Bhutto's 19-year-old son named party leader
Bilawal and father Asif Ali Zardari will co-chair Pakistan People's Party, compete in election.

Rent cap unlikely to dent inflation
New cap of 5% will have limited impact on curbing inflation in Dubai, investment bank EFG-Hermes says.

Kuwait set to cut lending rates
Central bank will likely reduce key discount rate soon despite record inflation, National Bank of Kuwait says.

Building collapse death toll hits 33
Rescue workers pull three more bodies from wreckage of 12-storey building in Egypt's Alexandria.

Saddam anniversary passes in relative peace
Graffiti and flowers mark first anniversary of Iraqi dictator's execution.

Amlak, Barwa team up to tap Qatar property boom
Companies to launch mortgage finance firm Amlak Barwa Finance in Gulf Arab state.

Doha Bank plans Kuwait debut
Qatar's fourth-largest lender wins approval from gov't to open first branch in neighbouring Gulf Arab state.

Sabic announces shareholder dividends
Saudi firm to offer one free bonus share for every five held and 53 cents in dividend for H2.

Iran nuclear reactor operational by mid-2008
Islamic republic sticking to launch deadline despite Russian claims it will not be ready.

Iraq oil exports hit three-month high
Exports almost top 60mn barrels in November, sold at average of $83.87 per barrel, Oil Ministry says.

Turkmenistan cuts gas to Iran by 50%
Central Asian country blames technical and operational factors for drop in deliveries to neighbour.

Iranian moderate daily relaunched
Allies of cleric Rafsanjani put Kargozaran newspaper back on newsstands ahead of March polls.

Pakistan election in doubt
Bhutto's assassination throws scheduled vote into doubt as ruling party calls for delay of up to four months.

Chaos begins to subside
Pakistan begins to see life inching back to normal as wave of violence appeared to ease.

France boycotts Syria
Paris will have no more contact with Damascus until it lets Lebanon end political stalemate, Sarkozy says.

Iraq to compensate victims of Turkish assault
Gov't to pay $830 to every Kurdish family displaced by Turkish bombings, prime minister Al-Maliki says.

EFG to buy $32mn stake in maise producer
Investment bank's fund wants to buy 32% of National Company for Maize Products.

Abraaj sells stake in Maktoob.com
Dubai private equity firm says in statement internal rate of return from sale is more than 75%.

Raya studying bid for Egypt fixed-line licence
IT and communications service provider to team up with international telco.

Suez Canal hikes transit fees
Fees to use important shipping route will increase next year by between 4.2% and 14.7%.