A1SaudiArabia.com

RIYADH – Ernst & Young recently hosted a seminar on Saudi Arabian corporate income tax law and zakat regulations and its by-laws. The seminar was attended by over 100 finance and tax executives from the Kingdom.

The seminar focused on the update on zakat, corporate income tax regulations as well as clarifications issued by the Department of Zakat and Income Tax (DZIT). Recent appeal decisions, tax treatment of complex tax issues and proposed amendments to Saudi Companies regulations were also presented.

Read More

BERLIN – Officials from nations that have ordered the Airbus A400M military transporter and the manufacturer are holding a new round of talks on funding for the troubled project.

The German Defense Ministry says deputy defense ministers and industry representatives are meeting in Berlin Friday.

The meeting was expected to last several hours.

Read More

PARIS – French unemployment rose sharply in the fourth quarter of 2009 to reach a rate of 9.6 percent, wiping out the countrys gains on the jobless front over the past decade, official figures showed Thursday.

“The unemployment rate has climbed sharply and is now at the level of 1999,” said the INSEE state statistical agency.

Read More

ATHENS – The European Union urged Greece on Monday to announce new austerity measures within days to tackle a debt crisis that has shaken the euro zone and promised to help Athens overcome the problem.

EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn made the call after a first round of talks with Greek officials amid growing market expectations of a trade-off between new deficit cutting steps and practical EU support for Greek borrowing.

Read More

NEW YORK – Oil prices slipped below $80 a barrel Thursday as a stronger dollar made crude more expensive for international investors and the market received mixed signals on the strength of the US economy.

By early afternoon in Europe, benchmark crude for April delivery was down 50 cents to $79.50 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $1.14 to settle at $80 on Wednesday.

Read More

Greece – Police fired tear gas and clashed with demonstrators in Athens after some 50,000 people finished a peaceful march against cutbacks intended to fix the countrys debt crisis.

The violence lasted about 30 minutes, when scores of youths hurled rocks, red paint and plastic bottles near parliament. Police said at least two people were detained, while several storefronts were vandalized.

Windows were smashed at the Finance Ministrys General Accounting Office, which has been accused by the European Union of slipshod statistics-keeping that made the financial crisis worse.

Read More

This one will go down to the wire like one of those agonizing cricket matches that pack it all into the last ball. But you can bet your last NRI buck that when when the Indian budget is unveiled this Friday, every one who has invested in the market will heave a sigh of relief, regardless of whether the result is win, lose or draw.

Its because the market has not followed its usual pre-budget pattern of high expectations this time around. It took a nasty fall, kept losing hope and slipped into a stupor these past four weeks, refusing to react even to strong data confirming the economys impressive recovery from recession.

Read More

BERLIN – German airline Lufthansa asked a labor court to halt a strike by more than 4,000 of its pilots that canceled 800 flights Monday and upended the travel plans of 10,000 passengers worldwide.

Deutsche Lufthansa AG spokeswoman Claudia Lange told The Associated Press Monday that the injunction was filed in Frankfurt.

“This strike is disproportionate,” she said. “We hope for a decision within the next 24 hours.” Lange said the company filed the legal action in a bid to avoid more harm to its passengers, customers and shareholders.

Read More

Smoking was discovered by the Spanish conquistadors in America, about 500 years ago; from Spain, it spread to the rest of Europe, and thence to the Muslim world about 100 years later.

Unfortunately, while the West has long realized the dangers of smoking and attempted to reduce it, in the Muslim lands, it has spread with little or no interference. Early Muslim scholars, confronted with this obnoxious habit, declared it to be Makrooh (detested), comparing it with such things as garlic and onions. This was due to the fact that, at that time, no one was aware of the harmful effects produced by smoking, which include, cancer, heart disease, strokes, miscarriages and premature birth in women and several other diseases.

Since it has become clear that smoking is harmful, it is obligatory upon all Muslims to abstain from it, for Allah has said: “And do not kill yourselves, Allah is indeed Merciful to you.” (Quran, 4:29), and the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Let there be no inflicting of harm and no reciprocating harm.” (Ahmad)

Read More

BARCELONA – Microsoft, seeking to regain its footing in the fiercely competitive mobile market, is expected to unveil Monday a new smartphone platform at the industrys biggest trade show.

The US software giant has remained tight-lipped about what chief executive Steve Ballmer will announce at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, but analysts widely believe he will reveal an upgrade of the Windows operating system.

Microsoft has been up against strong competition from telecommunications giant Nokias Symbian platform and Internet giant Googles Android.

Read More