News

Bloomberg A group of Google employees has signed a public letter calling on the company to abandon its plans for a Chinese search product that censors results. Project Dragonfly, as the initiative is known, would enable state surveillance at a time when the Chinese government is expanding controls over the population, according to the letter signed initially by at least ...

Bloomberg The European Union unveiled its long-term vision on combating climate change in a push for more ambitious action on the environment just days after US President Donald Trump rejected his government’s warning on the economic costs of global warming. The 28-nation bloc, responsible for 10 percent of global greenhouse-gas emissions, set a 2050 perspective to help give direction to ...

Bloomberg Microsoft Corp surpassed Apple Inc to become the world’s most valuable publicly traded company. All it took was a $300 billion rout. After briefly claiming the top spot, Microsoft shares rose 0.6 percent, pushing the company’s market value to $828.1 billion at the close. That exceeded by more than $1 billion the value of Apple, which has tumbled this ...

Bloomberg President Donald Trump’s threat to cut subsidies to General Motors Co in retaliation for the automaker’s plan to close US factories was met with immediate skepticism. While it’s true that GM, like other US automakers, has received substantial federal assistance over the years — including a nearly $50 billion bailout in 2009 — experts cast doubt on the idea ...

Bloomberg BMW AG will keep spreading the gospel of free trade and back its rhetoric up by investing more in its massive US plant, all as the Trump administration mulls higher tariffs on imported autos. The German automaker is presenting two SUVs at the Los Angeles auto show this week: a refreshed X5 crossover and a new three-row model, the ...

Bloomberg International Business Machines Corp Chief Executive Officer Ginni Rometty joined a growing chorus of tech executives lambasting web platforms, like Google and Facebook Inc, over their collection of user data and urged governments to target regulation at those companies. Without naming company names, Rometty pointed to the “irresponsible handling of personal data by a few dominant consumer-facing platform companies” ...

DUBAI / WAM The UAE remains a global leader in terms of smartphone adoption, second only to Singapore, with smartphones accounting for 85 percent of total connections, according to reports from GSMA Intelligence. The reports highlight that the Gulf region is set to be a global leader in the deployment of 5G networks in the next two years. The number ...

DUBAI / Emirates Business Emaar Properties PJSC has announced that its wholly-owned hospitality and leisure business subsidiary, Emaar Hospitality Group has signed definitive documentation with Abu Dhabi National Hotels (ADNH) to divest its entire economic interest in a portfolio of five hotels in Dubai. Both Emaar and ADNH announced that the transaction closing is subject to meeting various conditions and ...

Bloomberg Saudi Aramco will seek more acquisitions to speed its expansion in refining and petrochemicals as Saudi Arabia pushes ahead with plans to diversify its economy from reliance on sales of crude. The purchases will be in addition to Aramco’s planned purchase of government-controlled chemicals producer Saudi Basic Industries Corp, Aramco Chief Executive Officer Amin Nasser said on Tuesday in ...

Dubai / WAM Musicians representing about 190 nations have been brought together in the Dubai desert to perform an unprecedented rendition of the UAE national anthem, as part of Expo 2020 Dubai’s celebrations to mark the 47th UAE National Day and the Year of Zayed – honouring the country’s Founding Father, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. The orchestral performance ...