InfoAnda - First luxury hotel to open in Ramallah

Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case
Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They

Taiwan denies boycotting Australian film festival
Thursday, August 6, 2009

AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e

Merkel's support dips, regional ally resigns International
Thursday, September 3, 2009

By Sarah Marsh and Noah Barkin

BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German

Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who

Asian markets mixed after Wall Street rally
Wednesday, March 18, 2009

By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an

Samsung sets up fund to help S.Korean contractors | 17 August 2010
Ex-Fed chief Greenspan defends role in crisis | 8 April 2010
DivX sues Yahoo over ad deal | Technology | | 17 November 2008

Film on horrors of Bosnian war wins Rome festival | Entertainment | | 31 October 2008

Forum Views () Forum Replies ()

Read more with google mobile : First luxury hotel to open in Ramallah

Yahoo! My Yahoo! Mail More Yahoo! Services Account Options New User? Sign Up Sign In Help Yahoo! Search web search Home Singapore Asia Pacific World Business Entertainment Sports Technology Weekend Edition World First luxury hotel to open in Ramallah AFP - Monday, November 1 Send IM Story Print First luxury hotel to open in Ramallah RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territories (AFP) - – The opening of Ramallah's first five-star hotel on Monday will mark another small step in the West Bank town's steady march towards something resembling normal life. But its sixth-floor executive lounge looks out on a panorama of unresolved issues that cloud the economic outlook -- a built-up Israeli settlement on a nearby hilltop, a Palestinian refugee camp down below and the hazy skyline of distant Jerusalem beyond a grim separation wall. The Movenpick Hotel Ramallah, a locally owned franchise of the Swiss-based chain, is aimed primarily at corporate clients and has been billed as yet another indication that the occupied West Bank is open for business. "The past is the past. We believe in the future of the country and the future of this hotel. It's a beautiful investment and an opportunity for Ramallah," says general manager Daniel Roche. The 40-million-dollar hotel includes 171 rooms and suites, an outdoor pool, fitness centre and seven conference rooms. The main restaurant has an Italian chef and a downstairs cigar bar that will serve up 20-year aged whiskeys. It will cater to the entrepreneurs, aid workers and diplomats who have flocked to Ramallah in recent years as security has improved following the 2000-2005 Palestinian uprising. A string of chic new bars and restaurants have already turned the town into an easy-going Palestinian approximation of Tel Aviv, the transformation underpinned by technocratic reforms and a massive influx of foreign aid. It has all happened at a time of pervasive pessimism over the peace process, which sputtered back to life in early September only to stall three weeks later with the expiry of a partial Israeli settlement moratorium. That has Palestinian officials and investors -- many of whom have vivid memories of past periods of calm collapsing into renewed chaos -- casting a wary eye on the latest signs of prosperity. Many point out the Movenpick was first conceived during the halcyon early years of the peace process in the 1990s but frozen by the unrest that followed. "Without political progress, security and economic progress is not sustainable," Palestinian Authority spokesman Ghassan Khatib says. "This is what we have learned from the 43-year history of the occupation." The International Monetary Fund has also urged caution, warning recent double-digit economic growth has been mainly driven by the four billion dollars in foreign aid the Palestinian Authority has received since 2007. In September it warned the West Bank's growth was shaped more by Israeli restrictions