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The British Champions Series begins with the Guineas Festival at Newmarket’s Rowley Mile on April 30, where Qipco will be the official partner, continuing with the Sussex Stakes which will be part of the Glorious Goodwood festival in July.

The owners of Qipco are six brothers who are part of the Qatar royal family. Qipco is a private shareholding company with shares in a large variety of business ventures, including, oil and gas, real estate, health and finance industries.

April 17, 2011

Colonel Muammar Qaddafi’s forces are attempting to break the two-month-long siege of the important port city of Misrata in Libya by intensifying its bombardment of the embattled western city.

A spokesman for the rebels accused Qaddafi’s forces of creating a humanitarian crisis in what is the single western city still held by the rebels. Doctors in Misrata confirm the spokesman’s statement by asserting that they are having serious trouble coping with the large number of casualties resulting from the unrelenting bombardment caused by the loyalist forces. Residents of the city have also confirmed reports of violent bombardment of Misrata which they claim does not discriminate between civilians and military personnel.

Alain Juppe, the French Foreign Minister declared yesterday that he believes a new United Nations resolution to force the Libyan leader to quit is not needed at this time, while the German Economy Minister Rainer Bruederle proposed the freezing of Libyan funds which would be sent instead to the UN to help pay for the aid being given to the victims of the conflict.

There is also intense fighting being reported in the eastern part of Libya as rebels, with the help of NATO air strikes, made progress from the town of Ajdabiya in the direction of Brega, an important oil city.

In Misrata it was reported that six people were killed and 31 hurt on Saturday, in addition to a comparative number on Friday. Six others died and 20 were wounded in Ajdabiya.

April 20, 2011

Protestors in Syria were subjected to a strong mixture of concessions with repression as government forces clamped down on demonstrators in Homs, Syria’s third largest city, leaving at least two dead on Tuesday.

The demonstrators had rallied together to create one of Syria’s largest gatherings, an Egyptian-inspired sit-in at the city’s largest public square only to be dispersed violently by the Syrian police, army and other forces, who had the square cleared by early Tuesday morning.

Just hours later the government announced sweeping reforms, specifying exactly what the government would do to follow up on its general promise to create major changes in policy last Saturday. Among the reforms announced will be the repeal of an emergency law which has been in force since the Baath Party seized power in 1963.

President Bashar Assad, or the Parliament, must approve the repeal, but that action is considered to be just a formality. Demonstrators expressed concern that the decision to reform is also a mere formality, wondering whether they will ever see any real changes in the iron grip the government has over the people.

April 20, 2011

Mubarak Blamed for Deaths During Revolution

A new investigation by the Egyptian government into who bears responsibility for the bloodshed and violence during the three-week long revolution which took place in Egypt last February points an incriminating finger at then President Hosni Mubarak as being at least partly responsible for the approximately 846 deaths which occurred during the uprising.

The investigation describes a reaction to demonstrations which utilized snipers, thugs and other forces characteristic of a police state in which to put-down the efforts of the protesters to oust President Mubarak and create sweeping changes in the governmental system of Egypt.

The judge leading the fact-finding commission established by the government stated on Tuesday that Mubarak is at least indirectly responsible for the deaths of hundreds of demonstrators through the agency of the police and Interior Ministry personnel. The release of the conclusion of the study came only a few days after the former president was arrested and held for questioning concerning the killings and for more general corruption charges during his almost 30 years of ruling Egypt.

The number of dead is now said to be at least 846, a figure which is more than twice what the government had previously reported. The deaths took place in the two week period from January 25^th until February 11^th. This fact only emphasizes the extent of the violence perpetrated against the protestors, including snipers firing onto crowds of people from roofs to thugs hitting people with heavy sticks.

April 22, 2011

According to Zainab al-Khawaja, the daughter of arrested Bahraini human rights activist Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, was put on trial by a military court last Thursday. The past two months has seen the worst unrest since back in the 1990s, mostly originating in the Shi’ite majority community in opposition to the Sunni-led government of this Gulf Arab Kingdom.

In reaction to the widespread uprisings taking place in Bahrain, the King enacted martial law as well as requesting troops from neighboring Sunni-led countries to help put down the revolt. Khawaja was arrested along with his two sons-in-law earlier in April when the government began to crack-down harshly utilizing check-points within the city of Manama and in outlying Shi’ite villages.

As a result of this crackdown hundreds of citizens have been arrested, a large number of whom are politicians and opposition activists. The government claims that only those accused of perpetrating a crime were arrested, and that all accusations will be investigated.

"The trial against him (Khawaja) started today but we family members were not allowed to enter the court. I don't know what charges are brought against him," his daughter Zainab al-Khawaja said.

"My father called last night. He didn't sound fine. I think he has a mouth injury because he could barely speak," she said.

"He kept saying oppression is great," said Khawaja, who on Thursday stopped a week-long hunger strike to demand the release of her family members.

April 24, 2011

Regardless of the news coming out of the Middle East, trading on the Gulf State Arab markets seem to be doing just fine, if the new highs reached that week can be any indication.

Saudi Arabia companies posted positive first quarter earnings pushing the markets up, while the petrochemical sector has been forecast to continue to outperform as fuel prices rise. Analysts do expect a correction at some point as the trading moves to follow global equities and energy prices more mindfully.

The price of Brent crude topped $122/barrel last Wednesday due to a rebound in equities and a greater than anticipated fall in the US oil product surplus helped relieve the fear of an eroding demand for oil.

“I think investors are looking for pause, and new positions will be limited to mainly petrochemicals if at all,” said Muhammad Shabbir, chief investment officer and head of Saudi asset management at Rasmala Investment Bank.

Investors are remaining cautious until more large cap stockes in banking and real estate post their earnings.

“Not a lot of people are expecting blazing earnings growth,” said Ibrahim Masood, senior investment officer at Mashreq Bank. “Real estate and banks are still in a challenging environment.”

April 27, 2011

According to a poll done by the Pew Research Center, the post-revolutionary Egypt is even more anti-Israel and anti- America than it was before the political turmoil and ouster of President Hosni Mubarak in the early months of 2011. The poll, which was released on Monday, also showed that there is also strong support for democracy and human rights, despite the negative feelings toward the dominant world democracy, the US, and the only democracy in the Middle East, Israel.

President Obama has shown consistent support for the changes which have come to Egypt, including calling for Mubarak to resign his position only a week after the beginning of the anti-government protests erupted. Obama has also expressed strong approval of Egypt’s transition to a democratic form of government. Yet the poll of 1,000 Egyptians conducted in face-to-face interviews taken from March 24^th to April 7^th showed that Egyptians still feel negatively towards the United States.

The report stated that “No dividend emerges for the United States from the political changes that have occurred in Egypt. Favorable ratings of the U.S. remain as low as they have been in recent years, and many Egyptians say they want a less close relationship with America. Israel fares even more poorly.”

The results of the poll must be a disappointment to President Obama, who has made improved relations with the Muslim world one of the major themes of his administration’s foreign policy. Two years ago Obama made a ‘watershed’ speech in Cairo in which he called for a “new beginning” in bilateral relations with Egypt and the rest of the Arab world, including pressuring Israel to come to a final agreement with the Palestinians. The policy in the US towards the various protest movements in the Middle East of late has been one of support in the hope that this support will win the favor of the Arab people resulting in an emergence of a new, pro-Western, liberal and democratic Middle East.

Maye Kassem, associate professor of political science at American University of Cairo explained that a majority of Egyptians do not consider relations with the US a high priority. According to Kassem, the subject Egyptians are most concerned with in recent days is making sure that the corrupt politicians and others from Mubarak’s regime are brought to justice.

“A lot of people are more concerned now whether these people are going to be charged or are they going to get away. This is more on people’s minds than the U.S.,” Kassem said. About attitudes towards the U.S, she added: “I wouldn’t say they are positive. I would say neutral.”

May 1, 2011

Three missiles hit a private residence in the Libyan capital of Tripoli late on Saturday, killing the youngest son of Colonel Muammer Gaddafi and three pre-teen grandchildren.

Libyan government officials brought journalist to see the site of the air strike where they observed the roof completely caved in in several places. Mangled remains of reinforced steel and concrete hung down from the ceiling. One sofa was left miraculously intact while other furniture was covered in debris. The house was is located in a wealthy residential neighborhood of Tripoli, where glass and other remnants of the house lay covering the well-kept lawn.

Government spokesman Mussa Ibrahim commented on the attack:

“What we have now is the law of the jungle. We think now it is clear to everyone that what is happening in Libya has nothing to do with the protection of civilians.”

NATO denies that it was targeting Colonel Gaddafi, his family or any civilians, but did admit to launching air strikes on military targets which are found in the same area as the site which was shown to reporters.

