Tag Archives: Qatar

Israel called on Tuesday for the immediate resumption of indirect talks on the return of two Israeli civilians and the remains of two soldiers held for years in Gaza, but the territory’s Islamist rulers Hamas dismissed the overture. The Israeli appeal came in a statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s …

Facebook Inc (FB.O) said on Monday it had removed two networks of fake accounts linked to digital marketing firms in Egypt and India which were pushing dueling narratives about countries in the Gulf on the Facebook and Instagram platforms. Facebook, in its first monthly report on information operations, said both …

U.S. President Donald Trump hailed the agreement signed between the United States and the Taliban on Saturday as a move to end American’s longest war and bring U.S. troops home from Afghanistan. “We are working to finally end America’s longest war and bring our troops back home,” a White House …

The Taliban said on Sunday they will not hold direct talks with the Afghan government and rejected a statement from a senior minister about plans to hold such a meeting in the next two weeks, a senior Taliban official said. State Minister for Peace Affairs Abdul Salam Rahimi said on …

Qatar said on Sunday that there was a disconnect between the Palestinians and the United States over a U.S. blueprint aimed at ending the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, warning that a solution could not be imposed on Palestinians. The U.S. blueprint, driven by Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law …

The is a translation of an interview conducted by Mohamed Nazreen Shahul Hamid and published in the November 2018 edition of “Dewan Sastera“, a Malaysian literary magazine edited by Zaharahanum Kamarudin. The interviewee, Emad El-Din Aysha, PhD, is currently a member of the Egyptian Society for Science Fiction (ESSF) and a …

Qatar has airlifted 24 armored vehicles to Mali, in a move it said would help the countries of the African Sahel region combat terrorism. Qatar has increased efforts to show it is a force for good in international security since its Gulf Arab neighbors imposed a diplomatic and economic boycott …

A $15 million Qatari cash infusion was paid out to impoverished Palestinian civil servants in the Gaza Strip on Friday, offering the enclave’s dominant Hamas Islamists a potential domestic reprieve though Israel said the money would not go to them. Hamas’s political rival based in the West Bank, Palestinian President …

Russian oil giant Rosneft (ROSN.MM) said on Tuesday that the Qatar Investment Authority sovereign wealth fund would pay around 3.7 billion euros ($4.23 billion) for a half of a 14.16 percent stake in the company. The QIA would become the third-largest Rosneft shareholder as a result of the deal after …

Qatar rejects accusations of meddling in Bahrain’s internal affairs, Qatar’s foreign ministry said in a tweet. “The State of Qatar condemns that its name was mentioned in Bahrain’s internal conflicts,” the ministry said. A Bahraini court on Sunday ordered life sentences for three senior opposition members, overturning a previous acquittal …

Qatar’s BeIN says it has “irrefutable evidence” that a pirate channel illegally showing hundreds of live European football matches is being carried on the Saudi-based satellite provider Arabsat Qatari broadcaster BeIN said Thursday it has “irrefutable evidence” that a pirate channel illegally showing hundreds of live European football matches is …

Qatar pledged $15 billion (Dh55.09 billion) of investment in Turkey that will be channeled into Turkish financial markets and banks, a government source told Reuters yesterday. The investment package was announced after Qatar’s Emir Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani met President Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara, as Turkey grapples with a …

QNB Group, the largest financial institution in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region, announced its results for the six months period ended 30 June 2018. For the first half of 2018, Net Profit reached QAR7.1 billion (USD1.9 billion), up by 7% compared to last year. Total assets increased by …

The International Court of Justice has announced that Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain filed an appeal against the decision handed down by the UN’s global civil aviation body over complaints made by Qatar. The Applicants invoked Article 84 of the Chicago Convention, read in conjunction with …

The European Commission is investigating the bloc’s biggest seaborne gas supplier Qatar Petroleum over potentially restrictive 20-year supply agreements inhibiting development of a single gas market, its latest challenge to a major gas supplier. The bloc, having just wrapped up a seven-year market abuse probe into Russian giant Gazprom, said …

