LONDON: Oil prices fell to near $75 a barrel on Friday after gaining about 5 percent this week as investors weighed prospects that the European debt crisis could slow fuel demand growth even in emerging markets such as China. News that the world’s no. 2 oil consumer China saw overall exports surge 48.5 percent last …

COLUMBUS, OHIO: In a better world, my nieces and nephews in Equatorial Guinea would respect our country’s president for overseeing the careful management of revenues pouring in from oil, and for using these funds for development. In a better world, my nieces and nephews would honor the United Nations’ main cultural institution, UNESCO, for insisting …

CAIRO: Index heavyweight Orascom Telecom, dragging Egypt’s index down, lost 6 percent after talks on the sale of its assets to South Africa’s MTN Group ended without a deal. It was Orascom’s biggest single-day drop since May 25. "Orascom Telecom led the market lower today after talks with MTN failed," said Alia Khalil of Naeem …

JOHANNESBURG/CAIRO: South Africa’s MTN Group said it ended talks with Egypt’s Orascom Telecom about a potential acquisition, sinking a deal that could have created the world’s third-largest mobile operator. Africa’s top mobile phone service provider and Orascom began talks in late April but were opposed by Algeria’s government, which wants to buy Orascom’s unit in …

BAQUBA: A suicide bomber on a motorcycle targeting a US military convoy in central Iraq killed two civilians and wounded five other people on Wednesday, a security official said. The attack, which occurred at around 12:00 pm (0900 GMT) in the town of Al-Muqdadiyah, 90 kilometers (55 miles) north of Baghdad in Diyala province, also …

JOHANNESBURG: A second round at the first World Cup in Africa without a team from the continent is too ghastly a thought to contemplate. But an unkind draw followed by a series of unexpected blows raise the possibility of all six challengers biting the dust after the mini-league opening phase in South Africa. Apart from …

CAIRO: Egypt scored the highest rate of increase worldwide in the level of consumer confidence for the first quarter of 2010. Consumer confidence rose 24 points to reach 95, compared to a global average of 92 points, according to the Nielsen Global Consumer Confidence Index, which was released June 7. Hany Mwafy, managing director North …

  CAIRO: Orascom Construction Industries (OCI), Egypt’s biggest listed builder, signed an MOU with India’s HCC Infrastructure Limited (HIL) to form a partnership to pursue infrastructure projects in India.   OCI and HIL, which is wholly owned by Hindustan Construction Company, will pursue public-private partnerships and build-operate-transfer projects tendered by the National Highways Authority of …

  Officials at the Ministry of Electricity and Energy renewed talks with Al Kharafi Group to establish a power plant worth $1 billion to produce 750 MW, reported Al-Mal newspaper.  Talks over the location of the new plant are nearly finalized. Discussions also included the sale price per KW from the new plant to the …

KAMPALA: Uganda’s decision to not invite Sudan’s indicted leader Omar El-Beshir to a summit in Kampala proves the International Criminal Court is gaining strength in Africa, Human Rights Watch said Sunday. "This is a welcome statement from the president of Uganda," Richard Dicker, international justice director at the New York-based group, told AFP. "The trend …

CAIRO: A newly-amended EU-Egypt Association Agreement seeks to further liberalize bilateral trade in agricultural, processed agricultural products and fish and fishery products. The agreement, which entered into force June 1, is a step towards canceling tariffs applied to these products. “Free trade becomes the dominant rule,” Christophe Besse, trade counselor at the Delegation of the …

CAIRO: Egyptian mobile group Orascom Telecom said on Tuesday the Algerian government had agreed to start talks for the sale of Orascom’s Algerian unit Djezzy, its main cash earner. "We have received response they are willing to start negotiations. At this point, we are waiting for them to call us for the talks," Orascom spokeswoman …

Artist Louise Bourgeois, whose sculptures exploring women’s deepest feelings on birth, sexuality and death were highly influential on younger artists, died Monday, her studio’s managing director said. She was 98. Bourgeois had continued creating artwork — her latest pieces were finished just last week — before suffering a heart attack Saturday night, said the studio …

CAIRO: Egypt’s regulator will not allow Orascom Telecom (OT) to buy a stake in Vodafone’s Egypt unit if the deal gives OT management stakes in two competing firms, a telecoms official said on Sunday. In remarks published on Thursday, telecommunications firm Orascom’s Executive Chairman Naguib Sawiris had said his company would consider competing for a …

CAIRO: Ismaili defender Moatassem Salem insists on leaving the club at the end of the season, despite pressure from the fans urging him to stay. Salem announced his desire to move to Cairo for a personal reason concerning his son Mazen, as attempts from Ismaili fans to keep him didn’t seem successful. Banners from the …

