UAE. One of the most powerful gatherings of Arab region and international minds will convene in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, next month (October) for a Summit which is aimed at producing recommendations for a blueprint to reposition the Arab world’s standing within the global landscape. Running October 10 and 11 at The St. Regis Abu Dhabi, Beirut Institute Summit will probe a […]
Contrary to common portrayals of the madding crowd, people caught in an unfolding catastrophe usually summon their best selves, keep cool heads and look out for those around them, according to decades of research into crowd reactions during earthquakes, fires, floods, bombings and other threats. It had not been reported exactly what touched off the panic that killed more than 700 people on Thursday near Mecca, Saudi […]
WASHINGTON — As the war in Iraq deteriorated, a senior American intelligence analyst went public in 2005 and criticized President George W. Bush’s administration for pushing “amateurish and unrealistic” plans for the invasion two years before. Now that same man, Gregory Hooker, is at the center of an insurrection of United States Central Command intelligence analysts over America’s latest war in Iraq, and whether Congress, policy makers […]
SANA, Yemen — Bombings at a mosque killed at least 25 people here on Thursday during prayers to commemorate the beginning of Eid al-Adha, a major Muslim holiday, Interior Ministry officials said. Tamim al-Shami, a spokesman for Yemen’s Health Ministry, said that the mosque, in the Al-Bilili neighborhood, was struck by two bombs, one hidden in a shoe and left at the entrance of the mosque, and […]
ABU DHABI // As the Sun slowly crept into the sky, thousands gathered at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque on Thursday morning to mark Eid Al Adha. Among those, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, who offered prayers. Afterward, Sheikh Mohammed and members of the royal family visited the tomb of his father, the founding President, Sheikh Zayed. People travelled […]
UAE. The Middle East & North Africa ranks well above North America, Europe and Latin America in terms of market growth opportunities according to the Grant Thornton Global Dynamism Index (GDI) 2015. However, the region is lagging behind on a number of other indicators including labour market and financing environment. The GDI – which combines 22 indicators across five growth areas to identify the best business growth […]
UAE. Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Sweden, the Netherlands and the United States of America are the world’s five most innovative nations, according to the Global Innovation Index 2015, while China, Malaysia, Viet Nam, India, Jordan, Kenya, and Uganda are among a group of countries outperforming their economic peers. The GII 2015 looks at “Effective Innovation Policies for Development” and shows new ways that emerging-economy policymakers can boost […]
UAE. Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said today that although it expects that some corporates and infrastructure issuers in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) will likely feel the weight of lower oil prices, most of its rated entities show resilient financials for now, in an industry report card published today titled, “Some Gulf Corporates Could Feel The Heat On Low Oil Prices.” Corporate and infrastructure companies in the […]
DUBAI // Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, penned an emotional poem mourning the loss of his older brother, Sheikh Rashid bin Mohammed, who died on Saturday of a sudden heart attack at age 33. The poem was shared by thousands of people on social media, where it was first posted. Sheikh Hamdan, well-known for his lyrical art and oratorical skills, recorded the poem and […]
DUBAI // A woman who claimed she was tortured and threatened with rape after being mistaken for an Al Qaeda terrorist faces months of uncertainty awaiting the outcome of a legal case against the Kenyan government. Mother of three Kamilya Mohammedi Tuweni, 50, relived her 72-day ordeal this week as she gave testimony via video link from London to the high court in Nairobi. She was too […]
|By Ole Hansen| Global markets went quiet ahead of the long awaited Federal Open Market Committee meeting this past week as the first rate hike in almost ten years seemed possible. In the end Janet Yellen and her follow central bankers opted for no change and the statement following the announcement was surprisingly dovish. While US activity and employment data remains strong the extreme market volatility in late […]
The Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME), the premier international energy futures and commodities exchange in the Middle East, has launched ‘DME Auctions,’ a new platform that will provide a transparent spot commodity auction system for the first time in the region. It will provide commodity market participants with the flexibility to buy and sell physical energy products and other commodities in the Middle East and beyond via an […]
