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ABU DHABI / WAM The UAE Embassy in Beirut, in cooperation with the Zayed Charitable and Humanitarian Foundation, launched an initiative aimed at distributing 10,000 food parcels and 60 wheelchairs in Lebanon. The initiative is in cooperation with civil society organisations registered with the Lebanese Ministry of Interior, municipalities, and care homes for elderly people. The gesture is part of ...

Abu Dhabi / WAM Abu Dhabi’s Technology Innovation Institute (TII), the applied research pillar of the Advanced Technology Research Council (ATRC), announced on Tuesday that its Cryptography Research Centre (CRC) has built the UAE’s first national and sovereign crypto library. The milestone is set to enable the country to safeguard vital and confidential sources of information. The development follows a ...

Dubai / WAM Dubai Economy is strengthening its initiative launched earlier this year to bring together key industry sectors and stakeholders in an all-encompassing journey towards transitioning Dubai into a circular economy in line with the vision of the leadership and strategic plans of government. The move has gained fresh momentum with HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al ...

Bloomberg UK government borrowing climbed to a record 240.9 billion pounds ($323 billion) in the first eight months of the fiscal year, reflecting the damage inflicted on an economy now at risk of falling back into the recession. In November alone, spending exceeded tax revenue by 31.6 billion pounds ($42.45 billion) amid the escalating cost of supporting firms and households ...

Bloomberg Toyota Motor Corp. will halt production in the UK and France due to transport delays caused by a mutant strain of coronavirus spreading in the UK and that’s led several countries to close their borders with the nation. The border closures have “disrupted the transportation of parts,” Toyota spokeswoman Shino Yamada said in an emailed statement. Countries globally have ...

Bloomberg Swedish overall confidence levels ended a seven-month climb in December, as the Nordic region’s largest economy tightened curbs to battle a severe surge in Covid-19 infections. The overall economic tendency survey fell to 95.6, from a revised 97.2 in November, with the drop “largely a result of firms being less positive about the current situation,” the National Institute of ...

Bloomberg Small advertisers that rely on Facebook to spread marketing messages are up in arms over the social network’s automated ad systems, complaining that inflexible account blocking tools and a lack of customer assistance are hurting business. One digital marketer, Chris Raines, was setting up an advertising campaign on Facebook when his account abruptly stopped working. Raines uses his account ...

Bloomberg Intel Corp., the world’s largest chipmaker, said it’s investigating whether it was a victim of the SolarWinds Corp. hack that has roiled the US government and private sector. “We are still actively investigating, but we currently see no evidence or indication that our systems were affected,” the company said in an emailed statement. Separately, rival US chipmaker Nvidia Corp. ...

Bloomberg The $900 billion stimulus package agreed to by US lawmakers over the weekend could keep the economy from contracting again, but pandemic-related risks remain if activity doesn’t start to bounce back next year. The fiscal relief package includes $600 one-time checks to individuals, more funding for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and an extension of unemployment benefits through March, ...

ABU DHABI / WAM The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) announced on Monday the signing of an exploration concession agreement, awarding the exploration rights for Abu Dhabi’s Offshore Block 3 to a consortium led by Eni Abu Dhabi BV, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Italy’s multinational energy company, and PTTEP MENA Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Thailand’s PTT Exploration and ...