News

  Sharjah / WAM Over 12 days, the 13th edition of the Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival (SCRF) took more than 112,350 visitors of all age groups and backgrounds on a journey to new worlds of learning and entertainment. With spaces attractively designed to stimulate thought and creativity, Expo Centre Sharjah spoilt cultural enthusiasts for choice with the festival’s vast offering ...

Bloomberg Germany supports a plan to suspend European Union rules limiting deficits and debt by an additional year to the end of 2023, according to officials familiar with the government’s stance. The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, proposed on Monday to maintain the so-called general escape clause of the bloc’s Stability and Growth Pact until the end of next ...

Bloomberg China’s coronavirus lockdowns mean its economic growth may undershoot the US for the first time since 1976, in a role reversal with potential political reverberations in both Beijing and Washington. The world’s second-largest economy will grow just 2% this year, Bloomberg Economics wrote in a report. By comparison, US gross domestic product will increase 2.8% this year, Bloomberg Economics ...

Bloomberg The UK should cancel its planned corporate tax increase in order to ensure Britain remains an attractive place to do business, according to a new report by the Centre for Policy Studies (CPS). The UK’s corporate tax on companies with annual profits of more than £250,000 is due to rise to 25% in April from the current 19% as ...

  Bloomberg Europe’s new-vehicle sales shrank for a 10th month in a row as the industry remains mired in supply-chain crises that are stoking record inflation and threatening to put off car buyers. Registrations fell 20% to 830,447 vehicles in April, the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association said, the steepest decline this year. Stellantis, the carmaker formed from the merger of ...

Bloomberg Paris tourism is bouncing back as European and American visitors return to take in the sights of the French capital after two years of Covid-related lockdowns and restrictions. The city is the second-most sought-after destination worldwide this year, behind London, according to booking aggregator Trivago. That has steadily pushed up hotel room rates and occupancy since the beginning of ...

  Dubai / WAM The global pandemic, combined with the accelerated adoption of digital technologies, has driven significant shifts in B2B e-commerce and the retail sector in Dubai, leading to the city reinforcing its position as a leading regional and global trading and commercial hub. The shifts are exemplified by a new trading trend that has emerged among companies in ...

  Abu Dhabi / WAM The 31st edition of the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair (Adibf, organised by the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre (ALC), part of the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi), begins on Monday under the theme ‘Inspire, Innovate, Enrich’. The Fair, running from May 23-29 at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition ...

  Dubai / WAM The Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) has stressed that the UAE’s health system is fully prepared to handle the spread of monkeypox, adding it is proactively investigating and closely monitoring any suspect cases. Monkeypox is a viral zoonotic disease that occurs primarily in tropical rainforest areas of Central and West Africa and is occasionally exported ...

Bloomberg India will probably borrow the entire 1 trillion rupees ($12.9 billion) that the government will forgo as revenues due to a cut in gasoline and diesel levies, according to people familiar with the matter. Higher collections from the goods and services tax (GST) as well as personal income taxes will be neutralised by additional spending on food and fertiliser ...