British music retailer Zavvi says it is closing 22 stores
British music retailer Zavvi said on Thursday that it was shutting 22 stores with the loss of 178 staff as Britain suffers from a deepening economic slowdown. Despite record consumer…
Oil edges upward after plunging on US report
VIENNA, Austria: Oil prices crept higher Thursday, but aftershocks from an unexpectedly high increase in US inventories kept the market subdued after a 12 percent plunge overnight.More dismal economic and…
Ernst & Young reports a drop of IPOs in 2008
CAIRO: Ernst & Young released a report this week confirming that IPOs in the Middle East trailed off severely by the end of 2008, reflecting poor market conditions around the…
Muslim Brotherhood slams Egypt's Gaza peace plan
CAIRO: The Muslim Brotherhood on Thursday slammed an Egyptian peace plan for Gaza for putting the victim and executioner on the same footing. The announcement of the latest Egyptian initiative…
Attack on Israel from Lebanon threatens to open new front
JERUSALEM: Insurgents in Lebanon fired at least three rockets into northern Israel on Thursday, ripping through a crowded nursing home and threatening to open a new front for the Jewish…
Egypt's Gaza ceasefire plan 'not valid,' say Palestinian groups, as death toll exceeds 700
DAMASCUS/CAIRO: Palestinian groups based in Syria, including Hamas, believe the Egyptian plan aimed at securing a permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip "has no valid basis, a Palestinian official said…
Opposition seeks constitutional conformity with human rights
CAIRO: The main opposition parties formed a new legislative committee to draft a law extracting legislations that contradict with human rights. The civil society organizations agreed that 2008 witnessed the…
Nationalists call on government to take a stand against Israeli assaults
CAIRO: Nationalist currents are calling on the government to freeze the Camp David peace treaty, stop exporting gas to Israel, as well as follow in the Venezuelan government's steps and…
HRW calls on Egypt to open Rafah border
CAIRO: In a press statement issued Thursday, Human Rights Watch called on Egypt and Israel to open their borders to allow humanitarian aid to reach Gaza and permit civilians to…
Egypt, Iran spar over media 'incitement' ad
CAIRO: Egypt is demanding Iran bring to justice the authors of an advertisement calling on Iranians to assassinate President Hosni Mubarak. The advertisement was published by the Iranian Fars News…