NEW YORK: Egypt is competing for foreign investors’ stock listings at a time when risk tolerance is thin and turmoil in the global economy has reduced confidence that there will be a swift recovery. Despite investors’ aversion to risk, Egypt’s stock exchange plans to launch a new derivatives product during the second half of next …

GAZA CITY: Hamas-run police arrested and deported a high-ranking Egyptian officer who had snuck into the Gaza Strip, the interior minister said Monday, drawing a swift denial from Cairo. "The security services have arrested a high-ranking Egyptian officer who infiltrated the Gaza Strip to gather intelligence about the Palestinian people, the government and other matters," …

  CAIRO: On Saturday, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit received Iraq’s new ambassador to Egypt, Nizar Eissa Al Khairullah, the first appointed to Egypt after two decades of patchy diplomatic relations.   During the last 20 years, Iraqi-Egyptian diplomatic relations have been intermingled, the last Iraqi ambassador having left Egypt in August 1990 after …

CAIRO: Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said on Sunday that his country plans to boost trade with Egypt, during a visit to Cairo where he met with President Hosni Mubarak. Qureshi, who was accompanied on his trip by several ministers and a large delegation of businessmen, praised the "excellent" relations between Pakistan and Egypt, …

LONDON: Oil fell below $68 a barrel on Thursday to its lowest in nearly eight months, under pressure from concern that the euro zone debt crisis will cut both risk appetite and demand for oil. Worries that the Greek fiscal problems could spill over to other economies has knocked oil prices down by around $20 …

LONDON: Oil rose more than 2.7 percent to $72 a barrel on Tuesday, recovering from a five-month low the previous session, but high inventory levels and the strength of the dollar were expected to limit gains. US crude for June delivery rose $1.92 to $72 by 1409 GMT, after settling down $1.53 at a five-month …

CAIRO: The Prosecutor General’s office on Monday postponed till May 24 the investigation of director of the Arab Center for the Independence of the Judiciary, Nasser Amin upon the request of his defense committee. A police report was filed against Amin by chairman of the Judges’ Club, Yehia Ragheb Dakroury, accusing him of slander and …

CAIRO: The committee monitoring the swine flu situation in Alexandria has confirmed four cases of the H1N1 flu virus in the governorate. The first case is that of a two-year-old girl, the second is a 22-year-old female and the third is a 37-year-old male baker, all of whom are currently at the Alexandria Fevers Hospital …

Cannes witnessed a blistering attack on Silvio Berlusconi with a Michael Moore-style documentary portraying the prime minister as a vampire sucking the blood out of Italy. Italy’s culture minister boycotted the film festival to protest against the documentary’s screening here because he said it was "a propaganda film… that insults the truth and the Italian …

CAIRO: Egypt’s GB Auto reported on Tuesday a leap in first-quarter net income, as sales extended a rebound from a slump in late 2008 and company the expanded into Iraq. The firm, Egypt’s biggest listed automobile assembler, said net income jumped to LE 68.7 million ($12.3 million) from LE 7.2 million in the same period …

Abu Dhabi telecoms operator Etisalat’s Egyptian unit is to borrow LE 7.2 billion ($1.3 billion) for expansion and to improve services. The funds will come from National Bank of Egypt, Banque Misr and National Bank of Abu Dhabi, the unit’s chief financial officer Ehab Rochdy said on Monday. The long-term loan will include a $300 …

SANAA: Two Yemeni policemen were wounded trying to dismantle a bomb in the southern port of Aden minutes after another device exploded in the city, a security source said on Monday. "A bomb planted in a park facing the official television building in Tawahi district exploded late Sunday wounding two policemen while they were trying …

HILLA, Iraq: Twin car bombs against factory workers and an apparently coordinated series of attacks targeting security forces killed 68 people in Iraq on Monday in the bloodiest day to hit the country this year. In the deadliest attack, two explosives-packed vehicles detonated minutes apart in the car park of a textiles factory in the …

CAIRO: Shehab Ahmed scored three minutes into stoppage time to give Al-Ahly of Egypt a 3-0 triumph over Al-Ittihad of Libya Sunday and a dramatic entry to the African Champions League group draw. Ahly, title holders a record six times and widely regarded as the most powerful African football club, squeezed through 3-2 on aggregate …

GENEVA: The UN Committee against Torture ruled on Friday that Sweden breached the rights of an Egyptian man by deporting him to his homeland in 2001, where he was then tortured in prison. "The committee has found that… the guarantees given by Egypt were not enough to assure that Mr. Ahmed Agiza was not at …