BeIN Sports, the Qatari-owned broadcaster, reportedly went dark in the UAE overnight, with viewers discovering on Saturday morning that they were no longer able to access the channels via Du or Etisalat. This is not the first time the network has been unavailable: Last summer, due to the Qatar crisis, …

Charles Kushner, the real-estate developer and father of President Donald Trump’s senior adviser, Jared, said in an interview with The Real Deal that his much-scrutinized meeting with the Qatari finance minister last year was “wrong.” The meeting occurred in New York City just months after Trump’s inauguration, and the men …

The UAE and Russia signed on Friday a Declaration of Strategic Partnership to cooperate in various sectors such as politics, security, economy and culture, along with cooperation in the humanitarian, scientific, technological and tourist domains. The declaration was signed by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi …

On Tuesday night, the British tabloid The Daily Mail reported that Michael Cohen had asked Ahmed al-Rumaihi, who runs a $100 Qatari sovereign wealth fund, to send him “millions” of dollars, which he would then pass on “to Trump family members.” The tabloid attributed this claim to a “senior Kuwaiti government source” – …

As Gazans continue to participate in mass protests amid heightened frustrations at their dire humanitarian situation, Qatari aid and infrastructure projects in the besieged strip have been dying out following the blockade imposed on Qatar by Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt since June 2017. An Israeli study by …

Gaza’s Hamas rulers have shut the offices of a Qatari-Palestinian cellular provider in connection with its investigation into an explosion that targeted the visiting Palestinian prime minister. Hamas police spokesman Ayman Batniji said Saturday that Wataniya Mobile, a subsidiary of Qatar’s Ooredoo, was being closed down for “refusing to cooperate” …

The GCC’s non-financial corporate sector is expected to face pressure on profitability resulting from fiscal consolidation efforts in the current year and the next, according to ratings agency Moody’s. “GGC governments have done fairly well in balancing reform implementation while preventing any systemic shock to the corporate sector. However, fiscal …

Banks across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) are expected to see stabilisation of the financial profiles and performance from the second half of 2018 after two years of significant pressure, according to S&P Global Ratings. While analysts expect to see further easing of liquidity and funding with improvement in asset …

While most people in the UAE get an average of seven hours of sleep a night, around half would give up social media for an extra hour of sleep, a recent poll by furnishing retailer Ikea showed. Work stress, kids and distractions of technology came out on top when people …

The US aviation security agency has issued an emergency order requiring additional screening of cargo on flights departing for the United States from five Mideast countries. It says the steps are aimed at preventing terrorist attacks. The Transportation Security Administration said in a statement that the order was prompted by …

New hope has emerged in the long-running diplomatic dispute over a dam Ethiopia is building on the Nile River, which Cairo sees as an existential threat. On Thursday, Egypt’s President Abdul Fattah Al Sissi and Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn said they were opposed to any “conflict” over the sharing …

The UAE reiterated on Sunday that Shaikh Abdullah Bin Ali Al Thani, a member of the Qatari royal family, was hosted in the UAE as a guest and left the country at his own request. According to an official source at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Shaikh …

The UAE has denied a Qatari claim that its airspace was violated by an Emirates’ military aircraft in December. UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Dr Anwar Gargash tweeted on Friday: “The Qatari complaint about the UAE’s violation of its airspace is untrue and confused; we are working to …

The successful listing of Adnoc Distribution on Abu Dhabi bourse is likely to encourage more energy companies from the region to go public to raise capital as low oil prices hurt their revenues, according to analysts. Adnoc Distribution, the fuel and retail arm of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) …

Jasim Ali, Special to Gulf News The Omani economy is doing fine in the ongoing environment of continuing socioeconomic challenges. What’s more, multinational agencies are projecting improved performances in the medium-term for the sultanate on the assumption of stronger oil prices. Also, the preliminary projections for 2018 budget assume stronger …

