In Friday's Middle East papers

09 May 2008 04:30  [Source: ICIS news]

OMAN TRIBUNE

Amid death, a newborn gives hope
Than Win lost seven of her 10 children to Cyclone Nargis. On Wednesday, the 41-year-old gave birth to her eleventh child amid the death and destruction in Myanmar’s Irrawaddy delta.

Clashes rock Beirut as UN urges calm
Fierce clashes raged in Beirut on Thursday after Hezbollah said the Lebanese government had declared war by targeting its communications network.

ECB, BoE hold key rates despite weaker growth
The European Central Bank (ECB) and Bank of England (BoE) left benchmark lending rates unchanged on Thursday after policymakers weighed the paramount risk from inflation against weakening economic growth.

Oil still at record high; Opec sees no shortage
Oil prices held near record levels on Thursday after gains overnight to nearly $124 as speculators dived into a market concerned about potential supply disruption, traders said.

Fighting rocks Beirut, Hezbollah defiant
Fierce clashes raged in Beirut on Thursday after the Iranian-backed group Hezbollah said the US-supported Lebanese government had declared war by targeting its communications network.

Palestinians commemorate 1948 loss of land
As Israel celebrated its 60th birthday on Thursday, Palestinians inaugurated a symbolic "camp of return" to mark refugees' ties to lands lost when the Jewish state was created.

Abu Dhabi bank buys Malaysia RHB stake for $1.23bn
Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank bought a $1.23bn stake in Malaysia's fourth largest lender, RHB Capital, on Thursday in a bid to exploit growing commercial ties between the Middle East and Asia.

US wholesale stocks fall in March
US wholesale inventories unexpectedly fell 0.1% in March, the first drop since December 2006, while sales jumped 1.6 percent, led by farm products and autos, according to a Commerce Department report released on Wednesday.

Ban on transfer of 'Iqama' for domestics within year
The Immigration General Department at the Ministry of Interior has instructed domestic servant offices not to deal with those who escaped from their previous sponsors 'as such people will pose problems both to the offices and their employers by their continuous escapes,' reports Al-Watan Arabic daily.

NY police arrest 200 people in protests over shooting verdict
Some 200 people were arrested in New York Wednesday, police said, after city-wide protests against last month's acquittal of three policemen who killed an unarmed black man on his stag night.

Kuwait cbanker urges joint effort to stem rising inflation
Central Bank Governor Sheikh Salem Abdulaziz Al-Sabah warned on Wednesday that oil-rich Kuwait was faced with a "national challenge" after inflation hit 9.5% in January.

NBK hosts investment seminar for Thahabi customers
National Bank of Kuwait (NBK), the leading bank in Kuwait and the highest rated bank in the Middle East, on Tuesday organized its second investment seminar for its Thahabi customers.

TVTC plans 200 new industrial training institutes
The Technical and Vocational Training Corporation (TVTC) plans to establish 200 new industrial institutes in various parts of the country as part of its efforts to train young Saudis to take up various industrial jobs currently done by guest workers.

Saudi Arabia backs extraordinary Arab league meeting on Lebanon
Saudi Arabia yesterday supported the need for an extraordinary Arab League meeting on Lebanon in Cairo, an official source at the Foreign Ministry said. The Kingdom had earlier warned Lebanese groups that any escalation of violence in their country would only benefit external extremist forces, the Saudi Press Agency said quoting an official source.

Oil scene: politicians need to be more realistic and practical
Energy independence in absolute terms is an avowed subject for politicians all around, and the US is no exception. The artisans of politics are apt at weaving dreams, even if unrealistic and disastrous in some senses, just to garner the sought-after votes.

Saudi, Malaysian firms meet to explore new avenues
Nearly 100 engineering and consultancy firms from Saudi Arabia and Malaysia met in Riyadh recently and explored new avenues of cooperation between the two countries.

(no news updates)

Beirut hit by deadly street battles
Eight people have been killed and 15 people wounded in Lebanon, according to security sources, as the country's political crisis threatens to spiral out of control.

Olmert denies taking bribes
Ehud Olmert, Israel's prime minister, has admitted he accepted campaign donations from an American businessman, but denied that the contributions constituted bribes.

(no news updates)

Day 2: Violence intensifies, spreads to more areas
Hizbullah secretary general Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said during a press conference Thursday that Lebanon has entered a new phase of its political crisis and warned that a government crackdown on his party was tantamount to a "declaration of war." Nasrallah stressed that Hizbullah was ready to return to dialogue.

Roed Larsen relays Cabinet's position to Security Council
Hizbullah's paramilitary infrastructure represents a "threat to regional peace," UN Middle East envoy Terje Roed Larsen warned on Thursday. Roed Larsen told the Security Council that Hizbullah "maintains a massive paramilitary infrastructure separate from the state."

Airport and border closures could cost Lebanon dearly
The continued closure of Beirut's Rafik Hariri International Airport and all ground outlets leading to Syria will cause heavy losses to the economy, economists and bankers warned on Thursday. "If the airport remains closed for a few more days or weeks then the first casualty will be tourism in Lebanon," economist Elie Yashoui told The Daily Star.

Personal sanctions: blacklisted by my bank for living in Iran
"Your account has been blocked because of your address ... It's not personal." The bank employee in Brussels sounded almost apologetic when she told me my business was no longer wanted since I live in Iran, which is under tightening UN’s and US sanctions over its nuclear program.

Civil war looms
Fierce clashes raged in Beirut yesterday after the Hizbollah said the US-supported Lebanese government had declared war by targeting its communications network.Security sources said the fighting killed at least seven people and wounded 12.

Peace talks 'facing problems'
The Palestinian prime minister says peace talks with Israel are facing problems and that this gives his people more reason to cling to the idea of an independent state.

A gateway to northern Gulf
The second day of gulfBID saw more than 1,500 buyers visit the building and interior design show, a new record for the event.

Glass processing firm seeks to expand base
More than 260 architects, real estate investors and contractors turned up for the Keys to Glass Processing Perfection seminar organised by Bahrain-based Al Yousuf Thermo Glass at gulfBID 2008.