Israel rejects US proposals on Jordan Valley

Israel rejects any US-proposed security concessions for the Jordan Valley, a cabinet member close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday, as US Secretary John Kerry visited the Middle East.

"Security must remain in our hands. Anyone who proposes a solution in the Jordan Valley by deploying an international force, Palestinian police or technological means ... does not understand the Middle East," Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz told Israeli public radio.

Steinitz's comments came after three days of intense shuttle diplomacy by Kerry, who was trying to push a framework for final status talks between Israel and the Palestinians.

With a late April deadline looming for the negotiations that he kick-started in July after a three-year hiatus, Kerry has pledged to work even more intensively in the coming months.

US officials have refused to release any details of the proposed framework, and Kerry acknowledged it would not be agreed during this trip.

Palestinian hopes of having an international force brought in to help patrol the Jordan Valley under a peace deal had been sidelined, a Palestinian source told AFP Saturday.

Instead the US was proposing a mixed Israeli-Palestinian military presence to ensure security in the area, without setting a deadline when the Israeli troops would be withdrawn.

But Israel insists on maintaining a long-term military presence in the Jordan Valley.

Kerry has said a peace treaty will deal with all the core issues dividing the two sides. These include the contours of a future Palestinian state, refugees, the fate of Jerusalem claimed by both as a capital, security, and mutual recognition

Kerry says Mideast plan will be ‘fair, balanced

US Secretary of State John Kerry said Sunday that any Middle East peace plan would be "fair and balanced," as he held a fourth day of talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders.

"I can guarantee all parties that President (Barack) Obama and I are committed to putting forward ideas that are fair and balanced, and to improving the security of all peoples," Kerry told reporters in Jerusalem.

Kerry also said Sunday the United States would stick by Iraq in its battle with Al-Qaeda-linked militants, but stressed it was "their fight."

"We will stand with the government of Iraq who push back against (militant) efforts ... but it is their fight -- that is something we determined some time ago," he told reporters in Jerusalem.

Kerry insisted Saturday that there had been "progress" in the talks that he kick-started in July, despite bitter recriminations by both sides and mostly irreconcilable demands for any future peace deal.

"We're not there yet, but we are making progress," Kerry said Saturday, adding everyone was "working with great intensity" to try to reach a deal.

"I'm confident that the talks we've had in the past two days have already fleshed out and even resolved certain kinds of issues and presented new opportunities for others," he said.

"We are beginning to flesh out the toughest hurdles yet to be overcome."

A cabinet member close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday Israel rejects any US-proposed security concessions for the Jordan Valley.

"Security must remain in our hands. Anyone who proposes a solution in the Jordan Valley by deploying an international force, Palestinian police or technological means ... does not understand the Middle East," Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz told Israeli public radio.

The US top diplomat was to set off early on Sunday for Jordan and then Saudi Arabia, after three days of intense shuttle diplomacy between Netanyahu and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas.

On the situation in Iraq, Kerry said Washington was "very, very concerned" about the Al-Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

"These are the most dangerous players in the region. Their barbarism is on display for all to see, their brutality is something have seen before.

"The United States will continue to be in close contact ... We will help them in their fight, but this is a fight in the end they will have to win and I'm confident they can."

Iraq lost Fallujah to ISIL fighters, a senior security official said Saturday, putting militants back in control of the city west of Baghdad where US forces repeatedly battled insurgents.

And fighting in Anbar province killed 65 people -- eight soldiers, two government-allied tribesmen and 55 militants from ISIL, security officials said.

It is the worst violence to hit the province in years, and the first time militants have exercised such open control in major cities since the height of the bloody insurgency that followed the US-led invasion of 2003.

Spectacular Fireworks Light Up DSF Nights In Dubai

Shimmering visual feasts hold residents and visitors spellbound as a magnificent party of colors and patterns sparkles over the city every day in celebration of the Dubai Shopping Festival 2014.

Since the inception of DSF in 1996, the special fireworks shows have been a star attraction during the annual shopping extravaganza, and in 2014, it is adding extra sparkle at various locations in Dubai.

The fireworks shows of DSF 2014 was launched on the opening day on 2nd January at the Dubai Creek at 7 pm followed by another round of pyrotechnics at the Heritage Village on the same day at 9pm.

In addition to the spectacular fireworks show on the opening day, visitors are being dazzled by daily fireworks brought to DSF by the Al Caroni Group at 9pm at Al Seef Street. During the weekends, there will be special fireworks shows at various locations along the Dubai Creek at 8pm.

As always, the dazzling display attracts large numbers of visitors with motorists slowing down to absorb the experience, while those who gather at the locations to get closer view are either busy filming, or taking photographs of the show to capture the celebratory mood of DSF.