“NATO continued its precision strikes against regime military installations in Tripoli overnight, including striking a known command and control building in the Bab al-Aziziyah neighborhood shortly after 1800 GMT Saturday evening,” said a spokesman for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

Charles Bouchard, Canadian Lieutenant-General and NATO’s commander of operations in Libya explained that the target was part of a general strategy to destroy command centers which threaten the welfare of civilians.

“All NATO’s targets are military in nature ... We do not target individuals,” he said.

May 3, 2011

After what amounted to a ten year old manhunt, Osama bin Laden was found and killed early on Monday morning, local time in Abbottobad, Pakistan, by a small group of US military forces.

President Barak Obama made the announcement on Sunday evening in the US, interrupting regularly scheduled broadcasts, that the most sought after enemy of the American people had been discovered and killed.

The response of the citizens was swift and strong, with spontaneous gatherings erupting in front of the White House in Washington, DC; at the site of ‘Ground Zero’ and in Times Square in New York; and in many other locations throughout the US.

Politicians, Democrats, Republicans and former US presidents all praised the operation, calling it an historic moment which has shown the world that persistence pays off and the US is relentless in its pursuit of justice.

The information which finally led to the one million dollar high-security luxury compound about an hour’s drive north of Islamabad, Pakistan, can be said to have begun years ago with interrogations of key figures in Al-Qaeda, bin Laden’s organization which has been responsible for numerous attacks on the US, other countries and most notoriously the September 11, 2000 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon.

A highly trusted courier for bin Laden was revealed through the interrogations, and through painstaking investigations, surveillance and follow up. The great breakthrough came last July, when Pakistani agents working for the CIA noticed the courier driving in the vicinity of Peshawar. After watching him closely for weeks, he finally drove to the huge compound in Abbottabad, which clearly pointed to something or someone big within, perhaps even bin Laden.

After eight months of painstaking planning, practice, and evaluating options for an attack and the what-ifs of failure, the decision was finally made to send in 79 Navy Seal commandos in four helicopters. The helicopters descended just past midnight on the compound on a moonless night, waking the residents. A firefight ensued in which five people were killed and none of the US soldiers were injured. One of the dead was a woman used by one of the men as a human shield, unsuccessfully. One of bin Laden’s sons was killed, along with the courier and the courier’s brother. The commandos were prepared to take bin Laden alive, but when he resisted them, the soldiers returned fire and killed him.

A photo was taken of bin Laden’s face and uploaded to a facial recognition computer program, where his identity was confirmed to a degree of 95% certainty. A DNA sample was also taken and matched with bin Laden’s family member’s DNA, giving further proof of 99.9% that the man they had killed was truly bin Laden. By 1:10am the helicopters left the compound, leaving several women and nine children ages 2 to 12 years old behind.

The commandos took possession of the body, flew him to an air craft carrier, performed a ceremony in keeping with Muslim tradition and buried him at sea. The US decided that burial at sea would avoid the potential problem of creating a holy shrine for his followers to flock to, but his burial at sea was done within 24 hours, also to adhere to Muslim custom.

May 4, 2011

Reaction to bin Laden Slaying Mixed in Middle East

As the Middle East continues to deal with instability and changing political realities a new element has been added into the mixture, with chaotic results. The news of the death of Osama bin Laden was met with a large variety of responses from Middle East observers; from shock and anger, to satisfaction and delight.

In Saudi Arabia, bin Laden’s birthplace, joy could be discerned as well as mourning and denial. Several conspiracy theories have even emerged.

Expert observers of the Middle East have asserted that the successful hunt for and killing of bin Laden will certainly give the US a huge domestic boost while at the same time the political situation in the Middle East has been rendered more complex with the chances of terrorist attacks and other violent responses increasing.

In the hours shortly after the news of bin Laden’s death reached Saudi Arabia a debate raged about whether bin Laden was a criminal who gave their country and Islam a bad name while others declared that bin Laden was a holy martyr who stood up to western imperialism.

According to one online poster, Mohamed al Saeedi from Qatif in Saudi Arabia,

“Small groups of Saudis consider him a hero, while most think he is a criminal, but the voices of extremists are louder.”

Not surprisingly, the official statement from Israel was highly praiseworthy of the US action. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the raid was a “resounding victory for justice, freedom and the common values of all democracies (who are) fighting shoulder to shoulder against terrorism.”

The reaction of Hamas, however was highly condemnatory. In the Gaza strip the leader of the Islamist Palestinian movement, Ismail Haniyeh called the US action a “continuation of the American policy based on oppression and the shedding of Muslim and Arab blood.”

Disbelief in the reality of bin Laden’s death afflicted many online Islamist militant activist, and those that did believe it vowed revenge. “Oh God, please make this news not true. God curse you Obama,” read one post in Arabic. “Oh Americans…it is still legal for us to cut your necks.”

The Islam Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt issued a carefully constructed statement, taking care to protect their potential role as a powerful political influence after the ouster of Hosni Mubarak during February’s revolution. Criticizing neither the US action nor al-Qaeda, they rather urged the west to “stop linking Islam to terrorism” and called on western powers such as NATO, the EU and the US to depart from Iraq and Afghanistan.

One shopkeeper in Jordan probably summed up Middle Eastern sentiment by saying that:

“Although we’re against killing civilians, we sympathize with him because he’s a Muslim and was killed this way. He became a symbol of fighting against American occupation.”

May 8, 2011

Salafists- Islamists who are more conservative than Hamas- staged a protest in the Hamas-led Gaza strip on Saturday carrying posters of Osama bin Laden and chanting “We warn you America, we warn you Europe!”

Hamas broke up the gathering of dozens of Salafists denouncing the raid by US forces in Pakistan which ended in the death of the Al Qaeda leader bin Laden. Some other banners said “We are all your soldiers Osama” and “Osama is alive inside of us.”

The square in Gaza City where the protest took place was cordoned off by Hamas police forces, who also prevented protesters from marching in the streets of Gaza City, and then gave them orders to leave the area.

Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas in Gaza forcefully condemned the US killing of bin Laden, calling it an “assassination of an Arab holy warrior.”

Expert analysts explained that Haniyeh’s statement was an attempt at pacifying the Salafists who believe that Hamas is too moderate in their beliefs and practices. The Salafist would like to see Gaza led by a more fundamentalist Islamic leadership more closely based upon the faith which was followed by their founders.

There have been several gun fights between the Salafists and Hamas in recent weeks.

Some of the signs of Hamas’ moderation have been the signing of a unity agreement with the head of the secular Fatah movement, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Cairo. Despite Hamas’ alleged moderation, the United States and the European Union officially classify Hamas as a terrorist organization because of its violent approach to relations with Israel.

May 9, 2011

Just days after the US successful raid on Osama bin Laden’s hideout in Pakistan, US drones attempted to kill the radical Muslim cleric Anwar al-Awlaki in Yemen.

US officials stated that the missile strike was unsuccessful, and Awlaki is still alive. Awlaki is a US citizen, born in the United States, who became a leader and prominent voice for al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which is the Yemeni branch of al Qaeda.

According to Yemeni officials two other al Qaeda members were killed in the action, which took place last Thursday in an obscure area of Yemen.

Thursday’s missile strike utilized a predator drone, a departure from the usual use of Tomahawk cruise missiles which are launched from Navy vessels more commonly used on strikes against targets in Yemen. This is the first admitted missile strike in Yemen in exactly one year, however. In May of 2010 US missiles accidently killed one of president Saleh’s envoys by mistake. The drones which have flown over Yemen until now have all been unarmed.

Despite the fact that Awlaki is a US citizen, the Obama administration authorized the CIA and the US military to kill Awlaki. Awlaki was born in New Mexico, but in 2004 he moved to Yemen. Faisal Shahzad admitted to having been inspired by Awlaki to bomb Times Square, and Major Nidal Hasan, the alleged Fort Hood killer, also exchanged emails with Awlaki. In January 2010 Awlaki said that he was in contact with Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the so-called “underwear bomber” who has been accused of attempting to explode a Northwest Airlines flight on Christmas Day in 2009 flying from Amsterdam to Detroit.

This past September the government of Yemen said that they had converged on Awlaki in the town of Houta, but then later said that they had captured about 25 al Qaeda fighters in addition to a “vital terror headquarters.”

May 12, 2011

According to a human rights watch group, at least 750 people have perished so far in demonstrations, protests and unrest in Syria over the past seven weeks due to the violent reaction of government forces to the demonstrators.

Officials in the Obama administration are coming closer to calling for the resignation of President Bashar Assad of Syria, saying that his recent responses to his people’s demands have proven that he has abdicated his right to rule the country.

Such a statement from the United States would represent a serious shift from former declarations which had condemned Assad’s brutal crackdown, by falling short of declaring Assad’s reign illegitimate and calling for his leaving the presidency.

