Global energy markets are heading to a rebalancing in the next years after oil prices fell to historic lows due to oversupply, Qatar’s energy minister said Thursday, praising OPEC members for their adherence to a “successful” November deal to cut production. Qatar’s Minister of Energy and Industry Mohammed Saleh Abdullah Al-Sada told the Atlantic Council summit in Istanbul that a decade of high oil prices had led […]
WASHINGTON President Donald Trump complained on Thursday that U.S. ally Saudi Arabia was not treating the United States fairly and Washington was losing a “tremendous amount of money” defending the kingdom. In an interview with Reuters, Trump confirmed his administration was in talks about possible visits to Saudi Arabia and Israel in the second half of May. He is due to make his first trip abroad as […]
By Phil Stewart and Yara Bayoumy | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON When U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis greeted Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister at the Pentagon last month, the first thing he did was joke about the time “the Iranians tried to murder you.” Mattis’ reference to a foiled 2011 plot, denied by Iran, was a telling sign of how much more aligned President Donald Trump’s administration is with Gulf […]
Two Saudi soldiers were killed Thursday in a rocket attack near the border with war-torn Yemen, the interior ministry said. They died in a simultaneous landmine explosion and rocket attack while on duty patrolling the border around Jazan, the ministry said in a statement carried by the official SPA news agency. Saudi Arabia leads a Gulf coalition that has battled Iran-backed Huthi rebels in Yemen for two […]
Oman positioned fourth among Dubai’s top 10 source markets for inbound tourism, with the second highest contribution to visitation among GCC countries 26 April 2017 Dubai, UAE – The Annual Visitor Report 2016 released by Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism) during this year’s Arabian Travel Market reveals the emirate welcomed over a million overnight visitors from Oman. This marks a 3 per cent […]
A recent Saudi government and security shake-up aims to strengthen King Salman’s increasingly powerful son against a royal rival and to bolster ties with Washington, analysts and diplomats say. Royal decrees at the weekend saw a number of allies of Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman moved into key positions and another son of the king named as ambassador to Washington. The goal, a foreign diplomat told […]
A UAE court on Wednesday sentenced an Iranian to 10 years in prison followed by deportation for attempting to ship a generator to his home country in breach of international sanctions. The appeals court in Abu Dhabi found the unnamed man guilty of “attempting to export a power generator to Iran for its nuclear programme, in breach of international sanctions,” state news agency WAM reported. It did […]
Saudi Arabia has imposed limits on the ownership of prepaid SIM cards for citizens and foreigners, restrictions that the regulator said aim to prevent the use of cards in carrying out militant attacks in the kingdom. Foreign residents, who make up more than a third of the population, are now limited to two prepaid SIM cards across all operators, according to two people familiar with the matter. […]
· “The Middle East remains an extremely important region and we are committed to enhancing our customer experience,” says Robert Williams · British Airways’ recently announced investment plans to boost customer experience with the new First Wing now open to passengers flying from Kuwait · Airline set to launch 22 New Routes in 2017 expanding its network of onward connections for Kuwaiti and wider Middle […]
Qatar said Wednesday that the deal to secure the recent release of a hunting party kidnapped in southern Iraq went ahead with the “full knowledge” of Baghdad. Responding to a complaint by Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi that ransom money was brought into Iraq without its approval, the emirate said it had regularly consulted with officials in Baghdad during the tense negotiations. It was the first official statement […]
. 240 modern gas stations across the country set for completion by 2020 · Strong support is required to encourage organized companies to step in to the service field. 26 April 2017 Riyadh – Petromin, the leading lubricants and automotive services company in Saudi Arabia, outlined plans to build 240 gas stations across the Kingdom at the 10th edition of the Saudi Travel and Tourism Investment […]
Increasingly sophisticated hackers possibly linked to a foreign nation aimed to disrupt key organisations in Saudi Arabia, the US-based cyber security firm McAfee said. It did not name the possible attacker but US intelligence officials said they suspected a link to the kingdom’s regional rival Iran after the Shamoon virus struck the Saudi energy sector in 2012. Renewed Shamoon campaigns that began late last year attacked a […]
