Qatar takes a breather, Dubai edges higher

  Dubai / Reuters Gulf stock markets diverged in early trade on Wednesday, with Qatar’s edging lower and Dubai’s gaining slightly. Qatar’s index slipped 0.3 percent after closing higher in four of the last five sessions. After the close on Wednesday, FTSE is expected to release a list of Qatari stocks to be included in its emerging market index from ...

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Oil prices dip before US inventories data

  London / AFP Oil fell further on Wednesday as dealers awaited the latest update on crude reserves in the United States. At around 1145 GMT, US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for delivery in October declined 36 cents at $45.99 a barrel. Brent North Sea crude for October lost 54 cents to $47.83 a barrel compared with the close on ...

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music that heals souls

  Buenos Aires / DPA Patients wait in long lines for turns to see physicians, mothers hold their babies close to their bosoms and scores of people walk up and down staircases, some of them carrying the results of medical tests. But none of that seems to bother musicians and singers at the Dr. Cosme Argerich Hospital in Buenos Aires, ...

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‘Jungle school’ teaches rescued orangutans return to wild

  Ketapang / AFP Ignoring the shrieks of his rowdy, wrestling classmates, baby orangutan Otan practises swinging alone at his “jungle school” on Borneo island, switching hands and hanging upside down as he builds confidence high above the forest floor. The three-year-old is learning to fend for himself since being found wandering a palm oil plantation, alone and suffering smoke inhalation, ...

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Saudi not to flood crude market before OPEC meet

  Bloomberg Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, won’t boost output to capacity and flood the market, the kingdom’s Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih said as OPEC members plan to meet this month to discuss ways to stabilize crude prices. Saudi Arabia isn’t concerned about global demand in spite of a drop in prices and a slower economy, Al-Falih said ...

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Iraq pledges to support OPEC freeze deal, shifting its stance

Bloomberg Iraq would support a proposal for OPEC and other major oil producers to freeze output at talks in Algeria next month, Prime Minister Haidar Al-Abadi said in Baghdad. The endorsement marks a slight shift by Al-Abadi, who was quoted by Reuters on Aug. 23 saying that Iraq still hadn’t raised production sufficiently. The country’s deputy oil minister, Fayyad Al-Nima, ...

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Libya oil guards close oilfields over fund delays

  Bloomberg A Libyan armed force controlling some of the country’s southern oilfields has stopped pumping at two of them because the government has not paid the funds needed to maintain security operations, a brigade commander said. The closures underscore the new Libyan government’s complex task in reviving oil production, which has been battered by strikes, protests and militant attacks ...

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Egypt’s GASC gets only one wheat offer after ergot rule change

  Reuters Egypt’s state grains buyer GASC received only one offer on Wednesday at its first wheat purchase since reinstating a zero-tolerance policy on ergot fungus, a near complete boycott that underscores the difficulty of sourcing grains under the rule. A ban on the common grain fungus caused huge disruption to Egypt’s massive wheat imports earlier this year, with global ...

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Oil heads for biggest monthly gain since April before OPEC talks

  Bloomberg Oil is poised for the biggest monthly advance since April as the global surplus diminishes and OPEC’s planned talks fan speculation it could reach an accord on output. Futures slid 1 percent in New York, trimming the monthly gain to 10 percent. Iraq’s Prime Minister Haidar Al-Abadi said Tuesday the country would support a proposal among major producers ...

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India unveils $1.5mn investor visa plan to spur expansion

  Bloomberg India is aspiring to compete with the likes of Singapore and Hong Kong for foreign entrepreneurs by offering residence in return for investment. Foreigners investing 100 million rupees ($1.5 million) over 18 months, or 250 million rupees over three years, would be eligible to live in India for 10 years, the government said in a statement in New ...

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