Heavy fighting is raging in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi, apparently between the armed group Ansar al-Sharia and irregular forces loyal to Khalifa Haftar, a former army general. Witnesses said on Monday that gunfire, which began the day before, could be heard across the city, particularly coming from a special forces army base in a western suburb of Benghazi. At least seven people have died and […]
‘As a scientist, all I can do is tell the truth based on the evidence,’ says Dr Jane Plant Photo: MARTIN POPE In 1993, the breast cancer that had plagued Jane Plant since 1987 returned for the fifth time. It came in the shape of a secondary tumour – a lump in her neck the size of half a boiled egg. Doctors told her that she had only […]
Iran’s smart set turned out in force for this year’s Tehran Art Auction, spending a record amount as the country’s modern and contemporary art scene thrives despite economic sanctions. The annual event on Friday was a sell-out, raising $5.1 million from the auction of works by Iranian artists, more than double the amount fetched last year. While Western sanctions since 2010 on Iran’s oil and financial sectors […]
Dubai home prices, which rose the most in the world over the 12 months through March, slowed in the first quarter after financial authorities took steps to cool the market, broker Knight Frank LLP said. Values gained 3.4 percent in the emirate, slowing from 9.2 percent a year earlier and putting Dubai behind Lithuania, Estonia and Malta for the quarter, London-based Knight Frank said in a statement. […]
The new Palestinian government, scheduled to be sworn in on Monday at 1 p.m. (6 a.m. Eastern time) in the West Bank city of Ramallah, will be led by Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah and is to consist of 16 other ministers, some handling more than one portfolio. Three ministers are to be from the Gaza Strip following a reconciliation pact signed between the Palestine Liberation Organization, dominated […]
The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Securities and Exchange Commission are investigating possible insider trading involving billionaire investor Carl Icahn, golfer Phil Mickelson and Las Vegas gambler William Walters, a source familiar with the matter said. Federal investigators are looking into whether Mickelson and Walters may have traded illegally on private information provided by Icahn about his investments in public corporations, the source told Reuters, […]
World travelers looking for a cheap place to stay may want to avoid Geneva, Dubai and Miami. The three cities rank among the most expensive markets for hotel rooms, according to an index compiled by Bloomberg. In Geneva, the average cost for a night is $308, followed by Dubai at $273, Kuwait City at $253 and Zurich at $250. Miami is next as the costliest place for […]
Whoop, whoop: Kathleen Turner and Ian McDiarmid in ‘Bakersfield Mist’ at the Duchess Theatre Photo: Alastair Muir “They applaud, even when it is good,” said Artur Schnabel, the great Austrian pianist. These days, they stand to cheer, even when it is poor. The standing ovation, which used to be a Broadway phenomenon, something we used to snigger at, has become an increasingly unpleasant feature of theatrical life […]
The Bahrain-based Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) said on Thursday secretary general Khaled Al Fakih had left the organisation to pursue other opportunities. Al Fakih, a Lebanese-born commercial banker, had been secretary general since February 2012, overseeing one of the main standard-setting bodies for Islamic finance. Deputy secretary general Khairul Nizam will take over his duties while AAOIFI looks for a new secretary […]
Ford Motor Co said on Thursday it is recalling 1.39 million SUVs and sedans in North America, most for the possible loss of power steering. About 1.186 million of the vehicles Ford said it is recalling are in the United States. That figure is only 2,200 shy of the total number of vehicles that Ford recalled in the United States during all of last year. Automakers are […]
Asian shares edged higher on Friday, catching a lift from another record close on Wall Street, while the dollar groaned under the pressure of slumping U.S. yields. The S&P 500 index .SPX posted its third record closing high in four sessions, as investors shrugged off the first quarterly contraction of the U.S. economy in three years and focused on signs of a strengthening labor market. MSCI’s broadest […]
WASHINGTON — During the height of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the United States military often carried out dozens of daily operations against Al Qaeda and other extremist targets with heavily armed commandos and helicopter gunships. But even before President Obama’s speech on Wednesday sought to underscore a shift in counterterrorism strategy — away from the Qaeda strongholds in and near those countries — American forces […]
