In Friday's Middle East papers

08 August 2008 06:00  [Source: ICIS news]

Front page

Musharraf threatened with impeachment
Pakistan’s ruling coalition said on Thursday that it would seek the impeachment of President Pervez Musharraf. Coalition leaders Asif Ali Zardari, co-chairman of the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party, and Nawaz Sharif, another ex-premier, made the announcement after three days of marathon talks.

All-party panel to visit Jammu
An all-party delegation, including Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Home Minister Shivraj Patil, will visit Jammu on Saturday to find a solution to the impasse over land for the Amarnath shrine management.

Business

ECB, BoE keep key interest rates on hold
Europe’s main interest rates remained on hold on Thursday when European Central Bank (ECB) and Bank of England (BoE) governors balanced their fight against rising inflation with the possibility of a continental recession.

Japan stares at recession as data shows ‘weak economy’
Japan said on Thursday its longest economic recovery since World War II appears to have come to an end, as fears of a recession in Asia’s largest economy add to a darkening global outlook.

KHALEEJ TIMES                                                                 

Front page

China gears up for ceremony party amid weather worries
China was putting the final touches on what promised to be a spectacular Olympic opening ceremony on Friday, but gloomy weather and tight security left a cloud hanging over its coming out party.

Terrorists issue new Olympic threat, US analysts say
A little-known Islamic group has issued a new terrorist threat against the Beijing Olympics, US intelligence analysts said Friday.

Business

Taqa net profits hit Dh869m
Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa) recorded net profits of Dh869m ($236.5m) in the first half of 2008, up against Dh249m in the same period previous year, depicting strong earnings growth of 249% on the back of acquisitions and higher oil and gas prices, officials said.

Mortgage loans up 55% to Dh65bn in March
Mortgage loans in the UAE grew 55% to Dh64.95bn in the year to March from Dh41.86bn a year ago while loans, advances and overdrafts reached Dh489.85bn, a 38% rise from Dh354.71bn for the same period.

ARAB TIMES

Front page

Six eye sanctions
Six nations agreed Wednesday to pursue new UN sanctions against Iran after it failed to accept incentives offered in hopes of defusing the dispute over its nuclear programme, the State Department said.

Oil pipeline fire in Turkey blazing after sabotage
A fire continued to burn on Thursday on the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline, said a source at Turkey's Energy Ministry, as Kurdish separatists claimed responsibility for the blast which caused it.

Business

CBK ‘confirms’ enforcing measures to deter FX bets
The Kuwaiti central bank confirmed on Wednesday that it had implemented new measures which bankers said were likely to discourage speculation in the dinar and lead to higher effective interest rates.

S&P rates Kuwait’s Global Investment at ‘BBB/A-3’
Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said today that it assigned its ‘BBB/A-3’ long- and short-term counterparty credit ratings to Kuwait-based Global Investment House KSCC (Global).

ARAB NEWS

Front page

Probe blames last month’s power outage on faulty line
An investigation into the massive power outage that struck several parts of the Kingdom two weeks ago has been blamed on a broken high-tension wire falling on another line, triggering a short circuit in the Qassim grid, Al-Eqtisadiah newspaper reported yesterday.

Nepali maid raped, dumped in front of placement agency
A Nepali housemaid is fighting for her life after suffering sadistic torture and rape by her sponsor, said Pushparaj Bhattarai, a spokesman for the Nepalese Embassy, yesterday

Business

Iraqi official defends spending for reconstruction
An Iraqi lawmaker close to Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki defended the government’s record on spending for reconstruction, saying yesterday that US critics were overlooking Baghdad’s progress over the past three years.

Oil prices rebound, euro plunges
World oil prices rebounded toward $120 (€78) yesterday after news a pipeline carrying crude from Central Asia to the West would remain shut for about 15 days after a recent explosion.

TEHRAN TIMES

No news update

ALJAZEERA

Front page

Beijing's big day arrives
After seven years of preparation, billions of dollars of investment, and a mammoth effort to clean up Beijing's polluted skies, Chinese Olympics officials say they are ready to stage one of the greatest Olympics ever.

Bin Laden driver gets 66 months
A military jury has sentenced the former driver of Osama bin Laden, the al-Qaeda leader, to five and a half years in prison for supporting terrorism.

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.

Global trade talks collapse
High level talks to rescue a global trade pact have collapsed after the US, China and India failed to compromise on farm import rules, trade officials say.

THE DAILY STAR

Front page

Berri: Lebanon fully committed to implementing 1701
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said after meeting European Parliament chief Hans-Gert Pottering on Thursday that Lebanon was fully committed to implementing UN Security Council Resolution 1701, while accusing Israel of violating the resolution, which put an end to the 34-day war.

Arab globalisation marked by uneven achievements
UN-ESCWA executive secretary Bader Omar AlDafa said Thursday that Arab states achieved uneven results in 2006 in terms of globalization.

Business

(no news updates)

GULF DAILY NEWS

Front page

Meter running for taxi cheats
A new government-backed taxi service designed to eradicate cheating on fares will hit Bahrain's roads in December, officials confirmed yesterday.

On your marks for new stamps!
Bahrain issued a set of two commemorative stamps to mark the country's participation in the Olympic Games.

Business

Tax plan 'is a hallmark of developed economy' 
The decision by Bahrain to introduce a one per cent tax to cover unemployment benefit is a positive shift for the economic growth of the country.

$200bn engineering wonder
A $200bn (€130bn) project, which will link two continents, has been launched in Djibouti.

($1 = Dh3.67/ €0.65)

By: Staff Reporter
+44 20 8652 3214

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