Middle East Information - MEIC Issues and analysis of the Middle East: Conflicts, News, History, Religions and Discussions

Egyptian-Saudi power linkage project to start in June
8 Feb 2010 at 10:41pm Egyptian electricity minister Hassan Younis has announced that a power-linkage project with Saudi Arabia will start in June. The project, aimed at transferring 4,500 megawatts at two stages, will be completed by 2013, he said. The project will be part of a power-linkage grid that will comprise other Gulf countries, Younis added.

Kuwait targets 4m barrels a day oil production
8 Feb 2010 at 10:34pm Mohammed Husain, deputy chairman of Kuwait Oil Co., has said the Gulf state aims to boost crude oil output capacity to 4 million barrels a day by 2020, Bloomberg has reported. The country will maintain this output level to 2030, he said at a conference in Abu Dhabi.

ADCO plans exploration of marginal fields
8 Feb 2010 at 9:28pm Abu Dhabi National Oil Co.'s onshore unit Abu Dhabi Co. for Onshore Oil Operations plans exploration and appraisal of marginal fields to achieve part of its 1.8 million barrel-a-day oil production target, Bloomberg has reported, citing General Manager Munim Saif al-Kindy. The company is producing 1.4 million barrels a day now, he said.

Abu Dhabi to invite bids on $2bn power plant
7 Feb 2010 at 10:38pm The Abu Dhabi government has announced plans to invite firms to submit proposals in March to build a 1,600 megawatt power plant worth about $2bn, Reuters has reported. The Shuweihat 3 independent power project will be the emirate's ninth power project under a privatisation plan launched in 1998, under which international developers take a stake in the project. 'We have started the process of prequalification and we are targeting sending the request for proposals early next month,' Abdulla Saif al Nuaimi, director of privatisation at the Abu Dhabi Water & Electricity Authority (Adwea), told the news service. 'We expect to finalise selection of the developer by November this year, (make the) financial close by April 2011 and commissioning in summer 2013.'

Japanese firm to delay start of Egypt oil output to 2012
7 Feb 2010 at 10:36pm Japan's AOC Holdings has said it will delay until May 2012 plans to start commercial crude oil output from Egypt's offshore Northwest October block in the northern Gulf of Suez, Reuters has reported. AOC, the parent of oil and gas development unit Arabian Oil Co, has a 50% stake in the block and state-owned Egyptian General Petroleum Corp holds the remainder. Production from the block had previously been slated for later in 2010.

Dollar sales reach 171m on Tue.
9 Feb 2010 at 3:12am Iraq seeks strategic economic partnership with US
9 Feb 2010 at 3:10am Iraq Co For Bk Guarantees Extends Loans To SMEs
9 Feb 2010 at 2:07am Emergency Facility For Banks Still Open: UAE Ctrl Bk
9 Feb 2010 at 1:42am UAE's Reported Suspicious Financial Transactions Rise In 2009
9 Feb 2010 at 1:10am Growth to stay low in 2010, UAE confirms
9 Feb 2010 at 12:36am Kuwait Forecasts $26B Deficit In Next Fiscal Year
9 Feb 2010 at 12:23am Top 10 Stories On Zawya Dow Jones On Feb 9 At 0800 GMT
9 Feb 2010 at 12:00am UAE To Host OECD Anti Money Laundering Task Force Mtg Next Wk
8 Feb 2010 at 11:30pm Jordan: 'Gov't might lift subsidies'
8 Feb 2010 at 9:36pm UAE to push ahead with public spending
8 Feb 2010 at 9:32pm GCC Monetary Council To Choose Its Chief In March
8 Feb 2010 at 9:18pm Oman, Rhineland-Palatinate trade reaches 45m euros
8 Feb 2010 at 9:17pm Free trade zones to fuel investment, economic growth: Macki
8 Feb 2010 at 9:16pm Egypt struggles with population surge
8 Feb 2010 at 8:59pm

Economy

Tadawul dips 0.34%
9 Feb 2010 at 4:52am Saudi Arabia's Tadawul All Share Index fell 0.34% to 6,200, with 100 stocks falling and 24 rising. All sectors ended lower except real estate development and agriculture and food industries. Market heavyweight Alinma Bank dipped 0.40 to SR12.55.

