ABU DHABI / WAM The Muslim Council of Elders, under the Chairmanship of His Eminence Dr Ahmed el-Tayeb, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, has announced the launch of the ‘Hokama Peace Academy’ as part of its continued commitment to spreading the values of tolerance, peace and coexistence among the next generation of academics, scholars and leaders. The inaugural edition of …

Bloomberg UK energy grids will have 30 billion pounds ($40 billion) to spend on ensuring the nation’s pipes and wires are able to cope with meeting the nation’s net zero emissions target by 2050. The budget is for service, maintenance, upgrades and repairs on gas and power grids for the next five years, and is 20% higher than the spending …

Bloomberg Tianqi Lithium plans to sell a minority stake in the world’s biggest lithium mine, giving the producer access to the cash it needs to repay the major loan behind its ballooning financial troubles. Australian miner IGO Ltd will pay $1.4 billion in cash for a 49% stake in Tianqi Lithium Energy Australia Pty, the majority shareholder in the Greenbushes …

Bloomberg British Airways parent IAG SA will outline its plan to lower emissions, including the use of carbon offsets, when the airline group’s new chief speaks at a United Nations summit this weekend. Chief Executive Officer Luis Gallego, who was expected set to address the United Nations Climate Ambition Summit on Saturday, will provide a road map towards fulfilling IAG’s …

Bloomberg United Airlines Holdings Inc predicted that sales will rebound next summer as vaccines take hold, even as the company echoed rivals in warning that surging coronavirus cases have caused near-term demand to weaken over the past month. Bookings for the third quarter of 2021, the heart of the airline industry’s peak season, will only be 40% below pre-pandemic levels, …

Bloomberg Southwest Airlines Co expects depressed travel amid the nationwide surge in coronavirus cases and typically weak seasonal demand to combine for a difficult start to 2021 for the industry. “January and February are bound to be really rough months — winter time, high case loads — and they are seasonally soft anyway,” Chief Executive Officer Gary Kelly said in …

Bloomberg Mexico’s biggest airline plans to use proceeds from a $173 million stock sale to pounce on struggling rivals as it rebounds from an unprecedented travel collapse. Volaris is restoring seating capacity this month to 100% of last year’s levels and targeting a return to profitability by the second quarter of 2021, said Chief Executive Officer Enrique Beltranena. The carrier …

Bloomberg Walmart Inc says it’s preparing its more than 5,000 pharmacies across the US to receive Covid-19 vaccine doses, including adding freezers and dry ice to handle any cold-storage demands. The preparations underway at Walmart and Sam’s Club pharmacies also include creating processes to tell customers when to get their first and second doses and entering agreements with states about …

Bloomberg Costco Wholesale Corp topped Wall Street’s profit expectations during the first quarter amid continued high demand for food and supplies, even as the warehouse chain said pandemic-related costs remain elevated. Profit climbed to $2.62 a share in the period ended on November 22, the company said. Analysts had expected $2.06 on average, according to estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Costco …

Bloomberg DBS Group Holdings Ltd will set up a digital exchange for cryptocurrencies for firms and wealthy clients, while allowing fund raising via asset tokenisation on a platform run by the largest bank in Southeast Asia. The planned setup is in partnership with Singapore Exchange Ltd, which will hold 10% in the new bourse, the Singapore-based lender said in an …