Foreign films give isolated North Korea rare window on world
One of the world's most tightly-controlled societies got a rare glimpse of the outside world at the Pyongyang International Film Festival last week, where even Western films were screened. Communist…
Hip hop sneaking into Mediterranean urban culture
A full house at Geneina Theater in Al-Azhar Park came together last Thursday to absorb a group of Egyptian and Spanish artists sounding off, defying gravity, and invigorating the…
Kuwait commits $1 bln to AIA IPO, says source
HONG KONG: American International Group Inc received a $1 billion commitment from Kuwait Investment Authority for the IPO of its Asian life insurance unit, according to a source, the first…
In break with past, Syria seeks World Bank financing
LATAKIA: Syria is seeking World Bank financing for infrastructure, a senior economic official said, in a major departure from decades of Soviet-style economic policies that excluded international institutions. "Negotiations have…
Saudi power demand growth to drop after 2015, says official
JEDDAH: Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia expects to see growth in power demand drop by half after 2015 as the kingdom boosts its capacity, the chief executive of state-controlled Saudi…
Iraq’s proven oil reserves rise to 143 bln barrels
BAGHDAD: Iraq said on Monday its proven oil reserves had risen to 143 billion barrels as work by international oil companies started to yield results. Iraq's proven reserves had been…
Pakistan floods curb food aid to Afghanistan, says UN
KABUL: Pakistan's devastating floods have interrupted delivery of food aid to neighboring Afghanistan that would have fed about a million people this winter, the U.N. World Food Program said Monday.…
Polish archive, Israeli spar over father’s Holocaust diary
WARSAW: The Israeli daughter of a Holocaust survivor who kept a diary in hiding during World War II wants it back from a Polish-Jewish archive, but officials refuse. It belongs…
South Korea in talks to upgrade Libya’s diplomatic mission
SEOUL: South Korea is holding talks with Libya about upgrading its diplomatic office in Seoul to a formal embassy after resolving a diplomatic row, the South's acting foreign minister said…
Irish Nobel laureate faces top Israeli court to appeal ban
JERUSALEM: Irish Nobel laureate and peace activist Mairead Maguire was on Monday appealing to the Israeli Supreme Court to cancel a deportation order barring her from Israel for 10 years,…