With the map of Syria’s conflict decisively redrawn in President Bashar al-Assad’s favor, his Russian allies want to convert military gains into a settlement that stabilizes the shattered nation and secures their interests in the region. A year after the opposition’s defeat in Aleppo, government forces backed by Russia and …

The UAE will continue to be the largest insurance market in the region with a market size expanding to $18.1 billion (Dh66.4 billion) by 2021, with Saudi Arabia coming in a close second at $16.4 billion. The insurance sector in the UAE and Oman are anticipated to grow at the …

While 2018 will see the Middle East airlines doubling their net profits to $600 million (up from the $300 million this year), big challenges still remain for the region’s carriers, warns IATA’s chief economist Brian Pearce. Releasing its financial outlook on Tuesday in Geneva, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) …

Saudi Arabia’s powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said on Sunday an attack on an Egyptian mosque that killed more than 300 worshippers would galvanise an Islamic military coalition that aimed to counter “terrorism and extremism”. Top defence officials from 40 Muslim-majority nation’s met in Riyadh on Sunday. They are …

The World Trade Organization (WTO) has set up a panel to hear Qatar’s complaint against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) over a Saudi-led trade boycott against the peninsular country. The Geneva-based organization said in a statement on Wednesday that it’s Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) would “rule on Qatar’s complaint regarding …

The Dubai Airshow 2017 opened its doors at Dubai World Central (DWC) on Sunday this week, amid concerns over regional tensions. In this year’s edition a record number of exhibitors, aircraft on display, and visitors are expected. Not to mention the launch of the first-ever Space Pavilion, and the many …

The $500 billion (Dh1.8 trillion) mega-city planned by Saudi Arabia will be floated on financial markets alongside oil giant Saudi Aramco as part of the kingdom’s drive to diversify away from oil, the crown prince told Reuters in an interview late on Wednesday. The 26,500-square kilometres (10,230-square mile) business and …

Oman cancelled the bidding process to select its third mobile phone operator in favour of a group backed by its wealth funds, a month after delaying a decision on the licence. The Gulf state’s third mobile operator will be run by a local company owned by the funds and a …

A day after the United States and Israel pulled out of the U.N. culture and education body citing anti-Israel bias, UNESCO elected its first ever Jewish director general. Audrey Azoulay, France’s former culture minister, eked out a win over Qatar’s candidate and frontrunner Hamad bin Abdoulaziz Al-Kawari. UNESCO’s executive body …

BRITAIN’S BROADCASTING REGULATOR on Monday concluded that Al Jazeera did not violate any rules in its controversial undercover investigation exposing the Israeli embassy’s campaign to target British citizens critical of Israel, a campaign that included attempts to destroy the careers of pro-Palestinian British politicians. The move by the communications regulator, known as …

Saudi authorities said on Wednesday they had arrested 22 people, including a Qatari national, for using social media to spread dissent. Another 24 people were detained in the northern Hail region for stirring tribal divisions, the state news agency SPA reported. Neither report went into the details of the offenses. …

The 2017 Gulf Crisis between Qatar and its GCC neighbors has developed into a clash of narratives that concerns not only the various regional interests in the Middle East, but also vital U.S. national interests. The Quartet (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain and Egypt) has justified its embargo against Qatar due to its alleged political, ideological and financial support to non-state terror …

Qatar’s attorney general said Turkey has detained five suspects in connection with the hacking of Qatar’s state news agency in May. The hacking helped precipitate the diplomatic rift that has since opened up between Qatar and some of its powerful Arab neighbors. Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and the United Arab …

By James M. Dorsey A report charging Saudi Arabia with funding extremism in Britain puts both the kingdom and Prime Minister Teresa May on the spot. The report also potentially strengthens Qatar’s insistence that support of extremism should be tackled regionally and that demands by an anti-Qatari, Saudi-UAE-led alliance be …