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Editorial
Smoke & Mirrors in the Gulf
The discord in the GCC region continues. Thirteen demands have recently been issued by Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt,…
Smoke & Mirrors in the Gulf
The discord in the GCC region continues. Thirteen demands have recently been issued by Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt,…
Current Affairs
Finally, demands to end GCC crisis issued to Qatar
Finally, four Arab states boycotting Qatar over alleged support for terrorism have sent Doha a list of 13 demands, including closing Al Jazeera…
QATAR: storm clouds gather over Doha
The rift between the GCC states has intensified into what has been described as its most “severe crisis” in the history of the 35-year-old…
IRAN: Rouhani victory a blow for extremism
Moderate Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has been returned to power with 57% of the vote. Rouhani has said his re-election shows voters reject…
Saudi Arabia will launch its own military industries company
The Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF) has announced the creation of a new, wholly government owned national military industries company.…
Regional round-up
Bahrain: Waad under fire
A Bahraini court has ordered the dissolution of the country’s main secular opposition group, as the Gulf state continues a crackdown on dissent. The…
EGYPT: UN predicts population problems ahead
The United Nations Population Fund has released a report on the population status in Egypt for 2016, in cooperation with the Egyptian Center for…
JORDAN: narrowing the gender gap with EBRD support
The EBRD is providing a loan of up to $ 2 million in local currency to the Microfund for Women (MFW) for on-lending to female entrepreneurs in…
Business
EGYPT: $290 million rail network upgrade
Millions of commuters across Egypt are set to benefit from a €290 million financing provided by the EBRD to support the Egyptian National Railways…
UAE: Top 10 banks
The GCC banking sector recorded lower returns in 2016, particularly due to increased provisioning and impairment charges as loan asset quality…
OMAN: foreign ownership in MSM stock declines
Foreign investors are offloading shares on the Muscat Securities Market (MSM), which has resulted in a marginal dilution of non-Omani holdings on the…
News and Views
EBRD unveils its latest Green Economy initiative
Ahead of the Paris accord, the EBRD unveiled its Green Economy Transition (GET) approach, under which it aims to dedicate 40 per cent of its annual…
Miami home of iconic Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid for sale at $10m
The three-bedroom home of the late, great, Baghdad-born, award winning architect Zaha Hadid, has been put on the market in Miami for $10 million,…
EGYPT: brings out the stars to combat drug use
This month, the Ministry of Social Solidarity’s Fund for Drug Control & Treatment of Addiction (FDCTA), began running its latest anti-drug…
US move to arm Syrian Kurds causes consternation
Ending years of a hands-off approach, the United States is stepping up its involvement in the deadly conflict in Syria by supplying heavy weapons to…
IRAN: Khomeini’s grandson latest political heavyweight to back Rouhani
The grandson of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini has publicly thrown his weight behind President Hassan Rouhani’s re-election bid, writes Rohollah…
Mosaic
RESTORING IRAQ . . .
Iraq, together with UNESCO, has concluded a comprehensive aerial survey of Iraqi heritage destroyed by the Islamic State (IS), paving the way for…
Book review – The Moors last stand
The Moors last stand
How seven centuries of Muslim rule in Spain came to an end
By Elizabeth Drayson
Published by Profile books
ISBN…
Moving the Earth
By Sylvia Smith
The title of the international conference might not be one to get the pulse racing. In fact Islamic Archaeology in Global…
