Conflicting reports on detention of Alexandria protesters
By Mai Shams El-Din CAIRO: Reports that a military court handed down three to 15-year prison sentences to Alexandria protesters amid clashes with military police on Friday, cannot be confirmed, activist…
Obama calls crisis debt talks as default looms
WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama angrily summoned top lawmakers for crisis talks Saturday on averting a disastrous early August debt default that could send shockwaves through the fragile global economy.…
Abu Dhabi’s UNB mandates 4 banks for bond -sources
ABU DHABI: Union National Bank jointly owned by the governments of Abu Dhabi and Dubai, has picked four banks for investor meetings ahead of a potential dollar bond issue, two…
Dubai mall developer gets new bank financing
DUBAI: The Dubai-based property company behind several high-end Mideast shopping malls and the regional partner of French retailer Carrefour says it has raised $1 billion in new bank financing. The…
Sudan currency move heightens differences with South
KHARTOUM: Sudan began circulating a new currency on Sunday, days after the newly independent south issued its own new money, in a move likely to heighten differences over handling the…
Yahoo launches exclusive Ramadan website
CAIRO: In honor of the Holy Month of Ramadan, which falls on the first of August this year, Yahoo launched a Ramadan site as part of Yahoo! Maktoob. The new…
Mideast’s first group buying site GoNabIt to integrate into LivingSocial
CAIRO: GoNabIt, the Arab region’s first group-buying website, is set to fully integrate into LivingSocial and operate under its brand name in the near future, following its acquisition by the…
Why #NoSCAF?
By Rania Al Malky CAIRO: For a very long time, many Egyptians, including myself, were convinced that this was not the time for outspoken criticism of Egypt’s ruling Supreme Council of…
Finger-lickin’ fix
By Philip Whitfield CAIRO: Imagine you’re President of Kentucky Fried Chicken on January 25. You pick up the phone and call the manager in Tahrir Square. What would you tell him?…
The too-quiet American
By Jagdish Bhagwati NEW YORK: It is now apparent that the United States is the main culprit in preventing the ten-year-old multilateral trade negotiations known as the Doha Round from being…