Bloomberg Ericsson AB withdrew from the telecommunications industry’s biggest annual event to protect its staff and visitors from the coronavirus outbreak. The Swedish maker of mobile networks said it had pulled out of MWC Barcelona, due to be held on February 24 to February 27. As one of the largest exhibitors, with thousands of visitors in its hall each day, ...
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Virus pushes robots to frontlines of hospitals in China
Bloomberg The deadly coronavirus outbreak, which has pushed the Chinese medical community into overdrive, has also prompted the country’s hospitals to more quickly adopt robots as medical assistants. Telepresence bots that allow remote video communication, patient health monitoring and safe delivery of medical goods are growing in number on hospital floors in urban China. They’re now acting as a safe ...
Read More »New ‘Breeze Air’ on track to fly this year, says Neeleman
Bloomberg Breeze Airways, the latest offspring of serial airline entrepreneur David Neeleman, will start flying later this year with a fleet that will put his low-cost plans to the test. The new airline is standing by its early pledge to fly where it won’t face competitors and operate on days and times of highest demand, Neeleman said in an interview. ...
Read More »Jet Airways faces fresh warning signs as liquidation threat looms
Bloomberg Bankrupt carrier Jet Airways India Ltd, once the nation’s biggest by market value, faces fresh warning signs as a deadline to avoid liquidation looms. Creditors will likely be forced into extending a February 17 deadline for the sale of the airline as the shortlisted bidders have yet to form bidding groups, according to people familiar with the matter. Time ...
Read More »Cathay Dragon’s staff urge halting mainland flights amid outbreak
Bloomberg Employees of Hong Kong carrier Cathay Dragon have urged the company to suspend mainland China flights and are considering strikes or protests to press their demands. Staff of the Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd unit gathered on Saturday for an extraordinary general meeting where about 89% out of 467 votes supported “industrial action,†said Kim Lam, a representative of the ...
Read More »Virus scare empties malls on world’s priciest retail strip
Bloomberg In an almost deserted mall, the few shoppers hurry past wearing face masks. In the luxury stores, sales assistants, also in masks, outnumber customers — if they have any at all. To pass the time, staff chat with each other or play with their phones. This isn’t a scene from some dystopian movie. Instead, in Hong Kong’s usually bustling ...
Read More »Firms withdraw from S’pore Airshow over virus
Bloomberg More international aviation companies are withdrawing from the Singapore Airshow as concerns around the novel coronavirus outbreak mount. Organisers of the event, billed as Asia’s largest aerospace and defense conference, earlier announced it would proceed as scheduled with additional health screening and cleaning measures to reduce risks. The week-long show is due to kick off on February 11 and ...
Read More »UAE-Senegal trade reaches AED9.1 billion in five years
ABU DHABI / WAM The commercial and economic ties between the UAE and Senegal have witnessed recent significant developments, with the value of their trade from 2014 to 2018 amounted to AED9.1 billion, according to statistics from the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority (FCSA), and the Ministry of Economy. The official visit of Macky Sall, President of Senegal, to the ...
Read More »ECB chief warns coronavirus adds to economic uncertainty
Bloomberg European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde said her institution is on watch as the coronavirus outbreak provides a new threat to the economic outlook. The disease, which has spread worldwide after originating in China, has shuttered factories, cancelled flights and kept workers at home as governments try to stem the contagion. Lagarde’s comments suggest that the ECB, like ...
Read More »â€˜Adnoc’ testing biofuel to reduce fuel consumption
ABU DHABI / WAM Adnoc Logistics & Services will test biofuel as a bunkering fuel for ships, in an effort to comply with the 2020 sulphur cap, the company’s Chief Executive Officer Captain Abdulkareem Al Masabi said. Al Masabi stated that Adnoc has applied the regulations by November 2019 across its entire fleet, which totals 28 ships, and the company ...
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