Monday 16:30 BST What you need to know • The euro is losing momentum after touching a six-month high, down 0.6 per cent at $1.0925 • New York equity markets are muted; European equities markets are falling back, led by banks after early momentum from the French election continues to fade • Oil prices have also been volatile with both Brent and WTI seesawing either side of […]
Two Emiratis who went to treat the suffering in conflict zones are fine examples of the spirit needed to win the Abu Dhabi Award. ABU DHABI // Dr Ayesha Al Memari and Dr Aysha Al Dhaheri imagined a life walking the wards of a modern hospital when they embarked on their careers. But when the call came, they left their duties to go on missions they now […]
In a week that started with big oil and US shale producers trumpeting their ability to thrive in a world of $50 a barrel crude, the market had a very quick response: let’s see if you can do it at $45. A brutal sell-off across commodity markets this week has quickly taken the shine off strong first-quarter results that would otherwise have been viewed as a triumph […]
Bahrain-based Investcorp has announced that its US real estate arm has invested in an industrial portfolio of properties in the Chicago and Boston metropolitan areas for a total purchase price of about $160 million. The portfolio includes six properties with an aggregate of approximately 1.8 million square feet of warehouse and distribution space, the investment firm said in a statement. Yasser Bajsair, managing director at Investcorp in […]
The balance of power within Hamas, which Israel, the United States and much of the West defines as a terrorist organization, has been shifting to Gaza, according to experts. The group seized control of the Palestinian coastal enclave in 2007 after beating its main rival, Fatah, led by President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority, in parliamentary elections a year earlier. Continue reading the main story In […]
Saudi women no longer need a man’s consent to carry out certain activities, local media reported on Friday, but activists said the royal order does not go far enough. Saudi Arabia has some of the world’s tightest restrictions on women, and is the only country where they are not allowed to drive. Under the guardianship system a male family member, normally the father, husband or brother, must […]
Most sectors in the Middle East are likely to adopt a “wait and see” policy on hiring during 2017 as companies monitor market conditions, according to a new report. Recruitment agency Michael Page Middle East said real estate firms are most likely to buck this trend, with signs that hiring activity is returning as liquidity enters the market. The report added that, following a move to reduce […]
Authored by Jim Quinn via The Burning Platform blog, In Part One of this article I detailed how propaganda has been utilized by the Deep State for decades to control the minds of the masses and allow those in control to reap the benefits of never ending war. In Part Two I will discuss recent events, false flags, and propaganda campaigns utilized by the Deep State to […]
Mr. Greenblatt got a very different message at an earlier dinner with two other prominent Palestinians, Salam Fayyad and Ziad Asali, and two American Jewish diplomats, Elliott Abrams and Dennis B. Ross. They all told him that a breakthrough was not realistic now, and that Mr. Trump would be better off pursuing incremental advances, like bettering the economic fortunes of the Palestinians. Continue reading the main story […]
Business conditions in Saudi Arabia’s non-oil private sector continued to improve at the start of the second quarter, with rates of expansion in new work and business activity gathering pace, according to a new survey. Data from the Emirates NBD Saudi Arabia Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) showed that firms were encouraged to engage in purchasing activity, which in turn led to the strongest accumulation in stocks of […]
By Mike Stone | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON Washington is working to push through contracts for tens of billions of dollars in arms sales to Saudi Arabia, some new, others in the pipeline, ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump’s trip to the kingdom this month, people familiar with the talks told Reuters this week. Saudi Arabia is Trump’s first stop on his maiden international trip, a sign of his […]
ABU DHABI // A milestone in the UAE’s military journey is how Brig Gen Shahwan Al Dhaheri recalls the unification process of the UAE Armed Forces when he witnessed it 41 years ago. He was 20 at the time and had been serving in the land forces as an armed officer for two years. “We are the generation that lived the moment the unification announcement was made […]
