Bloomberg The most talked-about, futuristic product from Google’s developer show isn’t even finished — but it’s already stoking heated debate. At its I/O conference, Alphabet Inc.’s Google previewed Duplex, an experimental service that lets its voice-based digital assistant book appointments on its own. It was part of a slate of features, such as automated writing in emails, where Google touted ...

Bloomberg Space Exploration Technologies Corp. launched its more reusable rocket for the first time, a major step forward in reducing the cost of the closely held company’s missions. The Falcon 9 Block 5 carried Bangladesh’s first geostationary communications satellite towards orbit. It’s the latest major upgrade by SpaceX to its workhorse rocket and is built to handle at least 10 ...

Abu Dhabi / WAM ADNOC Downstream Investment Forum, which will start in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, is a step forward in ADNOC’s innovative initiatives launched over the past years to provide added value to key companies, subsidiaries and the national economy in general. Commenting on the forum, Hamad Al Shamsi, Secretary-General of the Supreme Petroleum Council, underlined the significant role ...

WAZI’YA / WAM The Yemeni National Forces have liberated the entire Wazi’ya front, expunging the Iran-backed Houthi militia out of their pockets in the area. The liberation came as part of a large-scale campaign that was supported by the UAE Armed Forces and inflicted heavy human and material damage on the rebels. The Yemeni resistance is continuing to drive the ...

TOKYO / WAM Mohammed bin Ahmed Al Bowardi, Minister of State for Defence Affairs, and Tomohiro Yamamoto, Japanese Minister of State for Defence, signed a joint cooperation agreement between the UAE and Japan in security and defence affairs. The agreement aims to exchange cooperation and defence expertise to support and develop strategic relations between the two countries and work to ...

Dubai / Emirates Business Dubai Real Estate Institute (DREI), the educational arm of Dubai Land Department (DLD), concluded its successful business trip to Jordan. During the visit, which was led by CEO of DREI Mahmoud El Burai, the delegation met senior officials from a number of government and private institutions concerning the real estate sector. The trip resulted in the ...

Abu Dhabi / Emirates Business Adnoc Distribution, the UAE’s largest fuel and convenience retailer, announced the opening of the first of ten Géant Express branded stores at service stations in the UAE. The other nine stores will open at existing ADNOC Distribution sites during the second and third quarters of this year. From this week, customers at the Al Mushrif ...

DUBAI / Emirates Business Zainab Mohammed, Chief Property Management and Marketing Officer at wasl properties, has won the ‘Emirates Women Award’ for the second time during the 15th edition of the programme under the slogan ‘Wisdom, Goodness and Tenderness’. Zainab was awarded in the ‘Leadership’ category for her outstanding contributions to the development of Dubai’s real estate sector, as well ...

Abu Dhabi / WAM Abu Dhabi Ports unveiled its sixth heat stress campaign titled ‘Safety in Heat’, offering an open platform to educate employees, port users and the public on the effects of heat-related illnesses, and preventative measures from May 15 to September 16. A few easy steps have been taken by the authorities to ensure the safety of workers, ...

Dubai / Emirates Business Volvo Buses and FAMCO have received an order from the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) to supply 143 Volvo luxury intercity coaches over the next two years, in what is FAMCO’s largest deal with the RTA to date. Volvo’s B11R is the first bus in the Middle East to meet the strict Euro 6 standards ...