CAIRO: Egypt’s central bank kept its key overnight interest rates unchanged on Thursday, its fifth pause since it stopped lowering rates in September, the central bank said on its website. The overnight lending rate was left at 9.75 percent and the deposit rate stayed at 8.25 percent, the website said. The discount rate was also …

CAIRO: Egypt’s Raya Technology and Communication will pay a cash dividend of 0.25 Egyptian pounds per share, the stock exchange said on Thursday, up from LE 0.21 the year before. The dividend will be paid on May 23 to investors holding the shares on May 18, the bourse said. Shares in Raya were trading up …

UNITED NATIONS: Egypt said there is an urgent need to create a nuclear weapon-free zone in the Middle East and five world powers gave the idea qualified backing at a UN conference here Wednesday. "The need is doubled today for the effective and comprehensive implementation of the 1995 (NPT) resolution on the Middle East," Egyptian …

Manama, BAHRAIN: The Bahraini parliament has adopted an amendment forbidding the kingdom’s Muslims from consuming or importing alcohol. Bahrain is a popular holiday destination or weekend getaway spot for Saudi Arabian youth unable to drink in their own country. The move, taken by the all-appointed Upper House of Bahrain’s parliament, will all but end such …

TEHRAN: Iran is willing to address accusations of rights violations and host UN human rights chief Navi Pillay and experts, a senior official was was quoted as saying on Wednesday. Human rights chief Mohammad Javad Larijani made the comments as Iran faces mounting international pressure over its controversial nuclear program and risks further sanctions. Iran …

ATHENS: Three people died when an Athens bank went up in flames Wednesday as tens of thousands of Greeks took to the streets to protest harsh spending cuts aimed at saving the country from bankruptcy. Tear gas drifted across the city’s center as hundreds of rioters hurled paving stones and Molotov cocktails at police, who …

GAZA CITY: Palestinian medical officials say two smuggling tunnels under the Gaza-Egypt border have collapsed, killing two Gaza workers. Medics say the bodies arrived at the local hospital late Tuesday and early Wednesday. Hundreds of Gazans work in a vast network of tunnels under the Gaza-Egypt border. The tunnels provide Gaza’s 1.5 million Palestinian residents …

DUBAI: Dubai’s second airport, designed to be the world’s largest when completed, will open in June for cargo only, with plans to receive passengers in spring next year, Dubai Airports chief said Tuesday. "Dubai will no longer be a single airport city," chief executive officer, Paul Griffiths, told a press conference on the sidelines of …

DUBAI: Qatar Airways increased its order for Boeing’s new 787 Dreamliner to six from two and expects to take delivery by September next year, the carrier’s chief executive said on Tuesday. "At the moment, we will be receiving six 787s next year; initially it was two," Akbar al-Baker told reporters at a travel and tourism …

DUBAI: Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) on Tuesday said that for the first time it assigned a rating to a sharia fund, in a bid to boost transparency in an industry that has come under fire after some recent defaults. S&P said it assigned a "AAf/S1+" fund credit and volatility rating to a Luxembourg-based, …

LONDON: US crude oil fell more than $1 to below $85 per barrel on Tuesday, retreating from 19-month highs ahead of an expected rise in US crude and fuel stocks and as the dollar strengthened. Data published later on Tuesday is likely to show US crude inventories rose last week as a discount for prompt …

BAGHDAD: Iraq has announced the arrest of a network it says was behind the April bombings of foreign embassies that killed 46 people. Military operations spokesman Maj. Gen. Qassim Al-Moussawi says the key to the arrests was the capture of one would-be bomber involved in the April 4 attacks. Three suicide bombers struck the German, …

CAIRO: A draft law concerning the rights of people with disabilities is slated for discussion during the upcoming Cabinet meeting this month before submitting it to the People’s Assembly and the Shoura Council for final approval. "We are trying to reach the international standards for the rights of disabled people," said Moushira Khattab, Minister of …

Orascom Telecom has a week to disclose further detail on the Mobinil deal reached with co-owner France Telecom, Egypt’s market regulator said on Monday. The Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority said it wanted to know how the companies calculated a $300 million settlement fee being paid to Orasocm and an Orascom put option price. EFSA also …

TEHRAN: Iran is investing more than $5 billion in nine major petrochemical projects which will be completed during the 2010-11 year, a senior official said in remarks published on Monday. Abdolhossein Bayat, head of the National Petrochemical Company (NPC), said the facilities would boost output capacity by 10.5 million tons and create 3,000 new jobs, …