Tanks can be seen within the villages of southern Syria, the central location of the anti-government protests. Activists of the uprising have stated that the regime as essentially isolated several areas of the country.

The government’s crackdown has proceeded by closing of certain areas of Syria and doing house-by-house raids in search of men and women whose names appear on lists of wanted activists. Many people have been forced to flee as a result of the searches, for fear of being arrested by the government of Assad.

May 15, 2011

NATO Should Increase Pressure on Gaddafi Says UK General

General Sir David Richards, British Armed Forces chief expressed his belief that NATO must begin direct attacks against the foundations of the regime that are propping up Colonel Muammar Gaddafi in Libya.

UN Allows for All Necessary Measures

The Security Council resolution of the United Nations allowed for “all necessary measures” to be utilized in order to protect the citizens in Libya who are under threat of attack, without authorizing any actual occupation force there. The United Kingdom and other NATO countries have been bombing Libyan targets under the resolution’s mandate, but with certain restrictions.

General Richards advises that those restrictions be widened in order to force Gaddafi out of power, including the possibility of killing Gaddafi in an air strike.

General Richards is not alone in his belief that enlarging the targets from only those objectives that are direct threats to more peripheral targets which are nonetheless helping to keep Gaddafi in power. In order to widen the scope of the air strikes, however, would require the support of NATO member states.

Gaddafi Legitimate Target

General Richards explained that killing Gaddafi within a command center would certainly be “within the rules” of the UN resolution, although ousting Gaddafi is not a stated military objective of the action. General Richards continued,

“The vice is closing on Gaddafi but we need to increase the pressure further through more intense military action. The military campaign to date has been a significant success for NATO and our Arab allies. But we need to do more. If we do not up the ante now there is a risk that the conflict could result in Gaddafi clinging to power. At present, NATO is not attacking infrastructure targets in Libya. But if we want to increase the pressure on Gaddafi's regime then we need to give serious consideration to increasing the range of targets we can hit."

In addition, General Richards pointed out that there had been "hardly any civilian casualties as a result of the extreme care NATO has taken in the selection of bombing targets."

May 17, 2011

Israel and Lebanon File Protests at UN Over Border Confrontation

Diplomats representing Lebanon and Israel at the United Nations formally submitted protests concerning the violent border clashes that took place between Israel, Lebanon and Syria on May 15, Nakba Day, this past Sunday.

May 15^th is the day the Arab world calls Nakba, the Arabic word for ‘catastrophe.’ The day commemorates the anniversary of the founding of Israel in May, 1948. Traditionally this day is observed by Arabs inside and outside of Israel with protests, demonstrations and other activities just on the cusp of turning violent. It is not unheard of for these protests to indeed occasionally turn violent, with rock throwing and tire burning.

This year an added element to the day was added; thousands of Arab protesters converged on the Syrian and Lebanese border with Israel. As the demonstrators began to overrun the border, tear down the fence and enter Israel, Israeli troops shot into the crowd, and as a result, 14 Arabs were killed and hundreds more were wounded.

Lebanon is accusing Israel of using “excessive force” against the unarmed protesters. Meron Reuben, the Israeli ambassador to the UN from Israel, said that the demonstrations were a “dangerous provocation” in letters submitted to the UN Security Council and to Ban Ki-moon, the Secretary General of the UN.

Meron Reuben stated that Israel had shown “maximum restraint in confronting the significant threat of violence.”

In his letters to the UN Mr. Reuben added that, "Any harm caused to the individuals involved in these violent demonstrations lies clearly with" Lebanon and Syria.

Mr. Reuben also expressed his opinion that, at least in the case of the protests in the Golan Heights, the Syrian government helped to organize the border incidents.

The Israeli ambassador continued to say that the huge protest on Sunday "raises disturbing questions about whether certain actors in our region are seeking to such provocations as a cynical distraction from other issues," referring to the violent confrontation Syria is dealing with now on its home front with dissenters in the south of the country and elsewhere.

Nawaf Salam, the Lebanese ambassador to the UN, said that the Israeli soldiers ‘opened fire’ on the unarmed demonstrators, even though Lebanese troops took “tight security measures” to accompany the protestors at the border between Lebanon and Israel.

Salam said that the killings point out “Israel’s aggressive nature, as it did not hesitate to use excessive force against civilians in blatant contravention of international law and customs."

As one of the countries of the 15-nation Security Council with a rotating seat, Lebanon demanded that the council "pressure Israel to renounce its belligerent and provocative policy toward Lebanon and hold it responsible" for the deaths.

May 18, 2011

Electric Cars Coming to Israel

Better Place, the Israel-based electric car company, released its pricing schedule in advance of its introduction of the world’s first nation-wide battery charging grid.

The grid will be used to power-up Better Place’s electric cars, soon to go on the market. According to company press releases, the Better Place’s charging network will give total coverage to drivers of electric cars, allowing them to drive from one end to the country to the other in an electric powered vehicle with no limitations on their range.

Better Place is planning on deploying 40 Battery Switch Stations before the year’s end, and has already signed agreements with 400 parking lot owners all over the country to install thousands of ‘charge spots.’ In addition, the company has made deals with 27 municipalities across Israel to guarantee that there will charge spots easily accessible to customers at centralized locations within their cities.

“By the end of this year, the solution you see here will be visible across the country – giving drivers the freedom to drive zero emission, zero oil cars with the same convenience they enjoy today”, said Shai Agassi, Founder and CEO of Better Place. “This model, will serve as a template for countries around the world to replicate as they march down the path towards oil independence.”

On Tuesday Better Place released its pricing schedule and estimated cost for its flagship car called the Fluence Z.E. from the French car manufacturer Renault. The car is priced at 123,000 shekels, about $34,670.

The pricing for the electricity is dependent on how much driving the consumer engages in; the more miles driven, the less expensive per mile. The subscription rate for low-mileage users is 1,090 shekels per month ($310) for up to 12,000 miles/year. For high-mileage users the price is $450 for 20,000 miles/year. There will also be an unlimited usage package over the course of three years priced at 157,500 shekels ($44,530) for the three year period.

Better Place says that the price schedule can save consumers as much as 20% in overall costs as compared with gas-powered vehicles. The Renault is due to go on sale beginning in August.

May 22, 2011

European Bank Considering Expansion Into MENA

Despite the recent and ongoing turmoil in the Middle East and North Africa, the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is considering expanding their business into the area.

At present the bank supports projects in Eastern Europe and the former states of the Soviet Union, but yesterday they began to take the steps necessary to expand into the MENA region.

"EBRD shareholders have made significant progress towards a decision on extending the bank's investment to countries in the Middle East and North Africa," a spokesman for the bank said.

Speaking at the bank’s annual meeting, Thomas Mirow, the EBRD chief explained that the bank would like to begin investing in the region sometime next year. The meeting for the twenty year old bank took place in Astana, the capital city of Kazakhstan.

"We are quite confident that it should be indeed possible to start with initial liquidities as of spring 2012," Mirow said.

The consequences of this move would be that the EBRD may even begin investing in Egypt, and perhaps Morocco as well, before the completion of the 18-month process of re-ratification of the bank’s new status.

Mirow said that the bank will hopefully make available 2.5 billion euros ($3.54 billion) of investments into the region each year.

Mirow added that “The move would be a major part in the international community’s response to the Arab Spring,” referring to the Arab uprising, especially which took place in Egypt, which resulted in the downfall of the former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak.

Egypt is already being considered as a strong contender for the bank’s investments. Egypt’s temporary government submitted their request for the EBRD to lend funds to small and medium-size businesses after the downfall of Egypt’s previous government. Morocco has also voice interest in investments from the bank.

May 24, 2011

Egypt to Borrow $4 Billion from Saudi Arabia

Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi of Egypt told the official Egyptian press agency, MENA on Saturday that Saudi Arabia will lend Egypt emergency monies in the amount of $4 billion.

Tantawi, who is the head of Egypt’s ruling military council said, “The $4bn will be distributed in the form of soft loans, deposits and grants.”

Egypt and Saudi Arabia have long been strong allies, as they are the two most powerful of the Sunni Arab states, but with the removal of Egypt’s president Hosni Mubarak, a tried and true friend of Saudi Arabia, by the recent Egyptian revolution, it was unclear if Saudi Arabia still holds Egypt in its favor. There is also distrust brewing on the part of Saudi Arabia as Egypt has begun seeking closer relations with Iran, thirty years after the Shah was deposed.

But Saudi Arabia seems to want to maintain its good relations with Egypt, agreeing to the loan. Field Marshall Tantawi phoned King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia on Saturday in order to thank him for the generous loan, as reported in the Saudi press.

