AMMAN, Jordan — Three Jordanian intelligence officers and two other employees of the service were killed on Monday in a Palestinian refugee camp near the capital, Amman, in what the government said was a terrorist attack. The government has opened an investigation into the assault, which took place around 7 a.m. at an intelligence office in the Baqaa refugee camp, which was set up after the Arab-Israeli […]
DUBAI // A Ramadan education campaign to distribute five million books to children in refugee camps and schools around the world was launched on Sunday by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai. The Reading Nation campaign, announced by Sheikh Mohammed on Twitter, is part of Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives. He said that he asks God to accept his and the […]
WASHINGTON — An exhausted and ill-equipped Iraqi Army faces daunting obstacles on the battlefield that will most likely delay for months a long-planned major offensive on the Islamic State stronghold of Mosul, American and allied officials say. The delay is expected despite American efforts to keep Iraq’s creaky war machine on track. Although President Obama vowed to end the United States’ role in the war in Iraq, […]
1. What is Ramadan? Ramadan is the ninth month in the Islamic (Hijri) calendar. It is the most holy month in the calendar for Muslims as it is believed the Quran was revealed to Prophet Mohammed during Ramadan. During this month, Muslims do not consume any food or liquid between fajr and maghrib prayers (at dawn and sunset), not even water. You can check the exact prayer […]
SAUDI ARABIA. The recent Ministerial Resolution on the Saudisation of the sale and repair of mobile phones, together with the earlier resolutions on the retail of female clothing, indicate a growing approach by the Ministry of Labour to require the complete Saudisation of certain activities within the retail sector. In this article we examine the existing requirements and also the proposal for a weighted Nitiqat. Sale and […]
Abu Dhabi: The Ministry of Economy on Wednesday said it will ensure there is enough food supply throughout Ramadan to prevent hikes in prices, which are being closely monitored and regulated. The measures include Ramadan discounts by major retailers on 5,000 items, in addition to the ongoing price caps on 4,000 items throughout the year. Moreover, the ministry will carry out […]
ABU DHABI // Car dealers are looking to the traditionally busy holy month to recoup on poor sales this year – so don’t be afraid to squeeze them, an industry insider advises. With low oil prices hitting the economy and job losses in major sectors, some dealers are reporting sales 25 per cent lower than normal for the first five months of the year. “Car sales across […]
Markets move ‘sideways-to-soft’ ahead of Ramadan amid fears international markets will not be robust Dubai: UAE indices fell on Monday, extending losses for another session as traders repositioned themselves ahead of the Ramadan season. The Dubai Financial Market General Index (DFMGI) closed 0.43 per cent lower at 3,290.37, while the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange General index closed 0.66 per cent lower at 4,345.31. “UAE markets are moving […]
DUBAI // He may be a desert explorer and 11-time world record holder, but there was one thing about Max Calderan that all the pupils at a primary school wanted to know – was he ever bitten by a snake? The answer was yes, but three days later it was the snake that died. The Italian adventurer recently became the first person to cross the 340-kilometres Tropic […]
SAUDI ARABIA. JLL, the world’s leading real estate investment and advisory firm, today released its third quarter (Q3 2015) Riyadh and Jeddah Real Estate Market Overview reports that asses the latest trends in the office, residential, retail and hotel sectors. Mr Jamil Ghaznawi, National Director and Country Head of JLL KSA, commented: “The Riyadh real estate market has maintained a steady performance this quarter. The office sector […]
UAE. Latest business survey data pointed to a robust and accelerated expansion in Dubai’s private sector output during August. Furthermore, the rate of business activity growth was the fastest seen since May, with all three monitored sub-sectors reporting stronger output growth in the latest survey period. The rebound in activity growth was underpinned by a stronger expansion in new business, which increased at the strongest rate in […]
UAE. Today, Phidar Advisory released its Q3 mid-quarter Dubai residential research note. The report shows that residential prices in the third quarter of 2015 continue to decline, compared to the previous quarter. However, the most significant finding was in a statistical analysis of the relationship between currencies and Dubai real estate prices. “Analysis reveals a significant relationship between three key foreign currencies and Dubai real estate prices,” said […]
