By Priceonomics Data Studio Each year, the State Department issues dozens of advisories with the intent of keeping Americans safe as they travel abroad. What countries are targeted by these advisories, and what risks do Americans face by visiting them? Are State Department advisories effective in keeping American travelers safe? We decided to investigate what are the most dangerous countries for American to visit as measured by […]
Photo Some of the Somali migrants who died, in the Red Sea port of Al Hudaydah, Yemen, on Friday. Credit Abduljabbar Zeyad/Reuters SANA, Yemen — More than 30 Somali migrants in a vessel off Yemen were killed on Friday in what Yemeni security officials said was an airstrike by a Saudi-led military coalition. Joel Millman, a spokesman for the International Organization for Migration in Geneva, said that […]
Composer Mohammed Fairouz is somewhat of a rarity. Not only is he an Emirati working in the western classical tradition, but he also moonlights as a foreign-policy commentator for the likes of The Independent and The National. It’s perhaps unsurprising, considering he’s the son of an Emirati diplomat and grew up living on several different continents. These days, the 31-year-old may be based in New York, but […]
ABU DHABI // Tobacco as well as fizzy and energy drinks are expected to be taxed this year, the Minister of State for Financial Affairs announced. Obaid Al Tayer was speaking on Wednesday as the Federal National Council approved a draft law that paves the way for value-added tax (VAT) and excise duties on selected items, by setting up a legal framework for taxation. While the GCC […]
ABU DHABI // The introduction of value-added tax in the UAE next year, in tandem with the other five GCC countries, will boost government revenues that took a hit with falling oil prices. VAT could generate Dh12 billion in its first year and Dh20bn in its second year, said Sultan Al Mansouri, Minister of Economy. The international monetary fund (IMF) said introducing VAT at a low rate […]
Abu Dhabi Festival kicked off its major concert program with a performance by Mohamed Abdo. newslide Popularly known as “Fanan Al Arab” or “Artist of the Arabs” (a title he was given in the 1980s during a concert in Tunis by then president Al Habib Bou Rakiba), the Saudi Arabian singer, composer and oud player’s sold out show at Emirates Palace served to only cement his status […]
With the oil market showing signs of losing faith in a price rebound, Opec is now asking itself: what more can it do? Production cuts agreed late last year between some of the world’s biggest producers inside and outside the cartel, are losing their sway given the near 10 per cent drop in the Brent benchmark over the past week. Brimming global storage tanks and a resurgent […]
It is fitting that just a few hours until the Fed’s second rate hike in two quarters, and one day after Goldman downgraded global stocks to Neutral for the next 3 months, not to mention with the results of the anticipated Dutch election due shortly, that global stocks as well as S&P futures are higher, while crude oil has finally managed to stage a rebound as the […]
By Yeganeh Torbati | OVER THE PACIFIC OCEAN OVER THE PACIFIC OCEAN U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is traveling to Asia this week accompanied by only one reporter, a White House correspondent from the Independent Journal Review (IJR), a digital news outlet founded in 2012 by former Republican political operatives. The IJR said in a statement late Tuesday the State Department last week offered one of […]
Wednesday 02:40 GMT Overview A rally in crude oil prices that erased the losses of the previous session failed to bolster energy stocks in Asia, as bond and currency traders also shunned major moves ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s interest rates decision later in the day. Hot topic Crude was climbing in Asia after a slide on Tuesday. Brent, the international benchmark, was up 1.3 per […]
Oil prices have fallen almost 10 per cent in the past week to their lowest level since Opec agreed to cut output in November. Here are five factors contributing to the renewed bout of selling that could dictate whether Brent crude can hold above $50 a barrel. 1. Shale The US shale industry has come back with a bang, with oil prices back above $50 a barrel. […]
LONDON/PARIS An activist hedge fund has said it objects to plans by Walt Disney (DIS.N) to take full control of debt-laden Paris theme park operator Euro Disney (EDLP.PA), according to a letter seen by Reuters. Paris-based CIAM, which owns 1.4 percent of Euro Disney shares, has written to the board of the French company to object to what it believes are plans by Walt Disney to force […]
The Gulf’s healthcare industry is expected to receive the highest volume of investments in 2017 among non-oil sectors as GCC countries seek to further diversify their economies, according to a new survey. CFA Institute, the global association of investment professionals, said its annual Middle East Societies Market Sentiment survey also forecse an increase in hospitality and tourism investment. It said in a statement that in Saudi Arabia, […]
Photo Hosni Mubarak waved to supporters in 2015, on his 87th birthday, from the Maadi Military Hospital in Cairo. Credit Amr Nabil/Associated Press CAIRO — An Egyptian prosecutor ordered Hosni Mubarak, the toppled Egyptian autocrat, released from the Maadi Military Hospital in southern Cairo, where he has been held for much of the last six years. But as of Monday night, Mr. Mubarak, 88, still had not […]
By Suleiman Al-Khalidi | AMMAN AMMAN Aid workers are in a “race against time” to prevent famine threatening millions of people in Yemen, a senior U.N. official said in Monday. “We have about three months of food stored inside the country today,” Ertharin Cousin, executive director of the World Food Programme, told reporters in Amman after a three-day visit to the wartorn country. “We do not have […]