Indeed, the DSF experience is almost incomplete if one does not watch the fireworks. Over the years, the dazzling display of lights and patterns has become synonymous with the DSF, and they only get bigger and better every year.

Dubai’s Nakheel plans early debt repayments

Dubai developer Nakheel plans to repay nearly a third of its total bank debt in the first quarter of 2014, well ahead of maturity in 2015, as it benefits from a rebound in the emirate’s property sector.

Nakheel, the builder of a palm tree-shaped island off Dubai’s coast, was the most high profile casualty of the Gulf state’s property market collapse in 2009 and was taken over by the government as part of a $16 billion rescue plan in 2011.

The property market rebounded in 2013, with prices rising around 22 per cent from 2012. In the crash, they had plummeted more than 50 per cent from their 2008 peak.

As a result of the rebound, Nakheel will not require further government support and is targeting annual profit growth of 15 per cent, its chairman, Ali Rashid Lootah, told a news conference.

“We are confident that we will not touch the government funding and we will be ok without it,” Lootah told reporters.

“Where there’s a will, there’s a way. We will keep looking at ways to cut costs. When there’s a need to raise cash, we will do so,” he added.

Of the AED6.8 billion of bank debt due in 2015, Nakheel will repay around AED2.35 billion in February and another AED1.65 billion in August, the company said.

“These funds came from increased sales and also by mitigating claims of creditors,” he added.

The developer handed over 7,000 units to customers last year.

The company’s total cash outflow of AED56.9 billion that was assessed after the restructuring has been cut to AED41.3 billion, and the net deficit has dropped by AED22 billion to AED8 billion, it said in a presentation to reporters.

Nakheel will also repay a $1.2 billion Islamic bond, which it issued to trade creditors as part of its restructuring plan due in 2016, on time.

Sandance organisers offer full refund to all attendees of New Year’s Eve event

After a severe public backlash last week, the organisers of the Sandance music festival have announced that all attendees of the New Year’s Eve event will be given a full refund.
The decision comes after hundreds of people were unable to access the event, after being stranded on shuttle buses in traffic for hours, with many being forced to cancel their plans for the night.
According to a spokesperson of Atlantis, The Palm, where the event was held, every ticketholder will be given their money back – even those who actually made it to the music festival. They added that every ticketholder would also receive a 50 per cent discount on the entrance ticket value for the next Sandance music festival.

The organisers have apologised repeatedly for the logistic failure of the event, but revealed that the situation was influenced by different factors that were out of their control.
Since local authorities blocked free access to Atlantis, The Palm, 17,000 attendees were assured that dedicated shuttle buses would be available to transport them to the venue and that the journey would only take between eight to ten minutes. However, according to various reports, it took roughly 90 minutes, while hundreds were stranded for hours.
Disgruntled residents took to social media last week to voice their dissatisfaction and anger, with many demanding an apology and compensation. However, based on the public sentiment on social media this weekend, many have praised the organisers for their quick response and promise of compensation.

UAE market regulator changes margin lending rules, penalties

The UAE stock market regulator has introduced new margin lending rules and vowed to crack down on unlicensed lending, it said in a statement on its website.

Margin lending – borrowing with cash or share holdings as security, has been in high demand as investors sought to maximise gains from a UAE market surge, with Dubai and Abu Dhabi’s bourses jumping 108 per cent and 63.1 per cent respectively last year.

Limits on such lending were introduced in 2008, but many brokers ignored these and faced few repercussions. Now, on the request of brokers, the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) has made changes to what firms can lend customers.

Previously, firms could lend each client 10 per cent of the capital they set aside for margin lending, but they can now lend three times that amount. The new rules are to take immediate effect.

Firms must abide by the new regulations or face fines of AED100,000. Repeat offenders may lose their licences in a promised crackdown on illicit margin lending.

“The SCA is doing something important, which is to lower the risk to smaller companies giving unlimited margin and limit downward volatility,” said Mohammed Ali Yasin, managing director of Abu Dhabi Financial Services.

The new rules may increase margin lending in the long term as brokerage firms boost their base capital to provide more margin lending, but in the short term trading volumes may fall as brokers comply with previously-ignored lending limits.

“Brokers have to adjust positions to bring margin levels down,” said Hisham Khairy, head of trading for institutional desk at MENA Corp brokerage firm, adding trading volumes could drop by 30 per cent initially.

Dubai’s world record NYE fireworks –

By: Eslam.Abdelsalam

Fireworks display over the Burj Khalifa - the world's tallest building - ushers in the new year in Dubai, UAE .

This fireworks consider the world's largest fireworks show , Dubai aimed for a world record with a display stretching over 30 miles (50km) of seafront and the highest fireworks were due to reach more than 1km in height.