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 […]
Now that Egypt has held its elections, many in and outside the country will be turning to the new president to see how he plans to pull the domestic economy back from the brink. The economic challenges former army chief Abdel Fattah Al Sisi faces in many ways resemble those of Citadel Capital, one of Egypt’s foremost investment firms which itself is in the middle of a […]
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 […]
ABU DHABI // The UAE’s support for women in science, technology, engineering and maths (Stem) was discussed at a meeting of the United Nations commission on the status of women. At the session held in New York this year, Dr Lamya Fawwaz, the executive director of public affairs at Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, talked about the participation of women and girls in those areas, including […]
Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the former general who toppled Egypt’s first freely elected leader, is on course for a sweeping victory in the country’s presidential election, early provisional results suggested. But a lower-than-expected turnout figure has raised questions about the credibility of a man idolised by his supporters as a hero who can deliver political and economic stability. Sisi won 93.3 percent of votes cast, government sources said on Thursday, with most ballots counted […]
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 […]
Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the former Egyptian army chief, is on course for a sweeping victory in the country’s presidential election, early provisional results suggested. Sisi won 96.2 percent of about 21 million votes cast, state television reported early on Thursday, with the ballots from 312 of 352 counting stations tallied. Hamdeen Sabahi, the only other candidate, received 3.8 percent of the votes counted. Voter turnout was low, at 44.4 percent, despite the government […]
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 // Education, wise leadership and a fair constitution are the key reasons for women’s empowerment in the country. Female pioneers in politics say they are equal partners in UAE life and that is the reason for their success. Dr Nidhal Al Tenaiji, general manager at the Zayed Cultural Foundation and a former Federal National Council member, said the huge development of the UAE in a […]
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 […]
Egypt’s election commission has extended the presidential poll by one day in an effort to increase voter turnout in an election that is widely expected to bring former army chief Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi to power. The two-day vote was expected to end Tuesday, but polling Monday was reported to be moderate in a country with 54 million registers voters. The extension is widely seen as an effort to boost […]
French President Francois Hollande has called for the European Union to reduce its role “where it is not necessary” after Eurosceptic parties made sweeping electoral gains across the bloc. Reacting to the spectacular success of parties like France’s own National Front and the UK Independence Party (UKIP) in Sunday’s European Parliament elections, Hollande acknowledged that the EU had become “remote and incomprehensible” for many of its citizens. […]
ABU DHABI // Doctors will soon be able to issue repeat prescriptions for up to a year to save thousands of patients costly and time-consuming hospital visits. Patients with a long-term reliance on medication for conditions such as diabetes and hypertension have to visit a doctor every time they need a prescription. But health chiefs are now in the final stages of implementing a refill policy, so […]
JERUSALEM — Making history for the second day running, Pope Francis laid a wreath Monday on the grave of the founder of Zionism, becoming the first pope to do so, a gesture of support to Israel after several symbolic signals the day before that lent a spiritual lift to Palestinian aspirations for sovereignty. At the request of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Francis added to his marathon morning […]
Chancellor Angela Merkel and Prime Minister Cameron. Photo: AFP Tory MPs may have agreed not to panic in the light of Ukip’s big win, but that doesn’t mean David Cameron isn’t going to come under a huge amount of pressure from them in the coming days and weeks to do something, anything, to show he’s got the message. One of their demands is bound to be that the […]
CAIRO — Voters around the capital lined up Monday morning to cast ballots in an election universally expected to make Abdel Fattah el-Sisi the next president of Egypt, turning out to show their support in a contest where turnout is the biggest question. In an interview on a pro-Sisi talk show Sunday evening, Abdel Aziz Salman, the general secretary of the High Presidential Election Commission, said that […]
General Prayuth Chan-ocha, leader of Thailand’s coup, says he has received the endorsement of King Bhumibol Adulyadej formalising his status as head of government, after the armed forces seized power last week. The army chief gave his first address to the nation on Monday, saying that he will enforce law firmly in order to improve the political situation in the country. “The most important thing right now is to […]
An Egyptian elections worker guards boxes of ballots at the Giza courthouse in Cairo, Egypt, Sunday, May 25, 2014. TEXT SIZE – + VOA News May 26, 2014 12:35 AM Egyptians go to the polls Monday and Tuesday to elect a new president. Former Egyptian army chief Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, who ousted the elected Islamist leader Mohamed Morsi, is widely expected to win. The two-day election caps more than three […]
BANHA, Egypt — His face smiles down from campaign banners everywhere, but splashes of red paint have bloodied a few. Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the former army field marshal who led the military takeover last summer, is certain to win a landslide victory in the pro forma presidential election on Monday and Tuesday. But in this town about 30 miles north of Cairo, the mood is a discordant […]
DAMASCUS, Syria — For Younes al-Nasr, a lifelong train lover, the Hejaz railway station here in the heart of the Syrian capital is a repository of shelved ambitions. Every day, Mr. Nasr, 68, a Transportation Ministry employee, pads around his offices in the Ottoman-era building, where light filters through red, yellow and blue stained glass. He imagines the past — the few short years a century ago […]
Pope Francis at Israel’s separation barrier Associated Press BETHLEHEM, West Bank–Palestinians had been hoping that the papal visit to the West Bank would kick up international sympathy with their campaign for statehood and against Israel’s military occupation of the West Bank, and many were pleased with his actions. “It’s a great day for Palestine par excellence,” Palestinian Parliament Member Mustafa Barghouti said after after Pope Francis finished a […]
The Middle East’s oil boom was made in China HSBC As the world’s second-largest consumer of oil, China in the past decade has relied heavily on the Middle East to secure the resources required to fuel its ascendancy to become an economic superpower. In doing so, it overtook the U.S. as principal investor in the Middle East and played a pivotal role in transforming the region by […]
Indian-born economist Arvind Panagariya, who is widely expected to take a top advisory role in prime minister-elect Narendra Modi’s government, wants its first budget to boost capital spending even at the risk of a higher fiscal deficit. Panagariya, 61, whose market-friendly, pro-growth economics has helped shape Modi’s outlook, told Reuters in an interview that higher spending is critical to India’s economic revival. Modi swept to power on […]
Naomi Campbell during her birthday party At The Billionaire’s Club Photo: GETTY IMAGES Sir Cam makes a stand on Scotland If there’s one thing likely to get Sir Cameron Mackintosh’s goat, it’s asking him to comment on reports about run-ins with locals in the Scottish coastal village of Mallaig. Sir Cameron Mackintosh: Mallaig people ‘unbelievably supportive’ (REX FEATURES) Over the past decade, his nearly 15,000-acre estate in the […]