ADX sees slight rise
9 Feb 2010 at 3:25am The Abu Dhabi Securities Index gained 0.56% today to close on 2,719. All sectors ended higher, led by health care, which rose 3.91%. Overall, 22 stocks finished higher, led by Abu Dhabi Ship Building, which climbed 9.83% to Dhs3.80. Six stock ended lower, with Gulf Cement leading the way with a drop of 3.64% to Dhs1.57.

DFM rises 0.86%
9 Feb 2010 at 3:18am The Dubai Financial Market gained 0.86% today to close on 1,660, with 12 stocks rising and 11 falling. Market heavyweight Emaar climbed 0.93% to Dhs3.27, while Dubai Islamic Bank was the day's big mover, climbing 5.91% to Dhs2.33. National Cement had the biggest loss, falling 4.72% to Dhs3.22.

UAE central bank expects low growth in 2010
8 Feb 2010 at 11:01pm Sultan Nasser al-Suweidi, the governor of the UAE's central bank, told a media briefing yesterday that the country's growth is projected to be low in 2010, but better than the previous year, Reuters has reported, citing a source at the briefing. The International Monetary Fund forecast last month that the UAE economy would grow zero to 1% in 2010 as the impact of Dubai's debt restructuring continues to be a drag on its performance. 'We don't contradict their prediction but the IMF changes their forecast from time to time,' Suweidi said.

Weekly FX roundup: Currency markets end lower
8 Feb 2010 at 11:00pm World markets continued their slide as negative risk sentiment continued to drive the markets lower. After what seemed like a positive start to the week for currencies, we saw sharp selling across the board as investors poured into safer yielding assets. Against the Dollar, we saw the Euro make a low of 1.3585 (shedding close to 1.42%), the GBP lost 2.08% to trade below 1.56 for the first time since May 2009, while the Yen lost close to 1.11%.

Deyaar postpones distressed fund
9 Feb 2010 at 1:27am Dubai-based developer Deyaar has delayed a Dhs500m ($136.1m) distressed property fund after international investors withdrew Dhs200m previously committed, the National has reported. The company launched the fund last summer to buy distressed properties from its own portfolio as well as other properties, as it looked to boost returns for shareholders. 'It is the wrong time for Deyaar to go out and try to raise the funds from the international community,' the firm's Chief Executive Markus Giebel told the daily.

Al Mazaya sells Saudi property
8 Feb 2010 at 11:36pm Kuwait-based developer Al Mazaya Holding it has earned SR23.1m in profit from the sale of a property in Saudi Arabia, Reuters has reported. The profit from the SR104.6m sale will be added to the firm's first-quarter results, the developer said.

Egypt's Orascom eyes project in Iraq
8 Feb 2010 at 11:27pm Egypt's Orascom Housing Communities, a subsidiary of Swiss-based Orascom Development Holding, is in talks with the Iraqi government to buy land for a budget housing project, al-Mal newspaper has reported. The company is looking at two plots, one in Taji in central Iraq and the other in Basra in the south, and is waiting for the Iraqi government to state their price before choosing between them. Each is 9 million square metres, according to the daily.

Mubadala seeks $1.2bn Sowwah Square financing
8 Feb 2010 at 1:07am Abu Dhabi's Mubadala Development Co plans to approach banks for a $1.2bn project finance loan to fund the development of the Sowwah Square project on the capital's Sowwah Island, Meed has reported. Once developed, the island will contain the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange headquarters, several office towers and two five-star hotels.

Burj Khalifa closes observation deck temporarily
7 Feb 2010 at 11:12pm The Burj Khalifa observation deck has been temporarily closed for maintenance work, Gulf News has reported. 'Due to unexpected high traffic, the observation deck experience at the Burj Khalifa, At the Top, has been temporarily closed for maintenance and upgrade,' a spokesperson told the daily. 'Technical issues with the power supply are being worked on by the main and sub-contractors and the public will be informed upon completion.'

Political Affairs

Iran plans major nuclear expansion over next year
TEHRAN: Iran said it will start making higher-grade reactor fuel on Tuesday and will add 10 uranium enrichment plants over the next year in a nuclear expansion sure to stoke tensions with the West.

