NEW DELHI: After cementing trade ties with China, energy-rich Russia is now looking to strengthen its relationship with India by reviving discussions on a hydrocarbon pipeline, in addition to inviting ONGC Videsh (OVL) to invest in oil and gas projects in the Russian Federation. India and Russia have decided to form a joint working group to study laying a ‘hydrocarbon’ pipeline connecting the nations. Preliminary discussions […]
By SOMINI SENGUPTA November 10, 2014 UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations secretary general announced on Monday that a five-member panel would investigate the attacks on more than 100 United Nations facilities and the death of 11 of its staff members during the Gaza conflict during the summer, defying Israeli demands to wait until the conclusion of its own government inquiry. The United Nations usually conducts such in-house inquiries […]
By Ashok B Sharma A definite shift in India’s Look East Policy is underway with added emphasis on Buddha diplomacy under the new dispensation. Prime Minister Narendrabhai Damodardass Modi plans to market the Buddha card to the countries in the region as India is the place of origin of Dhamman and Sangham. He indicated such a change in emphasis by his first official visit abroad to a […]
U.S. authorities are investigating London-based Standard Chartered for potential U.S. sanctions violations connected to its banking for Iranian-controlled entities in Dubai, according to people familiar with the probe. The latest investigation involving the bank is based, in part, from evidence that emerged during a separate probe of BNP Paribas, the French bank that pleaded guilty this summer to charges related to sanctions-busting and agreed to pay $8.9 […]
Harry Wallop: ‘What was the point in having four offspring, only to send them away the moment they become interesting individuals? Photo: Clara Molden/The Telegraph WHY I SAY ‘NO’ TO BOARDING The photo in my old school magazine is captioned “Lent 1983”. It shows 14 boys, all wearing Guernsey jumpers and corduroy trousers, posing on their first day at their new school: Summer Fields in north Oxford. I […]
AP It’s not just Wall Street banks such as Goldman Sachs Group Inc. that got it wrong. Energy consultants and even the U.S. government didn’t foresee the sharp slide in oil prices, which have tumbled 25% since June. Goldman shocked the market yesterday with a call for U.S. prices to fall to $70 a barrel in the second quarter of 2015. Barclays just released its second price update in […]
The contrast between yesterday’s low-key military ceremony at Camp Bastion to mark the end of British combat operations in Afghanistan and the way the nation celebrated victory in the Falklands could not be more stark. Back in 1982 the heroics of the victorious soldiers, sailors and airmen who participated in the daring operation to liberate the islands from their Argentine invaders were marked by representatives of the […]
Dubai International Capital (DIC) should complete the sale of the two main assets remaining in its portfolio within 18 months, which will provide it with cash to cover its outstanding debt well ahead of scheduled repayment in two years. Proceeds from the divestment of the five remaining assets should also give the private equity firm surplus funds to pass to its parent firm, Dubai Holding, to help […]
The founder of drinks maker PIPER says an IPO would help bank roll the firm’s international expansion strategy. Piper Dubai-based PIPER is considering an initial public offering of shares to help fuel the “feel good” drink maker’s global growth plans. “We are looking at ways to raise new capital to expand the brand globally,” said PIPER Founder Jeremy Miocevic. A share sale would help fund the production […]
IMF FORECAST: SELECTED MENA ECONOMIES Note: Data for some countries are based on fiscal years. 1Movements in consumer prices are shown as annual averages. 2Percent of GDP. 3Percent. 4Includes Bahrain, Libya, Oman, and Yemen. 5Includes Djibouti and Mauritania. Excludes Syria because of the uncertain political situation. IMF The International Monetary Fund has revised its 2015 economic growth projection downward for the Middle East and North Africa by […]
Regal position: escorting the Queen to Ladies Day at Royal Ascot Photo: Rex Features Forget Downton Abbey and Upstairs Downstairs. This week, we have had a glimpse behind the scenes of a real-life royal household, with the news that The Queen has been advertising for someone to remove chewing gum from the floors and furniture at Holyrood House. Her Majesty’s chosen cleaner must be available to prise pink […]
Apple Products May Be Scarce Around the L.A. Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers have a new rival under [basketball team] owner Steve Ballmer, one that cannot fluster them with cheap shots on the court or end their season in heartbreaking fashion. Of course, that doesn’t make Apple products such as the iPad and iPhone any less vexing to Ballmer, the longtime former Microsoft executive who famously bars […]