Egypt’s foreign exchange reserves have been depleted over the months since the revolution, creating an atmosphere of uncertainty about Egypt’s economic stability. In December, two months before February’s revolution Egypt’s foreign exchange reserves were at $36 billion. Last month’s foreign exchange reserves were reported to be at $28 billion, a loss of $12 billion, or about one third of the total.

President Barak Obama had already announced last Thursday, before the Saudi loan was announced, that the US will cancel as much as $1 billion in bilateral debt which is owed to the US by Egypt. President Obama added that the US will also begin to set up enterprise funds on behalf of Egypt.

May 25, 2011

World Bank Takes Optimistic View towards Mideast Upheaval

The World Bank released a report on Tuesday saying that despite the short-term downward movement of Middle Eastern and Northern African economies, in the long run the world can expect to see positive movement in that region.

The report is the World Bank’s regional economic update for May 2011 for the area which is more and more frequently being referred to as MENA. According to the report:

“The medium-run growth prospects are likely to improve” for Middle Eastern and North African nations, whose broader geographical region is often referred to as MENA, “especially if the political changes are associated with more open and accountable governance and more rapid reforms.”

The report also stated that the MENA countries had already mostly risen out of the global financial crisis that had typified many economies across the world by the end of 2010. Before the political crisis occurred economic predictions expected the area to fully recover from the financial crisis sometime during 2011.

In early 2011 however an unexpected event took place; unrest, uprisings and revolution shook the region, causing regime changes in powerful countries such as Egypt and Tunisia. The pro-democracy demonstrations spread further to Bahrain, Libya, Syria and Yemen, leaving economic turmoil in their wake, and a change in attitude.

The World Bank report asserts that often change is for the better.

A “better rule of law will promote competition, and political stability will attract investment, facilitating more rapid growth in a sustainable way,” the World Bank said.

Now it is up to the various countries to install governments with credibility and a commitment to reform as quickly as possible.

In the short term, the report states, it is “inevitable that investment will be delayed and economic challenges will emerge.” But previous crisis have shown that these problems are almost always limited in nature, with growth slowing for about one year after which it returns even surpasses the previous levels.

May 29, 2011

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) prepared a report for the G8 summit which was held at the end of last week in Deauville, France which stated that the oil-importing nations in the MENA region (Middle East and North Africa) will need a boost of at least $160 billion of external funding to get them through 2013 in an economically stable fashion.

The Group of Eight met for two days to discuss many issues of strategic international concern, including how the global community can assist countries in the area to strengthen their economies, especially after the de-stabilizing effect the pro-democracy movements can potentially have on those economies.

The IMF’s Middle East director Masood Ahmed explained to journalists that although there will be and expectation that a large part of the needed funds will come from the countries themselves, “over the next two to three years there is a need to rebuild confidence,” which will surely lead to an economic transformation of those countries which will benefit the entire world.

“Our role is to provide support early and use that as a catalyst to give private investors confidence,” Masood Ahmed added.

The G8 leaders were in agreement with the head of IMF’s Middle East director, promising their “strong support” for the pro-democracy movements which have been sprouting up across MENA. No specific aid was mentioned; however earlier in the week the World Bank had already announced its own plans to fund the economies of Tunisia and Egypt to the tune of $6 billion. Tunisia and Egypt were the catalyst countries which toppled their own regimes at the beginning of 2011, inspiring a general movement across the Middle East to bring political reforms to their own oppressive regimes.

The IMF has already pledged $35 billion as aid for the region, and is currently negotiating with Egypt about providing the needed financing to stabilize the economy. According to Ahmed Egypt will require from $9 billion to $12 billion in external financing this coming year until the end of June 2012.

May 31, 2011

The influential Swiss Bank UBS AG announced on Monday that the former banker of Crédit Agricole, the corporate and investment bank, Albert Momdijan is slated to take charge of UBS’s business with the mega-wealthy clients of the Middle East and Africa as of August 1^st.

Financial Advisor to the Mega Wealthy

Momdijan was the head of the French bank’s corporate and investment business in the Middle East until recently. As the head of Crédit Agricole’s Middle East section Momdijan advised on some of the largest transactions in the region. Included among his deals was the Emirates International Investment Company’s $1.5 billion purchase of a 3% share in the media powerhouse Vivendi SA as well as Kuwaiti Telco Zain in the unsuccessful $12 billion attempted takeover of the United Arab Emirates’ Etisalat.

Trend to Hiring Investment Bankers

The employment of Momdijan by UBS AG is another in a growing number of private banks hiring of experienced and well-connected investment bankers to dedicate their talents and experience to exclusively dealing with ultra-high net-worth clients. Banks consider any client who brings in at least $50 million in assets into the bank as mega clients.

Paul Raphael, the head of UBS’s global emerging markets department said in a statement that Momdijan “"brings with him deep relationships and unrivalled experience in advising ultra-high net worth and corporate clients on their banking needs."

In addition to this role Momdijan will also act as head of UBS’s regional corporate advisory group.

June 1, 2011

Skype Rebellion Met with High-Tech Listening

Skype was the method of choice for secure communications among anti-government organizers in Egypt during the past winter’s uprising, believing that Skype “cannot be penetrated online by any security device.”

However it turns out the protestors’ feelings of privacy were misplaced and Egypt’s security service was indeed listening in on their Skype conversations.

Egypt’s “Electronic Penetration Department” issued an internal memo which actually bragged that it had intercepted one such conversation discussing the non-penetrability of Skype to unwelcome ears.

Skype is a familiar internet tool used by millions of people throughout the world to make inexpensive, and often free, international phone calls over the internet. Microsoft is about to purchase Skype for $8.5 billion, and Skype, headquartered in Luxembourg, has also become a valuable tool for dissidents organizing revolutions around the globe. The reason for Skype’s popularity? It is known to have powerful encryption technology built in which easily evades traditional wiretaps.

Egyptian dissidents are not the only ones using Skype. All over the Middle East and North African region Skype has been used for video calls and conferences, ordinary phone calls, instant messages and even exchange of files. Anti-government leaders in Iran relied on Skype to plot strategy as well as to organize the February protest. US State Department cables release on WikiLeaks attest to the fact that activists in Saudi Arabia and Vietnam are also enamored with Skype.

But the love affair has taken a bad beating. After the successful toppling of the Egyptian government and its leader Hosni Mubarak in March, several demonstrators entered the headquarters of Amn Al Dowla, the state’s security agency where the discovered that secret memo mentioned above gloating over the agency’s ability to intercept messages sent over Skype. One activist, Basem Fathi claims that he found files describing his personal life, including trips he took to the beach and about his girlfriends, which he believes were taken from intercepted e-mails and phone calls.

"I believe that they were collecting every little detail they were hearing from our mouths and putting them in a file," he says.

It turns out there are some companies based in the US and elsewhere that are designing tools which can be used to either block or listen in on Skype calls. The tools use “spyware” which is capable of intercepting the audio stream and bypassing completely Skype’s encryption. Egyptian documents attest to the fact that Egypt’s spy service tried FinSpy last year, one such spyware product.

Skype’s chief information security officer, Adrian Asher, explained that it is impossible to expect his company to prevent these technologies from compromising the service which Skype delivers:

"Can we control [spyware] taking an audio stream off the speakers or the microphone? No, there is nothing we can do."

June 5, 2011

Israel Clashes with Protesters on Syrian Border

Despite several warnings from Israeli troops to stay away from the border fence, hundreds of pro-Palestinian demonstrators stormed the fence on Sunday until Israeli troops fired across the Syrian frontier, scattering the crowd in a panic.

Syrian television is reporting at least four dead, including a 12-year-old boy, with the number of dead and wounded likely to increase.

The demonstrators were at the border near the druse town of Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights to mark the 44^th year since Israel defeated the Arab armies in what has come to be known as the Six Day War, or the ’67 War.

Israel is accusing the Syrian government of cynically instigating the border tension to draw domestic attention away from the internal Syrian crackdown of dissidents within its own borders, which has been escalating into a bloodbath in recent days.

Israel had assured Syria and the world community to prevent a repetition of the deadly outcome of a similar protest last month. In May hundreds of demonstrators were able to enter the Israeli side of the Golan Heights, directly clashing with Israeli military personnel. That confrontation marked the 63^rd anniversary of the founding of the State of Israel in May of 1948, a day known in the Arab world as “Naqba” or “Catastrophe” Day. This month thousands of Israeli soldiers were mobilized and put on alert in anticipation of a similar clash in the hope of avoiding bloodshed. Unfortunately that was not to be.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his cabinet that, “Unfortunately, extremist forces around us are trying today to breach our borders and threaten our communities and our citizens. We will not let them do that.” Netanyahu added that the military was ordered to show “maximum restraint.”

June 12, 2011

Yemen in Turmoil After President Injured

On June 3^rd the president of Yemen, Ali Abdullah Saleh was seriously injured in what appears to have been a bombing on the presidential palace. The following day Saleh, aged 69, was evacuated from the capital of Yemen, Sanaa, had transported to Saudi Arabia for medical treatment. He apparently suffered critical head injuries as well as upper body burns.

