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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 […]

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — Former President Bill Clinton said on Sunday that he believed that New York University and the Abu Dhabi government would conduct a thorough investigation into worker rights abuses at the university’s new campus here in the country’s capital. Delivering the first graduation speech at the campus, Mr. Clinton said the controversy had “dominated the coverage” of the university during the days […]

DUBAI // Safety on the country’s roads is a major concern for two thirds of the UAE, according to a YouGov survey on road safety. The survey, commissioned by The National, revealed that 73 per cent of residents in Dubai were worried about road safety, 71 per cent in Sharjah and 65 per cent in Abu Dhabi. Those most concerned were Asians, with 83 per cent, and […]

JERUSALEM — Pope Francis inserted himself directly into the collapsed Middle East peace process on Sunday, issuing an invitation to host the Israeli and Palestinian presidents for a prayer summit at his apartment in the Vatican in an unexpected overture that has again underscored the broad ambitions of his papacy. Francis took the extraordinary step in Bethlehem, where he became the first pontiff ever to fly directly […]

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 […]

ON THE EAST BANK OF THE JORDAN RIVER — After visiting a site on Saturday where Jesus is believed to have been baptized, Pope Francis spoke about Jesus’s humility, “the fact that he bends down to wounded humanity in order to heal us.” So when some burly men prepared to carry a doctor in a wheelchair up four steps to the stage for a blessing, perhaps it […]

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Waving to television cameras and assembled dignitaries, President Michel Suleiman departed the presidential palace on Saturday, the last day of his six-year term, leaving behind a political vacuum caused by the failure of the country’s political powers to agree on a successor. The vacancy in the president’s office is the most recent crisis in Lebanon’s fragile political system, which relies on agreements among the […]

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The judicial authorities in Iran appeared to harden their clampdown on expression Friday, moving to block Instagram, imprisoning the director who made the now-famous Iranian version of the Pharrell Williams “Happy” video and warning women to comply with a police campaign on the proper wearing of mandatory headscarves. Taken together, the developments suggested that the country’s Islamic bureaucracy was alarmed over any perception of permissiveness that may […]

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Rebels in southern Syria killed more than 20 people in a mortar attack on a tent put up as part of presidential elections next month, antigovernment activists said on Friday. The overnight attack appeared to be the first by opponents of President Bashar al-Assad directly targeting the election and raised the specter of further rebel assaults on rallies and other events. The vote, scheduled […]

Etisalat, which this month bought a 53 percent stake in Maroc Telecom, has scrapped an offer to buy the remaining shares in the Moroccan firm, the United Arab Emirates operator said on Friday. In a filing to Abu Dhabi’s bourse, Etisalat said it had been exempted from making an offer to minority shareholders, which is usually required under Morocco’s takeover rules. An Etisalat spokesman separately confirmed this […]

|TAP Special|Travelex, which has been acquired by leading UAE businessman Dr. B. R. Shetty along with his partners associated with Centurion Investments, will continue to operate independently of UAE Exchange. The acquisition, to be effected through BRS Ventures & Holdings Limited, a company owned by Dr Shetty and equity partners associated with Centurion, is subject to customary regulatory and other approvals and consents.  The acquisition will not […]

In the world’s biggest country, railways are still a route to riches. With nearly 1 billion passengers a year and $42 billion in annual sales, the state company Russian Railways is a giant commercial opportunity. At its head is Vladimir Yakunin, an old friend and long-standing ally of President Vladimir Putin. He oversees a company that strikes international deals, issues bonds to major investors and plans hugely […]

