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When every coin countsThe phones may have stopped ringing for the 'Towards Healing Lebanon's Wounds' telethon, but the money keeps coming in, as the crisis in Lebanon elicits a massive response from the UAE. Dh54 million was raised for the cause in just ten hours. Throughout the UAE, the public continues to be outraged by the rising death toll and acts of brutality, such as the Qana massacre. An estimated 900,000 people or one fifth of Lebanon's population have been displaced, translating into a wide-scale humanitarian crisis. While some wring their hands in despair over a situation that continues to deteriorate, vast numbers of UAE residents are opting instead to actually do something. With the crisis so close to home, the UAE's contribution to the humanitarian appeal has been described as "phenomenal". read more. Alumco, $23.5m Burj dealAlumco has won a $23.5m contract from Arabtec-Besix to supply a total of 755,000 sqft of its aluminium facades to the 63 storey Burj Dubai Lake Hotel. Alumco's work on the project will commence in October and is expected to be completed by January 2008. . read more. He has promises to keep,And Miles To Go Before He Can SleepMahmoud Mohieldin is one of those people you either love or hate there's no gray zone, no safe middle ground. As the brashest and most outspoken of the Nazif Cabinet's Economic Team, where he joins Minister of Trade and Industry Rachid Mohamed Rachid and veteran Minister of Finance and Insurance Youssef Boutros-Ghali, Mohieldin has been working overtime since July 2004 to kick-start the nation's ailing economy. Two years into the job, he is routinely lauded in international circles for both his vision and the bluntness with which he implements it. It's gotten to the point where he seems almost invariably described in the foreign press as "Egypt's tough-minded investment minister." Those same attributes have won him little other than attacks here at home, particularly in the local press, and he knows it: Mohieldin has no illusions about his popularity with the majority of Egyptians who are staunchly opposed to his fast-track privatization program, but he says he's determined to remain focused on "ensuring the Egyptian people their right to a better future." Two years on, the statistics are promising and the programs are working, but the Economic Team still lacks credibility on the street. read more. |