Supporters of Saleh may be in denial, insisting that the president will return to his post “soon.” Government opponents do not believe this prediction will come to pass.

This latest development has left an already overburdened Yemen with an even gloomier prospect for stability and prosperity. Since February the country, among the world’s poorest, has been embroiled in an internal struggle for control, bringing it to the brink of collapse. This latest development can very well be the last straw.

Saleh’s regime is fighting off a list of opponents, from demonstrators to army defectors to tribal enemies in the capital. In the southern part of the country the US has been using unmanned drones to strike against al-Qaida targets in an effort to contain the rebellious southern citizens and prevent al-Qaida from seizing more power than what they already have.

"The situation is uncertain. Everyone thinks that everyone else is 'cooking' something," said Hamza Shargabi, a surgeon, speaking from Sanaa. "(It) is still very, very tense in so many places around the country."

Shargabi added that in Yemen’s third largest city, Taiz, population 430,000, government tanks attacked crowds of protestors.

June 14, 2011

Analysts are sighing with relief as second-quarter figures for Middle Eastern loans out pace first-quarter numbers by 43%.

At the beginning of the year uncertainty was the main attitude of economists and other observers as they stood by watching the Middle East turn to flames during revolutions in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and to a lesser extent several other Middle Eastern nations.

First-quarter numbers for lending reflect that uncertainty very well, with only $8 billion raised in the first quarter. The total volume for second-quarter loans will reach $11.5 billion, if the $5.5 billion of loans for the Middle Eastern borrowers is completed.

Sabic Capital, Investment Corp. of Dubai and Commercial Bank of Dubai are the leading banks, contributing the greatest percentage to the overall 43% rise in the value of loans.

Companies are once again ready to take the risk that taking a loan represents as the uncertainty in the Middle East dissipates and governments, along with their economies, seem to be stabilizing.

What is now being called the “Arab Spring” was a time of great turmoil and unrest, resulting in the overthrow of dictators in Egypt and Tunisia.

“At the start of the year there was a lot of uncertainty about the Arab Spring and the popular uprisings in the Middle East,” said Dirk Hentschel, head of distribution and loan syndication for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at WestLB AG in London. “That has improved a bit now and we’re seeing an increasing pipeline of deals.”

June 15, 2011

Turkish Elections Strengthen Democracy

On June 12 elections in Turkey resulted in the return to power of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) which won 50 percent of the votes. This not only brings the incumbent Prime Minister Erdogan back to power, but also bodes well for Turkish democracy.

Now that the AKP has a strong and clear mandate to govern for another term, they will begin to gather together a consensus to create a new constitution and solve the Kurdish issue in a peaceful way.

This is the first time since multi-party politics began in Turkey in 1946 that one political party has remained in power for three terms in a row while also increasing votes. The AKP has been instituting numerous reforms since they came to power in 2002. These include political and judicial reforms, strengthening the economy of Turkey, and enlarging foreign policy.

Election results show that the majority of Turkish voters are in favor of the reforms which Prime Minister Erdogan and his government have implemented, and they are ready for more.

This election is more evidence supporting the fact that democracy in Turkey is strong and vital, especially considering the fact that there are decades of military coups and anti-democratic practices in Turkey’s history. The great success of the AKP is due mainly to its power to maintain a balance of democratization and reforms on one side and continued economic development and national services on the other side. Financial markets have already responded positively to the election’s outcome, with a great expectation that the Turkish economy will continue to expand.

June 19, 2011

NATO Airstrike Hits Libyan Residential Neighborhood

Reports from Libya claim that a NATO conducted airstrike hit a residential area in Tripoli early on Sunday, killing at least four civilians, including two children.

NATO has repeatedly denied targeting non-military areas for their airstrikes, and at the moment the charges that NATO did hit a non-military target have not been independently verified.

The accusation, whether true or not, will most likely give Colonel Muammar Gaddafi a new point to rally support to end the international intervention which NATO represents, into the civil war taking place in Libya.

Journalists in Tripoli were quickly transported to the site of the airstrike in the early morning hours on Sunday, to witness the destruction of what appeared to be an apartment building whose construction was not yet completed.

Moussa Ibrahim, spokesman for the Libyan government, was not immediately at liberty to confirm the number of killed and wounded caused by the NATO airstrike. He did, however point out to the journalists that there are no military targets anywhere near the building that was struck.

After the visit to the bomb site the journalists were ferried to the hospital where they were shown four bodies, two of which were children, who were allegedly the victims of the NATO airstrike. It is noteworthy to mention that journalists are not permitted to travel or report freely from Libya, and are almost constantly being watched by government agents.

"There was intentional and deliberate targeting of the civilian houses," said deputy foreign minister Khaled Kaim during a visit to the site shortly after reporters arrived. "This is another sign of the brutality of the West."

NATO officials say they are investigating the allegations, but at this time do not have information about where the airstrike took place. It is not unheard of for the Gaddafi regime to make false claims against NATO and its activities, including lying about civilian casualties caused by NATO missions in Libya.

June 21, 2011

Incomes Increase for Businessmen in the Middle East, Study Shows

A new survey conducted by Mercer shows that executives throughout the Middle East have voted themselves pay raises on the order of 5.7% on average.

Managers Do the Best

The data also points out those employees on the managerial level have also benefitted from pay increases to an even larger extent then the executives, reflecting the fact that companies are focusing their financial resources on what they see as the “rainmakers” in their firms.

These average pay rises are on the average higher than what executives in Western Europe have received, although in Pakistan the average increase in yearly salary went up by 13.5% in 2011.

Qatar the Lowest and Bahrain the Highest

In Africa the average pay increase was 8.2%. Execs from Qatar had the lowest pay hikes, only 4%. Next up were Kuwaiti executives with 4.5% increases, Saudi Arabia had 5% raises as well as the UAE.

Bahraini executives did the best with 6% average salary increases, among all the Middle East countries that were included in the survey.

The data was analyzed by the Mercer Pulse Survey, which included information from 406 subsidiaries of multinational companies which do business in more than 60 European countries.

This survey focused its attention on the executive pay raises which was reported by all companies, including those who have frozen salaries in the past year while the date itself included the median increase in salary over a large variety of employee groups.

June 22, 2011

Italy Calls For End to Libyan War

The Italian government called on world leaders and NATO to do what it must to end the bloodshed in Libya. Meanwhile NATO defended the value of its air strikes despite the tragic misfiring of bomb which killed civilians when it misfired.

Franco Frattini, the Foreign Minister to Italy, said on Tuesday that the value of NATO’s air defense and attacks is brought into question whenever civilians are killed. Frattini added that it was crucial that NATO make sure that it does not add more ammunition into the propaganda war which Qaddafi is fighting.

"With regard to NATO, it is fair to ask for increasingly detailed information on results as well as precise guidelines on the dramatic errors involving civilians," Frattini said.

Frattini made his remarks in response to the misfiring of a NATO bomb in Tripoli. Up to nine civilians have been reported killed, according to Libyan official news sources.

NATO Wing Commander Mike Bracken, NATO’s military spokesmen responded to Frattini’s comments.

"I would suggest that our reputation and credibility is unquestionable. What is questionable is the Qaddafi regime's use of human shields, (and) firing missiles from mosques."

The tragic incident is a high profile embarrassment for the NATO mission in Libya which boasts that its presence is there solely to protect civilians from the brutality of the Libyan regime. It also comes immediately after a friendly fire event last week which saw NATO firing on a line of rebel vehicles from the warplanes.

"If you look at our track record, we have taken utmost care to avoid civilian casualties and we will continue to do so," said NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu.

July 3, 2011

Life in Gaza One Year after Mavi Marmara

One year has passed since the Israeli raid by commandos on the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara, which left nine so-called aid workers dead. The Mavi Marmara was part of a larger flotilla whose stated aim was to break the blockade on Gaza and bring desperately needed supplies, like medicine, school supplies and construction materials into the war torn area.

Today in Gaza the economy is growing, with only small signs of any kind of blockade on the citizens here. Technically the blockade is still in force, and Israel does turn away materials it believes can be used in attacks against its citizens, but short of that limitation, almost all items are allowed in.

The restrictions on people entering and leaving Gaza have also been reduced, most notably in May along the Egyptian-Gazan border. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) the economy of Gaza has expanded by 15.2% in the past year as freer access of people and goods allowed economic activity to thrive.

In the case of the purchase of chickens, there are three main sources: Egyptian chickens, which are still mostly smuggled in through a network of tunnels under the border. They go for about 50cents a pound, but even at that price they are not popular for fear of diseases. Frozen chickens from Israel are also available, ranging in price from 50 cents to $1 per pound. The most expensive choice is fresh chicken from Gaza, from $1 to $1.50 per pound. For many Gazan consumers, the Israeli chicken is the preferred choice.