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Government forces broke through a protracted rebel siege of one of Syria’s largest prisons on Thursday, dealing yet another blow to their opponents and highlighting the suffering that the country’s war has brought to those caught between the warring parties. Islamist rebels, including members of the Nusra Front, Syria’s Qaeda affiliate, surrounded the Aleppo central prison more than a year ago and had repeatedly […]

|TAP Special|UAE Exchange owners are said to be in talks with Apax Partners, the London-based private equity firm that controls Travelex Holdings, to buy majority stake in Travelex. The transaction may be worth about 500 million pounds ($843 million). UAE Exchange is owned by BR Shetty, Centurion Investment and Infinite Investment LLC belonging to Abu Dhabi’s bin Butti family. Bloomberg reported quoting unnamed sources that a deal […]

The surge in oil prices driven by Chinese demand has added $1 trillion to output in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries over 10 years, according to HSBC Holdings Plc. The six-member bloc’s gross domestic product increased to $1.7 trillion between 2003 and 2013, bringing per capital GDP to an average of $35,000, HSBC said in a report on the effect of a “globalizing China” on the Middle […]

Emaar Properties, owner of the world’s biggest mall, hired HSBC Holdings and Emirates NBD  as bookrunners for the initial public offering of its retail arm, with Rothschild as financial adviser, five people familiar with the matter said. National Bank of Abu Dhabi and EFG Hermes Holding Co. will also be bookrunners on the sale of between 25 percent to 30 percent of the malls unit on the […]

Islamic finance has been one of the fastest-growing sectors in global finance but the industry has yet to shake off perceptions about high costs and complexity that are holding back some issuers. Sukuk, or Islamic bonds that follow religious principles such as a ban on interest and speculation, are now a major funding tool for companies in the Middle East and southeast Asia, and are becoming increasingly […]

On Feb. 10, 2001, the crews of the Space Shuttle Atlantis and the International Space Station successfully installed the U.S. Destiny Laboratory onto the station. In this photo, Destiny is moved by the shuttle’s remote manipulator system (RMS) robot arm from its stowage position in the cargo bay of the Space Shuttle Atlantis. Astronaut Marsha Ivins began the work, using Atlantis’ robotic arm to remove a station […]

A severe shortfall in international support has left many Syrian refugees in Lebanon unable to access crucial medical care, according to a new report from Amnesty International. “In some cases, refugees have preferred to return to Syria, to receive the needed treatment” in spite of the dangerous security situation there, the report, entitled Agonizing Choices: Syrian refugees in need of health care in Lebanon, said. The situation […]

Uber San Francisco-based Uber — a smartphone app that connects passengers with cars for hire — officially launches in the Saudi capital Riyadh today after three months of beta testing, entering a new market with some unique opportunities. Saudi Arabia is a country with virtually no public transport and where half of the population — women — is not allowed to drive. Many of the regular cabs available […]

Attacks on Nigel Farage, Ukip’s leader, by other politicians have not damaged his standing with voters Photo: EPA Nick Clegg was at his most priggish this week as he sought desperately to persuade the public not to back Ukip in the European elections. Indeed, he laid into not only Nigel Farage, but all those who back him – which, by my reckoning, could be some five million voters. […]

Six young Iranians who were arrested for posting a YouTube video of themselves dancing on Tehran rooftops to “Happy,” the globally infectious pop song, were released on bail on Wednesday as new details emerged of their possible mistreatment while incarcerated amid an outpouring of sympathy — including a subtly supportive Twitter post from Iran’s president. The arrests of the six, who were all under 25 and included […]

UNITED NATIONS — The Security Council is scheduled to vote Thursday on a resolution that would ask the International Criminal Court to investigate war crimes in Syria. Russia is certain to veto the resolution. Its Western rivals are equally certain to seize on that veto in an attempt to isolate the Kremlin diplomatically. Supporters of the resolution, which was drafted by France, have spent days drumming up […]

Following a report this week about mistreatment of workers who built New York University’s new Abu Dhabi campus, N.Y.U. apologized and said it would work with its partner to investigate. The next day, the partner, the Abu Dhabi government, confirmed it would participate. N.Y.U. has declined to specify how such an investigation might proceed, or what remedies it might pursue. But experts on labor conditions in the […]

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