Corporate Communication Specialist Zahran Zahir Al Ruqeishi of the Muscat Electricity Distribution Company (MEDC) said, “The need (for rationing) is not just from the ‘saving money’ point of view, but also due to environmental factors.” Al Ruqeishi emphasized that consumers are for the most part unaware that the indiscriminate use of electricity leads to exorbitant…
Category Archives: Investment
Qatar Investment Firm Launching Mega IPO
A huge initial public offering will be presented in May for a multi-billion dollar investment company which was begun by Qatar at the beginning of 2013. Shares will be on offer to individuals, local companies and institutions. At the beginning of the century Qatar launched three giant primary issues for its own citizens, businesses and…
Aspect Software Appoints Sanjay Gupta to Lead Asian and Middle East Efforts
In order to strengthen its reach to Asia and the Middle East, Aspect Software appointed Sanjay Gupta as managing director for India, Middle East and SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation.) One of the world’s leading providers of customer contact and enterprise workforce optimization, Aspect would like to extend its reach more successfully into…
Middle East Economic Recovery Prompting Private Equity Firms to Sell Assets
Signs of economic recovery are in the air as several private equity firms in the Middle East prepare to leave a variety of investment vehicles in the coming weeks and months, according to executives in the industry. After the economic challenge of the Arab Spring, compounded by the international financial crisis, investors now feel the…
Dubai Ranked 25th for World’s Most Expensive Office Rentals
According to the international real estate services firm CB Richard Ellis, Dubai is among the world’s most expensive countries in which to rent office space, ranking 25th in the world. Overall occupancy costs average out to about $92.56 per square foot in the Gulf emirate. Abu Dhabi was also examined in the report, but found…
TRI Hospitality Survey Reveals Dubai Hotels Doing Well
TRI Hospitality Consulting conducted a HotStats survey which showed that UAE hotels had excellent improvement in performance in all the relevant indicators in January of 2012. The strong performance was partly attributed to increased tourism for the Dubai Shopping Festival. According to the survey Dubai hotels outperformed the other MENA markets by a wide margin….
Robots Coming to Abu Dhabi
According to the financial journal Arabian Business, a Barcelona-based company, PAL Robotics, has developed a human-size robot which is designed to replace non-skilled and low-skilled workers in factories and other places of employment. PAL Robotics, a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi-based conglomerate Royal Group, is dedicating its research and development department to the production and…
Iran Displays Sajjil Missile During Military Parade
The 31st anniversary of the commencement of the Iraq-Iran war was marked last week with a spectacular military parade complete with a display of Iran’s growing arsenal of short and medium range ballistic missiles. The solid-fuel Sajjil was brought back for another year, after its parading last year was such a success. The Sajjil missile…
Syria Cracks Down on Rebels Near Turkish Border
Violence has stepped up a notch or two in Syria as the government continues to crackdown harshly on anti-government protestors across the country. One hundred people or more have already died just this past week in the Syrian regime’s attempts to suppress rebels in the face of growing concern and criticism within the international community….
HSBC Planning Job Cuts in Six Middle Eastern Countries
Beginning of Major Lay-Off Plan The bank which calls itself “The World’s Local Bank,” HSBC, has decided to lay-off at least 200 employees in six countries in the Middle East. The job cut of 200 in the region is just the beginning of a major reduction in worldwide employees reaching as many as 30,000 cuts…
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Independent Middle East News
- Abbas Appoints New PA Prime Minister June 2, 2013by Mahmoud Abu Ghosh Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas summoned academic Rami Hamdallah to his Ramallah office on Sunday and appointed him to serve as the new PA prime minister. Hamdallah, president of An-Najah University in Nablus, will succeed former Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, who submitted his resignation in April. Fayyad had been a former e […]
- Report Takes Aim at Palestinian Prisons May 22, 2013by Mahmoud Abu Ghosh Eleven Palestinians have died in Fatah and Hamas detention centers during 2012, according to a report released Tuesday by the Palestinian Independent Commission For Human Rights (ICHR). Two of the Palestinians died in detention centers run by the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, while the nine others died in […]
- Salam Fayyad Resigns April 11, 2013by Mahmoud Abu Ghosh Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has reportedly tendered his resignation, after intense criticism against him within the Western-backed Palestinian Authority. It is not yet clear whether PA President Mahmoud Abbas will accept Fayyad’s resignation at this time, although the two have been at odds on several issues. PA offi […]
- Jordan & PA Coordinating Takeover of Jerusalem April 1, 2013by Eitam Abadi Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Palestinian Authority President Mahmud Abbas signed an agreement on Sunday confirming their “common goal to defending” Jerusalem and their opposition to efforts to “Judaize” Israel’s ancient capital city. PA Religious Affairs Minister Mahmoud al-Habash said the agreement confirmed Jordan’s role as protector of the […]
- Palestinian Sentenced to 6 Months for Facebook ‘Like’ March 30, 2013by Mahmoud Abu Ghosh A Palestinian man who clicked “Like” on a Facebook status criticizing a high ranking official of the Western-backed Palestinian Authority has been sentenced to six months in a PA prison facility. Anas Ismail, 29, of Salfit, near Nablus, was found guilty of “libel and slander.” Ismail said that the PA’s American-trained […]
- Abbas Appoints New PA Prime Minister June 2, 2013