Quickfire David begins world title defense in style
SHARM EL SHEIKH: Nicol David made a rapidly successful start to her bid to equal the record of five World Open titles when she beat Farah Abdel Meguid, one of…
Iran leads nuclear drive in the Middle East
CAIRO: Egypt's plan to build four nuclear powerplants by 2025 underscores the emerging interest in atomic energy across the Middle East, where even oil-rich nations such as Kuwait and the…
Egypt’s youth build new opposition movement
CAIRO: Inside a small apartment tucked away in a middle class Cairo neighborhood, a trainer teaches a dozen volunteers of a budding opposition movement the basics of political organization —…
Sharp Rise in Religious Jews Joining the Israeli Army
The Israeli army has experienced a steep rise in the percentage of religious Jewish soldiers joining its ranks, a new study has found. The study, published by the Israeli military…
Iranian president meets Algerian, Syrian Presidents
ALGIERS: President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad held two hours of talks with his Algerian counterpart Abdelaziz Bouteflika Saturday during a stopover in Algiers on route to New York for the UN General…
Chinese hostage fled Chadian captors by ‘undoing chains’
NDJAMENA: A Chinese engineer kidnapped in Chad said Saturday he had fled from captivity after unshackling himself from his chains while his abductors slept and fleeing to neighboring Sudan. "The…
Islamic derivatives struggle for traction in Gulf
DUBAI: Islamic derivatives are still struggling to gain traction in the Gulf, six months after the launch of a much-touted over-the-counter contract aimed at creating a standard legal framework for…
Economists cautious over African ‘miracle’
PARIS: With strong growth, a reduction in poverty and foreign investment, a number of recent studies have highlighted the African "economic miracle," but economists suggest the picture is more complicated.…
Self-sufficient Iran has stopped importing petrol, says minister
TEHRAN: Oil Minister Masoud Mirkazemi said on Saturday that Iran had now stopped importing petrol, a commodity targeted by world powers in new sanctions against Tehran's controversial nuclear drive. "No…
Ahmadinejad asks US to release ‘illegally’ detained Iranians
WASHINGTON: President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad asked Washington to free eight Iranians who he said were "illegally arrested and detained," in an interview to be aired Sunday. "It would not be misplaced…