Microsoft has announced that Almoayyed Computers, the flagship division of Almoayyed International Group, has won the ‘Microsoft Country Partner of the Year 2015 Award for the Kingdom of Bahrain’. Awards were presented in several categories, with winners chosen from a set of more than 2,300 entrants from 108 different countries worldwide. Almoayyed Computers was honoured among a global field of top Microsoft partners for demonstrating excellence in […]
Growth in the number of people with access to the Internet is slowing, and more than half the world’s population is still offline, the United Nations Broadband Commission said on Monday. Internet access in rich economies is reaching saturation levels but 90 per cent of people in the 48 poorest countries have none, its report said. The access growth rate is expected to slow to 8.1 per […]
QATAR. On Sept. 18, 2015, Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services affirmed its ‘AA’ long-term and ‘A-1+’ short-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings on the State of Qatar. The outlook is stable. We also affirmed the ‘AA’ long-term issue ratings on the bonds issued by Qatari Diar Finance Q.S.C. and SoQ Sukuk A Q.S.C. RATIONALE Qatar is a wealthy economy; we estimate its GDP per capita […]
DUBAI // The late Sheikh Rashid bin Mohammed has been remembered as a “noble knight” who raised the flag of the UAE, as tributes continued to flow after his death on Saturday. Condolences were offered on Sunday at Zabeel Palace to Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, for the death of his eldest son after a heart attack at the age of 33. […]
Dubai-based chartered accountants firm Sangani and Company has joined Kudos International Network as a full member auditing and accounting firm, the company announced. Kudos International Network is an international accounting and auditing network and member of Forum of Firms. Forum of Firms is an association of international networks of accounting firms performing audits of financial statements used across borders. The Forum’s objective is to promote consistent and […]
The United Arab Emirates has no plans to abandon the currency’s peg to the dollar, central bank Governor Mubarak Rashed Al Mansoori said. “The dirham peg to the US dollar has served the UAE well over time,” Al Mansoori said in an e-mailed answer to Bloomberg News questions. The central bank “maintains a firm commitment to the peg.” Investors have increased bets that the six Gulf Cooperation […]
EDIRNE, Turkey — Doaa, a 25-year old Syrian, was lying in the shade one day last week, trying to shelter herself from the scorching sun in a makeshift camp near this northwestern border city. A pile of blankets next to her quivered, and a tiny hand emerged. Her son, Nassim, was just a week old. Doaa had walked out of a hospital in Istanbul a few days […]
SANA, Yemen — A Saudi-led military coalition bombarded government buildings and residential neighborhoods in Sana, the Yemeni capital, overnight on Saturday, killing more than two dozen people, officials and witnesses said, and destroying homes in Sana’s Old City, a Unesco World Heritage site. The Saudi coalition, which includes nine other Arab nations and is supported by the United States, began fighting Yemen’s Houthi rebels in March, two […]
LONDON — Russia’s military buildup in Syria now includes surface-to-air missiles as well as combat aircraft with air-to-air capability, deployments that raise “serious questions” about Moscow’s role in the region, Secretary of State John Kerry said Saturday. Russian officials have said that the purpose of the buildup at a base near Latakia, Syria, is to combat the Islamic State. But the deployment of air defense systems and […]
INTERNATIONAL. The era of the autonomous vehicle (AV) is fast approaching. Mass-market adoption of AVs will be the greatest inflection point for the automotive industry since the introduction of the assembly line and will confer tremendous benefits on society, according to a new report from The Boston Consulting Group (BCG). The report, titled Revolution Versus Regulation: The Make-or-Break Questions About Autonomous Vehicles, is being released today. It […]
INTERNATIONAL. Emerging Asian economies remain a challenging operating environment according to new risk ratings released today. In their first jointly produced economic and political risk ratings, Oxford Economics and Control Risks have evaluated the outlook for 164 countries worldwide, producing for each country a score based on a weighting of key political, economic, business and security risks. The ratings, drawn from the new Economic and Political Risk […]
UAE. Forbes Middle East has unveiled the names of its Most Powerful Arab Women for 2015 at a glittering awards ceremony that shone a light on some of the region’s most influential and accomplished leaders. The impressive event recognized the achievements of women in reaching the top of their fields in business and government and, in doing so, working towards a fairer and more equal working environment […]
