KABUL: Rescuers located the wreckage of a passenger plane that crashed in the Afghan mountains with 43 people on board but there was no immediate word on whether anyone had survived, officials said Thursday. Afghan and NATO rescuers located the tail of the Pamir Airways plane, which had been carrying three Britons, an American and …

CAIRO: Foreign donors must make aid to Egypt conditional on the government making human rights and democratic change concessions, an Egyptian NGO said Wednesday. “Financial assistance will be meaningless if it is not accompanied by political and diplomatic engagement,” Moataz El-Fegeiry, executive director of the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS) said. “We need …

TRIPOLI: Libya will list the state-owned Abu-Kammash petrochemical complex on the stock market, an official said, the latest step to open up an economy that is attracting growing interest from foreign investors. After decades of Socialist policies and international isolation, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has begun tentative economic liberalization in his oil exporting country, including …

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s economy is expected to grow by 7-8 percent this year while inflation remains stable as capital keeps pouring into the Arab country, central bank governor Riad Salameh said on Thursday. Capital inflows, especially from Lebanese expatriates, contributed to 9 percent growth last year, with Lebanon shrugging off the effects of the global financial …

DUBAI: Markets in the United Arab Emirates gave a weary welcome to a long-awaited debt deal with Dubai World, with investors worried about a sluggish economic recovery and the fallout from Greece’s debt problems. Volatile global markets weighed on sentiment, while investors remain unsure whether local banks will take provisions on Dubai World and resume …

KARACHI: At least 17 people including two children have been killed in political clashes in Pakistan’s financial capital Karachi in the past two days, a government official and police said Thursday. Police and paramilitary have been put on high alert and authorities closed all schools and colleges after the latest outbreak of politically related violence …

CAIRO: The weighted average yield at a 14-day deposit auction was 8.288 percent, compared with 8.321 at last auction on Dec. 2, Egypt’s central bank said on Wednesday. The bank had asked for LE 10 billion ($1.77billion) and received bids worth LE 11.86 billion. It accepted the whole amount at rates between 8.275 and 8.310 …

CAIRO: Egyptian developer Sixth of October Development and Investment Company (SODIC) posted a first quarter net loss of LE 10.9 million ($1.94 million), well below analysts’ expectations. Forecasts from three analysts polled by Reuters had ranged from a net profit of LE 15 million to LE 75.8 million. The high-end real estate firm, which does …

MANAMA: Non-OPEC oil producer Bahrain has recently made its first shipment of ultra-low sulphur diesel of less than 10 parts per million (ppm), the country’s Minister of Oil and Gas Affairs said on Tuesday. "We celebrated the first shipment of the 10 ppm last Saturday," Abdul-Hussain Bin Ali Mirza said in a speech to an …

DUBAI: This year’s Indian Akshaya Tritiya festival helped boost retail gold sale volumes in the Gulf region by 11 percent compared to last year’s despite high bullion prices, the World Gold Council (WGC) said on Tuesday. More than 720 kilograms of gold worth around $30 million was sold in the Gulf region during the one-day …

  FIFA has banned Egypt from playing in Cairo for two World Cup qualifiers after fans attacked Algeria’s team before a match.   FIFA ruled Tuesday that Egypt must stage its first two home matches in qualifying for the 2014 finals at least 100 kilometers from the capital. FIFA’s disciplinary panel said Egypt’s federation "failed …

CAIRO: Zamalek boss Hossam Hassan said he isn’t concerned with renewing his contract with the club as he is ready to offer his assistance for free. Hassan reaffirmed comments from his twin brother Ibrahim (football director) that no talks of a new contract have yet to be opened with the board. Even so, the Egypt …

CAIRO: Hamas has denied reports emanating from Cairo that Egypt has severed relations with the Islamist group, but stated its objection to recent practices against the blockaded Gaza Strip. Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri (whose brother Yousef died in an Egyptian jail last year) said in a statement Monday that Egypt had not officially informed …

DUBAI: Growth in the oil-rich Gulf Cooperation Council states is expected to rise to 4.4 percent in 2010 and 4.7 percent in 2011, the Institute of International Finance (IFF) said in a report on Monday. "The GCC is emerging from the global recession and is recovering at a solid pace," after a near-zero growth in …

TRIPOLI: OPEC members will watch the market before deciding on any action over the drop in oil prices, Libya’s top energy official told Reuters. Shokri Ghanem, the head of Libya’s NOC state energy firm and its representative to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, said part of the reason for the fall in prices …

