Vimpelcom, Weather deal creates global telecom giant
CAIRO: Russian telecom operator Vimpelcom and Naguib Sawiris’ Weather Investments sealed a deal Tuesday worth $6.6 billion that will create the world’s fifth largest mobile telecommunications carrier by subscribers. Under…
Battered Dubai property still subdued but optimism emerging
DUBAI: Dubai faces an uphill struggle to revive its real estate sector that was battered by the global financial crisis, but industry reps at a subdued property fair in the…
A Papal success
LONDON: To the surprise of many in the media — at home and abroad — Pope Benedict XVI’s just completed visit to Britain was an outstanding success. As a Roman…
What did the Arabs really win in the 1973 War with Israel?
CAIRO: To the Arabs, the “victories” of the October 1973 (Tenth of Ramadan) War proved that Israel was not invincible. To the Israelis, the Yom Kippur War proved that even…
Imam from Qom stresses unity of all faiths
QOM, Iran: I remember when I was a teenager in Tehran the following verse from the Quran was frequently recited after prayers at Al-Anbiy?, our local mosque: “The Messenger believes…
The Balkan endgame
ROME: Twenty years after the collapse of Yugoslavia and the communist regime in Albania, the western Balkans region is at a turning point once again. Slovenia is in the European…
Europe in the IMF
BRUSSELS: Europe’s leaders never tire of reminding their constituencies, almost like a mantra, that the major emerging-market countries are overturning the existing global economic order. But when it comes to…
Egyptian publisher sacks dissident editor Ibrahim Eissa
CAIRO: A leading independent Egyptian newspaper said Tuesday its mogul publisher has fired the daily's chief editor, an outspoken government critic — the latest development in what watchdogs say is…
Violence will be countered with violence in elections, says Al Wafd
CAIRO: Al-Wafd opposition party warned of “unprecedented” violence during the upcoming parliamentary elections and said they will “stand up” against and document any violent harassment of their candidates. “There will…
Nilesat’s closure of Jordanian channel a rights’ violation, says NGO
CAIRO: The closure of a satellite channel by satellite operator Nilesat is a “flagrant violation of the right to freedom of opinion and expression”, an Egyptian NGO says. Last Friday,…
