DUBAI

A powerful earthquake of magnitude 7.2 shook southwestern Pakistan early on Wednesday, jolting residents of cities as far apart as Delhi and Dubai, but the epicentre was far from major population centres.

A Swiss lawyer officially filed a legal maneuver asking the government to freeze any assets held by Tunisia's former president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in Swiss banks, on the heels of a similar request by the Swiss Socialist Party.

Tunisian state-owned Tunisie Telecom may not be able to go ahead with an investor roadshow for its planned listing in Paris and Tunis due to the political situation, investment and banking sources said on Monday.

Saudi Arabia has taken in Tunisia's fallen strong man, but the oil wealth of the kingdom and its neighbours should ensure the poverty-driven unrest which ousted Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali does not follow him to the Gulf.

Bullish earnings and dividend expectations pushed Industries Qatar (IQCD.QA) (IQ) to a 28-month high on Thursday, helping Doha's Index .QSI reach a similar milestone.

Burlesque gets five nods against it but does not figure in the worst film category. The honours here go to 'Little Fockers', 'Bounty Hunters' and 'Sex and the City 2' and others

Chinese authorities are planning to construct a “seven-star hotel” in western Beijing’s Mentougou district, about 30 kilometers from the Chinese capital center, in a $1.3 billion joint project with Saudi Arabia.

Property developer Nakheel's restructuring plan is being complicated by new claims from trade creditors that could lead to more legal headaches, two sources familiar with the matter said.

Travelers visiting Dubai can look forward to putting up at a private apartment in Burj Khalifa, world’s tallest tower, as an UAE based online company, mydubaistay.com, is offering to rent an apartment on the nineteenth floor of the 188-floor tower for $285 per night.

Dubai's ruler appointed a new board for Dubai World , the flagship conglomerate which struck a deal to restructure $25 billion in debt earlier, appointing his uncle and key adviser as chairman on Sunday.

Saudi Arabia is under pressure from the U.S. to keep a tab on funds for Islamic insurgents, leaked diplomatic cables reveal. Washington claims that the kingdom remained a critical financial support base for Al Qaeda, the Taliban, Hamas and other extremist organizations. United States officials alleged that proscribed organizations have been managing to raise millions of dollars as funds from donors in Gulf, mainly during Hajj and Umrah pilgrimage and Ramadan month.

The global economic recovery is being led by large metropolitan cities accounting for about half of the global gross domestic product (GDP), said a report.

Global law firm Chadbourne & Parke has elected Andrew A. Giaccia as its new managing partner.

The upcoming FIFA Club World Cup UAE 2010, starting on December 8, could be a crucial time to boost Dubai’s tourism, tourism industry officials expect.

Wikileaks' latest spill, dubbed the 'Cablegate', shows that the world, especially the MIddle East fears Iran. But there are very strong strategic factors that help the country survive.

Al Qaeda's recent Cargo-bomb plots which were foiled by the Saudi intelligence cost them just $4200, according the group's propaganda magazine. The Yemen-based Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) detailed the plot it called Operation Hemorrhage in its latest edition of the Inspire magazine.

A suspect package believed to be containing components of a bomb found at Windhoek airport on Thursday was only a security test, German officials said on Friday. Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere stated that suitcase was only designed for security checks and no explosives of threat to passengers were found in the package.

A suspect package believed to be containing components of a bomb found at Windhoek airport on Thursday was only a security test, German officials said on Friday. Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere stated that suitcase was only designed for security checks and no explosives of threat to passengers were found in the package.

A suspect package believed to be containing components of a bomb was reportedly found at the Namibian Capital of Windhoek on Thursday. A suitcase checked on to a plane en-route to Munich Germany was intercepted during the loading of an Air Berlin flight. Initial reports from the Germany's Federal Crime Office suggest that the X-ray device revealed batteries that were attached with wires to a detonator and a ticking clock.

According to government figures, in 2008, merchandise shipped into the U.S. by airplane accounted for 20 percent of the nation’s imports, with a value of $417 billion. That’s a great deal of items and only one, or two, would have to explode to have, through terror, a crippling effect upon the nation’s economy, to say nothing of the nation’s spirit.

New Zealand tied their second test with India helped by a Brendon McCullum double-hundred while Younis Khan's ton secured a draw against South Africa, and Chris Gayle's triple-ton handed Sri Lanka a formidable task.