Citigroup Inc has received an investment banking licence from Saudi Arabia’s Capital Market Authority more than 10 years after exiting the kingdom. The CMA board authorised Citigroup Saudi Arabia “to conduct dealing as underwriter, arranging and advising in securities business activities,” according to statement posted on the regulator’s website. The firm lost its key banking licence when it sold its stake in Samba Financial Group in 2004. […]
Oil prices reversed early losses on reports of the third weekly drawdown of crude stocks in the US, although analysts cautioned on waiting for further signs that Opec’s production cuts are finally tightening the market. Inventories of US crude fell by a larger than expected 3.6m barrels in the week ended April 21, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday, compared with expectations for a draw of […]
Saudi Arabia’s Iyad Al Hakami was crowned ‘Ameer Al Shu’ara’, The Prince of Poets in the seventh season of the highly popular talent quest. In what was a night of celebration for the kingdom, the second position was also taken by a Saudi national, Tariq Al Sumayli. Al Hakam’s win was the second consecutive season a Saudi national has won the title with last season’s winner being […]
ACWA Power International will bid to build a solar energy project in Saudi Arabia, part of the kingdom’s $50 billion push to temper domestic oil use. Riyadh-based ACWA received a request for proposals last week from Saudi Arabia’s energy ministry to develop the 300-megawatt solar project in Sakaka, Rajit Nanda, ACWA’s chief investment officer, said Tuesday in an interview in Dubai. It’s also considering bidding for other […]
Oil traders banking on a sustained market recovery in 2017 are growing impatient. As the price of Brent crude falls towards $50 a barrel, Opec, energy analysts and some of the most powerful banks in the commodities sector are urging traders to maintain their composure. After a production cut deal between the cartel and rivals such as Russia was agreed late last year, prices began 2017 $10 […]
ABU DHABI // A historic Islamic scholar and poet is the subject of the winning novel for the 10th International Prize for Arabic Fiction. Saudi Arabian author Mohammed Hasan Alwan was declared the winner of the prize, in a ceremony held in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday night, for A Small Death. “I would like to thank the panel for this very pleasant mistake,” Alwan, 38, quipped while […]
Located on Reem Island, Vida Beach Reem Island Abu Dhabi and Vida Residences Beach Reem Island Abu Dhabi will add to the portfolio of Emaar Hospitality Group’s upscale lifestyle hotel brand Scheduled to open in 2020, the iconic hotel and extended stay serviced residences overlook the Arabian Sea within a marina setting Vida Beach Reem Island Abu Dhabi will feature 262 guestrooms and suites, and […]
Dubai’s tourism sector sustained the momentum of its strong 2017 start, with the emirate reporting an 11 percent increase in overnight visitation in the first three months of the year. Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism) said in a statement that the city saw 4.57 million travellers in Q1, more than double the growth achieved in the first quarter of 2016. Among Dubai’s top […]
By Stephanie Nebehay | GENEVA GENEVA The United Nations needs massive funds to avert famine in Yemen and warring parties there must ensure humanitarian aid can be delivered, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Tuesday as he opened a donor conference in Geneva. A U.N. appeal for $1.2 billion this year for Yemen, where Guterres said a child under the age of five dies of preventable causes […]
Saudi Arabia is about to cast off its oil-dependence, build brand-new industries and open its economy to foreign investment, according to the government. That might make it a good time to buy into a Saudi bank. And substantial stakes in two of them are up for sale. But in both cases, it’s international lenders who are seeking to get out – and there are no big-name global […]
· Emaar Hospitality Group, which marks its tenth year in operation, now has 26 upcoming projects · Showcases its portfolio of 10 operational hotels and three serviced residences, and other new properties at the premier travel, tourism and hospitality event 24 April 2017 Dubai, UAE – Emaar Hospitality Group, the hospitality and leisure business of Emaar Properties, today unveiled six new hotel projects as part of […]
DUBAI: The chief of Qatar Airways on Monday accused American carriers complaining over alleged subsidies to Gulf airlines of “bullying,” as he announced new US routes in defiance of mounting airport restrictions.US carriers Delta, United and American Airlines have accused Qatar Airways along with Dubai’s Emirates and Abu Dhabi’s Etihad of benefitting from government subsidies to expand their transcontinental networks.They have urged US President Donald Trump to […]
