New Delhi / AFP Much of New Delhi’s water supply was cut off on Monday after members of an influential Indian caste sabotaged a canal as part of protests seeking preferential treatment that have killed at least 19 people. A representative of the Jat caste said they had called off their week-long protests which saw thousands of troops deployed in ...
Read More »Uganda opposition leader back in police custody
Kampala / AFP Uganda’s main opposition leader was held by police on Monday at a police station outside the capital after being taken from his home where he had been under house arrest. Kizza Besigye has rejected the results of Thursday’s election won by veteran President Yoweri Museveni, and called on his supporters to join a protest march to the ...
Read More »Turkey PM unveils plan to boost struggling tourism sector
Ankara / AFP Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Monday announced a multi-million-dollar aid package for the country’s struggling tourism industry which has been hit by a crisis with Russia and security concerns. Davutoglu said that a total of 255 million Turkish lira ($86.5 million) in financial aid would be given to Turkish tourist agencies while there would also be ...
Read More »Trump relishes wrecking Republicans
Lyndon Johnson simply was exasperated. Barack Obama’s mischief was methodical. Four days before the 1966 congressional elections, Johnson, asked about criticism from Richard Nixon, testily responded: “I do not want to get into a debate … with a chronic campaigner like Nixon.” Johnson’s disparagement endeared Nixon to Republican voters, thereby propelling him toward the presidency. Four days before Saturday’s South ...
Read More »It’s high time China arrests overcapacity
Unrestrained growth has a price. The case in point is China’s overcapacity in heavy industries whose over-proportional development is causing damage to its own and the global economy, even as Beijing struggles to regulate and reform its industries. The hardest hit is China’s steel industry, which manufactures more than the next four largest producers combined — Japan, India, the US, ...
Read More »How Putin is surviving with less oil revenue
In assessing Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ability to stay in power and defy the West, one crucial question is how much longer his government’s finances can stand extremely low oil prices. Judging from an analysis by economists at Deutsche Bank, he might be able to hold out longer than previously thought. Russia is peculiarly sensitive to energy prices, in part ...
Read More »Declaring victory in the war on cash
The so-called war on cash has been getting a lot of airtime in recent days. On one side of the battleground are European Central Bank President Mario Draghi and former US Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers, calling for the abolition of high-denomination banknotes to (they say) combat crime. Opposing the plan are skeptics who fear it will lead to abolishing cash ...
Read More »BisB posts BD11.2 mn net profit for 2015
Bahrain / Emirates Business BisB announced that it has achieved positive financial results which reflect on the continuous improvement on the Bank’s position. The Bank has realized BD 11.2 million as net profit for the year ended on 31st December 2015, compared to BD 9.3 million for the previous year, an increase of 20%. The Bank has registered net profit ...
Read More »Deutsche Bank makes top appointments in Mideast and Africa
Jeddah / Emirates Business Deutsche Bank announced the appointment of Jamal Al Kishi as Chief Executive Officer, Middle East and Africa with immediate effect, replacing Ashok Aram who as previously announced is relocating to Frankfurt as Chief Executive Officer Europe, Middle East and Africa (excluding Germany and the UK). Al Kishi, subject to regulatory approvals, will remain Chief Executive Officer ...
Read More »Egypt to ‘think’ about floating pound when FX reserves hit US$25B
Bloomberg Egypt’s central bank will consider floating the country’s currency when foreign reserves are almost double their current level, the bank’s governor said in a televised interview. Tarek Amer’s comments on al-Qahira Wel-Nas were his clearest signal yet that the central bank has no intention of devaluing the Egyptian pound at present, despite growing analyst predictions that such a move ...
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