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…
Category Archives: Regional
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…
Putting on the Ritz in Abu Dhabi
Those visiting Abu Dhabi will soon be able to do so in even more style. That’s because they are projecting to have the First Ritz-Carlton finished in the area by the end of 2011. Abu Dhabi National Hotels is spearheading the work, with CEO Richard Riley. Pushing for an Opening As Riley told Hotelier Middle…
Current Investment Climate in Arab Countries
According to the Arab Institute for Investment Guarantee and Credit Export 2010 report, 18 Arab states acquiesced approximately $64.3bn worth of investments compared to $83.9bn the year before. In addition, it was confirmed in the report that the foreign direct investment flows the Arab countries received went down by $19.7bn. According to a news report…
Sales Soar in Middle East for General Motors
The giant car manufacturer General Motors posted a rise of 22% in sales during the first half of the fiscal year, throughout the Middle East, in comparison to the same time-frame last year. Total car sales were reported to be 67,624 for the region. GM Sales Soaring Sales are recorded at the dealer outlets which…
Incomes Increase for Businessmen in the Middle East, Study Shows
A new survey conducted by Mercer shows that executives throughout the Middle East have voted themselves pay raises on the order of 5.7% on average. Managers Do the Best The data also points out those employees on the managerial level have also benefited from pay increases to an even larger extent then the executives, reflecting…
Israel Clashes with Protesters on Syrian Border
Despite several warnings from Israeli troops to stay away from the border, hundreds of pro-Palestinian demonstrators stormed the fence on Sunday until Israeli troops fired across the Syrian frontier, scattering the crowd in a panic. Syrian television is reporting at least four dead, including a 12-year-old boy, and 15 wounded, with the number of dead…
Skype Rebellion Met with High-Tech Listening
Skype was the method of choice for secure communications among anti-government organizers in Egypt during this past winter’s uprising, believing that Skype “cannot be penetrated online by any security device.” Government Listening However it turns out the protestors’ feelings of privacy were misplaced and Egypt’s security service was indeed listening in on their Skype conversations….
UBS AG Hires Momdijan to Be Investment Banker for High Net-Worth Clients
The influential Swiss Bank UBS AG announced on Monday that the former banker of Crédit Agricole, the corporate and investment bank, Albert Momdijan is slated to take charge of UBS’s business with the mega-wealthy clients of the Middle East and Africa as of August 1st. Financial Advisor to the Mega Wealthy Momdijan was the…
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Independent Middle East News
- Ankara Fears Increased Kurdish Resistance February 18, 2012by Mahmoud Abu Ghosh According to an intelligence report released Friday, Turkey’s military fears Kurdish resistance will increase in 2012, following months of the Turkish Arned Forces (TSK) brutally suppressing Kurdish rebels and their supporters. According to the report, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) announced it will start conducting raids from the a […]
- Kurds Mark 13 Years Since Öcalan’s Capture February 16, 2012by Mahmoud Abu Ghosh People throughout Turkish-occupied northern Kurdistan marked 13 years since the imprisonment of Abdullah Öcalan, founding leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). The anniversary was observed Wednesday with protests and business closures. Some PKK sympathizers in the Kurdish city of Hakkari were also reported to have thrown […]
- Turkish Jets Pound Kurdish Region February 12, 2012by Mahmoud Abu Ghosh Turkish warplanes have bombed several targets in the semi-autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq, Ankara’s military revealed Sunday.In the second cross-border airstrike in just over a week, the jets hit caves and other suspected rebel shelters in the Zap and Hakurk regions in an operation that began late Saturday, an army […]
- Turkey Kills 13 Kurds in Overnight Clashes February 9, 2012by Mahmoud Abu Ghosh Turkish forces killed 13 Kurdish rebels in occupied northern Kurdistan overnight, marking an escalation in violence at a time when winter weather generally limits clashes. Resistance fighters from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) attacked some 10 different Turkish military targets at roughly 2:30am in Hakkari province, Turkish sources […]
- Egypt Defies US Demands February 8, 2012by Naama Ben-Yaakov Cairo announced Wednesday that it would not be swayed by American threats to cut off the aid Egypt receives from the United States when investigating foreign-funded organizations promoting Western interests, a case that has prompted Washington to warn that US military support worth an annual $1.3 billion may be in jeopardy. The US wants [ […]
- Ankara Fears Increased Kurdish Resistance February 18, 2012