BLOOMBERG German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Finance Minister Christian Lindner are thrashing out a plan to close a €20 billion ($22 billion) shortfall in the 2024 budget with expenditure cuts in all departments except defense — a move which risks angering their coalition partners, the Greens. Scholz and Lindner have agreed to spending reductions of 2% to 3% for almost ...

BLOOMBERG Facebook owner Meta Platforms Inc was hit by a record €1.2 billion ($1.3 billion) European Union (EU) privacy fine and given a deadline to stop shipping users’ data to the US after regulators said it failed to protect personal information from the American security services. The social network giant’s continued data transfers to the US didn’t address “the risks ...

BLOOMBERG European luxury stocks including LVMH and Gucci owner Kering SA fell as a wave of Covid infections in China weighed on sentiment — extending a rout that’s wiped about $56 billion from the sector over the past two days. Shares in Birkin bag maker Hermes International and UK trench coat company Burberry Group Plc also declined, with concerns about ...

BLOOMBERG Volatility is rising in Thailand’s financial markets amid concern investors will have to wait until August to find out whether a coalition of pro-democracy parties can form a new government.Uncertainty after the May 14 election first triggered an outflow of funds, worsening the rout in Asia’s worst-performing stock market this year and weakening the baht. Stocks then rallied this ...

ABU DHABI / WAM Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi  hosted the Open Bouldering Championships 2023, the Middle East’s largest climbing competition. The two-day event successfully brought together 160 climbers from 40 countries, marking a significant increase in regional participation. The Open Bouldering Championships 2023 was sponsored by the Abu Dhabi Sports Council, The North Face, ADISL, Traks Pro, Two Pandas, and ...

ABU DHABI / WAM Caracal, an Edge group company and a leading small arms manufacturer, on Wednesday announced signing an agreement with Ketech Asia, an advanced ammunition producer and small arms solutions provider, for the production and resale of Caracal’s CAR 816 in Malaysia. The agreement was signed by Hamad Al Ameri, CEO of Caracal, and Mohd Nahar Mohd Nasir, ...

ABU DHABI / WAM The Federal National Council (FNC) will hold the 11th session of the 4th ordinary session of its 17th legislative term to be chaired by Saqr Ghobash, Speaker of the FNC, on May 30, in Zayed Hall at the FNC headquarters in Abu Dhabi. During the session, the FNC will discuss a draft federal law regarding the ...

ABU DHABI / WAM AD Ports Group on Wednesday signed an MoU with the world’s largest producer of iron ore and nickel, and one of the largest logistics operators in Brazil, Vale, to develop a mega hub in Abu Dhabi for industrial complexes that produce low-carbon products for the steelmaking industry for both the local and seaborne markets, with a ...

ABU DHABI / WAM  His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, chaired the UAE cabinet meeting at Qasr Al Watan, Abu Dhabi, in the presence of His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Court; HH Sheikh Maktoum ...

ABU DHABI / WAM The UAE national judo team is preparing at a closed training camp in Abu Dhabi for their journey on June 1 to Tajikistan to participate in the Dushanbe Grand Prix 2023, which will take place from June 2-4. Nasser Al Tamimi, Secretary-General of UAE Judo Federation and General Treasurer of the International Judo Federation (IJF), will ...