middle East has matured in the last five years in terms of deal structures, volumes and values, according to speakers at a debate organised by ICAEW’s Corporate Finance Faculty in the UAE. ICAEW members and guests gathered at Jumeirah Emirates Towers in Dubai last week (Wednesday, 20th May) to discuss private equity in the region. The event, sponsored by Merrill […]
UAE. Fifty-seven percent of global financial services executives believe regulation has enabled growth of their business, according to the results of Deloitte’s Staying Ahead of the Pack survey. In addition, half of executives expect much more regulation in the near future, with 69 percent feeling prepared for it. The survey of 200 executives at banking, securities, insurance and investment management firms around the world was conducted to […]
By RICK GLADSTONE May 27, 2015 France challenged Iran’s supreme leader on Wednesday over a disputed element of the Iranian nuclear talks, asserting that it would not sign any pact unless Iran allowed all its nuclear installations, including military sites, to be inspected. The French position was stated by the foreign minister, Laurent Fabius, just as negotiations reconvened in Vienna with the aim of reaching a final agreement by […]
World Briefing By STEVEN ERLANGER May 27, 2015 LONDON — Tony Blair, former prime minister of Britain, will resign as special Middle East envoy at the end of June, he informed the United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, in a letter, diplomats said Wednesday. Mr. Blair took the job in 2007, representing the Middle East “quartet” of the United States, Russia, the United Nations and the European Union. But […]
From left: Maziar Bahari, Reza Taghavi and Amir Hekmati. By THE NEW YORK TIMES May 27, 2015 In the past seven years, other journalists and American travelers have been arrested in Iran for spying. All have denied the accusations. ▪ Roxana Saberi: An Iranian-American journalist arrested in January 2009 on accusations of spying, and sentenced to eight years. She was released after 100 days and wrote a book about her experience. […]
By JODI RUDOREN May 26, 2015 JERUSALEM — Hinting at a new strategy as he starts his fourth term with a more conservative coalition, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel told the European Union’s foreign policy chief that he wants to negotiate with the Palestinians over which settlements in the occupied West Bank would be annexed by Israel, officials said Tuesday. Palestinian leaders quickly rejected the idea as a […]
Shiite fighters during an operation to retake the remaining areas of the Baiji oil refinery from the Islamic State on Monday in Salahuddin Province in Iraq. By TIM ARANGO May 26, 2015 BAGHDAD — Iraqi officials said Tuesday that a combined force of Iraqi soldiers and allied Shiite militias had started moving to retake the city of Ramadi, the capital of Anbar Province, from Islamic State fighters. The officials billed […]
Video | Reporter’s Brother on Iran Spying Trial Ali Rezaian — the brother of Jason Rezaian, a reporter for The Washington Post — spoke on Tuesday as his brother’s trial on espionage charges began in Iran. By THOMAS ERDBRINK May 26, 2015 Jason Rezaian, the Washington Post correspondent accused by Iran of espionage who has been imprisoned for more than 10 months, went on trial in a Tehran courtroom […]
|By K Raveendran| Samena Capital, which recently completed the purchase of UAE’s global ceramics leader RAK Ceramics, has acquired a significant stake in London-based private banking and corporate advisory Kleinwort Benson Bank. (KBBL) The transaction opens up the possibility of the bank establishing a new global merchant banking operation in Dubai to offer advisory services for corporate in the region. The transaction is expected to close by […]
JORDAN. Technology will be a “game changer” in tackling youth unemployment in the Middle East and North Africa’s emerging Digital Economy, but only if the government, private, and people sectors collaborate effectively, according to a new report released on the eve of the World Economic Forum on the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) 2015. The report “Re-Dynamizing the Job Machine: Technology-Driven Transformation of Labor Markets in […]
By RICK GLADSTONE May 25, 2015 Ignoring foreign requests for court access, the Iranian judge presiding over the espionage case against Jason Rezaian, the Washington Post reporter imprisoned for 10 months, has barred everyone except the defendant and his lawyer, Mr. Rezaian’s brother said Monday on the eve of the trial. Not even Mr. Rezaian’s mother and wife, who as of last week had been led to believe they […]
|By Alaa Alghamdi|I feel very proud of our King that, several weeks ago, he took a stand in favour of equality and against racism, even when it meant alienating a family member. King Salman promptly forbade his kin to appear in televised media, as he considered him a poor spokesperson for the royal family and for our country. King Salman made a judicious decision. Perhaps he, like […]
By JODI RUDOREN May 25, 2015 JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel on Monday named a longtime confidant who is hawkish on Iran and the Palestinian issue to run the foreign ministry, the latest in a series of moves that consolidate Mr. Netanyahu’s conservative grip on his new government. The new ministry director, Dore Gold, is a former Israeli ambassador to the United Nations and a prolific […]
By MERNA THOMAS and KAREEM FAHIM May 23, 2015 CAIRO — An Egyptian court on Saturday acquitted 17 witnesses who had been facing criminal charges after some of them came forward to testify about the apparent police killing of an unarmed poet and activist in January, lawyers for the defendants said. The group had seen riot police officers violently disperse a peaceful march on Jan. 24, including by firing birdshot. The […]
An anonymous painting of Turkish Emperor Mahmud II leading his troops. By DAVID MOTADEL May 23, 2015 CAMBRIDGE, England — THE last several months have brought a dramatic escalation in conflict across the Middle East, almost all of it involving tensions between Sunni and Shiite Muslims — which are in turn fueled by a power struggle between Shiite Iran and Sunni Saudi Arabia for regional supremacy. Tehran runs a […]
|By TAP Staff| Network International, the credit card processing company owned by Emirates NBD and Abraaj Group is set to launch an IPO. According to sources, the offering would happen in the fourth quarter or in early 2016. The business is expected to be valued at more than $1 billion. Abraaj bought 49 percent of Network International from Emirates NBD for about 2 billion dirhams ($545 million) in late 2010. The […]
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 […]
UAE. A new study reveals that Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs can significantly increase UAE companies’ performance and recognition. The research, commissioned by the social enterprise Consult and Coach for a Cause (C3) and conducted by the global market research company YouGov, presented today at the CSR Summit in Dubai, shows that around three-quarters of residents are more likely to purchase from companies that actively contribute to […]
UAE. The findings of a new study by The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), a global management consulting firm and the world’s leading advisor on business strategy, shows that mobile technologies are creating immense value for consumers – value that greatly exceeds the costs of owning a mobile device. In fact, consumers worldwide value mobile technologies at 11 to 45 percent of their income – well above what […]
UAE. Landmark real estate regulatory changes including the UAE-wide Federal Mortgage Cap and Dubai’s doubling of Property Registration Fees last year, which was aimed at curbing speculative activity, have together gradually and successfully contained a market that was in danger of overheating with the level of transactional activity now dramatically reduced, according to latest research released by international real estate consultancy Cluttons. Cluttons Spring 2015 Dubai Residential […]
By PETER BAKER May 21, 2015 WASHINGTON — President Obama denied that the United States and its allies were losing the fight against Islamic State forces in the Middle East, but he acknowledged in an interview posted online on Thursday that more should be done to help Iraqis recapture lost territory. While repeating his refusal to commit large-scale American forces to the region, the president said Sunni fighters in […]
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 […]
