US push for Israeli, Palestinian intelligence: Leaks
JERUSALEM: The United States instructed its Middle East diplomats in 2008 to gather data on encrypted Israeli communications and build financial and "biometric" profiles of Palestinian leaders, a leaked embassy…
Bahrain: Encouraging entrepreneurship
By Oxford Business Group A renewed focus on entrepreneurship is at the heart of Bahrain’s efforts to diversify its economy and achieve the goals outlined in its long-term development plan, Economic…
Hamas launches Gaza rebuilding program
GAZA: Hamas launched a program on Tuesday to rebuild 1,000 homes in the Gaza Strip destroyed during an Israeli offensive two years ago, a project that could boost the Islamist…
IEA says Saudi oil output jumps, OPEC critical
LONDON: The International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Tuesday that OPEC leader Saudi Arabia had stealthily boosted output to cool an oil price rally, while OPEC accused the agency of…
Obama consults Mubarak on Tunisia, Lebanon
By AFP WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama on Tuesday consulted Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on political tumult in Tunisia and tensions in Lebanon sparked by a UN probe into the…
Arab leaders meet on economy, poverty
SHARM EL-SHEIKH: Arab leaders gather in Egypt on Wednesday to discuss trade and development as the region feels the aftershocks of a popular uprising in Tunisia that emboldened dissidents in…
Suicide is against Islam: Al-Azhar
By AFP CAIRO: Egypt's Al-Azhar, the most prestigious centre of religious learning in the Sunni Muslim world, said on Tuesday that Islam bans suicide for any reason. "Sharia law states…
Moussa warns Arab leaders of ‘unprecedented’ anger
By Yasmine Saleh and Sherine El Madany/Reuters SHARM EL-SHEIKH: The Arab League chief warned the region's leaders on Wednesday to heed economic and political problems that sparked Tunisia's upheaval because Arab…
Tunisia’s Morjane says ‘people had their say’
By AFP SHARM EL-SHEIKH: The Tunisian transitional government's only ambition is to prepare for a free election and reforms after the Tunisian people "had their say", Foreign Minister Kamel Morjane…
After Tunisia, change in Egypt ‘inevitable’: ElBaradei
By AFP VIENNA: A regime change in Egypt is "inevitable" following the popular uprising in Tunisia, Egyptian opposition figure Mohamed ElBaradei said Tuesday. "It is inevitable. Change must come," ElBaradei…