EGYPT

G20 finance ministers and central bankers will endorse efforts to douse the euro zone's debt crisis but are far apart on the contentious issue of a global bank levy, a senior South Korean official said on Friday.

Ibrahim Issa, a jovial Syrian taxi-driver who wears a blue robe over an ample belly, has nine children from two wives. He plans to marry a third wife soon.

UAE-based low cost airline Air Arabia will begin flights on its new Egypt-based carrier in June after it received an operating certificate from Egyptian authorities, the company said on Saturday.

Eman AbdelRahman is one of 200,000 people who have signed up on Facebook to back Mohamed ElBaradei, the former U.N. nuclear boss who has said he wants to shatter 30 years of political stasis in Egypt by running for president.

Egypt's GB Auto expects to double its profit in the second quarter of 2010 and plans to export buses to Middle Eastern and European markets by the end of 2010, executives said on Thursday.

The world will soon run out of Internet addresses as the number of devices connected to the Web explodes unless organizations move to a new Internet Protocol version, the head of the body that allocates IP addresses said.

After the US launched its first palladium ETF recently, it is the turn of South Africa now South African stock exchange operator, JSE, will launch a platinum ETF soon. It is also looking to list an Africa ETF in South Africa, with blue-chip companies.

The investment arm of Qatar's sovereign wealth fund has bought the famous London department store Harrods from Egyptian-born businessman Mohamed al-Fayed in a deal reported to be worth around 1.5 billion pounds ($2.3 billion).

Egyptian-born businessman Mohamed Al Fayed has sold prestigious London department store Harrods to the investment vehicle of the Qatar royal family in a deal reported to be worth around 1.5 billion pounds ($2.3 billion).

Egypt's Communications Ministry said Thursday it had launched the first Internet domain name using Arabic letters to try to boost e-services and the number of people online in the most populous Arab nation.

In its quest to ensure enough oil for its vibrant economy, China on Monday signed an MoU with Egypt to build a $2 billion refinery in the Arab nation. According to sources, two Chinese companies, Rongsheng Holding Group and China National Chemical Engineering Co. Ltd., will build the refinery, the largest such plant in the Arab nation.

More banks in the Gulf Arab region may convert to Islamic finance in a bid to tap rising demand for sharia-compliant products and to avoid the heavy investment required to launch new banks.

The further integration of Arabic language capabilities in internet and other technological architecture will grant millions access to the digital world, Microsoft and Google executives said.

U.S. exports to Arab countries in the Middle East and North Africa are forecast to grow almost 20 percent this year to a record $75 billion, fueled by big infrastructure projects and resurgent consumer demand, according to a new private sector report.

(Reuters) - Deaths of women in and around childbirth have gone down by an average of 35 percent globally, according to a study using new methods, but are surprisingly high in the United States, Canada and Norway.

British mobile telecoms group Vodafone said it will launch the Opera Mini browser on low-cost handsets so its millions of users in emerging markets can easily access the Internet, lifting Opera's shares.

German car and truck maker Daimler AG was charged on Tuesday with violating U.S. bribery laws by showering foreign officials with millions of dollars and gifts of luxury cars to win business deals.

Internet telephony firm Skype has questioned Egypt's move to ban international calls made through mobile Internet connections and said markets should be left open for consumers to choose.

Egypt has begun enforcing a ban on international calls made through mobile internet connections, the head of the telcoms regulator told Reuters on Tuesday, potentially boosting voice revenues at landline monopoly Telecom Egypt.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's political standing is perilous because of divisions within his coalition over efforts to pursue peace with the Palestinians, a senior U.S. official said on Friday.