“I came all this distance to buy Israeli frozen chicken,” said Suha Al-Mushrugi, mother of four, who travelled 20 miles from Rafah to Gaza City to go shopping. “The Egyptian chicken sold in Rafah is sick and now the Palestinian fresh local chicken has gotten sick, too, so the Israeli chicken is the best in the market now and the price is good.”

Despite the evidence that consumers in Gaza have food and other essentials readily available for purchase, a new flotilla is in the planning stages by the organizers of last year’s disastrous flotilla. Named the “Freedom Flotilla Two,” the Turkish Islamist Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) is hoping to launch 10 boats with more than 1,000 activists on board.

According to most observers this flotilla is completely unnecessary. Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) trucks delivering goods into Gaza has increased dramatically since last year, with an average daily number of trucks delivering goods to Gaza at 120 in April 2010, increasing to 237 each day, on average, in March, 2011.

The average Gazan will explain that wheras smuggled Egyptian goods used to be a necessity, they are now only an option utilized to fill in the gaps when Israeli goods don’t get through or are in short supply. Gazans say that they purchase Israeli products because there are more choices and higher quality.

“In Gaza, you’ll find the basics most the time and a huge variety of goods usually,” says Abu Wael Bseiso, age 43.

Underlying the lack of need of the latest flotilla, is the fact that just days before the flotilla is scheduled to arrive the largest shopping mall so far to be developed in an autonomous Palestinian area is set to open. The mall will be three stories tall with over 3,000 square meters of stores to shop in. It will be near the Haidar Abdel Shafi Square west of Gaza City. It is also the second shopping mall to open in Gaza in the past year.

July 5, 2011

A Jefferies study has revealed that Middle East consumers are more than ready to join the west and purchase a tablet computer device and keep head to head with the most advanced and sophisticated technology available today.

Just like other consumers around the world, consumers in the Middle East are increasingly dependent on their mobile devices, feeling it a necessity to stay connected no matter where they are or what time of day it is. The popularity of the tablet-style devices is attributable to the fact that more and more consumers wish to have something more portable than a laptop, but more versatile than a netbook. Tablets fulfill these criteria perfectly.

Consumers have also come to expect longer battery life, improved interfaces and highly competitive pricing. Consumer technology companies, such as the giant Samsung Company, agree that today people demand immediate and convenient connectivity wherever they may be.

The general manager of Samsung gulf Telecommunications Group Ashraf Fawakherji predicted what consumers can expect in the future.

“After achieving strong results in 2010, we anticipate continuing the year with a strong demand for the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and 8.9 in the Middle East,” said Fawakherji.

Fawakherji explained the reasons for the popularity of the tablets in Arab countries, especially in the United Arab Emirates.

“The tablets are catered towards Arabs and are fully-equipped with Arabic content and lifestyle applications.”

In another report by Morgan Stanley, the tablet market is about to explode with sales predicted to be even larger than last year. The Morgan Stanley report expects shipments in 2012 to reach 100 million.

July 7, 2011

Key Labor Shortage Reported in Middle East

According to a study conducted by Mr. Kenneth McKellar, a partner and Middle East energy and resources expert at Deloitte in the Middle East, unless more, young, skilled and talented individuals are trained and employed for leadership in the utilities and energy sector, these industries will soon face a crisis in management services.

Mr. McKellar explained the development of the crisis as follows:

“In the recent past, national oil companies in the Middle East had to compete with other regions of the world for the best available human resources from their partners, the International Oil Companies who positioned their best exploration and production talent at the more technologically challenging areas such as the deep water Gulf of Mexico, Brazil, West Africa, the Caspian and emerging areas of Asia Pacific. Today, IOCs are attracted by the size, availability and stability of the resources available in the Middle East region.”

Fortunately the shortage of talent from the Middle East is being addressed by Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries in several ways. Quotas are being established to insure there is at least a minimum number of nationals employed at the management level in the utilities and energy sector; funding for educational as well as vocational programs is gaining strength; and succession planning is also being emphasized as a ‘key imperative.’

Today, according to McKellar’s study, the average age of the technical staff in the resources and energy industry is over 50. An important approach to correcting this problem and bringing down the average age of technical staff is to select the most talented young employees and fast-track them according to their individual technical and business skills.

The study identified some important ways that the national oil companies are using in response to the problem of nationalization and dearth of skills, including paying for advanced education which is a primary part of staff development and retention. Just last year Saudi Aramco sponsored the continuing education of almost 2,000 undergraduate and graduate Saudi students in North America, Europe and also in Saudi Arabia.

If the GCC and other Middle Eastern countries do not fully address the issue of lack of home-grown talent in the energy and resources sector, an unsustainable and untenable situation of transient, expatriate labor will be needed to support this crucial industry, a prospect which is fraught with problems and uncertainty.

July 10, 2011

Sales Soar in Saudi Arabia for General Motors

The giant car manufacturer General Motors posted a rise of 22% in sales during the first half of the fiscal year, throughout the Middle East, in comparison to the same time-frame last year. Total car sales were reported to be 67,624 for the region.

Sales are recorded at the dealer outlets which are spread throughout the Middle East, and include the sales tallies for passenger vehicles, crossovers, sport utility vehicles and pick-up trucks. Included are the three brands GM manufactures; Chevrolet, GMC and Cadillac.

The greatest gains were in the purchases which individual customers made. Individual consumer purchases rose by 54%, which represented 71% of their total sales.

Increased sales were fueled by the popularity of GM’s newest models. Those models are Chevrolet Cruze, Camaro, Captiva and Malibu; the GMC Terrain; and the Cadillac SRX and CTS Coupe. Sales of these models rose by 35 % during the first half of the year.

Sales of passenger cars rose by 26%, while there was a 19% rise in the sale of SUVs and crossovers. Pickups faired the best with increased sales amounting to 37%.

The most popular brand was Chevrolet, which was purchased the first half of this year 29% more than last year; while GMC showed an impressive 15% increase in sales.

“June capped an outstanding performance in the first half for us in the Middle East. Our newest models are driving showroom traffic, which is fuelling the impressive growth of our retail sales,” said John Stadwick, president, MD of General Motors ME Operations.

"In 2011, we have increased our investment in new customer facilities and customer care training across the region," Stadwick stated.

"As we strive to create a world-class shopping, buying and ownership experience; consideration for our passenger cars, crossovers, sport utility vehicles and pickups continues to grow among our customers," he added.

July 12, 2011

Data supplied by Bloomberg points to rising prices of crude oil from the Middle East to Asia as Saudi Arabia sends hints that it will refrain from selling extra supplies to refineries there.

Two grades of crude, Murban and Qatar Marine posted rises in their prices for September loading of 6 cents to a discount of 2 cents for Murban per barrel, and 2 cents to a discount of 15 cents a barrel for Qatar Marine.

The Saudi Arabian Oil Company did sell additional barrels in July, but refiners did not seek more oil in August, according to two refiners who are part of this market. This action should reflect in the prices for Murban and Qatar Marine grades which are sold on the spot market. Yesterday the oil supplied Aramco reassured processors yesterday that it would supply full long-term amounts for the month of August.

The price for Oman crude, ready for immediate loading, fell $1.55 to $109.36 a barrel, a drop of 1.4%. Oil from Dubai for September delivery also fell a similar percentage, down to $108.90 a barrel, while Murban shrank 1.3% to $113.26 a barrel.

July 13, 2011

US-Syrian Relations Hurt by Attack on Embassy

Pro-Syrian government protestors attacked the US mission in Syria on Monday, breaking windows, writing graffiti which referred to the American ambassador as a dog, and raising the Syrian flag. These actions came in response to Ambassador Ford’s unauthorized visit to Hama, where he was welcomed with flowers and olive branches on his car. Hama is a hot-spot for anti-government protests in Syria.

Just before the angry mob of several hundred protestors formed in Damascus, one of the Syrian TV stations close to the regime of Bashar al-Assad, urged the people to send a “message” to the US ambassador. The TV station had reported that the ambassador had incited the people of Hama to riot against the Syrian government during his visit four days before.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reacted angrily to the charges, to the incitement, and to the attack.

“President Assad is not indispensable and we have absolutely nothing invested in him remaining in power,” Ms. Clinton said.

“Our goal is to see that the will of the Syrian people for a democratic transformation occurs.”

Ambassador Ford defended his visit to Hama, saying that he and the French ambassador went to Hama on Thursday to get a first-hand look at the types of protests happening there as well as to send a message that the US and other countries were watching the actions of the Syrian regime in Hama and elsewhere.

