Economics
Brent crude oil rose above $108 per barrel on Thursday, consolidating after seven days of falls as better-than-expected data suggested the world economy was recovering, but analysts said the overall outlook for oil prices was bearish.
Olympics spending fuelled Britain’s strongest quarterly growth in five years, springboarding the country out of recession in the third quarter, data showed on Thursday
It provided some rare relief for a government accused of favouring austerity over growth, and may make another stimulus injection of cash from the central bank less likely.
The smoking ban, weak tourism season and the tense situation in Lebanon are prompting some restaurants to either close down or lay off most of their staff to cut growing losses, owners of eateries and hotels said Thursday.
Bank of Beirut's unaudited net profits in the first nine months of this year rose by 3.42 percent to reach $78.67 million.
The world's spare oil production capacity outside of Iran rose in last two months as gasoline demand waned in the United States and oil use for power generation fell in the Middle East, the US government said in a bimonthly report.
Politics
Sudan has said it intends to complain to the UN over an explosion at an arms factory that it claims was caused by an Israeli air strike.
Sudan's UN envoy Daffa-Alla Elhag Ali Osman said Israel had violated Sudanese air space three times in recent years.
Saudi Arabia has expelled three people working at Syria's consulate in Jeddah, a new sign of ill feeling between the countries as Riyadh backs rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad's government in Damascus.
