U.S. Drops Bid To Arrange Obama Summit With Divided Gulf States

The U.S. has abandoned efforts to arrange a summit with Gulf Arab leaders due to divisions with the group of its regional allies, officials said.

Japan Woos Gulf Tourists

A shift in policy is now seeing Japan take steps to embrace the Muslim traveller.

Defying Allies, Qatar Unlikely To Abandon Favoured Syria Rebels

Qatar’s Syria policy matters not only because Doha remains a generous backer of the opposition but also because its dispute with other funders.

Perseverance Pays For India’s Richest Man, Mukesh Ambani

It took Reliance Retail seven years of losses and over $1 billion in investments to find a formula that works.

U.S. FAA Review Says Boeing 787 Dreamliner Is Safe

Battery issues are still being investigated by the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board.

Etihad Increases Aer Lingus Stake

Reports claim Etihad’s stake in Aer Lingus is now valued at just under €37 million

Google Plans Voice-Controlled Smartwatches To Track Heart Rates

The Android Wear project is open to software makers to create apps for the watches.

Apple Replaces iPad 2 With iPad 4, Launches Cheaper iPhone 5C

Apple discontinued the iPad 4 last year when it launched its current flagship tablet, the iPad Air.

GCC’s Uber Wealthy On An Investment Spree – Survey

Around 90 per cent of the GCC’s high net worth individuals are more focused on wealth generation than preservation.

Flydubai To Start Daily Moscow Flights

Low-cost carrier’s move sees capacity stack up between Dubai and Moscow

New Online Platform Wants To Take On YouTube

Wonder PL is backed by Universal Music Group, Qualcomm Ventures and former Apple executive Pascal Cagni.

Middle Eastern Property Investors Turn West As Regional Instability Continues

London remained the favourite Western destination for regional real estate investors.

UAE To Assist In Search For Missing Malaysia Airlines Flight

Two search and rescue aircraft from the UAE’s Armed Forces will join the search for MH370, which vanished on March 8 with 239 people on board.

Microsoft’s CEO May Unveil Office For iPad On March 27

Microsoft gives up some $2.5 billion a year in revenue by keeping Office off the iPad, analysts estimate.

Middle East’s Energy Firms Are ‘Highly Adept’ At Risk Management

Oil and gas firms in the Middle East have an above-average approach to risk management compared to their global counterparts, a study says.

Pakistan Central Bank Blocks Kuwait’s Noor From Selling Meezan Bank Stake

Pakistan’s central bank stated the prospective buyer had not met its standards for suitability.

Philips To Acquire 51% Of Lighting Firm In Saudi For $235m

The acquisition of General Lighting Company will create a new joint venture, Philips Lighting Saudi Arabia.

TIMELINE – How Malaysia’s Flight MH370 Went Missing

MH370, with 239 passengers and crew aboard, vanished off Malaysia’s east coast on March 8.

Gold Near Six-Month High On Safe-Haven Bids Amid Ukraine Crisis

Spot gold was trading flat at $1,381.34 an ounce by 0319 GMT, after earlier hitting $1,391.76 – its highest since Sept. 9.

Dubai’s DME Signs Pact With Japan’s TOCOM To Develop Energy Contracts

The collaboration will help the bourses offer energy products such as liquefied natural gas and electricity.

Majority Of UAE Firms To Hire 10 Staff Over Next Three Months

Receptionists, accountants and human resource professionals are the most sought after groups among the employers in the UAE.

New York Takes London’s Crown As World’s Top Financial Centre

Qatar, Dubai and Riyadh ranked 26, 29 and 31 respectively on the Global Financial Centres Index.

IBM Says It Has Not Given Client Data To The U.S. Government

Reports on Wednesday alleged the US government used websites to break into computers.

Huge Housing Deal May Signal Gulf Investment Push Into Egypt

Dubai firm Arabtec has signed a $40 billion deal to build one million homes in Egypt.

Saudi Listing Of Brotherhood As Terrorist Group Complicates Gulf Ties

Despite the brotherhood’s taste for populist electoral politics, no other GCC member, apart from Saudi Arabia, has declared it a terrorist organisation.

Building Bridges Between Japan And The UAE

Trade, energy and industry ties are dominating business and bilateral relations between the two countries, say experts.

Malaysia Denies Missing Plane May Have Flown For Hours

The minister also said China’s release of satellite imagery of possible wreckage had been wrongly issued.

Tablet Shipments To Middle East, Africa Up 111% In Q4 2013

A total of 3.45 million units were shipped to the region during the final quarter of 2013, according to IDC.

U.S. Investigators Suspect Missing Malaysian Plane Flew For Hours – WSJ

Investigators say that the plane flew for a total of five hours based on data sent to the ground from the Boeing Co 777’s engines as part of a standard monitoring program.

Governments Must Ensure Airline Passengers’ Passports Checked – IATA

At least two passengers using stolen passports had boarded the missing Malaysian Airlines flight.