Saudi exported just below 7 million barrels of oil per day in May-July,the lowest amount since September 2011 Saudi Q2 GDP growth down to 3.8pc on oil slowdown DUBAI, 19 hours, 16 minutes ago By Martin Dokoupil Saudi Arabia’s economic growth eased to an annual 3.8 per cent in the second quarter of 2014, the lowest rate in a year, because of a slowdown in the oil […]
The gold price dropped on Monday September 22nd to USD 1212 and EUR 942. Dollar gold is close to retest its bottom for the third time since mid-2013, a price level which was seen only in the summer of 2010. For readers seeking to understand what is going on, we are providing a comprehensive view on the gold market. We take all perspectives into account: price and chart patterns, […]
As the U.S. and France launch airstrikes against the Islamic State, Lebanon’s artists and activists have been organizing one of the Middle East’s most strident cultural responses to the group following its rapid incursion on large swaths of Iraqi and Syrian territory this summer. An IS flag-burning trend, accompanied by a Twitter hashtag campaign mimicking the recent “ice bucket challenge” charity fad, cropped up a few weeks […]
A lead-alloy pilgrim badge found in the mud near London Bridge in 1982 shows John Schorne grasping the bat-winged Devil Mudlarks and enthusiasts with metal‑detectors sometimes turn up little scraps of lead, fretted and bent at the edges, perhaps with a face recognisable and not much else. These can end up in the scrap bucket, but with luck they add to the growing scholarly knowledge of pilgrims’ […]
|By TAP Staff| Dubai added to its financial market profile when Bank of America-Merrill Lynch announced on Monday it was moving its head of frontier markets research to the city. The move reflects the bank’s plan to take advantage of growing investor interest in the Gulf and surrounding region. Global firms have been strengthening their presence in the wake of surging stock markets, index upgrades and most […]
Google is bringing its two operating systems — Android and Chrome — closer together with the release of its first four Android apps for Chromebooks. Announced last Thursday, the new Android apps for Chrome OS include the language education app Duolingo; Sight Words, a vocabulary learning app for children; the workplace productivity tool Evernote; and the video creation and sharing app Vine. “These first apps are the […]
|By TAP Staff| Just over a year ago, China’s Xiaomi was little more than a mid-sized smartphone-maker with an odd name (Xiaomi means “millet”), trailing household brands such as Samsung, Lenovo, Coolpad and others. During the first six months of 2014, however, this four-year old company sold 26m smartphones, propelling it to pole position in the Chinese market. Next year, Lei Jun, its founder and CEO, expects […]
President Obama on Wednesday in Washington. Mr. Obama says he is aware of the “political price” he pays for being deliberate. By PETER BAKER September 13, 2014 WASHINGTON — Just hours before announcing an escalated campaign against Islamic extremists last week, President Obama privately reflected on another time when a president weighed military action in the Middle East — the frenzied weeks leading up to the American invasion of […]
President Barack Obama, accompanied by Vice President Joe Biden Photo: AP Were it any other US president in recent memory, delivering a rousing White House address promising to “vanquish” the bloodthirsty militants of the Islamic State from the face of the earth would be dismissed as the “easy part”. Recall Joe Biden, the vice president with half an eye on a run for the top job in 2016, […]
KUWAIT. A recent report issued by KFH Research, a subsidery for KFH Group, sees continued positive outlook for the Kuwaiti construction industry, on the back of strong domestic demand in the Kuwaiti economy and a pick-up in government capital spending. Overview and Outlook “While we remain fundamentally cautious about the country’s medium-term investment outlook, we note that higher growth in bank lending over the last few months […]
Claire Hajaj with her mother, father and brother in Kuwait, 1979 At 11, I discovered I was a stranger in my own family. It happened at a relative’s “do” in Regent’s Park – a bar mitzvah, or a wedding. I remember soft-pink tablecloths, gilded place-cards and cutlery gleaming like silver fish. A board at the reception-room entrance listed table numbers and names in grand, italicised print. I […]
First-time sellers of bonds that adhere to Islam’s ban on interest are poised to revive an industry suffering its worst quarter in more than four years. Luxembourg and Hong Kong aim to market debut offerings of sukuk next month, while Kenya, South Africa, Bangladesh and Tatarstan have announced plans for maiden issues. Islamic bond sales have fallen 82 percent to $2.6 billion this quarter compared with the […]
