Local News

UMM AL QAIWAIN / WAM The National Bank of Umm Al Qaiwain (NBQ), announced AED135.18 million in net profits for the first quarter in 2019. This represents an increase of three percent compared to the same period last year, which registered AED131.03 million. In a statement, NBQ attributed the net profit increase to improved operating performance driven by an increased interest ...

Abu Dhabi / WAM Sawab Centre, a joint UAE-US digital communications hub to combat extremist ideologies online and promote positive alternatives, announced the launch of a new campaign on its social media platforms. Under zhashtags #DailyRayOfLight and #StoriesAboutRamadan, the campaign will run during the Ramadan season from May 6 to June 1 in Arabic, English and French on Sawab’s Twitter, ...

Abu Dhabi / WAM The United Arab Emirates has released a Qatari naval vessel and the four military personnel who were on board when it was detained last week. According to a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, MoFAIC, the four were First Lieutenant Mohammed Hassem Al Heil and Lance Corporal Saeed Nasser Al Marri, both ...

Dubai / Emirates Business Dubai welcomed 4.75 million international overnight visitors in the first quarter of 2019, posting over two percent increase in tourism volumes compared to the same period last year according to the latest data released by Dubai’s Department of Tourism & Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism). Steadily picking up from a stable 2018 performance, Dubai’s tourism sector saw ...

Dubai / WAM The world is better when we act together: that’s the unifying message being passed, volleyed and headed around the world by Expo 2020 global ambassador Lionel Messi and shared in a new video-led campaign. The 60-second film shows the world-famous footballer and people around the planet connecting through the universal language of football as they keep the ...

DUBAI / Emirates Business Emaar Properties achieved one of the highest quarterly property sales in Dubai during the first quarter (January to March) of 2019 recording an increase of 53 percent to AED5.979 billion ($1.628 billion) compared to the Q1 2018 sales of AED3.906 billion ($1.063 billion). The sales to international customers more than doubled in Q1 2019 to AED2.645 ...

Sharjah / Emirates Business Air Arabia on Sunday reported strong financial results for the first quarter (January to March) 2019 as the Middle East & North Africa’s first and largest low-cost carrier continued to deliver solid commercial and operational results. Air Arabia reported a net profit of AED128 million for the three months ending March 31, 2019, a 16 percent ...

ABU DHABI / WAM Etihad Airways will boost its services from Abu Dhabi to London Heathrow during the busy summer period. The additional flights will be operated by a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, supplementing the current three daily all-Airbus A380 services between both capital cities. Between May 26 and June 22, four daily flights will be operated on the route, increasing ...

ABU DHABI / WAM The value of non-oil foreign merchandise trade through Abu Dhabi ports increased 11.5 percent from AED32.1 billion in January to February 2018 to AED35.8 billion in the same period of 2019. This was the result of a 47.0 percent increase in re-exports from AED 6.0 billion to AED 8.8 billion and 5.6 percent increase in imports, ...

ABU DHABI / WAM The UAE’s moon sighting committee on Sunday announced that Monday, May 6, will be the first day of the Holy Month of Ramadan. President HH Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, has sent cables of congratulations on the advent of the holy month of Ramadan to Kings, Presidents and Emirs of the Arab and Islamic countries. ...