Regional News

Sat, 22 Nov 2008 08:43 AM


The former CEO of the Dubai Film Festival Neil Stephenson has abandoned a $5m defamation case against the organisers of Dubai Film Festival.

Oil recovers to $50 after hitting 42-month low

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 12:30 PM

Oil rebounded from an early three-and-a-half year trough below $49 a barrel on Friday, tracking Asian equities that bounced back on rumours that China may cut interest rates later in the day.Still, its 12 percent fall so far this week took oil close to a $100 drop from its July record high and set it on course for the ...

New campaign launched to cut UAE road deaths

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 12:30 PM

A new campaign has been launched in the UAE to improve road safety, just a day after it was revealed that Abu Dhabi's death rate on the roads was one of the world's worst. The national Salama Traffic Awareness Initiative was launched on Thursday in the UAE capital by Lt. General Sheikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the min...

Ratings agency puts ETA Group on credit watch

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 12:30 PM

Ratings agency Standard & Poor's put Dubai-based ETA Group on negative watch on Thursday with a view to downgrading its credit rating due to concerns over the construction and property-dominated firm's increased leverage. Standard & Poor's placed the firm, whose property division has a $10 billion portfolio, on...

Football star launches search for Bahraini Beckham

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 12:30 PM

Former England football star Les Ferdinand has launched a search for a Bahraini David Beckham. Airline Gulf Air has joined forces with Championship club Queens Park Rangers (QPR) to set up the project, which involves 20 local football clubs and top UK coaches. <br /><a target=_blank href=http://www.arabianbusiness.com/...

Soaring house rents fuel Qatar inflation rate

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 12:30 PM

Soaring house rents were the single largest driver of higher inflation in the country last year, the Qatar Central Bank (QCB) announced in its annual report for 2007. The banking regulator said inflation reached 14 percent at the end of last year. <br /><a target=_blank href=http://www.arabianbusiness.com/539028:soarin...

Qatar mobile phone number sold for $2mn

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 12:30 PM

An easy to remember mobile phone number - 6000000 - has been bought by a Qatari businessman for 7.5 million riyals ($2 million). The number was sold during a charity auction organised by Qatar Telecom (Qtel) in Doha.<br /><a target=_blank href=http://www.arabianbusiness.com/539029:qatar-mobile-phone-number-sold-for-2mn...

Construction firm expects slowdown to hit deals

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 12:30 PM

Al Habtoor Leighton Group has more than 24 billion dirhams ($6.5 billion) worth of contracts in the pipeline over the next two years, it has said. But the construction company expects it to become more challenging to secure future orders going forward because of a slowdown in the real estate market, a senior manager of...

'One cheque' demands ease as credit tightens

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 12:29 PM

Landlords are starting to relax their payment criteria for tenants struggling to secure a year’s rent in advance as UAE banks tighten credit controls, Arabian Business has learnt. Tenants have been left unable to afford exorbitant rental rates, after many banks in the region reviewed their lending criteria during the p...

Hundreds sign online QE2 funnel petition

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 12:29 PM

Hundreds of people have signed an online petition urging Dubai-based Nakheel, the new owners of the QE2, to return the iconic funnel of the ship to the UK. The world famous liner is due to arrive in the emirate on Nov. 26 for the start of a new life which will see it anchored off Palm Jumeirah and refurbished into a ho...