In its annual assessment of the market accessibility of 75 Developed, Emerging and Frontier equity markets, global portfolio analytics and indices provider MSCI Barra kept Lebanon in its Frontier Markets category. MSCI Barra evaluated the country's stock market based on

US-based financial services giant Citigroup issued an update report on Solidere, the Lebanese company in charge of the reconstruction and development of the Beirut Central District subsequent to the 1975-90 Civil War, in which it raised its target price to

Israel's Defense Ministry said Monday it had approved construction of 50 new homes in an Occupied West Bank settlement as part of a plan for 1,450 housing units, an expansion that defies a US call for a settlement freeze. News

Iran's election oversight body on Monday declared the hotly disputed presidential vote to be valid after a partial recount, rejecting opposition allegations of fraud and calls for a new vote. State television reported that the Guardian Council presented the conclusion

The catchy slogan, "Kicking the habit is on you, and marriage is on us," is meant to entice young grooms to give up smoking by offering an attractive incentive. And, indeed, hundreds have expressed interest in the first anti-smoking drive

The Palestinian Authority (PA) said on Monday that it dismantled a Hamas cell that was planning attacks against Palestinian leaders and public buildings in the Occupied West Bank. PA secretary general Tayeb Abdel-Rahim claimed that the plotters had hoped to

Darfur rebels on Sunday accused Sudan government forces of a bombing raid on their territory which killed at least eight civilians, as mediators step up pressure for a settlement in the violent western region. Fighters from the rebel Su?dan Liberation

Under the watchful eye of a guard in army fatigues - with badges depicting a dagger through a skull - the meeting of the Iraqi private banks association was like any gathering of mostly fat and balding money men. Observed

Abu Dhabi government-owned International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) has signed a $5 billion syndicated loan, increased from a launch amount of $3.5 billion, banking sources close to the deal said on Monday. Co-coordinating book runners Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, HSBC

Iran is in talks with Asian banks on a 1 billion euro ($1.40 billion) bond to finance the development of its largest gas field, as part of its pursuit of billions of energy sector funding, a senior Iranian oil official

Israeli Arabs long banned from the Occupied West Bank have converged on its cities in recent weeks to buy anything from groceries to makeup, taking advantage of lower prices and boosting the Palestinian economy. Under US pressure to ease Palestinian

Convicted swindler Bernard Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison Monday for fraud so extensive the judge said he needed to send a symbolic message to those who might imitate his fraud and to victims who need relief. Applause

As Lebanon picks up the pieces from its latest round of civil strife, a brief (for now) flare-up in the Beirut neighborhood of Aisha Bakkar, we should remember that there is life beyond S and S, or Syria and Saudi

They wouldn't be allowed to perform in Iran, but singers Joan Baez and Jon Bon Jovi are showing their support for protesters. In videos carried on YouTube, the artists perform songs - with a few lines in Farsi - that

Em Abed, popping with rage because her husband, Abou Abed, has been out all night, demands to know whether there is a good reason for his return home at 6 a.m. "Of course there is, habibti," Abou Abed rep? lies.

Ahead of the Paris couture shows, top designers have joined a tricky exercise to glam up one of the world's most traditional pieces, the abaya - the long black over-garment, whose pull-over version is worn by millions of Arab women.