Slide Show | The Ancient Syrian City of Palmyra Islamic State militants have destroyed historical sites and sold off artifacts in other cities, and some fear they may do the same in Palmyra. By ANNE BARNARD and HWAIDA SAAD May 20, 2015 BEIRUT, Lebanon — Islamic State militants swept into the historic desert city of Palmyra in central Syria on Wednesday, and by evening were in control of it, residents and […]
Photo Leah Pfeiffer, left, a student at the Culinary Institute of America, and Chuck Yu, a West Point cadet, cooking in a C.I.A. kitchen in October 2013.Credit Mike Groll for The New York Times We are hard pressed to think of many world-class liberal arts colleges with entire student bodies ambitiously studying and training toward a single profession – and in uniforms that are far from Vassar’s […]
Talhouk … turning data into insights. Microsoft summit highlights data analysis trends DUBAI, 1 days ago The second Microsoft Dynamics Summit, which concluded recently in Dubai, UAE has provided new insights on how Dynamics tools will enable organisations to more effectively make sense of data and fuel greater speed and precision in decision-making. The summit took place at Jumeirah Beach Hotel and attracted hundreds of business leaders, […]
|By TAP Staff| According to a new study by The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), the banking industry in the Middle East maintained double-digit revenue growth in 2014 with a 10.0 percent increase, stemming largely from major customer segments such as retail and corporate banking as well as international business and treasury. Based on the banks’ 2014 annual results released in the first quarter of 2015, the newest […]
|By TAP Staff| Dubai’s stock exchange operators Borse Dubai Ltd said it was selling its remaining stake of 17.4 percent in the London Stock Exchange Group. Borse Dubai holds the biggest shareholder in the premier global exchange, valued at about $2.2 billion. Borse Dubai is the holding company for Dubai Financial Market (DFM) and NASDAQ Dubai. Borse Dubai was created 6 August, 2007 to consolidate the Government […]
Dubai Investments, a diversified Gulf-based investment group, plans to float shares in at least one subsidiary next year and could also divest other holdings, its chief executive said on Monday. The firm, which reported a 63 percent rise in annual profit to 1.34 billion dirhams ($364.8 million) last year, has primed three subsidiaries – in financial services and property, plus district cooling firm Emicool – to potentially […]
Hundreds of foreign construction workers staged a rare public protest outside the opulent Dubai Mall on Tuesday in a pay dispute with their company, witnesses said. Dubai authorities deployed riot police to Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Boulevard in downtown Dubai, where the world’s tallest building is located, blocking some roads while negotiators tried to settle a dispute about overtime pay. The workers, from south Asia, said the […]
|By TAP Staff| The UAE banks benefit from an improving operating environment, sound liquidity and sound capital ratios, but some asset quality issues remain in Dubai, largely relating to the weak performance of the real estate sector and some large Dubai government-related entity (GRE) problem loans and profit levels, ratings agency Fitch said in a report. But both real estate issues and the problem loans of Dubai […]
Gen Odierno said that British defence cuts are already jeopardising US-UK joint operations Photo: AP Ever since the Cold War ended more than two decades ago, America has never entertained any serious doubts about Britain’s ability to fulfil its commitment as a vital military ally when tackling threats to the Western alliance. Until now. For the dramatic cuts to Britain’s defence budget implemented since the Coalition took power […]
ABC Islamic Bank profit up 23pc to 15m MANAMA, 1 days ago ABC Islamic Bank has posted a net profit of $15.1 million last year, a 23 per cent increase as compared to $12.2 million recorded in 2013. The net profit for the fourth quarter was $3.6 million, 19 per cent higher than the same period of the previous year, said a statement. The total operating income […]
The Iranian oil ministry won’t be able to pay staff or invest in boosting production if parliament proceeds with a plan to slash funding, according to Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh. “The oil industry’s situation is deplorable,” Zanganeh said in comments reported by the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency. A draft bill reviewed by parliament Monday would cut the ministry’s budget to $3 billion in the Iranian […]
|By TAP Staff| Mumbai-based shipping and logistics provider Shreyas Shipping and Logistics Limited,, part of global conglomerate Transworld Group, has become introduced domestic containerised cargo movement at every Indian port, from Mundra up to Kolkata, all along peninsular Indian coasts. Shreyas is the first provider to offer this service. “This is a first in Indian maritime history. This will be Shreyas Shipping and Logistics Limited’s contribution towards […]
