Regional News

  Bloomberg Saudi Telecom Co. is exploring options for its indirect stake in billionaire T. Ananda Krishnan’s Maxis Bhd., the second-largest Malaysian wireless carrier by market value, people with knowledge of the matter said. The Gulf kingdom’s biggest telecommunications operator is gauging interest in its 25 percent holding in Binariang GSM Sdn., which is the controlling shareholder of Maxis, according ...

  Jerusalem / AFP Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday defended a new $38 billion US defence aid package against criticism Israel could have negotiated a larger sum had he not angered the White House. Speaking at the start of a cabinet meeting, Netanyahu said the deal was the “largest assistance agreement that the United States has ever provided to ...

  ISTANBUL/ AP With summer drawing to a close, Turkey is counting the cost of a tough year that saw a string of terrorist bombings and the fallout from a diplomatic spat with Moscow that cut deep into the country’s crucial tourist trade. And then right bang in the middle of summer, the economic backdrop got more precarious after an ...

  AMMAN / AP Conflicts in Middle Eastern countries such as Iraq, Libya, Syria, and Yemen have erased “development gains for a whole generation,” including driving up already high levels of poverty and unemployment, the head of the International Monetary Fund said. The international community must be prepared to scale up long-term development aid in the region to rebuild infrastructure ...

  Reuters Egypt was unable to garner a single offer from wheat suppliers at its state grain tender on Friday, forcing it to cancel and raising renewed questions about its ability to tap global wheat markets while maintaining a ban on ergot fungus. Friday’s cancelation comes amid a flurry of cargoes either rejected or held from export since Egypt reinstated ...

  Emirates Business Saudi Arabia’s thriving auto aftermarket trade, valued at nearly US$2.6 billion in 2015, has attracted the attention of global manufacturers, as they lay down plans to grow their business interests at the Kingdom’s dedicated aftermarket industry trade show. Figures released by Saudi’s General Authority for Statistics provide a graphic sketch of the importance of the Kingdom’s vast ...

  BENGHAZI / Reuters Libya has lifted force majeure at some of its main ports and is resuming exports, the National Oil Corporation said on Thursday. “Exports will resume immediately from Zueitina and Ras Lanuf, and will continue at Brega … exports will resume from Es Sider as soon as possible,” NOC Chairman Mustafa Sanalla said. He said Libya’s U.N.-backed ...

  Emirates Business In 2015, Egypt was one of the fastest-growing economies in the Middle East and North Africa region – second only to Morocco – with GDP growth of 4.5 per cent. It is a clear sign that the project-led recovery plan and economic reforms initiated by Cairo are paying dividends. There has been a sharp step-up in project ...

  WASHINGTON / AP The United States will provide Israel’s military with $38 billion during the next 10 years, officials said, the largest batch of military assistance the U.S. has ever pledged to another country. Following months of behind-the-scenes negotiations, the State Department said the two countries had reached a 10-year agreement, with a signing ceremony planned for Wednesday. The ...

  MOSCOW / Reuters Russia threatened to ban Egyptian citrus imports on Tuesday, a move that could escalate a trade dispute over exports of Russian wheat to the world’s largest importer of the grain. Moscow said this week it hopes to hold talks with Egypt, its top buyer, over Cairo’s failure to approve Russian wheat shipments since tightening its regulations ...