DUBAI: Dubai World’s restructuring plan is "very fair" and could be signed by lenders in coming weeks, a senior executive at one of its major bank creditors said on Monday. Simon Cooper, head of HSBC’s Middle East operations, made the remarks on the sidelines of an HSBC trade survey launch. "The proposal is very fair …

TEHRAN: A senior Iranian oil official denied on Monday that the Islamic Republic’s crude sales to China and Japan had declined during the first few months of 2010, the ISNA news agency reported on Monday. "There is no change in our crude sale to these countries," said Deputy Iranian Oil Minister Hossein Noghrehkar-Shirazi. In March, …

CAIRO: To identify and write about a problem and for 40 years watch as it deteriorates while the warning messages are ignored is a frustration economist Galal Amin is all too familiar with. He calls his 40-year-long writings on Egypt’s identity crisis as the nation grappled with a growing ‘foreign complex’ a Greek tragedy — …

CAIRO: With the opening of Next Move last week, Al Futtaim introduced two new phases of Cairo Festival City: Festival Living and the Business District. Stretching over 3 million square meters in New Cairo, Cairo Festival City is a mixed use development offering a healthy combination of residential, retail and business real estate. Festival Living …

Egypt’s Alexandria Cement received the go-ahead for a LE 2.45 billion ($442.1 million) rights issue scheduled to begin May 19, the stock exchange said on Wednesday. The transaction will pave the way for Alexandria Cement’s main shareholder, Greek cement maker Titan, to sell a 16 percent stake in Alexandria to the International Finance Corporation (IFC) …

When Crowell & Moring looked into embarking on its largest international initiative in a decade, the law firm decided it was prime time to foray into the Middle East, and in doing so, chose Egypt as its hub. “We have committed more resources to opening this office and to our presence in the Middle East …

CAIRO: The Supreme State Security Emergency Court on Wednesday found guilty 26 defendants accused of belonging to a Hezbollah cell in Egypt. The 22 defendants in custody were handed down sentences ranging from six months to 15 years. Out of the four being tried in absentia, three received life sentences, including Hezbollah commander Mohamed Qublan, …

An Indian actress won a legal battle over comments she made about pre-marital sex when the Supreme Court Wednesday threw out 22 cases lodged against her by outraged members of the public. Khushboo, a 39-year-old Tamil actress who uses only one name, appealed to the court to quash the criminal cases that were filed in …

KUWAIT: Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have boosted output capacity from their shared Neutral Zone to 610,000 barrels per day from around 550,000 bpd, a Kuwait oil official said on Tuesday. But the two OPEC producers have drawn back from long-term plans plans to further boost capacity to 700,000 to 900,000 barrels per day (bpd) by …

WASHINGTON, DC: The Washington Post reported last week that the Obama administration is considering abandoning its support for indirect Israeli-Palestinian negotiations in favor of direct negotiations based on a plan the United States would lay on the table. It’s a great idea. Indirect negotiations are a good device for achieving nothing. They would also constitute …

CAIRO: As a legal dispute between Zamalek and the Egyptian FA looms because of the controversial status of Mohamed Nagi ‘Gedo’, the Ittihad forward tried to ease the tension by releasing some soothing statements. Gedo, the Nations Cup’s top scorer, has been embroiled in controversy since penning a deal to join Zamalek next term, right …

Cairo-Amman Bank’s first quarter net profits rose by 35.6 percent to 7 million dinars ($9.8 million) mainly boosted by strong retail business and prime corporate lending, its chairman said on Monday. "We are widening our customer base through diverse banking products in retail and lending to prime corporate customers with high financial solvency that ensures …

The Egyptian stock exchange has suspended trade on Orascom Telecom pending the firm’s planned Tuesday announcement of material information, three traders told Reuters on Monday. The Cairo-based firm told the exchange it would make its statement on Tuesday, without providing details. South Africa’s MTN Group has said it is in talks about a potential deal, …

CAIRO: An Egyptian NGO has condemned restrictions placed on Al-Jazeera news channel by the government. The Arab Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) said in a statement issued Sunday that the restrictions placed on Al-Jazeera amount to “a confiscation of the right of citizens to know and a violation of media freedom”. An Al-Jazeera television …

TEL AVIV: A member of Israel’s governing coalition has proposed a new that forbid the CEOs of Israeli public companies from earning 50 times more then the lowest paid worker in the same company. “There is a need curb these outrageous wages,” Prof. Chaim Fershtman of the Eitan Berglas School of Economics at Tel Aviv …