Many of the UAE residents named in the leaked files are expatriates, many from the Indian subcontinent. Among the most intriguing names mentioned is Lebanese origin, Swiss citizen Khatar Massad, who emerged as one of the most prominent figures in...
While the Dubai property market shows marked signs of cooling down (see below), investors in the UAE and other Gulf states show little sign of losing their enthusiasm for buying property in London, which along with New York and a very few other...
Saudi Arabia’s more measured tones towards the kingdom’s Houthi enemies has given an opportunity to put into perspective claims that the Yemeni conflict can be reduced to just another chapter in the Arabian-Iranian proxy war. Riyadh and its...
Former Galfar Engineering and Contracting head Mohammed Ali was released in early June following a Ramadan amnesty-related pardon. Ali was sentenced in 2014 to lengthy jail terms for his part in two high-profile bribery cases, the ramifications...
Previous attempts at taxing the Saudi population have been derailed by local opposition. In 1950, the authorities introduced personal income, capital gains and corporate taxes on nationals and foreigners, but within six months the law was...
The imam of Islam’s first mosque, Qabbaa, has stirred public controversy with comments (accessible online) that according to Islamic teachings, non-Muslims are allowed to enter the holy city of Medina without restrictions; this is contrary to...
A 13 June cabinet meeting, chaired by King Salman, finally approved the Undeveloped Land Fees Regulation, a tax on undeveloped urban land, popularly known as ‘white land’. The 2.5% tax on the value of undeveloped land designated for residential...
Democratic Republic of Congo catches the imagination of those who see its potential to drive Africa’s future through its mineral wealth, resourceful population and the Inga Falls hydroelectric resource. But grandiose visions tend to founder on...
The official Kenya Gazette on 13 May published coordinates for revised exploration blocks, creating new blocks from relinquished areas. Kenya now has 63 blocks in total, of which 37 are located in the Lamu Basin, seven in the Anza Basin, five in...
The faster-than-expected decline of gas output in 2015, highlighted by petroleum minister Tarek El-Molla in a recent speech, may be a misleading indicator of where Egypt’s energy sector is heading. The low level of production today and the...
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