Sanctions-hit Iran defiant but ‘ready’ for nuclear talks
TEHRAN: Iran vowed on Tuesday to press ahead with its nuclear program even as it expressed readiness to resume talks about the controversial issue despite being slapped with tough new…
US ‘Audacity of Hope’ ship to head to Gaza
CAIRO: A flotilla of humanitarian aid ships is gearing up to set sail this fall to Gaza in an attempt to break the ongoing Israeli blockade of the Strip.…
Lufthansa says, Cargo plane in accident in Saudi Arabia
RIYADH: A Lufthansa cargo plane caught fire and split in half as it was landing Tuesday in the Saudi Arabian capital, and the German pilot and co-pilot were lightly injured,…
Iraqi Shia group aimed to promote ‘virtue’ by the sword
NASIRIYAH: A group of masked, sword-wielding Shia youths aiming to "promote virtue and fight vice" terrorized a southern Iraqi city from early July until its members were rounded up. The…
King of kings’ Kadhafi muscles back into African Union
KAMPALA: Six months after reluctantly handing over the African Union presidency, Libya's maverick leader Moamer Kadhafi has tried once again to stamp his authority and his petrodollars on the body's…
Fairouz fans in Cairo protest singing ban after copyright dispute
CAIRO: As songs of Lebanese chanteuse Fairouz played in the background, hundreds of her fans held a solidarity protest Monday evening in Cairo against a court ruling banning her from…
Egypt talks Nile, African leaders agree to increase Somalia force
KAMPALA: Egypt sounded a conciliatory note on Monday in a dispute over how Nile waters should be shared by the countries it passes through at an African summit in the…
UBS buys 5 pct stake in Israel Discount, may buy more
JERUSALEM: Israel's government sold a 5 percent stake in Israel Discount Bank to UBS on Tuesday, lowering its holding in the country's third-largest bank to 15 percent, the Finance Ministry…
Land sales drought hits Abu Dhabi’s Sorouh Q2
ABU DHABI: Abu Dhabi's Sorouh Real Estate, one of the Middle East's biggest developers, said on Tuesday a lack of land sales in the second quarter explained a sharper-than-expected drop…
Indonesia cuts remaining 2010 bond issuance 26 pct
JAKARTA: Indonesia will cut its remaining 2010 debt issuance by 26 percent, including scaling back a global sukuk, after lowering its forecast for the budget deficit this year as it…