Blogger released after two years in admin detention
CAIRO: Blogger Hany Nazeer who had been held in administrative detention without charge for almost two years, was released on Thursday, the Arab Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) said.…
Public funds prosecutor to investigate MPs’ abuse of free treatment program
CAIRO: The Public Funds General Prosecutor started an investigation into corruption by MPs in exploiting public funds to gain access to the health ministry’s free medical treatment program. Prosecutor General…
German art for Marwa El-Sherbini vandalized: says group
BERLIN: Vandals have attacked an art project erected in honor of Marwa El-Sherbini, a pregnant headscarved Egyptian woman who was murdered in a German court room, organizers said Friday. The…
French-backed Mauritanian raid ‘neutralizes’ Al-Qaeda gang
PARIS: French-backed Mauritanian forces attacked and "neutralized" an Al-Qaeda affiliated kidnap gang plotting attacks from a base in the North African desert, officials said Friday. The French defense ministry said…
Saudi SABIC Q2 sales growth slows as prices fall
RIYADH: Petrochemical giant Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC) said sales growth slowed in the second quarter as prices for its products fell. SABIC, the world's biggest chemicals maker by market…
Asia Crude-Kenya buys Murban from Total, Shell; lower
SINGAPORE: Kenya bought two 600,000-barrel cargoes of Abu Dhabi Murban crude for September arrival in its monthly tender at weaker differentials than last month, traders said on Friday. European majors…
Lebanon on edge after Hezbollah revelation on Hariri probe
BEIRUT: Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah's disclosure that his party is likely to be implicated in the assassination of ex-premier Rafiq Hariri could send the country sliding back to chaos, analysts…
Israel: Controversial conversion bill shelved
JERUSALEM: An Israeli government decision to shelve a controversial bill on Jewish conversions drew praise Friday from liberal Jewish groups in Israel and the US who opposed the legislation and…
Al Qaeda claims Yemen attacks, vows more strikes
DUBAI: Al Qaeda's Yemen arm said on Friday it was behind coordinated attacks on security offices in the Arabian Peninsula state in which four people were killed, and threatened more…
Britain voices ‘concern’over disappearance of Hassan killer
BAGHDAD: British Foreign Secretary William Hague voiced "concerns" to his Iraqi counterpart on Friday over the apparent disappearance from prison of aid worker Margaret Hassan's convicted killer. Hague's telephone conversation…