“The Syrian government can organize protests at our embassy if it wants, but the world will not be distracted from the fact that it is the Syrian government that is imprisoning, torturing and killing people who want to peacefully protest,” J.J. Harder, the embassy press attaché, told reporters.

July 17, 2011

Hosni Mubarak in a Coma in Sharm el-Sheikh

The 83-year-old former president of Egypt, Hosni Mubarak, is said to have suffered a heart attack and lapsed into a coma in the Red Sea Resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh.

President Mubarak has been under arrest in the southernmost tip of the Sinai Peninsula desert ever since his ouster from power during the February Egyptian protests which have come to be known as the “Arab Spring.”

On August 3^rd Mubarak was scheduled to be put on trial for the murder of protestors during the uprising as well as abuse of his power as president. During early questioning of Mubarak in early April the ex-president was said to have suffered from heart problems and was immediately placed in hospital, where he has remained ever since.

In late May a group of doctors were called upon to examine Mubarak and evaluate his state of health to decide if he should be moved to a prison hospital instead of the civilian hospital where he is now. The doctors’ conclusion was that Mubarak was too ill to be moved at that time, revealing that Mubarak was suffering from depression, poor circulation, and had a high risk of suffering cardiac arrest.

The medical evaluation also revealed that the former president of Egypt had cancer in his gall bladder and pancreas, a recurrence of an illness for which he had previous surgery.

There is a history of rumors which circulated about the ill-health of Mubarak, but government officials in Egypt always denied that he was suffering from any illness considered life-threatening. Last month, however, Mubarak’s lawyer, Farid el-Deeb admitted that Mubarak had cancer, and today el-Deeb revealed that Mubarak is now in a coma after suffering a heart attack.

July 19, 2011

Israel Succeeds in Peaceful Takeover of Blockade Blocking French Ship

Flaunting the warning that Israel would repel any attempt to cut through its sea blockade of the Gaza Strip, the French ship “Dignity al-Karama” nevertheless approached the Strip, only to be forcibly stopped by Israeli defense forces.

The takeover of the ship was said to be peaceful and without incident. No harm was caused to activists aboard the boat, or to any property.

"The takeover was orderly and done with restraint," the navy's deputy commander, Brig. Gen. Rani Ben-Yehudah explained to reporters at the Israeli port of Ashdod. "Nobody was hurt and the ship wasn't damaged."

Soldiers served the activists on board water and snacks after they took over the boat about 40 miles off the coast of Gaza.

The Dignity al-Karama was the sole boat left of a larger flotilla that was supposed to leave from Greece last month but was prevented from doing so by Greek authorities.

The foreign protestors on board will be questioned by Israeli authorities and then deported to “to their countries of origin as soon as possible,” said the Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor.

The activists are from several countries, including Sweden, Canada, France and Greece. There were also three journalists along, one of them Israeli, as well as crew members.

Israel placed a blockade on Gaza since the takeover of the government there by the Iranian backed terrorist organization Hamas. Israel refutes the activists’ claim that the takeover of their ship is akin to piracy on the high seas, while Israel asserts its right to defend itself against the infiltration of weapons and materials into Gaza which could be used against it. Many analysts schooled in international law support Israel’s contention that it has a right to defend itself against its enemies.

Activists assert that Israel is preventing much needed building materials from reaching Gaza, thus collectively punishing the 1.6 million residents for the sins of the few Hamas rulers, while Israel says that metal, glass, cement and other materials can be used for military purposes. In many cases Israel has approved the shipment of these materials for specific construction projects in coordination with the international community.

Underscoring this fact is the opening of a three-story, $4 million mall, with Gaza’s second escalator and only movie theater. During the 1980s militants destroyed by fire all the movie houses in Gaza. The mall was built, despite the embargo, and under the supervision of Hamas in the posh neighborhood of Rimal, and opened for business on Tuesday.

July 21, 2011

Car Bomb in Yemen Kills British Citizen

According to witnesses to the explosion in Yemen’s southernmost port city of Aden, a car exploded after a man entered the car and turned on the motor. A person passing by the area was also badly injured in the explosion.

The explosion occurred in an area known as Moalla, not far from a hotel which is the headquarters of the shipping company which the victim was employed by.

An investigation has been instituted and preliminary findings point to al-Qaeda involvement.

The victim was well-known and a long-term resident of Aden. He was about 60 years old, and had just returned from inspecting a ship offshore which had been attacked by pirates.

British nationals have been singled out as targets before in this Gulf country which is one of the poorest of the Arab states, as well as one of the most unstable. Only one year ago in April, 2010 was the British ambassador to Yemen attacked by another car bomb, which hit his convoy in Sanaa. The ambassador was able to escape unhurt. In October of last year a rocket-propelled grenade hit a diplomatic car and wounded three people, one of which was a diplomat.

July 24, 2011

Libya is once again under attack from NATO air forces as Tripoli was bombarded with air strikes on Sunday.

As Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi called the latest attacks on his regime “a colonial plot,” bombs fell on military targets throughout the country’s capital.

"In Tripoli there were two command and control nodes, two surface-to-air missile launchers and one anti-aircraft gun (hit)," the NATO official said from the mission's headquarters in Naples, Italy.

Smoke was reported rising above Gaddafi’s residential complex which is within the heart of Tripoli, with other strikes witnessed in the southeastern and eastern suburbs.

Gaddafi addressed his nation and the international community via an audio broadcast on state television late on Saturday after the bombardments. He said that the unrest which has been brewing since mid-February this year was a ‘colonial plot,’ but he did not explain further. Gaddafi also said that he is not guilty of brutal suppression of protestors in Libya, and denied that accusations of the international community that he has killed thousands of anti-government protestors.

"They lie to you and say, 'Libya kills its people with bullets, that is why we have come to protect civilians'," Gaddafi said, referring to the NATO air attacks which were allowed by the United Nations to protect civilians from Gaddafi’s brutal rule.

The most recent NATO air strikes are in retaliation for government attacks on rebel forces to the east of Tripoli, where rebels say they lost 16 fighters.

"Sixteen of our fighters have fallen as martyrs and 126 more have been wounded in fighting with loyalist troops in Zliten," rebels declared in a statement. They described heavy fighting in the suburban town of Souk al-Thulatha.

Rebel fighters have been attempting for several weeks to take Zliten, which is 120 miles from Tripoli and 25 miles west of Mistrata. Zliten is the last coastal city between rebel-held Mistata and Tripoli, making it an important strategic location.

July 25^th,2011

Iranian Forces Kill Two Kurdish Civilians in Rebel Town in Iraq.

Iranian forces have killed at least two people and wounded three others during a cross-border bombardment of Sidkan, a Kurdish town in Iraq.

Sidkan is located about twenty kilometers from the Iraqi border with Iran and is located within the semi-autonomous Kurdish region of Irbil province.

The mayor of Sidkan, Ahmed Qadir reported on Monday that shelling continued on his town for over four hours during the night. The two people killed and three wounded were all Iraqi Kurds who live in Sidkan. The casualties count was confirmed by the Captain of the Kurdish border guards, Ahmed Saleh.

The Iranian offensive against the Kurds in Iraq started earlier this month. It has almost become routine for the civilians in the area to suffer bombardment at the hand of the Iranians, who have repeatedly threatened to attack Kurdish military bases belonging to the rebel group “The Party of Free Life of Kurdistan.” The group originated in Iran, but sought and received shelter in the partly autonomous Kurdish region in Iraq which is along the border with Iran.

According to the International Red Cross over 800 Iraqi Kurdish refugees have been forced to leave their homes as a result of the recent violence. The Red Cross stated that most of the refugees are now living in temporary shelters or being forced into crowded conditions inside the homes of friends and/or relatives.

August 21^st

Fighting escalated in the streets of Tripoli on Saturday night as anti-Gaddafi rebels began a push to finally free Libya from the oppressive grasp of Muammar Gadaffi.

Witnesses and rebels reported hearing explosions and gunfire beginning shortly after sunset on Saturday evening. Protests mingled with fighting were seen in the eastern neighborhoods of Souq a-Jomaa and Tajoura. Later on, starting around 9pm, citizens began to leave their homes in Fashloum, Fournaj, Sabah, Ghoud al-Shayal, Hanshir and Dahra neighborhoods, joining together to protest and fight.

Residents also could be seen leaving mosques to join in the protests while chanting “God is great!”

Libyans living outside of their country who were in communication with family and friends still within the capital said that men, some armed and some not, were going out to protest the regime of Gaddafi while their women and children remained at home. In addition NATO fighter planes were reported to have bombed the city during the night.

Moussa Ibrahim, a spokesman for the government of Libya, announced that although rebels did attempt to attack the city, the government had “dealt with” the situation.

