News

SHARJAH / WAM The Sharjah Book Authority (SBA) has announced the opening of registration for the 40th edition of the Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF) Awards and will be accepting entries until the end of August. The SBA will honour local, regional, and global excellence in literature in five distinctive awards, including the Sharjah Translation Award ‘Turjuman’, Best Emirati Book, ...

Bloomberg The UK remains Europe’s most attractive destination for financial services investment but its lead has narrowed, according to a survey by the consultants EY. The UK attracted 56 financial services projects in 2020, still the highest in Europe yet down 43 projects from 2019, marking the largest year-on-year decline in a decade. Foreign direct investment (FDI) in financial services ...

Bloomberg The European Union (EU) is working towards having the US lift its national-security tariffs on metal imports by the end of the year, EU Ambassador to Washington Stavros Lambrinidis said. “We’re going to be sitting down in the next five months until the end of the year — we’re going to try to address the fundamental issue of overcapacity ...

Bloomberg Italy introduced a five-day quarantine and mandatory testing for travellers from the UK, a restriction that will weaken an economic rebound reliant on summer tourism. The UK is one of the biggest sources of travellers to Italy during normal times, though its role has been diminished as a rise in coronavirus cases slowed its travel reopening. Britons will now ...

Bloomberg Nokia Oyj plans to redesign its offices globally, adapting workplaces in 130 countries to a more flexible post-pandemic work environment. The Finnish company is seeking to capture the benefits of having had virtually all staff work remotely for the past 15 months. Starting next year, roughly 70% of office space will be dedicated to collaboration and team work and ...

Bloomberg Google’s parent firm plans to close its seven-story hub devoted to helping startups in London’s Shoreditch district and replace it with virtual services following the shift to home-working. The move comes after the pandemic showed Alphabet Inc that it could serve young firms across the country without the need for a physical space, according to a statement. Google was ...

DUBAI / WAM Food aid operations of the “100 Million Meals” campaign have been completed in two refugee camps in Jordan, providing over 4.7 million meals in cooperation with the UN World Food Programme (WFP). The massive distribution comes a month after the 100 Million Meals campaign concluded, securing 216 million meals, double its target, to vulnerable communities in 30 ...

ABU DHABI / WAM Rashed Lahej Al Mansouri, Director-General of the General Administration of Abu Dhabi Customs, has said that Abu Dhabi possesses a solid logistical infrastructure and advanced digital technologies that enhance its trade globally. In an interview with the Emirates News Agency (WAM), Al Mansouri said that Abu Dhabi’s non-oil foreign trade through the emirate’s customs ports achieved ...

ABU DHABI / WAM The UAE on Monday sent 20 ambulances equipped with essential emergency, security and safety equipment to the Gaza Strip through the Rafah Border Crossing. The shipment of the aid, which was organised by the country’s humanitarian arm, the Emirates Red Crescent (ERC), aims to support Gaza’s health sector and improve local humanitarian conditions. The UAE always ...

Abu Dhabi / WAM Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) has signed a cooperation agreement with the Emirates Red Crescent (ERC) to finance the development projects supported by the “Mother of the Nation” programme in the Comoros. As part of the funding, ADFD has provided AED35 million to the UAE government’s grant to the Comoros to support development projects within ...