In Wednesday's Middle East papers

06 August 2008 05:30 [Source: ICIS news]

Front Page

Israel mulls Gaza strikes
Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak said Israel will go back to carrying out military strikes on the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip despite a month-old truce, army radio reported on Tuesday.

Delhi presses for unconditional waiver at NSG
Pressing for a “clean” and “unconditional” waiver from the NSG to take the Indo-US nuclear deal forward, India Tuesday said it does not expect any new conditions since that would nullify the safeguards pact cleared by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Business

SPC IPO garners RO280m
The IPO of Sohar Power Company (SAOG) (under conversion) (SPC), which closed on July 30, has garnered RO280m and has been oversubscribed by 21 times, according to a company release.

Sohar Aluminium delivers liquid metal to local users
Sohar Aluminium achieved another milestone by delivering the first crucible of hot metal to SAG, a local downstream manufacturer of aluminium products.

KHALEEJ TIMES

Front Page

Bush starts S Korea summit after overnight protests
US President George Bush began summit talks Wednesday with his South Korean counterpart on ways to strengthen their decades-old alliance, after police arrested scores of people in overnight protests.

Wounded Pakistani ‘Al Qaeda' woman faces US judge
A Pakistani mother who graduated from a top US university, then vanished five years ago, was charged Tuesday in New York with attempted murder of US officers in Afghanistan, in a case prompting protests from her homeland.

Business

Morgan Stanley predicts end to property boom
Property prices in Dubai are set to fall for the first time since 2002 as a flood of new housing units reaches the market, according to a forecast by Morgan Stanley. In a research note the global investment bank said, “In 2009 a predicted excess supply could trigger price declines that will culminate in 2010.”

Shuaa's first-quarter profit drops 10% to Dh67m
Shuaa Capital announced on Tuesday a decline of 10% in year-on-year net profits. The first quarter net profits stood at Dh67.1m against Dh74.5m recorded last year. However, the company did record a 13.9% rise in last quarter which recorded profits of Dh58.9m.

ARAB TIMES

Front Page

KD 40 minimum wage set for State-contract firms
Kuwait set a minimum monthly wage of KD 40 ($150.4) on Monday for some companies with state contracts

‘Abuses against expat workers tied to delay in new labour law’
International Labor Organization (ILO) representative in Kuwait, Thabet Al-Haroun, has outrightly rejected violations made by some companies against expatriate workers, attributing the problem to the delayed approval of the new labor law.

Business

Kuwait central bank halts dollar flows used for forex bets
The Kuwait central bank is no longer allowing local banks to buy US dollars from it and sell them to it for currency trades, bankers said on Monday, a move that has blocked offshore banks from betting on the dinar.

Upward pressure on deposit rates; Withdrawals take toll on banks
In its latest economic brief on monetary developments, National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) reports that broad money supply measure (M2) contracted by 3.2% in June, reversing last month’s expansion.

ARAB NEWS

Front Page

GCC banks losing millions to poor customer service
GCC banks are losing hundreds of millions of dollar in potential revenue due to poor customer services, according to a study. Although GCC-based banks have been growing at double-digit rates in both assets and profits, the gap between the quality of customer service and customer expectations remains wide, revealed a report by A.T. Kearney.

Pakistani mom taken to US
An MIT-educated Pakistani woman once identified as a possible Al-Qaeda associate has been brought to New York to face charges she tried to kill US agents and military officers during an interrogation in Afghanistan, federal prosecutors said.

Business

Dubai property prices face 10% drop
Dubai property prices, which have surged 79% since the start of 2007, are likely to fall 10% by 2010 as supply of real estate units outpaces demand in the Gulf emirate, Morgan Stanley said yesterday.

Al-Rajhi Steel to spend SR4bn to double output
Al-Rajhi Steel Industries, one of Saudi Arabia’s three largest steel producers, said it plans to spend up to SR4 billion ($1.07 billion) to more than double its production capacity by as early as 2012.

TEHRAN TIMES

Front Page

Majlis confirms 3 ministers
The Majlis on Tuesday voted to confirm the new interior, economy, and transportation ministers after hearing the views of their opponents and supporters and a defense by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Morvarid-e Lian band to perform at Beijing Olympics
Morvarid-e Lian band from the Iranian southern city Bushehr will be dispatched to China on July 6 as Iran’s representative to give performances at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

Business

US inflation soars to 27-year high
US consumer spending inched up in June, somewhat boosted by tax rebates that were part of an economic stimulus package.

New Zealand set for recession: officials, economists
New Zealand is likely to become the second developed country to slide into recession this year, officials and economists said Tuesday.

ALJAZEERA

Front Page

China detains pro-Tibet activists
Four foreign pro-Tibet activists have been detained by Chinese police after unfurling banners from huge lampposts outside the Olympic stadium in Beijing.

Rwanda accuses France over genocide
Rwanda has accused France of having an active, direct role in the African country's 1994 genocide in which 800,000 people were killed.

Business

Commodities push down Asia stocks
Asian stocks have fallen to their lowest level in more than a year as shares in resource companies were hit by a slump in oil and metal prices.

Mixed results for big US firms
Oil giant ExxonMobil has reported record second quarter earnings of $11.68bn, giving it the biggest profit ever from operations of any US corporation.

THE DAILY STAR

Front Page

Lahoud proposes changes to draft ministerial statement
Lebanon's national unity government is expected to ratify the draft ministerial statement in a Cabinet session on Monday in the Presidential Palace, headed by President Michel Sleiman, amid reservations from Christians within the March 14 bloc regarding the way the issue of the resistance was addressed by the statement.

Syrian general found shot dead in mysterious killing - reports
Arab media reported on Sunday that a brigadier general thought to have been the Syrian regime's liaison with Lebanon's Hizbullah movement has been assassinated.

Business

Rating agency ups Lebanon's growth forecast – again
For the second time since the May 21 Doha accord, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) revised upward its economic growth forecast for Lebanon to 4.4%

Kuwaiti premier assures Japan steady oil supply
Kuwait's prime minister promised to provide Japan a steady flow of oil and said the emirate was open to boosting production, as surging prices cause concern in Asia's largest economy, officials said.

GULF DAILY NEWS

No news update

By: Staff Reporter
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