MOSCOW: State-run Kuwait Petroleum International may be interested in buying some of BP’s assets, the country’s oil minister told journalists in Moscow on Tuesday, after meeting with Russia’s Energy Minister. Sheikh Ahmad al-Abdullah al-Sabah said Kuwait was satisfied with its current BP investments, although Kuwait Petroleum would consider investing further if assets put up for …

CAIRO: Egypt mediated talks in Cairo Monday between the Sudanese ruling National Congress Party (NCP) and the southern Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) to discuss issues pertaining to the January referendum regarding the possible secession of the South. Under the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement between Khartoum and the South, the people of southern Sudan will …

Commercial International Bank led Egypt’s main index lower, ending eight sessions of gains, traders said. "The market saw some profit taking. Institutional investors offloaded positions in the financial and telecoms sectors in specific," said Mohamed Radwan of Pharos Securities. Commercial International Bank declined 3.2 percent, EFG-Hermes 0.5 percent, and Telecom Egypt 1.5 percent. Talaat Moustafa …

KUWAIT: BP Plc has asked Kuwait’s sovereign wealth fund to raise its share in the company to three percent, the Al-Anbaa newspaper reported on Monday. Quoting a Kuwait Investment Authority official it did not identify by name, the paper said BP’s outgoing chief executive, Tony Hayward, made the offer in a telephone call to the …

TEHRAN: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Monday that crude oil prices were too low due to efforts by some countries to keep it down to help economic recovery, the semi-official Fars news agency reported. "Oil has not found its (real) economic status, and its price, under the influence of some countries, is always unrealistic …

BAGHDAD: Two Iranian banks seeking to open branches in Iraq are unlikely to get government approval due to economic sanctions imposed on Tehran in a row over its nuclear program, an Iraqi central bank official said on Sunday. Last month, Iraq’s central bank said the OPEC member was in talks with six or seven foreign …

AMMAN: Jordan Phosphate Mines Co (JMPC), one of the world’s largest phosphate suppliers, posted a 48.5 percent drop in first-half net profit to 34.6 million dinars ($48 million), the firm said on Sunday. JMPC also reported second-quarter net profit fell to 24.6 million dinars, down 32 percent from the same period a year ago.  

DUBAI: The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) has agreed to join Morgan Stanley and private equity group 3i in a bid for the high-speed railway linking London with the Channel Tunnel, Abu Dhabi’s National newspaper said. State-owned ADIA, considered the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund, is in the "very early stages" regarding its involvement in …

TEHRAN: Iranian natural gas began flowing to Turkey again on Saturday after a damaged pipeline linking the two countries was repaired, the Iranian oil ministry news website SHANA reported. "Officially the reason for the cut in gas transfer was said to be due to technical difficulties, but naturally everyone knows about the explosion at the …

CAIRO: In a demonstration by Doctors Without Rights at the Doctors’ Syndicate Sunday, 40 demonstrators protested against new rules that would put an end to university-funded postgraduate studies. Dr Mona Mina, spokesperson of the group, and Dr Nagah Abdel Rehim explained that they only found out “by accident” about the formation of a new accreditation …

DUBAI: Sharjah is moving to strengthen the foundations needed for industrial expansion, building on existing infrastructure and working to attract further investment to its manufacturing sector, both at the direct production level and for supporting services. Industry is one of the mainstays of the emirate’s economy and that of the wider UAE, with Sharjah contributing …

CAIRO: Egypt’s language skills and good working relationships between government, business and academia make it a strategic choice for growth, an IBM executive in charge of Egyptian business process operations (BPO) said. Egypt is eager to develop its IT and related sectors with a view to bringing in $10 billion a year from offshoring by …

BEIRUT: The discovery of large natural gas reserves under the waters of the eastern Mediterranean could potentially mean a huge economic windfall for Israel and Lebanon, both resource-poor nations — if it doesn’t spark new war between them. The Hezbollah group has blared warnings that Israel plans to steal natural gas from Lebanese territory and …

BRUSSELS: The European Union hammered Iran on Monday with fresh sanctions against its vital energy sector as Brussels cranked up pressure on Tehran to resume talks on its disputed nuclear program. Foreign ministers formally adopted punitive measures which were approved last month by EU leaders, going beyond a fourth set of UN sanctions imposed over …