UAE. The second quarter 2015 real estate report issued by leading local consulting firm ValuStrat – has shown a steady decline in property values since the peak last year. However, the rate of decline is easing and is expected to continue to decelerate over the remainder of the year. The Residential VPI (ValuStrat Price Index), which is a 100 point index that started tracking residential values since […]
Middle East Beirut Journal A man sifted through garbage piled in Beirut, Lebanon, on Monday. By ANNE BARNARD August 27, 2015 BEIRUT, Lebanon — Mohammad Rizk sat glumly in his sandwich shop on Wednesday, waiting for customers. The scent of roasting chicken mingled with the fumes of a trash pile just outside. The garbage heap, which seemed to have taken on a life of its own, now dominated the […]
GAZA CITY — At this time last year, as the missiles and bombs rained down in Israel’s lopsided seven-week war against Gaza, I wrote about our struggle to survive during the holy month of Ramadan. This year, another Ramadan has passed, Eid al-Fitr is over and the reality on the ground has changed very little. The same dreadful conditions are creating desperation among Gaza’s inhabitants, whose lives […]
A Tunisian police officer stood guard at the scene of a shooting attack in June at the Imperial Marhaba hotel in the Mediterranean resort of Sousse. By CARLOTTA GALL August 9, 2015 MONASTIR, Tunisia — A dozen police officers, one with an assault rifle across his knees, guard the presidential mausoleum in this sleepy seaside resort, easily outnumbering the foreign visitors on a recent morning. It was here, the […]
SHARJAH // When Ramadan began in June, schoolpupils Arushi Madan and Khyati Saxena wanted to do something that would benefit both the environment and the underprivileged. They launched A Dose of Help, a month-long campaign to collect unused, unopened over-the-counter medicine that was within a year of expiry to donate to the Emirates Red Crescent in Sharjah. “We truly believe that we can all make a difference. […]
BAGHDAD — The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for a bombing in eastern Iraq, and Iraqi officials on Saturday said the death toll had risen to 100, with 20 more missing and more than 100 wounded. The bomb tore through a marketplace on Friday as shoppers prepared for a major Muslim holiday in Khan Bani Saad, a mostly Shiite town about 12 miles from Baquba, the […]
TEHRAN — Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran, voiced support on Saturday for his country’s nuclear deal with world powers while emphasizing that it did not signal an end to Iran’s hostility toward the United States and its allies, especially Israel. “Their actions in the region are 180 degrees different from ours,” he said. Speaking after a special prayer marking the end of the Muslim […]
Eid-al-Fitr, observed from Romania to Thailand to Brooklyn, marks the conclusion of Ramadan, Islam’s month of fasting, prayers and contemplation. (via NY Times)
CAIRO — Security forces killed six antigovernment protesters at Islamist demonstrations near Cairo on Friday morning, highlighting continued tensions two years after the military takeover that removed President Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood. The clashes, in the Giza neighborhoods of Talbiya and Nahia, took place as crowds gathered after morning prayers that signaled the beginning of the Eid al-Fitr holiday, at the end of the holy […]
DUBAI // For decades, Dubai Creek has been a hub of activity as traders bring in goods and sell their wares at the bustling markets nearby. Even today, laden dhows can be seen unloading items to be sold at the Spice Market, on the Deira side of the saltwater Creek, and other souqs around the city. Most of these dhows’ captains are Bangladeshis and Pakistanis but, in […]
By DIAA HADID July 13, 2015 JERUSALEM — A Palestinian man who waged a 55-day hunger strike in prison to pressure the Israeli authorities to release him was detained on Monday, just a day after he was freed. The man, Khader Adnan, 36, was stopped after he tried to enter the walled Old City of Jerusalem to worship at the Al Aqsa Mosque on the holiest night of Ramadan, […]
Palestinians carried the body of Muhammad Hani al-Kasba, 17, during his funeral in Ramallah on July 3, the day he was shot by an Israeli soldier. By DIAA HADID July 13, 2015 JERUSALEM — An Israeli human rights group on Monday challenged the military’s account of an episode in which a soldier shot and killed a Palestinian youth who had hurled a rock at his vehicle, saying that video […]
