A video showing US Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney saying the Palestinians are opposed to peace with Israel has been released on the internet.
In a private speech to party donors, which was secretly filmed, Romney said the “Palestinians have no interest whatsoever in establishing peace, and the pathway to peace is almost unthinkable to accomplish.”
He suggests an independent Palestinian state is unviable and that his strategy towards the issue will be to “kick the ball down the field".
The video is from the same event as a clip released on Monday, in which Romney says almost half of Americans "believe that they are victims".
Lebanon, whose political stability is threatened by escalating violence in neighboring Syria, sold its first 10-year local currency debt amid growing confidence in the country’s economy, Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh said.
The sale this week raised more than 1 trillion Lebanese pounds, or about $700 million, at a rate of 8.24 percent, Salameh said on Tuesday.
The Finance Ministry is also planning a 10-year dollar-denominated sale, he said.
Confidence in the nation’s currency is stable even after sporadic clashes in the northern city of Tripoli between supporters and opponents of Syrian President Bashar Assad killed dozens of people.
Deposits have grown at an annualized rate of 7 percent this year, Salameh said.
“We have seen a demand on the Lebanese pound, so we were not affected really by the Syrian situation,” he said.
Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, billionaire nephew of Saudi Arabia's king, has said that only a minority were involved in violent anti-US protests over a film mocking the Prophet Mohammad.
Known for his investments in some of the world's top firms including Citigroup, Alwaleed said that reforms in his homeland, the world's top oil exporter, were not going fast enough and that Arab states must learn lessons from Arab Spring revolts to avoid being swept by more violence.
"This despicable and disgusting 12-minute movie is really unacceptable, but having said that we shouldn't honor [it] with such demonstrations and give it so much attention," he said.
"I hope these demonstrations will subside. You have to remember [that] those who go on the street and shout are the minority. Islam is a lot stronger and resilient."
The Iraqi Cabinet has ratified a plan to pay the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region for its oil exports.
Under the agreement, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) will increase exports to 200,000 barrels per day (bpd) this year and will average at least 250,000 bpd in 2013.
Egyptian beach resorts are to remain, the tourism minister in the Islamist-led administration has said, adding that any Islamic investment in the sector would complement but not replace resorts that are part of an industry vital to Egypt.
Hisham Zaazou is tasked with reviving an industry that accounted for 10 percent of economic activity before an uprising toppled Hosni Mubarak 19 months ago, sending both investors and tourists packing.
Zaazou dismissed concerns that the Islamist nature of the government would mean the sector being more tightly regulated.
“It will not be changed. Nothing will affect beach tourism. We are building on, increasing even, the capacities and the services rendered for our clients coming to our beaches,” he said.
And finally…
Twitter appears to be beating Facebook in the battle to be the Gulf's social network, at least among women.
A joint study by Dubai's Zayed University and New Zealand's Massey University showed that women in the UAE are three times more likely to use Twitter on a daily basis than their counterparts in the US.
In general the women said they did not like the more complex layout of Facebook, with many leaving the network.