ARADA, the UAE-based developer started by Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal, the only son of Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed, has announced the launch of its first project in Sharjah. With an expected completion date for late 2018, Nasma Residences will offer more than 800 homes plus community facilities, a statement said. In January, Prince Khaled’s KBW Investments (KBW) and Basma Group unveiled ARADA, a partnership enterprise […]
ARADA, the UAE-based developer started by Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal, the only son of Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed, has announced the launch of its first project in Sharjah. With an expected completion date for late 2018, Nasma Residences will offer more than 800 homes plus community facilities, a statement said. In January, Prince Khaled’s KBW Investments (KBW) and Basma Group unveiled ARADA, a partnership enterprise […]
Zain Group held its annual Ordinary General Assembly in a gathering that constituted a quorum of 66.79% and approved a cash dividend of 35 fils Vice-Chairman Bader Al Kharafi: “Investments in emerging technologies will diversify our revenue streams.” New Board of Directors elected for three years; Scott Gegenheimer given new role as CEO of Operations Advertisement Kuwait – 12 March, 2017 Zain Group, a leading mobile telecom […]
Kuwaiti telecommunications group Zain has reached the final stages of selling its mobile transmitter towers in the country, the company’s vice chairman Bader Nasser al-Kharafi said on Sunday. The company is awaiting approval from the telecommunications regulator, Kharafi said at a shareholder meeting. He did not give details of the planned sale. Sources told Reuters in March last year that Zain was narrowing the field of potential […]
Authored by Federico Pieraccini via The Strategic Culture Foundation, While the world continues to decipher, or digest, the new Trump presidency, important changes are afoot within the grand strategic triangle that lies between Russia, Iran and China Away from the current chaos in the United States, major developments are progressing, with Iran, Russia and China coordinating on a series of significant moves crucial for the future of […]
UK and Gulf scientists will be working together on eight cutting edge research projects, thanks to $3.4 million in UK government funding allocated to research projects in areas ranging from nanotechnology to cyber-security. The funding will strengthen scientific ties between the UK and the Gulf region in order to find solutions to shared global challenges, a statement said. The project is led by the Department for Business, […]
SANA, Yemen — An airstrike by a military coalition led by Saudi Arabia on an open market in western Yemen killed at least 16 people, United Nations and local officials said Saturday. The attack late Friday hit a market selling khat, a mild stimulant common in Yemen, setting off a fire and leaving the dead and wounded scattered in the wreckage. هذة المجزرة ارتكبها اليوم #ال_سعود في […]
11 March 2017 Kuwait – Kuwait Finance House (KFH) provides exclusive offers on 5 insurance policies for customers in collaboration with KFH-Takaful. The offers encompass 6 customer segments; Awlwiya-Nukhba-Ruwaad-Tamayoz- Sundus and Rubban. This covers the Sanad, Youmnak and Supplementary insurance policies on comprehensive cars insurance, in addition to Sanad for medical insurance and the policy of travel insurance. The discounts reach up to 50% until end of […]
The Abu Dhabi Festival’s main programme kicks off with arguably the most-important singer from the region. Tickets to Mohamed Abdo’s long-awaited concert on Tuesday evening at Emirates Palace have been sold out for a while now. Popularly known as “Fanan Al Arab” or “Artist of the Arabs” (a title he was given in the 1980s during a concert in Tunis by then president Al Habib Bou Rakiba), […]
The two most powerful men in the world oil market appeared together in Houston on Tuesday to tell the world that their strategy was on track. In December, Khalid al-Falih and Alexander Novak, the energy ministers of Saudi Arabia and Russia, orchestrated a 24-nation plan to cut oil output in the first half of 2017. This week they spoke to reporters in a hotel conference room at the […]
The report from January was one of hundreds that Mr. Abdul Kareem has made inside Syria in recent years, building his reputation as a unique voice covering the war from rebel-held areas that other Western journalists have fled for fear of kidnapping and beheading by jihadists. Continue reading the main story Along the way, Mr. Abdul Kareem has interviewed foreign fighters from Britain, Saudi Arabia and elsewhere […]
Turkey saw just four percent growth in its internet population, but that means two million more people are online. Image: Getty Images “Digital is growing faster in the Middle East than anywhere else in the world,” Simon Kemp, founder of Kepios, tells ZDNet. Kemp, a marketing strategist based in Singapore, is the author of six annual studies charting the trends in mobile, the internet, and social media […]
Report launched in the Middle East in partnership with the Government of Dubai Media Office HE Mona Al Marri: “Report will contribute to the international dialogue at the Forum and guide government communication professionals and decision makers in finding new opportunities for optimising their strategic approach, in addition to understanding the challenges that need to be overcome in a rapidly changing environment.” WPP Leaders’ Report […]
Oil prices were under intensifying pressure on Thursday, with the US West Texas Intermediate benchmark dipping below $49 a barrel for the first time since late November. The falls came after oil prices fell the most in more than a year over the previous session when US crude inventories climbed for a ninth straight week to a record high. Renewed concerns about a supply glut sent ripples […]
DUBAI // The UAE is leading the region in government-citizen communication and trust, according to a report on the future of government communication. The WPP Leaders Report, launched in the Middle East for the first time in partnership with Dubai Media Office, found that the UAE was one of five Middle Eastern countries that stood out in terms of trust citizens have in their government and having […]
