Qatar sues French far-right official for attacks comment

Florian Philippot, the VP of the anti-immigrant party, accused Qatar of “funding an Islamism that kills” after the Charlie Hebdo attack.

Saudi’s Kingdom Holding sells 50% stake in Mauritius resort to JV partner

Kingdom Holding, owned by Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, sold its stake in Four Seasons Resort Mauritius to Sun Resorts.

France says Yemen hostage video is genuine

The video shows Frenchwoman Isabelle Prime, who was taken hostage in Yemen, appealing to President Francois Hollande to help her.

Solar Impulse 2 forced to land in Japan

Poor weather conditions forced the plane to land in Nagoya, officials said.

Majid Saif Al Ghurair appointed new chairman of Dubai Chamber

The chamber also elected two new vice chairmen and other executive committee members.

Etihad starts A380 services to Sydney

The A380 will now operate one of the airline’s two daily services between Sydney and Abu Dhabi.

UAE’s midday work ban to begin from June 15

Firms found flouting the rules will be fined Dhs 5,000 per worker while the penalty will rise to Dhs 50,000 if a large number of labourers are found to be working.

Emaar Misr cuts price of its Egypt IPO to $353m

The company had previously aimed to price the shares at 4.70 Egyptian pounds.

Dubai’s DSI says unit wins $95m contracts in Oman

The unit will carry out work on the Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre in Seeb, two hotels in Saraya Bandar Jissah and an airport hangar-related facility.

Qatar land price surge threatens property profitability

Prices have surged to levels that may make even high-margin luxury developments unprofitable to build, experts say.

Europe should consider World Cup boycott to oust FIFA’s Blatter – UK

Blatter, 79, won a vote on Friday to serve a fifth term as FIFA president even as the soccer body is mired in corruption scandals.

UAE clears MERS patients, Saudi finds 11 new cases

Gulf countries have been seeing a seasonal surge in the number of MERS cases, a trend that has been worrying experts.

Jazeera Airways lodges interest in buying 35% Kuwait Airways stake

Kuwait Airways Company is currently undergoing a privatisation process by the Kuwaiti government.

Video: Lenovo’s new laser projector smartphone concept

The laser projector extension enables the screen of a device to be projected onto a surface.

GCC’s construction sector to boom despite oil price drop

The Gulf’s construction sector is estimated to reach a value of $172 billion in 2015, a new study said.

Real estate ranked as favoured asset class by UAE investors – survey

Stocks and precious metals were the other favoured asset classes among UAE investors, a Franklin Templeton survey found.

UAE’s R Holding launches retail projects worth Dhs700m

The company is currently building five retail projects in Ajman and two in Dubai, a statement said.

Ramadan likely to start on June 18, Eid to fall on July 17 – Astronomers

Fasting hours are anticipated to stretch for up to 15 hours and 15 minutes at the beginning of the holy month.

Emirates to sponsor FA Cup for the next three years

The FA, which will rebrand the competition as The Emirates FA Cup, did not release any financial details.

Qatar to open embassy in Baghdad as Iraq’s ties with Gulf improve

A rapprochement could help strengthen a regional alliance against ISIL militants who have seized vast areas in both Iraq and neighbouring Syria.

ISIL not significant threat in Saudi Arabia – US military

Friday’s blast killed four people and was the second attack claimed by the Sunni militant group in a week in Saudi Arabia.

Qatar defends 2022 World Cup bid, will comply with further probe if asked

The organising committee said in a statement Qatar had conducted its 2022 bid with integrity and to the highest ethical standards.

ISIL’s Saudi branch calls for clearing Arabian Peninsula of Shi’ites

ISIL claimed two suicide bombings carried out on May 22 and May 29 on Shi’ite mosques in eastern Saudi Arabia.

Oman to build refinery, petchem plant in Indonesia, Jakarta says

The refinery would be built in Indonesia’s Riau province, with the oil products being purchased by state-owned Pertamina.

Saudi central bank net foreign assets drop 1.7% on month in April

Assets dropped 6.8 per cent from a year earlier to their lowest level since May 2013, central bank data showed.

Saudi Aramco may raise rigs in 2016 if oil prices rise -sources

The company has 212 rigs of both types in operation and that could rise to between 220 and 250 if conditions permit, sources familiar with the plans said.

Emirates to launch daily service to Bologna in Italy

The service is scheduled to begin on November 3, 2015 and will increase Emirates’ weekly flights serving Italy to 56.

UAE’s Rakbank buys 79.23% of RAK National Insurance in tender offer

The lender acquired 87.15 million shares at a total value of Dhs317.2 million ($86.37 million), it said in a bourse filing on Thursday.

Saudi Arabia’s Kingdom Holding has no plans to invest in Snapchat -source

Kingdom took part in talks over a potential investment in Snapchat but decided not to invest in the application, a source said.

Phase 1 of Meydan Sobha’s District One project on track for 2016 completion

The developer said it has recorded strong investor interest in the project and has sold out all villas in the first phase.