The main shareholders of U.A.E. construction giant Arabtec Holding are consolidating their control over the company as the country’s stock markets prepare for the implementation of an upgrade to emerging-market status by stock-index provider MSCI. Arabtec chief executive Hasan Ismaik raised his stake from 8.03% to 21.46% by buying shares on the market, the company said in an emailed statement Wednesday. This follows a move three years […]
The firm aims to redefine the art of ‘Corporate Storytelling’ in the Middle East Dubai, May 28th, 2014: White Water PR, a Dubai based Public Relations agency, has launched its new website in the region to redefine the art of ‘corporate storytelling’. The website, ‘whitewaterpr.com’ is more pictorial in nature and the initial thoughts were inspired by the globally renowned ‘Snowfall’ format which was made popular by […]
Beirut, Lebanon – This was not an ordinary voting day. It was a parade of Syrians celebrating their embattled president, Bashar al-Assad, and expressing support for him in the battle to quell the uprising that erupted three years ago. Since early morning, tens of thousands of Syrians flocked to the heavily fortified area surrounding the Syrian embassy in Lebanon as expatriate voting began ahead of the June […]
David Cameron could place himself at the head of a movement to halt the European Union steam-roller and turn it around Photo: EPA Earthquake or not, British politics has certainly undergone a seismic change over the past few weeks. Familiar landmarks have vanished, fresh features emerged, and the outlook has fundamentally changed. Let’s start with an intrusion into private grief, and take a long look at the […]
ABU DHABI // More than 1,000 cases of employers accused of breaking labour laws by ill-treating their workers were referred to prosecutors in the past year, a new report reveals. The prosecutions came amid a massive enforcement campaign by the Ministry of Labour, whose staff conducted 138,801 general inspections, 11,807 visits to workers’ accommodation and 80,571 visits to construction sites to ensure labourers were not working during […]
The chief executive of Arabtec Holding has raised his stake in the Dubai-based contractor to 21.46 percent, the company said, in an investment worth about $1 billion which it described as a vote of confidence in the group’s prospects. Hasan Ismaik, who has been leading a growth strategy at the company since taking charge early last year, bought the shares because of “his strong belief in the […]
Google Inc is building cars that don’t have steering wheels, accelerator pedals or brake pedals, in an ambitious expansion of the Internet company’s efforts to develop self-driving cars. The small electric cars, which seat two passengers, are currently prototypes that Google has been building through partnerships with automotive suppliers and manufacturers, Google co-founder Sergey Brin said at the Code conference in Southern California on Tuesday. Google aims […]
Egypt’s apparent low voter turnout in presidential elections could be driven by millions boycotting the process because of objections to the two candidates or simply by apathy to yet another ballot during a tumultuous three years. But wedged in between the boycotters and enthusiastic voters is a group that is carrying on the tradition of spoiling their ballots, often with poignant or whimsical messages to the state. Here’s […]
Early results in Egypt’s presidential election show former army chief Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi heading for an overwhelming victory. The first results give Sissi about 93% of the vote while the only other candidate, leftist politician Hamdeen Sabahi, has around 3 percent. Voter turnout was a low 44 percent even after voters were given an extra day Wednesday to cast ballots. Final official results are expected next week. The […]
Although the world’s largest democracy has been hobbled by inflation, a declining currency and difficult business environment, the pro-business Bharatiya Janata Party that just won an epic election in India has engendered optimism that the country can turn around its sagging economic scenario. It’s time to increase your exposure to India’s stock market. The timing is good with equities in India perking up of late, something that […]
In Dubai, a city known for some of the world’s most luxurious hotels and penthouses, developer Union Properties PJSC (UPP) is looking to tap demand from people who want to visit the emirate without breaking the bank. The company plans to build around 1,000 hotel rooms in the next five years to address a shortage in the middle- and lower-end of the market, managing director Ahmad Al […]
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, has called for a population increase, an edict likely to restrict access to contraception. In an edict on his website, he wrote that increasing the population of 76 million people would “strengthen national identity” and counter “undesirable aspects of Western lifestyles.” Since 1986 the population growth rate has fallen to 1.22 percent from 3.2 percent, according to the C.I.A. World Factbook. […]
