Emirates confirms halting ticket sales by travel agents in Greece

The airline’s sales office in Athens will remain open for bookings, it clarified

Oman takes legal action against Bulgaria over bank collapse

Oman’s biggest sovereign wealth fund owned a 30 per cent stake in Corporate Commercial Bank

Marka signs Dhs 31m franchise deal for ice cream brand Morelli’s Gelato

Post the deal, Marka plans to open 17 Morelli’s outlets in the MENA region by 2020

US-led coalition launches new counter-terrorism centre in Abu Dhabi

The Sawab Centre will use direct online engagement to counter terrorist propaganda used to attract foreign fighters to ISIL’s cause

Oil prices fall as China share crisis worsens

China’s stocks tanked further on Wednesday in a deepening crisis as over 500 Chinese-listed firms suspended trading

Abraaj Group buys majority stake in Nigerian mattress maker Mouka

The founding family of Mouka who will retain a minority stake in the company, a statement said

Stock news: Oil plunge may depress Gulf; Emaar Misr key for Egypt

Brent crude dived more than 6 per cent on Monday into the $56 a barrel level

Saudi-led air strikes kill nearly 100 in Yemen

The UN has been pushing for a halt to the air strikes and fighting that has killed nearly 3,000 people in Yemen since March

Egypt arrests Brotherhood members for alleged Suez plot

The security sources said the men formed a 13-member cell that included an employee at the Suez Canal Authority

Abraaj Capital sells 13.6% stake in Africa’s UAP Holdings

Abraaj sold its stake in the African insurance firm to London-based banking group Mutual plc

Stock news: Gulf markets fall on oil, Greece

Brent crude dropped below $60 a barrel to its lowest since mid-April after Greeks voted ‘No’ in their bailout referendum

FIFA head Blatter says political pressure behind Qatar World Cup

Blatter alleged that former French president Nicolas Sarkozy and Germany’s Christian Wulff backed Qatar as the host for the 2022 World Cup

Philippines confirms second MERS case in man who arrived from Dubai

The 36-year-old was admitted to hospital on Saturday and is under observation

Greeks defy Europe with overwhelming referendum ‘No’

Official figures showed 61 per cent of Greeks had rejected a deal that would have imposed more austerity measures

UAE’s Dana Gas wins favourable ruling in Kurdistan dispute

The Abu Dhabi-listed firm had filed an arbitration case in London in October 2013 against the Kurdistan Regional Government

Saudi Aramco lowers August Arab Light crude price to Asia

The Saudi state oil company has lowered the August price for its Arab Light grade for Asian customers by 10 cents a barrel versus July

Wamda Capital launches $75m MENA growth stage venture fund

The fund has invested in three companies including News Group International, Jamalon and LittleBits Electronics

Construction dispute values in the Middle East up 88% in 2014

Failure in administering the contract, poorly drafted claims and biased professionals were some of the top reasons for construction disputes in the Middle East, a new study shows

Gulf markets steady as investors await Greek referendum

Oil prices also subdued stock markets after Brent crude slid $1.75 to $60.32 a barrel on Friday

Saudi’s SABIC unit, South Korea’s SK form polyethylene project

Total investment will be about $640m for the technology and plant construction

Saudi-led air strikes on Yemen cities kill 16 – Houthis

The United Nations last week designated the Yemen war as a Level 3 humanitarian crisis, its most severe category

WhatsApp can officially hide online status, announces rollout of Communities

Tapping the App market

In the increasingly tech-savvy Gulf mobile apps are becoming big business

ISIL weaves web of support in Gulf Arab states

Kuwait attack has raised concerns about the number of young Saudi men willing to travel to attack Shi’ites in smaller Gulf countries, taking advantage of the visa-free travel

France bets on Arab Sunni states as Iran nuclear deal nears

France, which holds close ties with Sunni Arab states, has arguably been the most demanding among the six powers negotiating a final accord

Emirates starts A380 Dusseldorf flights

Western city becomes third in Germany to welcome the superjumbo

More than 100 dead as militants, Egyptian army clash in North Sinai

The militants’ assault was the second high-profile attack in Egypt this week after a prosecutor general was killed in Cairo

Top 10 countries with best residence-by-investment schemes

The UAE ranked 15th in an index rating countries’ residency-in-return-for-investment programmes

Tunisia sees tourism losses of $515m for 2015 after attack

Tunisia’s second terrorist incident this year involving tourists will heavily impact the sector, officials say.

MENA internet traffic to grow six-fold by 2019- study

The number of users in the MENA region is expected to reach 425m by 2019, a new study by Cisco forecast

Stock news: Gulf markets fall on Greece turmoil

Dubai’s stock index slid 1.3 per cent, heading for a second straight daily close below its 200-day average