Bahrain’s Investcorp Sells Skrill Group For $800m

Skrill, an online payment system in Europe, was sold to funds advised by CVC Capital Partners.

Yemen Says 18 Foreign Oil Firms Qualified To Bid For 20 Blocks

UAE-based Crescent Petroleum is one of the companies to bid for the onshore and offshore blocks.

Saudi Arabia Warns Against Pressing Egypt On Crackdown

Saudi foreign minister Prince Saud al-Faisal met French president Francois Hollande with both calling for fresh elections in Egypt.

MENA Unemployment Rate Hit 19% In 2012, Highest In The World

Gallup’s annual ‘Payroll to Population’ survey finds that 56 per cent of the region’s population does not participate in the workforce.

Political Turmoil Lowers M&A Deals Outlook In ME

Political unrest and sectarian conflicts in countries like Egypt and Syria have deterred potential investments in the region.

Muslim Brotherhood Faces Ban From Egypt Rulers

Egyptian Prime Minister Hazem el-Beblawi proposed dissolving the group in a move that would force it underground and could usher in mass arrests of its members countrywide.

Britain To Reopen Yemen Embassy On Sunday

The Foreign Office said on August 6 it had withdrawn all staff from the embassy due to a high threat of kidnapping.

Saudi King Backs Egypt’s Rulers Against “Terrorism”

Hundreds were killed in Egypt last week when the security forces cleared protest camps set up by the Muslim Brotherhood.

Dubai’s Leeds Utd Owner Sells More Than Half Stake

GFH Capital offloaded a 10 per cent stake to Bahrain-based International Investment Bank earlier this year. It has now sold a total of more than half the shares.

The Most Watched YouTube Videos In The UAE

It appears songs and entertainment make for the most popular videos in the United Arab Emirates.

Yemeni Nobel Winner: Egypt Coup Deadly For Arab Democracy

Karman was the first Arab woman and second Muslim woman to win the Nobel peace prize.

Saudi Feud Too Bitter For New Iran President To Fix

Both Iran’s new president Hassan Rouhani and Saudi’s King Abdullah have shown willingness to make peace in the past.

UAE Says Supports Egypt Government’s “Sovereign Measures”

Hundreds were killed as Egyptian authorities cleared out two camps of Mursi supporters on Wednesday.

Two Journalists, Including One From Dubai, Killed In Cairo Violence

Habiba Ahmed Abd Elaziz, who worked with Xpress,had been on leave when she was shot dead.

Egypt Declares State Of Emergency After Hundreds Killed In Clashes

A ministry official put the death toll at 300, but the Muslim Brotherhood claimed over 2,000 people had been killed in a “massacre.”

TIMELINE: Egypt’s Current Crisis

Islamist President Mohamed Mursi was ousted by the military a year after he took office.

Eurozone Out Of Recession – ME Still Stronger

The announcement papers over the economic cracks still seen on a country-by-country basis as Spain saw its economic output fall 0.1 per cent.

Emirates, Qantas Boost New Zealand Services

Qantas will operate a new Auckland-Perth service from early December through to February 1, 2014.

Egyptian Police Kill At Least 30 In Protest Crackdown – Brotherhood

International efforts have failed to mediate an end to a six-week political standoff between Mursi’s supporters and the army-backed government.

Egyptian Police Fire Tear Gas At Pro-Mursi Protest Camp In Cairo

More than 300 people have already died in political violence since the army overthrew Mursi on July 3.

Israel Frees 26 Palestinians As Talks Resume

Fifteen prisoners crossed an Israeli checkpoint into Palestinian territory while eleven were released in the West Bank capital of Ramallah.

ME Vacationers Spend Dhs12,443 Per Head On London Hotel Stay

An average Middle Eastern traveller spends 71 per cent more on a hotel stay in London than the global average, finds survey.

UAE’s Abraaj and UK’s CDC Invest $17.5m In India’s Rainbow Hospitals

Rainbow Hospitals, a specialised maternity and paediatric healthcare chain, is based in Hyderabad, India.

Shale Boom Offsets Fall In OPEC Oil Supply

Supply disruptions in OPEC countries like Libya and Iraq have pushed down the group’s contribution to global oil supply, estimates IEA.

Libya’s Two Largest Oil Export Terminals Closed

Strikes have again halted loadings at the Es Sider and Ras Lanuf terminals, following a recent two-week outage.

Apple To Release New iPhone On September 10 – Reports

The US tech giant is also expected to unveil a new cheaper version of the device next month.

Egypt Expected To Act Against Pro-Mursi Protesters On Monday

Almost 300 people have been killed in political violence since the overthrow of President Mohamed Mursi.

US Reopens UAE, Saudi Embassies On Sunday

The US embassy in Sanaa, Yemen will remain closed due to security concerns.

Car Bombs Kill Nearly 80 In Iraq, Target Eid Festivities

More than 1,000 Iraqis have been killed in July, the highest monthly death toll since 2008.

Saudi Offers Russia Deal To Scale Back Assad Support

Sources say Saudi Arabia wants Moscow to ease its strong support of Assad and agree not to block any future Security Council Resolution on Syria.