Dubai / WAM The opening of the 38th Gitex Technology Week has boosted local and international conviction that the UAE’s ambition to be the world’s number one smart service hub by 2021, is an ambition with a centralised mindset and a defined executive programme, said, Mohammed Jalal Alrayssi, Executive Director of the Emirates News Agency (WAM). The exhibition, which is ...

Bloomberg The UK and the European Union are on course to miss a key milestone on the road to a Brexit deal after talks hit a roadblock on Sunday. Negotiations are now paused, putting pressure on leaders to step into the breach later this week. A weekend of intense negotiations—including a surprise dash by Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab to meet ...

Bloomberg The Republic of Macedonia’s parliament is facing a vote that will either help approve a deal opening the way to NATO and European Union entry or trigger an early election. The former Yugoslav nation is at the center of the struggle between Russia and the West for sway over Europe’s most volatile region. Prime Minister Zoran Zaev’s government is ...

Bloomberg About 56 percent of Kenyans are opposed to a proposed referendum on changes to the East Africa nation’s constitution, according to a survey funded by the local Star newspaper. Some Kenyan politicians including opposition leader Raila Odinga are calling for constitutional revisions to address what they describe as a bloated executive and the government’s failure to adequately devolve power. ...

Bloomberg Chancellor Angela Merkel faces a new round of coalition turbulence after her Bavarian sister party dropped to a historic low in a regional election that exposed the scope of voter disaffection with Germany’s political establishment. The Christian Social Union’s loss of its absolute majority on Sunday threatens to reverberate through Merkel’s fractious government, already hampered by infighting after just ...

Bloomberg French President Emmanuel Macron is poised to unveil his new team after two weeks of confusion over the timing and scope of his cabinet shuffle fueled speculation of a split between him and his prime minister. The reshuffle was set off by the October 2 resignation of the interior minister, with Macron saying he would “ take the necessary ...

Bloomberg Sweden’s acting Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said that he’s prepared to try to form a broad coalition government after the opposition leader failed in his first attempt. Lofven said he told parliament speaker Andreas Norlen on Monday that he’s ready to lead talks on forming a viable coalition to break an impasse after last month’s inconclusive election. “A cooperation ...

Bloomberg Steel pipe makers are set to become beneficiaries of India’s $10 billion push to expand its natural gas network to more of its urban masses and cut pollution. India has just completed its biggest city gas distribution auction that would extend coverage to more than half of its 1.3 billion people across a third of the nation’s area. This ...

Bloomberg Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Equinor ASA said they’re committed to a project that will allow the export of natural gas from Tanzania. Proposals to build a $30 billion liquefied-natural-gas plant (LNG), in gestation since 2014, have been clouded by policy uncertainty in Tanzania’s extractives industry. Investor sentiment toward the East African nation has been soured by the government’s ...

Bloomberg Zimbabwe’s government warned fuel suppliers who demand payment in foreign exchange that their licences to trade will be withdrawn. “All those caught selling fuel at prices not approved by Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority and those service stations either demanding payment in hard currency or engaging in other untoward trading will have their licences revoked,” Vice President Kembo Mohadi said. ...