News

Bloomberg Oil rose near $34 a barrel following Russia’s prediction that the market may balance as early as next month as global producers take historic amounts of crude out of the market. Russia, a key member of the Opec+ alliance that has pledged record output cuts, expects the market to balance in June or July. Energy Minister Alexander Novak said ...

ABU DHABI / WAM The Federal Tax Authority (FTA) issued a decision to postpone implementation of the ban on supplying, transferring, storing, and possession of water pipe tobacco and electrically heated cigarettes in the UAE that do not carry digital tax stamps until January 1, 2021. The ban had previously been scheduled to come into effect on June 1 this ...

Bloomberg The Philippines’ Trade Department wants lawmakers to pass a 1.3-trillion peso ($26 billion) stimulus package that will aid the recovery of industries and their displaced workers. Of the total stimulus being discussed at the House of Representatives, about 628 billion pesos is planned for wage subsidies and loans for businesses hit by the lockdown, the Trade Department said in ...

DUBAI / WAM Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism) held a virtual meeting with key aviation and hospitality partners to discuss current and post-pandemic strategies and joint initiatives aimed at ensuring the tourism industry’s gradual return to normalcy. The meeting also discussed global efforts to minimise the transmission of Covid-19 and precautionary measures deployed to safeguard the ...

HADRAMAUT / WAM On the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, with the monitoring of HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ruler’s Representative in Al Dhafra Region, and Chairman of the Emirates Red Crescent (ERC) the ERC distributed 770.4 tonnes of ...

DUBAI / Emirates Business For the eleventh year in a row, National Bonds is distributing ‘Eidiyah’ to more than 500 lucky minor bondholders. Eidiyah is an annual initiative that rewards minor bondholders via special electronic draws for AED 50, totaling AED 25,000 – held on the first day of Eid Al Fitr. In its sustained efforts to encourage financial literacy ...

ABU DHABI / WAM Warehouse421, the home-grown arts and design centre dedicated to showcasing and nurturing creative production across the region, has launched the ‘Warehouse421 Project Revival Fund’, to alleviate disruption impacts on the creative industry. In a statement, the arts centre encouraged visual artists, curators, literary creatives, designers and musicians in the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia ...

ABU DHABI / WAM The Ministry of Health and Prevention announced on Sunday that it conducted over 28,000 additional Covid-19 tests using state-of-the-art medical testing methods. In a statement, the ministry affirmed its aim to expand the scope of testing nationwide to facilitate the early detection of coronavirus cases and carry out the necessary treatment. As part of its intensified ...

DUBAI / WAM The Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) and Chinese multinational technology company, Huawei, have explored ways to expand their strategic partnership in the artificial intelligence (AI) and digital transformation cooperation fields. During a video conference, Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Dewa Managing Director and CEO, and Charles Yang, President of Huawei Middle East, discussed strengthening cooperation and promoting ...

Bloomberg Singapore’s Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat delivered a fourth fiscal package of S$33 billion ($23 billion) to counter the economic fallout of the coronavirus, providing specific support to saving jobs. The latest measures will help businesses and workers affected by border closures and movement restrictions, Heng said in a Parliament session Tuesday. The steps will push this fiscal year’s ...