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…
Category Archives: Regional
IMF Says MENA Will Need $160 Billion In Coming 2 Years
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) prepared a report for the G8 summit which was held at the end of last week in Deauville, France which stated that the oil-importing nations in the MENA region (Middle East and North Africa) will need a boost of at least $160 billion of external funding to get them through…
World Bank Takes Optimistic View towards Mideast Upheaval
Long Term Positive Prospects The World Bank released a report on Tuesday saying that despite the short-term downward movement of Middle Eastern and Northern African economies, in the long run the world can expect to see positive movement in that region. The report is the World Bank’s regional economic update for May 2011 for the…
Egypt to Borrow $4 Billion from Saudi Arabia
Tantawi Announces Loan from Saudi Allies Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi of Egypt told the official Egyptian press agency, MENA on Saturday that Saudi Arabia will lend Egypt emergency monies in the amount of $4 billion. Tantawi, who is the head of Egypt’s ruling military council said, “The $4bn will be distributed in the form…
European Bank Considering Expansion Into MENA
Despite the recent and ongoing turmoil in the Middle East and North Africa, the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is considering expanding their business into the area. Bank Seeks Expansion into Middle East At present the bank supports projects in Eastern Europe and the former states of the Soviet Union, but yesterday they…
Hamas Ends Salafist Protest in Gaza City
Salafists- Islamists who are more conservative than Hamas- staged a protest in the Hamas-led Gaza strip on Saturday carrying posters of Osama bin Laden and chanting “We warn you America, we warn you Europe!” Hamas Stops Salafist Demonstration Hamas broke up the gathering of dozens of Salafists who were denouncing the raid by US forces…
Reaction to bin Laden Slaying Mixed in Middle East
As the Middle East continues to deal with instability and changing political realities a new element has been added into the mixture, with unclear results. The news of the death of Osama bin Laden was met with a large variety of responses from Middle East observers; from shock and anger, to satisfaction and delight. Saudi…
Gulf State Markets Continue to Rise
Regardless of the news or violence and tension coming out of the greater Middle East region, trading on the Gulf State Arab markets seem to be doing just fine, if the new highs reached last week can be any indication. Saudi Arabia companies posted positive first quarter earnings pushing the markets up, while the petrochemical…
Iran Protests Presence of Saudi Troops in Bahrain
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mahmanparast voiced his country’s displeasure with the arrival of 1,000 Saudi troops on the soil of the island nation of Bahrain on Monday. “The presence of foreign forces and interference in Bahrain’s internal affairs is unacceptable and will further complicate the issue,” the foreign minister stated during his weekly news…
Arab Unrest Explodes in Iran
With the help of the internet and opposition websites such as Saham News and Kaleme, tens of thousands of protesters organized and marched down Revolution Boulevard towards Azadi Square in Teheran on Monday before they were violently dispersed by security forces that used batons and tear gas to do the job over most of the…
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Independent Middle East News
- GCC Forming Gulf Union May 14, 2012by Mahmoud Abu Ghosh At least three members of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have hinted they are likely to back a Saudi plan to transform the council into a Western-backed diplomatic and military union. The London-based Al Hayat daily cited a senior GCC source who said Qatar and possibly Kuwait could join Bahrain […]
- PLC Deputy Speaker Reveals Scope of PA Corruption May 12, 2012by Mahmoud Aby Ghosh Hasan Khreishah, deputy speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council, blasted the Western-backed Palestinian Authority on Saturday, holding it responsible for rampant corruption and human rights violations. He specifically blasted the Fatah-led PA for human rights abuses against Palestinian journalists. “Since the signing of the Oslo A […]
- Turkish Forces Kill 5 Kurds, Detain 28 May 9, 2012by Mahmoud Abu Ghosh Turkish forces killed five Kurdish rebels on Tuesday near the town of Tatvan in northern Kurdistan’s Bitlis province. The fighters killed were believed to be members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). Ankara also announced on Tuesday that Turkish forces have detained 28 people in simultaneous raids across six provinces, [... […]
- Kurds Ambush Turkish Troops, Kill 3 May 4, 2012by Mahmoud Abu Ghosh Turkish forces hunting Kurdish resistance fighters were ambushed by guerrillas from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) on Friday. Three soldiers were killed in the ambush, which took place in Turkish-occupied northern Kurdistan. The soldiers were killed when guerrillas opened fire on Turkish troops raiding suspected rebel hideouts in the […]
- PA Defends Internet Censorship April 30, 2012by Mahmoud Abu Ghosh The Western-backed Palestinian Authority on Sunday defended its decision to block websites that are critical of Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas, denying allegations it was violating freedom of expression. PA Attorney-General Ahmed al-Mughni claimed that the websites were blocked for breaking the law and following complaints from Palestinians. […]
- GCC Forming Gulf Union May 14, 2012