Economics and Policy Saudi Arabia has switched its weekend to Friday-Saturday, bringing the kingdom into line with the other Arabian Gulf states. More from The National The Iranian rial has strengthened by more than 15 percent against the dollar since the victory of moderate Hassan Rouhani who was elected president more than a week ago. More from AFP France and Qatar have launched a mixed Franco-Qatari fund Sunday to invest 300 million euros in small and medium-sized French companies. More from Reuters Dubai’s benchmark stock index tumbled the most in more than a year as concern the US may reduce fiscal stimulus prompted a sell-off in emerging markets. More from Bloomberg Companies and Business Lebanese real estate activity slowed in the first five months of 2013 with both the number of transactions and value dropping around 8 percent year-on-year. More from The Daily Star Dubai builder Arabtec, part-owned by Abu