Politicians have exchanged blows over the A&E crisis Photo: Alamy The A&E crisis is rapidly becoming the dominant story of the election. Last week, Ed Miliband and David Cameron laid into each other in blood-curdling terms. The Tory denounced as “disgusting” his rival’s plan to “weaponise” the NHS as a political issue; his Labour rival proclaimed that this was “a crisis on his watch, as a result of […]
Op-Ed Contributor By MORIEL ROTHMAN-ZECHER January 11, 2015 TEL AVIV — “WHAT are you,” he asked, “a leftist?” We were both wearing the surplus United States Marines uniforms given to prisoners at Israeli Military Jail No. 6. “It depends how you define ‘left,’ ” I said. “Don’t get clever with me. Why are you here?” “I didn’t want to be part of a system whose main task is the violent […]
|By TAP Staff| A shortage of prime office space in Dubai, which is being underpinned by robust demand, has translated into strong upward pressure on rents across the city, and a rapidly diminishing supply of Grade A space in more centrally located submarkets and freezones, according to the latest research from international real estate consultancy Cluttons. Cluttons’ Dubai Winter 2014 Commercial Market Outlook report shows that during […]
|By TAP Staff| Dubai is the world’s eighth costliest city to stay in a hotel, with New York occupying the number one slot, according to a new compilation of accommodation index. The index, compiled by GoEuro.com, covers 150 cities and over 60,000 properties to understand the effect of new trends in accommodation on the hotel industry. The increasing popularity of vacation sharing and continued growth of the […]
Shuaa Capital’s executive chairman and board director, Sheikh Maktoum Hasher al-Maktoum, will step down from both roles in February, the Dubai-based investment bank said on Sunday. Maktoum will depart after the disclosure of its full-year results for 2014, Shuaa said in a statement. A member of Dubai’s ruling family, Maktoum served in his present capacity since May 2011. During his tenure, the firm underwent a significant turn-around […]
|By TAP Staff| The second edition of Royal India Luxury Show got under way in Dubai. The show provides glimpses of India’s royalty to visitors with the scions of some of the erstwhile princely states gracing the inaugural ceremony in royal attire. The event has participation from 22 Indian exhibitors representing travel, hospitality, leisure, luxury homes, fashion, weddings, jewellery and entertainment. The UAE offers immense growth opportunities […]
|By TAP Staff| Construction data miners at Emporis have published a chart of the world’s most expensive buildings. According to the graphic, New York’s One World Trade Center is by far the world’s most expensive building, coming in at $3.9 billion, nearly double the second-most expensive buildings, Vegas’ Palazzo casino and London’s The Shard, which both cost $1.9B to build. Perhaps even more surprising, Dubai’s dizzying Burj […]
|By TAP Staff| Saudi Arabia’s bourse regulator on Tuesday suspended share trading in the shares of Mobily and Zain Saudi after a bitter money dispute between the two telecom operators snowballed into a major controversy. The decision by the Capital Market Authority follows a Mobily statement that it had asked for arbitration about money it claims it is owed by smaller rival Zain Saudi. Trading in the […]
|By TAP Staff| Within the tech industry this year, several companies from Amazon to Facebook to Twitter have publicly released their workforce diversity demographics. A Glassdoor report based on its salary and company ratings database on comparison of compensation and employee satisfaction between men and women at a sample of 25 of the largest tech companies shows that at most of these companies, men report earning a higher base salary than […]
|By TAP Staff|Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud secured a London court ruling in his favour in a defamatory suit against Forbes for an article carried by the magazine on him in April 2013. Alwaleed maintained that Forbes defamed him by falsely accusing him of defaulting on important contractual obligations, dishonestly manipulating the share price of Kingdom Holding Company, and firing KHC’s auditor […]
I recently reached out to my Twitter followers, asking “What can I, as a VOA reporter in Washington, write about that you need/want to know?” The responses were varied and interesting, but one topic dominated: U.S. policy in Syria. Why hasn’t the U.S. done more to help the Syrian people? “There is lot of frustration with the Obama’s administration’s ambiguous, vague and often incoherent strategy regarding dealing […]
|By TAP Staff| JAFZ, EZW’s primary business unit representing 97 per cent of revenue and operating profit for the year ended 31 December 2013, is a 57 square kilometre modern commercial and industrial logistics park adjacent to DP World’s flagship Jebel Ali port in Dubai. The free zone is an integral component of the supply chain for DP World’s customers at the Jebel Ali port. DP World […]