than comparative economic advantage and was "bound to decline" if Israel did not take further steps to improve movement and access. "Let's keep it in perspective," says Maher Hamdan, CEO of the Palestine Trade Centre, or Paltrade, which represents more than 320 local businesses. "The potential for economic growth and attracting investment would be an order of magnitude of what it is today if you really had a peace process." Sam Bahour, a Palestinian-American businessman who launched a shopping mall and supermarket chain in 2004 and now runs a consulting firm specialising in start-ups, says the appearance of normal economic life can be deceiving. "These are investors who have taken a leap of faith with the conviction the occupation will end," he says. "So they are willing to wait out their investment hoping that they will be well-positioned, once the occupation ends, to be the first movers on the market... They are investing in the future, and that's a high risk." Although Israel has lifted several of the hundreds of checkpoints and roadblocks it maintains across the territory, trade remains difficult, and economic activity is heavily restricted in the more than 60 percent of the West Bank that is fully governed by the Israeli military. "Another few cafes, another few hotels, is not going to build an economic foundation for statehood," Bahour says. "What will is borders, water, land, and the ability of Palestinians to trade directly with the outside world." Even high-profile projects like the Movenpick routinely encounter difficulties and delays in importing goods into the territory. "Every single piece that had to be imported for the hotel was subject to Israeli procedures at the crossings, and these delayed work," says Talal Nasreddin, one of the owners of the Movenpick Hotel Ramallah. That has meant, among other things, that the Movenpick will not immediately be able to offer the chain's trademark ice cream. "We are working on that, and we will definitely one day have ice cream," Roche, the general manager, says. "It's a long process." Recommend Send IM Story Print Related Articles US-ENTERTAINMENT Summary Reuters - Monday, November 1 Leading Dutch writer Harry Mulisch dies aged 83 Reuters - Monday, November 1 1 - Britt Ekland gets birthday tattoo Cover Media - Sunday, October 31 Britt Ekland gets birthday tattoo Cover Media - Sunday, October 31 1 - Kimberley Walsh: Earrings are my passion Cover Media - Sunday, October 31 News Search Top Stories Yemen hunts suspects behind air parcel bombs Ivory Coast votes in key presidential poll Italian jackpot record picked up Australia, Singapore PMs discuss bourses merger Demonstrators flock to Washington for comics' 'Sanity' rally More Top Stories » ADVERTISEMENT Most Popular Most Viewed Most Recommended Miss US crowned Miss World 2010 Indonesia volcano erupts again Yemen hunts suspects behind air parcel bombs Maradona eyes UK Premier League coaching role Demonstrators flock to Washington for comics' 'Sanity' rally More Most Viewed » Time, like all good things, may come to an end: study Spectacular unknown species found in Amazon Iranian chocolate thief 'to have hand chopped off' Ancient galaxy is more than 13 billion light years away Moon's 'treasure chest' includes silver More Most Recommended » Elsewhere on Yahoo! Financial news on Yahoo! Finance Stars and latest movies Best travel destinations More on Yahoo! News Home Singapore Asia Pacific World Business Entertainment Sports Technology Weekend Edition Subscribe to our news feeds Top StoriesMy Yahoo!RSS » More news feeds | What are news feeds? Also on Yahoo! Answers Groups Mail Messenger Mobile Travel Finance Movies Sports Games » All Yahoo! Services Site Highlights Singapore Full Coverage Most Popular Entertainment Photos Yahoo! News Network Copyright © 2010 Yahoo! Southeast Asia Pte Ltd. (Co. Reg. No. 199700735D). All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy - Terms of Service - Community - Intellectual Property Rights Policy - Help

