Viewpoint
Turkish Protest: A call to Ears
Recent protests in Istanbul have highlighted Turkey’s unique, ongoing struggle for liberty. Look beyond the tear gas and water cannons, though, and it is easy to see why Turkey has entered a new, progressive phase in its democratic development.
Bahrain Top Stories
Bahrain’s economy expands by 3.9% in 2012; expected to grow by 4.2% in 2013
Bahrain’s real GDP is estimated to have expanded 3.9% in 2012 from the 1.9% growth seen in 2011. Even as the oil sector shrank by around 8.5% in 2012 due to a temporary technical disruption at the country’s main Abu Sa’afa oil field, (expected to return to full capacity in 2013)…
Bahrain Top Stories
The Bahraini Political Crisis: Reconciling the Narratives
Three major narratives compete for dominance in explaining Bahrain’s post-2011 political crisis: the narrative of foreign interference/instigation, the narrative of sectarian discrimination and conflict, and those who insist the sectarian narrative has been invented to divert attention away from a revolution of the entire- or at least most of- the population.
Viewpoint
Father’s Day Viewpoint: Albert Einstein’s advice to younger son Hans Albert on learning
“That’s the way to learn the most, that when you are doing something with such enjoyment that you don’t notice that the time passes .”
Viewpoint
Keynote speaker Noam Chomsky to the AUB Class of 2013: We must defend the global commons against commercialization, environmental catastrophe, and autocratic rule
I’ve visited Lebanon several times, moments of great hope, and also of despair, tinged with remarkable determination to overcome and to move forward. The first time I visited – if that’s the right word – was exactly 60 years ago, almost to the day.
Viewpoint
Contraceptives Save and Improve Lives
Each year an estimated 74.4 million unintended pregnancies occur in the developing world; primarily among women who had an unmet need for effective contraception.
The Banque du Liban has projected real GDP growth in Lebanon at between 2 percent and 4 percent in 2013 amid an economy stalled by the continuing strife in neighboring Syria and the depressed tourism sector caused by the resulting security worries.
UAE Sector Analysis
UAE GDP growth up 3.9% in 2012, expected to be up further 3.1% in 2013
Led by non-oil sectors that would continue to see massive infrastructure spending, primarily in Abu Dhabi and Dubai Global: UAE GDP growth up 3.9% in 2012, expected to be up further 3.1% in 2013
UAE Sector Analysis
Strong demand pushes prices and rents up in Dubai
Dubai real estate market has recovered at a phenomenal speed. Although sale and rental prices of property had begun rising in 2012 but the price hikes were limited to handful areas. In 2013 however, that recovery has been more widespread where there are palpable signs of a more profound recovery.
Zeina Saab, the Lebanese-American founder of The Nawaya Network, has won the King Abdullah Award for Youth Innovation and Achievement (KAAYIA). She was presented with the award by King Abdullah of Jordan at the Dead Sea during the recent meeting of the World Economic Forum held in Jordan.
