In Monday's Middle East papers

09 February 2009 05:00  [Source: ICIS news]

OMAN TRIBUNE

Front page

Hamas-Israel deal in few days
Egypt is hopeful that a Gaza truce accord between Israel and Hamas can be reached in the next few days, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki said on Sunday.

Khatami to run for Iran presidency
Iran’s reformist ex-president Mohammed Khatami on Sunday announced he will stand in June presidential elections in a challenge that could see the ouster of Mahmoud Ahma-dinejad’s government.

Business

Turkish-Oman Business Council meeting today
The third meeting of the Turkish-Oman Business Council will be held at the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OCCI) premises on Monday.

UBS expects record $17.2bn loss
Switzerland’s largest bank, UBS, is expected to announce the biggest loss ($17.2bn) in the country’s history on Tuesday when it releases its results for 2008, a year that saw the national icon tarnished by the subprime crisis.

KHALEEJ TIMES

Front page

Obama faces tough week; stimulus, bailout on tap
President Barack Obama plunges into a difficult test of his leadership this week, struggling to get a divided Congress to agree on his economic recovery package while pitching a new plan to ease loans to consumers and businesses.

Australian bushfires kill 108, dozens more missing
Australia’s deadliest bushfire crisis eased on Monday, but the death toll kept rising with at least 108 people killed as families searched for scores of missing in the twisted, charred ruins.

Business

UAE faces no systemic risks: IMF
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Sunday ruled out any systemic risk to the UAE, but said the country needed to use its policy responses to the current financial turmoil more forcefully before the end of the year.

Dubai growth seen under 2.5% in 2009
Dubai expects its economy to expand by just under 2.5% this year as real estate, construction and exports come under pressure, the Gulf emirate’s chief economist said on Sunday.

ARAB TIMES

Front page

Otaibi calls to remove unnecessary traffic lights
MP Ahmad Al-Mulaifi has underscored the need to amend law number 61/1960 on begging and hiring others for the same purpose and impose harsher punishment on anyone proven to have violated the law, reports Al-Rai daily.

Approval of new ‘labour law’ step in right direction: Experts
A number of labour leaders and unionists in the country said the National Assembly’s approval of the new Labour Law is a step in the right direction, reports Al-Rai daily.

Business

GCC in stronger position to weather downturn
The economic and financial environment for the GCC’s economies changed dramatically in 2008.

Food sector week’s top gainer on Kuwaiti bourse
The previous week trades were a continuation to the activity of Kuwait Stock Exchange in the last week of January, as the market’s main indices carried on compensating their previously incurred losses, despite the apparent volatility throughout the week’s trading sessions.

ARAB NEWS

Front page

We have been proved right: Al-Jasser
The prudent and cautious regulatory stewardship of the Saudi financial and banking sector over the last few years has been vindicated as Saudi-based financial institutions have been much less affected by the fallout of the credit crunch and the impact of the global financial turmoil.

SR7.5bn women’s campus for KSU
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah launched eight new educational and welfare projects worth more than SR14bn at King Saud University (KSU), including a 7.5-bn-riyal campus for women, a SR1.8-bn medical city and a SR1.2-bn housing project.

Business

Green shoots of Sukuk market
Judging from activity in the global Sukuk market over the last few weeks, we are probably witnessing the green shoots of a revival as opposed to a full-grown mushrooming of the Islamic capital market.

Economic cities to spur Kingdom’s growth
The Kingdom’s economic cities, still in the pipeline, would contribute $150bn to the country’s GDP (gross domestic product) in addition to creating 1.3m new jobs by the year 2020, a recent study said.

TEHRAN TIMES

Front page

Islamic Revolution changed world’s political and power structure
The Supreme Leader said on Saturday that the Islamic Revolution changed the political and power landscape in the world.

Iran announces winners of International Book of the Year Awards
Winners of this year’s edition of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s International Book of the Year Awards were announced in a ceremony named "Iranian Night" held on Friday evening.

Business

Senate set to vote next week on stimulus after accord on cuts
The US Senate is slated to vote early next week on an economic stimulus package totalling at least $780bn that President Barack Obama said is needed to prevent the economy from sinking into a deeper recession.

17,000 units running in Iran’s industrial parks
The deputy industries and mines minister announced here on Saturday that more than 17,000 units are active in the country’s industrial parks.

ALJAZEERA

Front page

Australia PM: Fires are mass murder
Australia's prime minister has called the country's deadliest bushfires, believed to be the result of arson, "mass murder".

US: Afghan task tougher than Iraq
The US president's special representative to Afghanistan has said that bringing stability to the war-torn country will be "much tougher" than in Iraq.

Business

Toyota gives $5bn loss warning
Japan's Toyota Motor Corp, the world's biggest car manufacturer, has said that it faces an operating loss of almost $5bn for the fiscal year to March.

US senate vote on stimulus stalls
The US senate has failed to vote on Barack Obama's $900bn economic stimulus plan despite the president's call to move quickly to avoid a "catastrophe" as unemployment figures rose to the highest levels since 1982.

THE DAILY STAR

Front page

Sfeir draws fire for wading into electoral waters
Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir was the target of criticism by 8 March media and politicians over the weekend following remarks to Al-Massira magazine in which he warned against "historic mistakes" if the 8 March Forces win the majority of seats in the upcoming parliamentary elections.

Israeli daily fleshes out anatomy of Mughniyeh assassination
Hizbullah military commander Imad Mughniyeh was assassinated by Israeli Mossad agents supplied with information gathered by American CIA officials in Iraq, according to a report published in an Israeli newspaper.

Business

Healthy postings not enough to keep Beirut stocks in the black
Activity on the Beirut Stock Exchange received a boost this week as Lebanese banks' posting of their healthy financials revived a sense of optimism.

Global crisis affects Lebanese GDP growth forecasts
A senior International Monetary Fund (IMF) official said on Friday that the projection for Lebanon's GDP growth in 2009 will be revised to less than 5% due to the unfavourable market conditions.

GULF DAILY NEWS

Front page

Premier acts on budget
MPs are expected to postpone their vote on the national budget for two weeks, based on a written request from the Cabinet.

Internet cafes hit by clamp
Some of Bahrain's Internet cafes claim business has been hit by government censorship.

Business

Insurance firms urged to adopt new strategies
Insurance companies need to tailor their business strategies to suit the market changes.

Business boost
The arrival of the highest capacity container vessel in the world at Jebel Ali port in the UAE is a big boost for Bahrain.

By: Staff Reporter
+44 20 8652 3214

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