The volume of foreign investments in oil and gas exploration in Egypt hit $16.2 billion in the last fiscal year, the petroleum minister said, according to the Global Arab Network. Minister of Petroleum Sameh Fahmy said 22 agreements were signed during the two years of global financial crisis with international companies working in the field …

The rubbery resonant sound of the “talking drum” can sometimes be distinguished over the percussion while Nigerian band Liberty Jazz performs at the River Hall at Sawy Culture Wheel on Friday. Closely imitating the intonations of spoken language, talking drums were once used to convey messages over distances. According to the Yoruba belief system in …

Arab Cotton Ginning of Egypt is “in talks” to acquire companies specializing in weaving, shirt-making, dyeing and bed linen, Chairman Hani Olama said. “Already we have targets in Egypt and abroad,” Olama told Bloomberg in an interview. Arab Cotton Ginning, which was privatized in 1996, plans to grow its business in Egypt and abroad to …

DUBAI: The United Arab Emirates central bank governor dismissed on Tuesday reports that Iran may seek payment in dirhams for its oil exports to Europe to get around sanctions, saying the UAE had no time for jokes. An Iranian official said on Sunday Tehran was discussing internally the idea of switching to dirhams from euros …

DAMASCUS: Syria has forbidden the country’s students and teachers from wearing the niqab — the full Islamic veil that reveals only a woman’s eyes — taking aim at a garment many see as political. The ban shows a rare point of agreement between Syria’s secular, authoritarian government and the democracies of Europe: Both view the …

  Oriental Weavers has added four new production lines to its plants in the domestic market, Al-Borsa reported citing Haitham Abdel Menem, investor relations manager of Oriental Weavers.   The company has completed selling this month production lines of Belgium weaving plant and tested the first two production lines in order to start the actual …

RIYADH: Saudi chemicals company SABIC said excess stocks should be less of a problem and prices were stabilizing in the second half as its shares fell on quarterly results that showed weak prices hurting profits. At news conference on Monday after Sunday’s results undershot analysts’ forecasts, Saudi Basic Industries Corp also said it had no …

BEIRUT: On a typical night out in Beirut, glitzy nightclubs thrum with revelers, tourists pack breezy seaside restaurants and the lights from brand-new, million-dollar skyscrapers dot the horizon. But beneath Lebanon’s gleaming exterior lies a creaky, third-world infrastructure that is preventing the country from fully emerging from its war-torn past. With the summer heat bearing …

BAGHDAD: US oil major Occidental Petroleum Corp and Indonesian state oil firm Pertamina have shown an interest in taking a stake in Sonangol’s two Iraqi oilfield development projects, a company official said Sunday. "Our proposal will be for Sonangol to have a percentage of 45 percent … in Najmah and Qayara," Sonangol executive J. da …

CAIRO: Germany, Egypt’s third largest bilateral donor, is looking to increase private sector cooperation in the country’s development policy toward Egypt, an official said. Dirk Niebel, Germany’s minister for economic cooperation and development, called the new approach “a paradigm shift” in the country’s development policy. A meeting Wednesday hosted by the German-Arab Chamber of Industry …

F or Scott Marcus, the idea of a trip to Egypt in the early 80s did not only stem from a desire to stand in awe at the Giza Pyramids; it was his thirst for world music, and Middle Eastern melodies in specific that propelled his journey, and the many that followed. He quenched his thirst …

Roman Polanski may once again be seen on the red carpet at Cannes — but he won’t be attending the Venice Film Festival or the Oscars anytime soon. Freed from Swiss house arrest after the government refused to deport him to the United States, the 76-year-old movie director still faces an Interpol warrant in effect …

LONDON: By coincidence, this is a busy year for round-number anniversaries for France’s greatest leader since Napoleon. Charles de Gaulle was born 120 years ago in Lille. He died 40 years ago at his home in Colombey-les-deux-Églises, expiring of a heart attack as he played solitaire one evening. Seventy years ago, he delivered his celebrated …

CAIRO: A meeting between Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Cairo has been postponed by a day until Wednesday, a presidential source said. Netanyahu had been due to head to Egypt on Tuesday to discuss with Mubarak Israel’s "intention to move to direct negotiations with the Palestinians." "The meeting has …

BAGHDAD: Iraqi politicians on Monday extended an inaugural parliamentary session by two weeks to give rival blocs more time to form a government, more than four months after an inconclusive poll. "The leaders of the political parties met today but they did not find a solution so they decided to extend the session by two …