Egypt wheat buying normal, has 6-mth supply: GASC
Egypt, the world's biggest wheat importer, has secured enough wheat supplies to last six months and is pursuing its purchases as normal, the main government wheat buyer told Reuters on…
Oil prices drop on profit-taking, Japan downgrade
LONDON: World oil prices fell on Thursday as traders took profits after a brief surge and surprise ratings downgrade for Japan, analysts said. London's Brent North Sea crude for March…
Bahrain’s Batelco still looking at Zain Saudi stake
DUBAI: Bahrain Telecommunications (Batelco) is still eyeing a stake in Zain's Saudi Arabian unit and will make an offer at the "right price", Batelco's top executive said on Thursday. Zain…
Emaar launches $500 mln sukuk at 8.5 pct, say sources
DUBAI: Emaar Properties, which built the world's tallest building, priced a $500 million Islamic bond at a profit rate of 8.5 percent, three sources said, as the first UAE sukuk…
Sharjah: On the radar
By Oxford Business Group The outlook for 2011 is one of correction and consolidation for Sharjah’s real estate sector. The market should slowly start to pick up, though recovery is…
Lebanon PM wants dialogue to solve tribunal dispute
BEIRUT: Lebanon's Hezbollah-backed prime minister designate Najib Mikati said on Wednesday he sought good relations with all countries after Washington expressed concern over the Iranian-backed Shi'ite group's role in his…
Streets flooded, power cut in Saudi city of Jeddah
JEDDAH: Torrential rainfall submerged streets and cut off electricity in parts of Saudi Arabia's second largest city Jeddah on Wednesday, raising fears of a repeat of floods in 2009 which…
Baghdad car bomb kills 37 at funeral
BAGHDAD: A massive car bomb ripped through a funeral ceremony in a Shia district of Baghdad on Thursday, killing 37 people in the worst day of violence in the Iraqi…
Voter drive shuts schools, angers parents in Nigeria
LAGOS: Simple spelling lessons and multiplication tables still appear on the chalkboards in empty classrooms across Africa's most populous nation as officials take over the country's schools to conduct voter…
Leaked documents reveal Mideast talks’ human side
RAMALLAH: Leaked documents from years of Mideast peace talks reveal a rarely seen human side of high-level diplomacy, showing Israeli and Palestinian negotiators joking, teasing, losing their tempers and even…