Early on Sunday morning Libyan state television broadcast Ibrahim riding in a car, surrounded by dozens of supporters in central Tripoli’s Green Square. Although Gaddafi himself was not shown during the broadcast, an audio message was released in which Gaddafi congratulates Tripoli’s residents for repelling an attack by “rats.”

"Sure, there were some armed militants who escaped into some neighborhoods and there were some scuffles," Ibrahim said. "But we dealt with it within a half hour and it is now calm."

Ibrahim added that volunteers fighting on behalf of the Gaddafi regime had repelled the attacks by insurgents in many of the capital’s neighborhoods. He also denied that the regime is on the verge of collapsing. Yet, more gunfire could be heard after the television broadcast.

Foreign correspondents holed up in the hotel in Tripoli in which their movements are closely watched could clearly hear the sounds of mortar rounds and gun battles continuing.

August 23, 2011

Bahrain’s Gulf Air Seeking New Routes

Gulf Air is now in the midst of a three year reorganizational plan which will hopefully not only make the Bahrain state-owned airline more profitable but also more desirable as an airline with many choice destinations to choose from.

According to chairman Talal al-Zain Gulf Air is planning new routes to Europe but also within the Middle East, with a special interest in major financial centers.

Al-Zain spoke from his office in Manama, explaining that the financial injection of BD400 million ($1.06 billion) last year from the government of Bahrain helped “very much” in the airlines reorganization efforts.

“Even though we are streamlining the airline, we wanted Gulf Air to reach more destinations,” said al-Zain, who is also the chief executive officer of the Mumtalakat Holding Company. Mumtalakat is a sovereign wealth fund which owns the airline. Al-Zain added that Gulf Air is also seeking to add more flights on routes which they are already flying.

Gulf Air began flying back in the 1950s, making it one of the oldest airline companies in the Middle East. Originally owned in partnership between several Gulf States, eventually Bahrain became the sole owner as the neighboring Arab sheikhdoms withdrew their support and began to form their own airline carriers. Today Gulf Air faces steep competition from several new rival carriers in the region, such as Emirates, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways.

Al-Zain called Gulf Air a “challenging asset,” explaining that rising fuel prices and natural disasters can drastically affect the airline’s profits. Despite these challenges Gulf Air is also “one of the most important assets we have” added al-Zain, explaining that the airline is a major component in Bahrain’s general policy to boost interest by global players to begin to create headquarters or branches in the prosperous island nation.

August 28, 2011

Abdullah Khalfan Al Rumaithi, the United Arab Emirates Ambassador to South Korea said in an interview that the UAE is eager to enlarge and strengthen its partnership with South Korea, especially in the areas of renewable energy, oil, training, education, construction, shipbuilding, semiconductors, information technology and telecommunications.

Progress in the economic and diplomatic relationship between South Korea and the UAE has been bolstered by the efforts of the President of the UAE His Highness Sheikh Kalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan and the President of South Korea Lee Myung-bak. The two leaders have expressed their strong desire to create a situation of full partnership in both the investment and economic spheres.

"Due to these efforts the two friendly countries have attained achievements and inked several agreements to ensure the security of energy and economic development of the two peoples", said the UAE representative.

The alliance between the two nations got its recent major boost as a result of the successful bid of a South Korean Consortium to build four nuclear reactors in the UAE in 2010. The construction was part of the UAE’s civil nuclear energy program. After that bid the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, General Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan visited South Korea in May of 2010.

"The visit has kick started the new era of furthering the bilateral relations in different fields between the UAE and South Korea", said the UAE ambassador to South Korea.

In order to further the development of economic relations between South Korea and the UAE, the South Korean Ministry of Knowledge will open an office in Abu Dhabi. The office will help Korean investors better control their investments in the Middle East and North Africa. It is believed that the establishment of this office is a reflection of the great confidence South Korea has in the economic placement of Abu Dhabi in the region.

August 30 2011

In what analysts are calling a “dramatic departure” from the stated goals of the protests by dissidents in Syria over the past 5 months of confrontations with the Syrian regime of president Bashar al-Assad, activists are calling for ‘international protection’ for their cause.

Two amateur videos posted over the weekend on YouTube demonstrate this turn of methodology of protest from one of an internal struggle to quite another-of foreign intervention.

In one of the videos, filmed in the small southern town of Horan, a small crowd of several dozen Syrian youths are shown clapping and chanting “the people demand international protection.”

In the second video protestors are seen holding signs stating “we need international protection” in Arabic and in English.

Until now any suggestion of international intervention was rejected by activists in Syria. The idea of any foreign intervention, similar in kind to the NATO forces bombing Libya, was anathema to the Syrian protest movement.

But this non-interventionist position has been worn thin within the Syrian protest movement as the death toll continues to rise at the hands of the harsh crack-down Assad has utilized to squash the protest movement there. The United Nations estimates that as many, or even more than 2200 people have already been killed during the Syrian uprising. Mass arrests have also taken place and activists have also stated that Syrian security forces have also used torture on the detainees.

As a result of the brutal crackdown and the apparent change in the attitude of the activists to foreign intervention, some of Syria’s neighbors and allies have called for the Syrian regime to begin to implement social and political reforms to calm the situation.

The Arab League called on Syria to show ‘restraint’ and to ‘end the violence’ there, and will be sending their secretary general on an ‘urgent mission to Damascus.’

The president of Turkey Abdullah Gul harshly criticized Assad in a televised speech, admitting that Ankara had ‘lost its confidence’ in what had formerly been Turkey’s trading partner and ally.

"We have reached a point where anything would be too little, too late. We have lost our confidence," Gul said.

Turkish intelligence has reported that as recently as last Thursday 17 people were killed in Syria.

"There is no place for totalitarian regimes and one party governments. Clearly, the leaders of these countries will take the initiative or they will be changed by force," Gul added.

September 4, 2011

Baker Botts Hires New Lawyer in Dubai Office

Baker Botts, the international law firm, has just named a new partner in their Dubai office, Vanessa Abernethy. Abernathy has extensive experience working with clients engaged in capital market transactions all over the Middle East, specializing in advisory as well as transactional work.

Ms. Abernathy has years of experience representing and advising clients who are raising capital utilizing equity securities through IPOs and privately, throughout the region. She has also counseled a large number of clients wishing to engage in mergers and acquisition transactions and has also obtained listings on the Dubai NASDAQ, Financial Market and the Abu Dhabi Securities Market.

"Vanessa's wealth of experience in the corporate and financial sectors of the Middle East further strengthens our capabilities there. The addition of Vanessa to our team demonstrates our commitment to providing highly-skilled lawyers who can handle some of the most complex transactions in the Middle East," said the Managing Partner at Baker Botts Walt Smith.

Baker Botts is one of the world’s leading international law firms, with 13 worldwide offices and more than 725 lawyers. The 170 year old firm has 3 offices in the Middle East utilizing the expertise of 25 lawyers who are specialists in the fields most needed in this region, including Islamic financing, conventional lending and project finance. This past year Baker Botts has added 7 new lawyers to their offices in Riyadh, Dubai and Abu Dhabi, with Vanessa Abernathy the most recent addition.

The recent economic instability of the region has seen an increase in demand for the services of Baker Botts. In addition the firm has recently represented high profile clients such as the Saudi Electric Company (SEC) and the Mitsubishi Corporation which engaged the firm’s services for the highly publicized South Gas Project.

"Since opening in Riyadh more than 10 years ago, in Dubai in 2005 and Abu Dhabi in 2009, our Middle East portfolio has expanded beyond energy industry issues," said Robert W. Jordan, Partner in Charge of the Middle East practice for Baker Botts. "While we remain heavily involved in energy, we are now regularly working on complex and novel projects and sophisticated transactions throughout the region, particularly involving government entities. We will continue to expand our capabilities to support the needs of clients either based in the region or looking to do business here."

September 6, 2011

Telecommunications Overseer Sends Warning to Bahraini Telecom Companies

The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority in Bahrain has sent stern warnings to two of the largest providers of mobile phone service to consumers in Bahrain, saying that their pricing for international mobile phone calls was “detrimental to competition and bad for consumers.”

In statements sent by email to Bahrain Telecommunications Co. (Batelco) and to the Saudi Telecom Company, the TRA said that it has been investigating several complaints from users who accused these two companies of “abusing their dominance in the international mobile telecommunications market, therefore breaching the conditions of competition which the law provides for.”

The TRA is waiting for a response from these two companies before they issue a final decision regarding the issue.

According to a spokesman for the TRA, Abdulelah Abdulla, “Batelco and Viva (Saudi Telecom) will have until October 13 to respond to our notice.”

The destinations whose pricing is in question include calls to India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and the Philippines.

There are three main licensed mobile phone operators in Bahrain; Batelco, STC Bahrain (which controls the Viva brand); and MTC Vodafone Bahrain. There are several other smaller companies with their own licenses to provide international prepaid phone calls.

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