BAGHDAD: Iraq’s Oil Ministry signed a final deal with China’s CNOOC and state-run Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) on Monday to develop the 2.5-billion-barrel Maysan oilfield complex. The deal is the eleventh of a series signed since last year with international oil companies to develop the war-damaged country’s vast oil reserves, and which have the potential …

DUBAI: GE Capital, a unit of General Electric Co., plans to issue its second Islamic bond in late 2010 or in 2011, a senior executive said on Sunday. Aris Kekedjian, chief executive of GE Capital Middle East and Africa, said the Islamic bond, or sukuk, would likely be a benchmark issue. In November, GE Capital …

AMMAN: Political stability in the West Bank has brightened the business prospects of the largest Palestinian holding firm, its chairman said on Sunday. "Most of the companies that we invest in have shown growth in their operations and profitability last year," said Munib Al-Masri, chairman of Palestine Development and Investment Company (PADICO) on the sidelines …

CAIRO: Egypt is to begin a public relations initiative in the West in an attempt to bring the international community on board regarding its rights to the Nile water after four Nile basin countries signed a new treaty excluding Egypt and Sudan. A diplomatic effort will be launched in the coming days. Delegates to the …

RAMALLAH: Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas will meet US envoy George Mitchell Wednesday to discuss final status issues in indirect peace talks with Israel, the chief Palestinian negotiator said Monday. "The discussions between Abbas and Mitchell on Wednesday will concern final status issues with Israel," Saeb Erakat told AFP, referring to core disputes in the decades-old …

BEIRUT: A UN tribunal probing the 2005 murder of Lebanese ex-premier Rafiq Hariri could file charges by the end of the year, the head of the tribunal said in an interview published on Monday. "Prosecutor (Daniel) Bellemare announced that he is likely to issue an indictment between September and December of this year," tribunal chief …

KHARTOUM: Sudanese authorities Sunday arrested Islamist opposition leader Hassan Al-Turabi and closed down his newspaper a month after the country’s first competitive polls in two decades, party officials said. "At around midnight (2100 GMT Saturday), a group of security officers arriving in three cars, came and took Hassan Al-Turabi from his home," his secretary Awad …

CAIRO: Egyptian textiles company Arab Cotton Ginning posted net profit for the nine months to end-March of LE 34 million ($6.1 million), the stock exchange said on Sunday. The firm posted net profit of LE 19.6 million for the same period a year earlier. The stock exchange statement did not provide further details.  

CAIRO: Egypt’s Maridive, the biggest oil services firm by fleet size in the Middle East, posted a first-quarter net profit of $15.4 million, down 34.3 percent from a year earlier, the stock exchange said on Sunday. The firm made a net profit of $23.4 million in the first quarter of 2009, the bourse said. Five …

CAIRO: Egypt’s Alexandria Cotton Exporters’ Association (Alcotexa) committed to sell 938 tons of cotton in the week that ended May 15, an Alcotexa official told Reuters on Sunday. The sales comprised 63 tons of Giza 88 and 875 tons of Giza 86, the official said. The deal brings Alcotexa’s export commitments for the 2009/10 season, …

CAIRO: Egypt’s current account deficit narrowed to $2.61 billion in the nine months to end-March from $3.43 billion year earlier, the central bank said on Sunday. Direct investment into Egypt slid to $4.33 billion from $5.24 billion a year earlier, but the inflow of portfolio investment was $7.11 billion compared to an outflow of $8.89 …

Talaat Moustafa Group, Egypt’s biggest listed developer, posted a 3.2 percent rise in first-quarter net profit after it recognized more revenue from completed homes and a pickup in tourism helped its hotels. The firm on Wednesday posted net profit of LE 324.1 million ($57.8 million), below an average forecast of LE 367 million provided by …

CAMBRIDGE: The $140 billion support package that the Greek government has finally received from its European Union partners and the International Monetary Fund gives it the breathing space needed to undertake the difficult job of putting its finances in order. The package may or may not prevent Spain and Portugal from becoming undone in a …

RAMALLAH: The issue of settlements and their illegality under international law should dominate debate surrounding the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and a return to negotiations. Israel’s refusal to adhere to international law or its previous commitments, particularly its obligation to freeze all settlement construction as stipulated under the 2003 road map, has led to a low point …

KAMPALA: Seven African nations are expected to push through a new and more equitable deal this week on sharing the waters of the Nile despite strong opposition from Egypt and Sudan. "What we are doing is launching the signing. Any country that feels they cannot sign now but may be ready to sign later will …