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ABU DHABI / WAM The UAE Cabinet adopted formation of the Advanced Skills Council under the chairmanship of Dr Ahmad bin Abdullah Humaid Belhoul Al Falasi, Minister of State for Higher Education and Advanced Skills, to oversee relevant policies, programmes and initiatives. The council will support and oversee the implementation of the recently approved Strategy for the Advanced Skills National …

Bloomberg Oil posted a weekly decline as the escalating US-China trade war and swelling American stockpiles overshadowed tanker attacks in the Middle East. Futures settled up 0.4 percent in New York but still closed the week down 2.7 percent. London-traded contracts slid for a fourth straight week. The White House blamed Iran for tanker attacks near the Strait of Hormuz, …

RIYADH / WAM The Official Spokesman for the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen, Colonel Turki Al Malki, announced that a hostile projectile fired by the Houthi militia at 02:21 on Wednesday hit the arrivals hall at Abha International Airport through which thousands of passengers of different nationalities pass daily. The Saudi Press Agency (SPA) quoted Colonel Al Maliki as …

Bloomberg Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), one of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds, plans to buy out Vornado Realty Trust’s 25 percent stake in the midtown Manhattan office tower at 330 Madison Ave, according to a person familiar with matter. The deal would give the Abu Dhabi fund, already the building’s majority holder, full ownership. Vornado said it agreed …

LONDON / WAM UAE-linked oil services firm Petrofac has secured its third project under a 10-year framework agreement with Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) with the award of a procurement services project for the Mabrouk North East Line Pipe Procurement Project in Oman. The contract, valued at approximately $75 million, is the latest to be awarded under the agreement signed in …

Bloomberg Oil held near $54 a barrel after Saudi Arabia said it would work with Russia and other members of the Opec+ coalition to prevent a slump in prices. Futures were little changed in New York, after rising 2.7 percent. Saudi Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih said oil producers would take “preventive steps” to stop prices from diving, after meeting with …

Bloomberg US President Donald Trump threatened to raise tariffs on China again if President Xi Jinping doesn’t meet with him at the upcoming Group of 20 summit in Japan. Trump was asked in an interview with CNBC on Monday whether tariffs on about $300 billion in Chinese goods would be enacted immediately if there’s no meeting at the summit later …

ABU DHABI / WAM The UAE and the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena), on Monday, signed a supplementary agreement to the headquarters agreement that was signed in 2012 on hosting the Agency’s permanent headquarters in the UAE capital. The new document outlines the specific conditions governing the occupancy by Irena of its headquarters premises Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, …

BAHRAIN / WAM Investcorp announced that it acquired 11 new US multifamily properties. The portfolio totals 2,615 units for a combined purchase price of approximately $370 million. The acquisition marks Investcorp’s largest US real estate portfolio acquisition co- mpleted in the past decade. “This diversified acquisition marks very exciting milestone for our real estate investment team as this is the …

Bloomberg After days of wrangling over the wording of a communique, finance chiefs from the world’s largest economies warned that escalating trade and geopolitical tensions pose the biggest risk to global growth. Officials said that although growth appears to be stabilising, it “remains low and risks remain tilted to the downside,” according to the statement. “Most importantly, trade and geopolitical …