In Wednesday's Middle East papers

26 December 2007 05:12  [Source: ICIS news]

MUMBAI (ICIS news)--These were the top stories at 4:30 GMT in the following Middle-East newspapers’ online versions on Wednesday. ICIS has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. To go to the individual websites, click the links below:

 

THE TIMES OF OMAN

 

Front Page

 

Thaksin vows to return to Thailand

Deposed Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra said Tuesday he wanted to return to Thailand in February, as he called for reconciliation with the military following weekend elections.

 

S Korean cargo ship feared sunk, 14 missing

A South Korean-flagged freighter is feared to have capsized off the country's southern coast early on Tuesday and 14 sailors are missing, a coast guard official said.

Business

 

Index slips in the red, sheds 108 points

Mainly driven by the losses registered by the Banking and Investment index, the MSM-30 index plummeted 108 points (1.19%) to close below 9,000 at 8,985 points.

 

Toyota Motor expects to be largest automaker this year

Japan's Toyota Motor said Tuesday it expects to become the world's top automaker this year in terms of production, taking the title from General Motors which has held it since 1931.

 

OMAN TRIBUNE

 

Front Page

 

Settlement dispute stalls peace talks

Israeli-Palestinian peace talks bogged down in disagreement on Monday for a second time after the Palestinians ruled out addressing core issues until Israel agreed to stop settlement building near Occupied Jerusalem.

 

Lebanon law to let army chief be president

Lebanon's government drafted a law on Monday to amend the constitution to allow the army chief to become president, but the opposition condemned the move and said it would intensify the country's political deadlock.

 

Business

 

Merrill to raise up to $6.2bn via private placement

Merrill Lynch, hit by huge subprime mortgage losses, said on Monday it would boost its capital by raising up to $6.2bn in a private placement with Singapore’s Temasek Holdings and Davis Selected Advisers.

 

Indian shares gain 3.61%

Indian stocks rose 3.61% on Monday to their highest close in more than a week, led by ICICI Bank and Infosys Technologies as fears of a US recession eased and the likelihood of early national elections declined.

 

KHALEEJ TIME

 

Front Page

 

Afghanistan orders UN, EU officials to leave

Afghanistan has ordered a top European Union official and a United Nations staffer to leave the country for threatening national security, government and diplomatic officials said Tuesday.

 

40 killed in Iraq violence, 90 wounded

At least 40 people were killed and around 90 wounded Tuesday in a wave of violence in Iraq. The US army said it killed 13 militants during operations that began a day earlier.

 

Business

 

Tokyo threatens to delist Sanyo over accounting

Troubled Japanese electronics manufacturer Sanyo Electric was Tuesday threatened with delisting from the Tokyo Stock Exchange after it corrected six years of earnings reports.

 

Russia will keep oil wealth in bonds in 2008

Russia will keep its $151bn Oil and Gas Fund entirely in sovereign bonds next year and will not invest a $19bn sub-fund in corporate debt or stock, a top Finance Ministry official told Reuters on Tuesday.

 

ARAB TIMES

 

Front Page

 

UAE bans poultry from Brandenburg over bird flu

The United Arab Emirates has banned the import of poultry and birds from the German state of Brandenburg where the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus was found in chickens, the official WAM news agency said on Tuesday.

 

Family of woman killed in Boston tunnel collapse agrees to $6m settlement

The family of a woman from Costa Rica killed when the ceiling of a Big Dig tunnel collapsed on her car last year has agreed to a $6m settlement with the company that supplied the epoxy blamed for the accident, an attorney said.

 

Business

 

Americans’ unpaid credit card bills up at alarming rate

Americans are falling behind on their credit card payments at an alarming rate, sending delinquencies and defaults surging by double-digit percentages in the last year and prompting warnings of worse to come.

 

Kuwait property sales rise

In its latest economic brief on the monthly statistics of registered real estate contracts issued by the Ministry of Justice, excluding sales conducted through agents, National Bank of Kuwait reports that real estate sales increased for the third month in a row during November.

 

ARAB NEWS

 

Front Page

 

Red Crescent to expand Medevac operations

Prince Faisal ibn Abdullah, president of the Saudi Red Crescent Society, has announced his organization’s plan to expand its air ambulance services to cover every area within.

 

Baggage rule leaves pilgrims in precarious situation

An Air-India flight left the Haj Terminal yesterday morning carrying only 100 of its over scheduled 200 passengers after they raised an outcry over an excess baggage charge.

 

Business

 

Profit-taking hits kingdom, Oman shares

The rally that was witnessed when trading in the Gulf stock markets resumed on Monday after the Eid holidays appeared to be short-lived, as Saudi and Omani shares ended.

 

NCB Capital to lead rental company IPO

Leasing Company for Machinery, Real Estate Trade and Car Rentals decided to launch the 30% of its shares for public subscription to raise capital, its financial consultant.

 

TEHRAN TIMES

 

Front Page

 

Iran, Turkey play key role in regional security: Turkish MP

Turkish Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Murat Mercan said here on Tuesday that Ankara and Tehran play a major role in promoting peace and security in the region.

 

Archaeological nightmare transpires at Shush Castle

About 90,000 archaeological artifacts are being stored in appalling conditions in the underground storerooms of Shush Castle which is located in Shush, near the ancient sites of Susa in Khuzestan Province.

 

Business

 

Vietnam's inflation accelerates to fastest since 1995

Vietnam's inflation accelerated to the fastest since 1995, adding to pressure on the government to let the dong strengthen and make imported goods cheaper.

 

RUSAL seeks to buy 2% in Norilsk from KM-Invest

The world's top aluminum firm, Russia's United Company RUSAL, which is buying a blocking stake in metals giant Norilsk Nickel, said on Tuesday it wanted to purchase another 2% stake in the company.

By: Staff Reporter
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