Dubai’s high-end residences see rents drop by 6-7% in Q2 2015

Locations such as Palm Jumeirah and Jumeirah Beach Residences posted a significant quarterly drop in rents this year

IBM joins Mubadala to bring supercomputer Watson to MENA

The cloud-based cognitive computing service can be used in healthcare, retail, education and finance organisations

Qantas becomes first airline to offer virtual reality headsets

The VR technology offers first class customers interactive content

Investcorp acquires Saudi testing services company

The value of the deal, Investcorp’s fifth in Saudi Arabia, was not disclosed

Most popular travel destinations for UAE travellers this Eid

Egypt, Turkey, India and Thailand are the most-sought after destinations, says travel website Destinia.com

Bahrain frees rights activist for health reasons

King Hamad issued a royal decree granting Rajab, one of the Arab world’s best-known democracy activists, a special pardon

Saudi militant suspect kills father and is shot dead by police

The suspected militant was shot dead by security forces in an exchange of fire

Bahrain’s Arcapita buys part of Abu Dhabi property project for $200m

The firm acquired phase one of Saadiyat Beach Residences, a residential real estate complex in Abu Dhabi

Stock news: Iran nuclear deal may dampen Gulf by depressing oil prices

The deal might specifically affect Saudi bourse, which is the most sensitive in the Gulf to oil prices due to its heavyweight petrochemical sector

Saudi Arabia opens the oil taps, ups June output to record high

The kingdom said it pumped 10.56 million barrels per day of oil last month, up 231,000 bpd from May, according to OPEC

Major fire breaks out on Dubai Creek boats

The blaze, which began on one of the boats, spread to the wharf as a result of flammable items in the cargo waiting to be loaded

British Airways to fly Dreamliner to Abu Dhabi and Muscat

British carrier will hope to lure Emiratis and Omanis onto its new First Class suites

Kuwait committee to visit London for sovereign fund probe

The Kuwait Investment Authority has come under greater public scrutiny following last year’s plunge of oil prices

Top five challenges faced by execs in the region – Bain

Regional directors say cyber attacks, customer loyalty are amongst the biggest challenges they face, finds new survey

Property market and economy in Dubai ‘healthy’ – Jumeirah CEO

Gerald Lawless says emirate’s property market has matured well since the financial crisis

OPEC sees more balanced oil market in 2016

OPEC expects world oil demand to increase by 1.34 million bpd in 2016, up from growth of 1.28 million bpd this year

Saudi appoints housing minister from private sector

Majed al-Hogail, former MD of Rafal Real Estate Development, was chosen to head the housing ministry by King Salman

Starz Play inks content deal with CBS for MENA region

As per the deal, Starz will stream premium content from Showtime and CBS for its Middle East and North Africa audience

Eurozone strikes deal with Greece after all-night haggle

EU officials said Tsipras finally accepted a compromise on German-led demands for the sequestration of Greek state assets to be sold off to pay down debt

‘Reem Island ghost’ executed in UAE for killing American teacher

Ala’a Badr Abdullah al-Hashemi, 31, was sentenced to death for stabbing teacher Ibolya Ryan

Star Trek 3 to be filmed in Dubai

The filming of the movie in Dubai is scheduled to begin in October, the Dubai Film and TV Commission said

Bahrain arrests opposition leader freed three weeks ago

Ibrahim Sharif, former head of the secular National Democratic Action Society, was arrested previously for plotting to overthrow the monarchy

UAE announces Eid holidays for public and private sector

Eid holidays for employees of federal authorities will begin from July 16 while private sector workers will receive two days off

Eurozone summit aims to keep Greece in single currency

Eurogroup ministers resumed a meeting on Sunday suspended after nine hours of acrimonious debate on Greece’s application for another three-year loan

Saudi’s Mobily names former Mobinil executive as new CFO

Ben Hamida served as the CFO at Egyptian phone operator Mobinil from 2011

Abu Dhabi rents up 6%, prices rise 4% quarter-on-quarter in Q2

Developments such as Eastern Mangroves and St Regis Residences saw rents rise 10-12 per cent in Q2, says Asteco report

Smartphone shipments to Middle East and Africa up 66% in Q1 2015

Smartphone shipments to the Middle East and Africa are set to total 155m units by the end of 2015, a study says

Italian firm wins $859m contract for Qatar 2022 World Cup stadium

The Al Bayt stadium in Al Khor will have the capacity to accommodate 70,000 spectators

UAE tops MENA ranking on global index measuring rule of law, crime

The Emirates retained the top spot in adherence to order and security helping it reduce crime, a new study says

Saudi’s Mobily names former MTN exec Farroukh as CEO

Mobily said that the new CEO has “a proven track record of success in the area of financial management, audit and operations”