In Tuesday's Middle East papers

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

 

OMAN TRIBUNE

Front Page

Freed Palestinians get heroe’s welcome
Nearly 200 Palestinian prisoners who were released by Israel on Monday received a hero’s welcome in the Occupied West Bank.

Four killed, 70 injured in Kashmir violence
Four people were killed and over 70 others injured on Monday when security forces opened fire to quell violent protestors who defied curfew in the Kashmir valley. 

Business

Tender Board awards RO758m projects
Tender Board held its eighth meeting this year on Monday and awarded projects worth RO758,950,299.

Octal second plant to be ready by Oct.
Oman-based Octal Petrochemicals, which celebrated two years of its operations, announced on Monday that its second plant, built in 19 months, will start production of PET resins from October.

KHALEEJ TIMES

Front Page

Iraqis show video of teen girl in suicide vest
In video footage released by Iraqi police, a teenage girl with an explosives vest tightly strapped to her body is seen handcuffed to a metal grid, her head repeatedly falling forward as several policemen huddle around her.

No headway in peace talks with Israel: Syrian FM(AP)
Syria's foreign minister said Monday that no headway has been achieved in several rounds of indirect negotiations with Israel.

Business

TAQA may face share price weakness
Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA) is likely to face weakness in its share price in the short-term with the conversion of mandatory convertible bonds on September 1, says a research note by Al Mal Capital.

Kuwait bank may buy stake in UAE lender
Global Investment House, Kuwait's biggest investment bank, may buy 20% of National Bank of Umm Al Quiwain PSC as it expands into the UAE.

ARAB TIMES

Front Page

Visa trade said to total nearly $3bn early; end urged to sponsorship system 
A Kuwaiti rights group has called for the sponsor system to be abolished, calling it the main reason for the unjust treatment of foreign workers who staged noisy protests last month.

MP calls for probe into ‘immoral’ practices at some local hotels 
MP Dr Ali Al-Omair on Sunday called on the ministries of interior, commerce and industry to look into the alleged immoral practices in some hotels, which have negatively affected the Kuwaiti society.

Business

Kuwait begins $98.1m or third telecom KTC 
Kuwait opened on Sunday the $98.13m initial public offering of its third mobile telephone firm with experts expecting large demand as the sector still exhibited growth potential.

Kuwait real estate to level off in 2 yrs 
The real estate market in Kuwait is surveyed by Khalid Esbaitah, CEO, Al Mazaya Holding, in an exclusive interview with The Report: Kuwait 2008, the latest annual business guide published by Oxford Business Group (OBG), the highly acclaimed global publishing, research and consultancy firm.

ARAB NEWS

Front Page

King urges speedy solution to water crisis
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, who chaired the weekly meeting of the Council of Ministers at the Huwaiyyah Palace in Taif yesterday, affirmed the need for careful use of water and preservation of water resources.

Zain offers 50% lifetime discount to early customers
Zain, the leading mobile operator in 22 countries across the Middle East and Africa, is open for business in the Kingdom from today offering a package of 50% lifetime discount on the billing for the first 500,000 customers and one network system for 16 countries which will not have roaming charges for its subscribers.

Business

US home sales rise to five-month high
US sales of existing homes rose in July to a five-month high but the glut of unsold homes hit a record high, according to industry data yesterday that suggests the housing market remains in crisis.

Toyota hikes car prices for first time in 30 years
Toyota Motor said yesterday that it will raise the prices of some passenger cars in Japan for the first time in three decades in response to skyrocketing steel costs.

TEHRAN TIMES

Front Page

Iran strongly defends Iraq unity: Rafsanjani
Expediency Council Chairman Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani on Monday said Iran’s policy is to help establish unity among all Iraqi factions.

Tehran to commemorate Palestine’s Mahmoud Darwish
A commemoration ceremony of Mahmoud Darwish, whose poetry gave voice to Palestinians’ hopes and dreams, will be held here at the Palestine Museum of Contemporary Art (PMCA) on September 17.

Business

30 projects to go on-stream in Qeshm Island
The managing director of the Qeshm Free Zone Organization on Monday announced that 30 industrial, constructional, and service provision projects will go on-stream in the island concurrent with the Government Week (Aug. 23-30).

Imports down 16.73% in four months
The chairman of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administrations here on Monday announced that Iran’s imports in first four months of current Iranian year (started March 20) saw a 16.73% drop in terms of weight, when compared to the figure of same period of last year.

ALJAZEERA

Front Page

Democrats get convention under way 
The US Democratic party has opened its convention to formally nominate Barack Obama as their candidate for November's presidential election.

US warns Russia on Georgian states 
The US president has warned Russia not to recognise Georgia's two breakaway provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

Business

S Korea officials warned off golf 
Lee Myung-bak, South Korea's president, has told his officials to stop playing golf, saying it sends the wrong message to people suffering the effects of the country's economic downturn.

US woes rattle Asian stock markets 
Asian stocks have fallen to a two-year low, due mainly to fears the US government will have to bail out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, two troubled US mortgage giants.

THE DAILY STAR

Front Page

Siniora says all parties committed to adopting electoral law inked in Doha
Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said on Monday that all Lebanese parties were committed to implementing what was agreed on in Doha last May regarding the drafting of a new electoral law for next year's parliamentary elections. "All parties are committed to implementing the Doha Agreement in this regard

Jumblatt says Israel is serious threat to United Nations Resolution 1701
Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) leader Walid Jumblatt spoke on Monday of Israel's inability to learn from its military defeat in Lebanon during the summer 2006 war, saying the Jewish state posed a serious threat to UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1701.

Business

Profit-taking drives down Beirut Stock Exchange
Activity on the Beirut Stock Exchange was driven by the adverse information relating to the EFG Hermes and Bank Audi merger news. This in line triggered a wave of heavy selling on the part of investors that rushed to limit their financial portfolio losses by profit taking on their Solidere stocks.

Lebanon inflation rises by 7.2% in first 7 months
The Central Administration of Statistics' Consumer Price Index indicates that inflation rose by nearly 7.2% in the first seven months of 2008, as reported by Lebanon This Week, the economic publication of the Byblos Bank Group.

GULF DAILY NEWS

Front Page

Hormuz Strait a lifeline agrees Premier 
The Premier yesterday backed GDN and Akhbar Al Khaleej reports on dangers facing the region if the Strait of Hormuz is closed.

Ramadan 'time to purify oneself' 
A ban on all alcohol sales in Bahrain's hotels and restaurants will be imposed for the fourth year running this Ramadan, tourism officials said yesterday.

Business

BMI milestone 
Bahrain-based BMI Bank yesterday opened its fifth full-service branch in the Kingdom.

IMF cuts economic growth forecasts 
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has trimmed its world economic growth forecasts for this year and next, largely due to a marked worsening in the outlook for the euro zone, a Group of 20 (G20) finance official said yesterday.

 

By: Staff Reporter
+44 20 8652 3214

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