Bloomberg The first regular commercial flight in more than 50 years from the US to Cuba departed Fort Lauderdale on Wednesday — the latest step in the post-Cold War thaw between the two nations. JetBlue Flight 386 took off from the airport in southeastern Florida shortly after 10:00 am (1400 GMT) with 150 passengers on board. After less than ...

  AFP Cyprus and Egypt signed a deal on Wednesday paving the way for detailed negotiations on a submarine pipeline to export natural gas from the Mediterranean island to its energy-starved neighbour. Cyprus has been eager to secure alternative ways to exploit its offshore reserves after proven finds so far were insufficient to make a planned liquefied natural gas plant ...

  AFP British drugmaker AstraZeneca agreed to pay more than $5 million to settle allegations that it broke US anticorruption laws in China and Russia. The Securities and Exchange Commission said that in China, employees of an AstraZeneca subsidiary offered cash and gifts to health care officials to encourage them to buy AstraZeneca drugs or reduce pending financial sanctions. In ...

  AFP Eurozone inflation and jobless data on Wednesday fell short of analyst forecasts as the economy bumps along amid speculation the European Central Bank will have to adopt more stimulus measures. The official EU statistics agency Eurostat said eurozone consumer prices rose 0.2 percent in August, the same rate as in July. Eurozone unemployment meanwhile was unchanged at 10.1 ...

  AFP The protracted battle to have Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom face video piracy charges in the United States broke new ground on Wednesday with live-streaming of his appeal against extradition. Dotcom won approval to live-stream his bid to avoid leaving New Zealand after successfully arguing that global interest required more than standard brief television clips. The case, in the ...

  AP The number of Germans without jobs dropped slightly in August in seasonally adjusted terms, leaving the unemployment rate in Europe’s largest economy unchanged at 6.1 percent. The Federal Labor Agency said on Wednesday that the number of unemployed dropped by 7,000 in August over July, slightly more than the decline of 4,000 expected by economists. In unadjusted terms, ...

  Dubai / Emirates Business Rents on prime office assets across the MENA region continued to increase at around the same pace recording an average growth of 11.3% per annum in the year to Q2 2016 compared to 11.9% per annum in the year to Q1.This confirms the ‘2 tiered’ nature of the market across the region with demand for ...

  Dubai / Emirates Business Dubai Culture & Arts Authority (Dubai Culture), the Emirate’s dedicated entity for heritage, arts and culture, has successfully wrapped up its ‘Reading Corner’ installation at the 2016 edition of Modhesh World. The ‘Reading Corner’ by Dubai’ Culture’s Centre of Studies and Research, focused on inspiring children and young adults from across Dubai to pick up ...

  Emirates Business Azizi Developments, a leading UAE-based real estate developer with global reach into international markets, completed the official handover to owners of its Dubai-based property development – Azizi Yasamine Residence, in Al Furjan. Located just minutes away from the World Expo 2020 site, Azizi Yasamine Residence is a 12-storey property that boasts a mix of one to three-bedroom ...

  Dubai / Emirates Business IMG Worlds of Adventure, the world’s largest indoor theme park, opened its doors on Wednesdayfor the very first time. Wholly owned by the Ilyas and Mustafa Galadari Group and managed by IMG Worlds, IMG Worlds of Adventure is the first international mega-themed park to open in Dubai and will redefine the modern theme park experience ...