Other News on Sunday, 31 October 2010
Afghan president condemns US-Russia drugs operation
US-bound parcels 'could have exploded': Dubai, London
Saudi offers to host talks on Iraq political crisis
Bomb found in Northern Ireland; security alert at airport |
Shuttle Discovery launch delayed to Wednesday: NASA
Iraqi coffee shop suicide bombing kills 30
Miss US crowned Miss World 2010
UK says bomb could have brought down plane |
Greek PM gives new hint he may call election |
Afghan leader upset by foreign forces drug raid
Punish Canadian severely, Guantanamo court urged |
Argentina to stick with Kirchner model: official |
Vietnam to reopen Cam Ranh Bay to foreign fleets: PM
Dubai parcel bomb bore al Qaeda hallmarks
Samoa storm back to beat Japan 13-10
Khadr could learn his sentence Saturday
Australia beat New Zealand in rugby cliffhanger
Alleged abuse victim arrested in priest's beating
US-ENTERTAINMENT Summary
Clinton says US has a stake in Asian security
Jim Loach film debut follows in father's footsteps
Clinton in China for lightning visit
Miss World contest begins in China
Turkey lifts its ban on YouTube: agency |
Rare Korean reunions go ahead despite gunfire exchange
Soft-spoken 18-year-old American wins Miss World
S.Korea says seeking $1 bln Congo mining deal
18-year-old US woman wins Miss World
Vietnam Airlines to buy eight Boeing Dreamliners
Asia must avoid 'distortions' in handling hot money: ADB
Plane with cargo from Yemen lands in NY, searched
Jim Loach film debut follows in father's footsteps |
Court orders lifting of Turkey YouTube ban: reports
US-TECH Summary
Turkey lifts its ban on YouTube: agency
Mubarak delays Egypt's ruling party conference
Brazil seen electing Rousseff to extend Lula legacy |
Italian jackpot record of 177.7 mln euros picked up
Republicans top Democrats with Facebook fans
Gunmen kill 14 on sports field in Honduras |
DHL tightens checks on freight traffic from Yemen: ministry
Australia, Singapore PMs discuss bourses merger
Iraq's Shi'ite politicians turn down Saudi offer |
Demonstrators flock to Washington for comics' 'Sanity' rally
Russian protestors offer support for jailed tycoon
Weapons seized in Nigeria came from Iran: shipping company |
Shuttle Discovery launch delayed to Wednesday: NASA
Ivory Coast holds reconciliation poll at last |
Australia has grave reservations about Myanmar elections |
Yemen arrests suspect as parcels confirmed as bombs
Australia has "grave reservations" about Myanmar elections
Russian FM says Medvedev free to visit Kuril Islands
Comedians' pre-election rally throngs Washington
Global minimum and maximum temperatures
Yemen official says forces detain parcel suspect
Filmmaker Hickenlooper dies in Denver at 47
Film giant MGM strikes bankruptcy rescue deal
La Dolce Vita a turning point in cinema: Scorsese
European avant-garde in Romanian theatre festival
Vietnam, Russia ink deal on first nuclear plant: AFP
Vietnam to help Japan on rare earths: joint statement
Weather clears for Indonesia tsunami aid
Japan firms profit from emerging economy demand: report
India Reliance Industries quarterly profit jumps 28 percent
India's service sector boom sees workers switch jobs
India carmaker Maruti profit rises as demand races ahead
Filmmaker Hickenlooper dies in Denver at 47 |
Suicide bomber wounds 32 in Istanbul's main square
Parcel bomb went on Qatar Airways 'passenger plane'
Suicide bomber wounds 32 in Istanbul's main square |
Ahmadinejad aide says Iran not ready to talk nuclear
Yemen hunts suspects behind air parcel bombs
Ahmadinejad aide says Iran not ready to talk nuclear |
Iraq's Shi'ite politicians turn down Saudi offer
Ivory Coast votes in key presidential poll
Italian jackpot record picked up
Corrupt Pakistan launches anti-graft campaign |
Afghan official says 17 insurgents killed in south
Somali parliament approves new prime minister |
Bahrain opposition falls short of majority in polls |
Ukraine vote is test of Yanukovich's standing |
Ivory Coast calm as voters go to polls |
NATO faces Afghan training shortfall and looks offshore |
Boat capsizes in Bay of Bengal with 50 feared dead |
Myanmar citizens told to vote as fears grow over poll
Death toll rises to 20 in India boat sinking
Koreans hold emotional family reunions
Leading Dutch writer Harry Mulisch dies aged 83
First luxury hotel to open in Ramallah
Corrupt Pakistan launches anti-graft campaign
APEC eyes high-speed broadband networks by 2020
Panic as Indonesia volcano spews more gas and ash
Zimbabweans feel pinch of strengthening rand
China rights lawyers blocked from going to US
UN chief discusses Myanmar with China
China's Wen says World Expo good for reform
Aussie press acclaim O'Connor as Wallaby hero
Leading Dutch writer Harry Mulisch dies aged 83 |
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro
Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found
Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever
AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production
The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time
AMD to Start Production of piledriver
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air
ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch
Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up
AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform
Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis
Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets
Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights

USD EUR - 1 year graph	VPN on MacOSX	BlogMeter 1.01