Cartagena / AFP Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and the leader of the FARC rebels, Timoleon “Timochenko” Jimenez, are due to sign a historic peace deal on Monday to end a five-decade war. The former enemies will sign the accord at 5:00 pm (2200 GMT) at a ceremony in the colourful colonial city of Cartagena on the Caribbean coast, ...

  The Hague / AFP In a blow to Australia, an international arbitration court agreed on Monday to take up a decade-long maritime border dispute between East Timor and Canberra which cuts through lucrative oil and gas fields in the Timor Sea. The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) “held that it was competent to continue with the conciliation process” initiated by ...

  Dubai / Reuters Saudi banking shares rallied on Monday after the central bank said it would deposit about 20 billion riyals ($5.3 billion) at commercial lenders and introduce two new money market instruments to fight a surge in market interest rates caused by low oil prices. Riyadh’s main index climbed 0.7 percent as three-quarters of the banking shares rose. ...

  London / AFP Stock markets slumped on Monday, extending a pre-weekend drop that followed a Fed-inspired rally, while a crash in the share price of Deutsche Bank offset a surge in German business confidence. After last week’s burst of enthusiasm on the back of the US central bank’s decision to keep interest rates on hold for a little longer, ...

  DUBAI / Emirates Business The GCC market for interior contracting and fit outs in 2015 was estimated at US$ 7.06 billion, according to a recent report of the GCC Building, Construction and Interiors Market by Retailspace. Growth in this sector is set to climb by 25.62 percent to US$ 8.87 billion by 2016, from the projects likely to be ...

  Dubai / Emirates Business Emaar Hospitality Group, the hospitality & leisure business of global developer Emaar Properties, on Monday unveiled the first and only beachfront resort property under its flagship Address hotel brand in Dubai – The Address Jumeirah Resort + Spa, The Address Residences Jumeirah Resort + Spa and The Residences Jumeirah Dubai, Managed by The Address. The ...

Dubai / Emirates Business Fidelis Cybersecurity, the leading provider of products and services for detecting and stopping advanced cyberattacks, on Monday announced its participation in GITEX Technology Week 2016 to be held at Dubai World Trade Center, October 16-20. Fidelis Cybersecurity (Hall 1, stand E1-30) will demonstrate the latest updates to Fidelis Networkâ„¢ and Fidelis Endpointâ„¢ and invites members of ...

  Dubai / Emirates Business One of Britain’s most popular lighting design competitions is about to make its Middle East debut in Dubai, offering regional lighting design professionals, students, and manufacturers a platform to showcase their creative talents and network among industry peers. Ready Steady Light, jointly organised by the Society for Light and Lighting (SLL) and the Light Middle ...

  Bloomberg Oil investors turned bearish at the fastest pace in more than a year as they lost confidence that OPEC will reach a deal with other producers to limit supply at a gathering this week in Algiers. Money managers increased bets on falling prices by half as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries kept pumping at a record rate ...

  Bloomberg Oil held near $45 a barrel as Saudi Arabia’s offer to cut output opened the door to a future OPEC deal, even though the kingdom doesn’t expect an agreement this week when members of the group meet. Futures added 0.1 percent in New York after slumping 4 percent on Friday. While Saudi Arabia and Iran didn’t reach an ...