In Thursday's Middle East papers

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

OMAN TRIBUNE

Front Page

Lebanon blast kills 9 soldiers, six civilians
A bomb blast targeting the Lebanese army killed nine soldiers and six civilians in the northern city of Tripoli on Wednesday in the deadliest attack in the troubled country in three years.

Sultanate, Libya ink MoU on joint venture
As part of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos Bin Said’s visit to Libya, the Sultanate's government and the Libyan government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Wednesday to establish a joint holding company with a capital of $500m (€336m) at its headquarters in Tripoli.

Business

Japan on brink of recession as economy shrinks in Q2
Japan said on Wednesday its economy contracted in the second quarter as falling exports and weak consumer spending sent Asia’s largest economy hurtling towards its first recession in six years.

Oil gains $1 after decline in US inventory; gold climbs
Oil rose more than $1(€0.67) /bbl to above $114 on Wednesday, extending an earlier gain, after a US government report showed declines in fuel inventories in the world’s top consumer.

KHALEEJ TIMES

Front Page

Russia defies truce with Georgia; US sending aid
A Russian military convoy defied a cease-fire agreement on Wednesday and rolled through a strategically important city in the former Soviet republic of Georgia, which claimed fresh looting and bombing by the Russians and their allies.

UN Security Council slams Lebanon bombing
The UN Security Council condemned Wednesday's ‘terrorist’ bombing that killed 14 people in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli and stressed the need to bring those responsible to justice.

Business

Value of new projects in KSA to reach $410bn
Total real estate investments in Saudi Arabia, which represents the largest construction market in the Middle East, are estimated at $270bn and the total value of new projects is likely to reach $410bn this year. Due to extra liquidity generated from high oil revenues and regional governments Saudi Arabia is planning ambitious infrastructure programmes.

Tabreed profits rise 46%
National Central Cooling (Tabreed) has posted a net profit of Dh23.6m ($6.4m) in the second quarter 2008, compared to Dh12.72m in the same quarter in 2007, depicting a growth of 45.87%.

ARAB TIMES

Front Page

Five firms to court … Labour cheats may lose licence 
Social Affairs and Labour Minister Bader Al-Duwaila has referred five companies found to have violated the Labour Law to the court. Speaking to the Arab Times Wednesday, Al-Duwaila revealed the five companies were identified during the first week of investigations into the labour strikes staged by Bangladeshi workers last month.

Health may pull plug on brain dead 
Kuwait’s Ministry of Health (MoH) is seriously considering the implementation of a rule, which is widely used in hospitals in the US, Canada and Europe, to remove life support systems of patients who are brain dead, reliable sources told Al-Nahar daily.

Business

National Industries Q2 net plunges 41% 
Kuwait’s National Industries, an affiliate of family-owned Kharafi Group, said on Tuesday second-quarter net profit fell 40.6% because the year-earlier quarter included one-off gains.

Global assigned S&P’s BBB/A-3 
Global Investment House “Global” announced today Standard & Poors (S&P), has assigned Global ‘BBB/A-3’ long- and short-term counterparty ratings with a stable outlook.

ARAB NEWS

Front Page

Deviants turned in by close relatives
The families of five Saudi men involved in terror activities reported their loved ones to local authorities while a sixth man turned himself in for adopting "takfiri" ideology (labelling other Muslims as infidels), the Interior Ministry announced yesterday.

Saleh informs Sultan of Al-Qaeda plots uncovered in Yemen
Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh has briefed Crown Prince Sultan, deputy premier and minister of defence and aviation, on terrorist plots against Saudi Arabia uncovered after police raided an Al-Qaeda hideout in southeastern Yemen, official media reported yesterday.

Business

Gulf stocks recover as investors eye valuations
Gulf Arab stock markets recovered yesterday as investors judged shares to be cheap relative to earnings expectations following a selloff triggered by foreign institutions this month.

Pakistan rupee at all-time low 
The Pakistan rupee weakened to a record low against the dollar yesterday, the third consecutive day it has hit an all-time low, adding pressure on the central bank to take emergency action to halt the currency’s dive.

TEHRAN TIMES

Front Page

President enlists MPs for plan to reform economy
President Mahmud Ahmadinejad has called for full cooperation between the Majlis and the administration in implementation of the economic reform plan.

Cambridge book collection on art is exclusive: Iranian scholar
“The Cambridge Introduction to the History of Art” narrates the Western European version of art history and not even the Western one, translator Mehdi Sahabi commented on the book during a review session.

Business

ITRC to host 4th IST symposium
Iran Telecommunication Research Center (ITRC) is to inaugurate the 4th international symposium on Telecommunications (IST) on 27th August in Tehran.

Iran, Kenya keen on trade expansion
Iran has sent a ranking delegation of officials and business leaders to Kenya to discuss ways to expand economic and trade cooperation.

ALJAZEERA

Front Page

Georgia gets aid as US talks tough
The US military has begun delivering aid to Georgia as Washington stepped up support for the Georgian government over its conflict with Russia.

Bomb blast rocks north Lebanon
A bomb explosion in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli has killed at least 18 people, including nine soldiers.

Business

US central bank auctions funds
The Federal Reserve, the US central bank, has auctioned $25bn (€16.7bn) of loans to US banks in the latest bid to improve poor credit conditions in the US.

Charges filed in US card scam
Eleven people, including a US secret service informant, have been charged in connection with the theft and sale of more than 41m credit card numbers by way of hacking into nine major shopping retailers in the US, the justice department said.

THE DAILY STAR

Front Page

Syria and Lebanon agree to establish diplomatic ties, exchange envoys
Syria and Lebanon have agreed to start diplomatic ties and exchange ambassadors for the first time since independence about 60 years ago, a Syrian presidential adviser said on Wednesday.

International community pledges support to Lebanon in face of terrorist attack
UN's chief Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday condemned the bombing targeted at the Lebanese army which killed at least nine soldiers and five civilians in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli.

Business

Bassil vows to cut cellular rates before privatizing Lebanese telecom sector
Telecommunication Minister Jebran Bassil pledged on Wednesday to reduce the cellular rates before the privatization of the telecom sector.

MEA secures new aircraft with loan from Lebanese bank
The Lebanese Canadian Bank on Tuesday granted the Middle East Airlines (MEA) a loan of $65m (€43.5m) to buy a new Airbus plane as part of the company's plan to expand its fleet.

GULF DAILY NEWS

Front Page

Prices war stepped up
The Premier yesterday vowed to step up Bahrain's fight against price rises. "The government is continuing its efforts and plans aimed at combating inflation and its impact, particularly on basic food items and construction materials," Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa said.

Food spoiled by hold-ups
Market traders have entered the row over delays on the King Fahad Causeway, saying huge tailbacks mean food is often spoiled by the time it arrives in Bahrain. They are also complaining about a massive increase in the cost of hiring trucks, which has reportedly doubled in the past year.

Business

New building materials company plan reviewed 
Plans to establish a national company for construction materials came under the spotlight yesterday. Industry and Commerce Minister Dr Hassan Fakhro reviewed the project with Works Minister and in charge of Electricity and Water Authority Fahmi Al Jowder.

Aldar and Cebarco to launch company 
Aldar Properties yesterday announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Cebarco Bahrain to pave the way for the formation of a joint venture company to undertake a wide variety of construction projects in the region.

By: Staff Reporter
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