Yemen s al Qaeda calls for jihad in region
DUBAI: The Yemen-based wing of al Qaeda called on Muslims in the Arabian Peninsula to wage jihad, or holy war, against Christians and Jews in the region.

New sanctions on Iran are only path left: Gates
PARIS: Iran has rejected Western overtures and the international community has no choice but to move toward imposing new sanctions over its nuclear program, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Monday.

Lebanon recovers crashed Ethiopian jet s black box
BEIRUT: Search teams retrieved on Sunday flight recorders belonging to an Ethiopian Airlines plane that crashed off the coast of Lebanon last month killing all 90 people aboard.

Israeli forces arrest two foreigners in West Bank
RAMALLAH: Israeli security forces made an incursion into a Palestinian city Sunday to arrest two foreign women belonging to an organization involved in protests against Israel s West Bank barrier.

Iran tests radar-evading aircraft says commander
TEHRAN: Iran has successfully tested a radar-evading aircraft, a commander said on Sunday, in the country s latest announcement of technological advances as it marks the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic revolution.

Yemen arrests embassy bomb threat suspect
DUBAI: Yemen has arrested a man suspected of threatening to bomb foreign embassies in the capital Sanaa and to assassinate Yemeni political and military leaders, state media reported on Sunday.

Iran arrests people hired by CIA
TEHRAN: Iran said on Sunday it had arrested seven people accused of stoking unrest after last year s disputed election, including some who it said were employed by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency.

Iran ratchets up nuclear work
TEHRAN: Iran s president gave instructions on Sunday for the production of higher-grade nuclear reactor fuel despite an offer by world powers to provide it to the Islamic Republic to allay fears Tehran is making an atomic bomb.

Main parts of crashed Ethiopian jet found off Lebanon
BEIRUT: Search teams have identified the location of main segments of the Ethiopian Airlines plane that had crashed off the coast of Lebanon last month killing all 90 people on board, the Lebanese transport minister said on Saturday.

Opinion & Region Specific

Geert Wilders to INN: "Traditional European Freedom at Stake"
9 Feb 2010 at 4:16am Wilders to IsraelNationalNews: ?I?m fighting for the perseveration of our culture, based on Christianity, Judaism & humanism - and not on Islam."

'What?s the Alternative?' MK Orlev: Jordan is Palestine
9 Feb 2010 at 3:05am Asked to present his alternative to the ?two-state option,? MK Zevulun Orlev says, ?The PA Arabs already have a state ? Jordan.?

Barak Rails against New Israel Fund?s Donations
9 Feb 2010 at 3:00am Labor party chairman Barak has joined a growing chorus of voices against the New Israel Fund?s financing of anti-Israeli organizations.

Hamas and Fatah Ready for Reconciliation?
9 Feb 2010 at 1:44am A top Fatah official says that Hamas has agreed to release its political prisoners and reopen the faction's headquarters in Gaza.

Rabbi Dr. Bernard Lander, 94
9 Feb 2010 at 1:40am Rabbi Dr. Bernard Lander, founder and president of Touro College and Lander Institute, passed away Monday in his home in New York at the age of 94.

Iran Heads for 'Stunning Punch' Against West
9 Feb 2010 at 12:54am Iran plans to quintuple its uranium enrichment level for atomic weapons, and Ayatollah Khamenei says Iran plans to "stun" the West this week.

US Police Arrest 12 for Disturbing Ambassador Oren?s Speech
9 Feb 2010 at 12:15am California campus police arrested 12 students for disorderly conduct after they called Ambassador Oren a murderer and disrupted his speech.

Out of Hiding: Rabbi is First ?Hidden Jew? to Serve in Spain
8 Feb 2010 at 11:06pm Spain expelled Jews in 1492, but many converted while remaining ?secret Jews.? A descendant is the first ?hidden Jew? to serve as rabbi in Spain.

New International Airport Proposed for Negev
8 Feb 2010 at 10:11pm The Negev may replace Ben Gurion Airport for international travelers, according to a proposal by Deputy Prime Minister Silvan Shalom.

Israel Unveils New Stamps in 2010
8 Feb 2010 at 7:50pm New stamps have been issued by the Israel Postal Authority in 2010, depicting settling the Arava desert and honoring Holocaust Remembrance Day.

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