Donald Trump on Thursday confirmed his first foreign trip as president will include stops in Saudi Arabia, Israel and the Vatican. Trump will add the three stops to an already announced visit to NATO and G7 summits in Brussels and Sicily later this month. “My first foreign trip as president of the United States will be to Saudi Arabia, then Israel, and then to a place that […]
By Dominique Vidalon | PARIS PARIS The shareholders of AccorHotels (ACCP.PA) on Friday granted former French President Nicolas Sarkozy a seat on the board of Europe’s largest hotel group, and rejected a bid to block long-term shareholders from getting more double voting rights. Chairman and CEO Sebastien Bazin reiterated at the annual shareholders meeting that double voting rights were a good way to foster loyalty and stability […]
Saudi Arabia should urgently review its definition of terrorism under a law used to prosecute non-violent journalists and human rights defenders, a United Nations special rapporteur said on Thursday. After a visit to the kingdom, Ben Emmerson told reporters that a 2014 counter-terrorism law contains an “unacceptably broad definition” of the crime and does not comply with international rights standards. “I strongly condemn the use of counter-terrorism […]
MOSCOW The agreement on safe zones in Syria will come into force from midnight tonight, but Russia’s air force will continue striking Islamic State elsewhere in the country, Russian news agencies cited Russian Defence Ministry as saying on Friday. The first and the largest safe zone in northern Syria will include the Idlib province and adjoining districts of Latakia, Aleppo and Hama with a total population of […]
Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, bids farewell to Abdel Fattah El Sisi, President of Egypt, at the Presidential Airport on Thursday. Ryan Carter / Crown Prince Court – Abu Dhabi Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, on Thursday receives Mahamoud Ali Youssouf, Djibouti Minister of Foreign Affairs and International […]
Saudi Arabia is seeking foreign investment in its healthcare industry as it plans to turn hundreds of government-owned hospitals and thousands of primary care centres into better-run corporations, Health Minister Tawfig Al-Rabiah said. Nearly 80 percent of health care in Saudi Arabia is provided by the government, Al-Rabiah said in an interview in Boston. But the kingdom “is trying to move the private sector to invest more,” […]
Photo Gholamali Khoshroo, Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, speaking at a U.N. Security Council meeting in February. Credit Mark Lennihan/Associated Press Iran responded angrily on Thursday to criticisms by Saudi Arabia’s defense minister, accusing him of acts that violate the United Nations Charter and calling his kingdom an instigator of “dangerous ambitions in the region and beyond.” The Iranian response came in a formal protest letter […]
Bahrain-based Ibdar Bank has announced the appointment of Ayman Sejiny as its new CEO. The Islamic investment bank said in a statement Sejiny has previously held roles at Barclays, Citi Bank and ABN Amro. Previous to his appointment with Ibdar, Sejiny was the Group CEO of Bahrain-based Bank Alkhair, which has a presence in Saudi Arabia, UAE, Turkey and Malaysia. Ibdar chairman Tareq Sadeq said: “Ibdar is […]
White House officials said foreign leaders would be more willing to help the United States if disagreements over human rights and other issues were aired in private. They cited the recent release of an Egyptian-American aid worker detained in Egypt, which was negotiated in quiet talks with President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. Continue reading the main story “Obama’s approach was to build support with the Arab public through […]
May 4, 2017 by: Katrina Manson in New York Donald Trump will visit Saudi Arabia, Israel and the Vatican on his first foreign trip as US president in an effort to unite a coalition against Islamist terrorism and Iran and extract more from traditional allies. The travel plans mark a departure from US foreign policy norms, which usually see new presidents visit neighbouring Canada or Mexico within a month of taking office. […]
Under the memorandum they signed as guarantors of a cease-fire, fighting between government forces and insurgents is to stop in four zones that include rebel-held territory in the north, central and southern parts of the country. Continue reading the main story It remains unclear precisely how the guarantors will monitor compliance with what they are calling “de-escalation zones.” Aleksandr Lavrentyev, the Russian negotiator at the Astana talks, […]
I’m a firm believer in always seeing the glass as half-full rather than half-empty, for seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, and so on. When people congratulate me for taking the positive view, I say I’m not – it’s simply all a matter of perspective. Take my country, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. One of the richest countries in the history of the world, […]
