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Dubai / Emirates Business The Middle East’s online education is forecasted to experience continuous growth thanks to the rising government investments and increasing popularity of e-learning especially among professionals. According to a report by Research and Markets titled the ‘Middle East Online Education & E Learning Market Size, Demand, Opportunity & Growth Outlook 2023,’ the regional online education and e-learning ...

Abu Dhabi / WAM Rail contracts worth $16 billion are planned to be awarded in 2018 in the MENA region, according to MEED Rail Report. The report is issued ahead of the Middle East Rail, the largest railway industry event across the Middle East, North Africa, South and Central Asian region, which will take place from March 12-13 at Dubai ...

Dubai / WAM The UAE Water Aid Foundation (Suqia), under the umbrella of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives (MBRGI), carried out 85 development projects in 21 countries around the world, benefiting approximately 553,370 people during 2017, the Year of Giving. In the Year of Zayed 2018, Suqia aims to continue its charity and volunteer projects around the ...

Bloomberg India cannot rule out a pause in its fiscal consolidation plan in the year through March, a key government adviser said, setting the government’s tone ahead of Thursday’s budget. “Setting overly ambitious targets for consolidation—especially in a pre-election year—based on optimistic forecasts that carry a high risk of not being realised will not garner credibility,” Chief Economic Adviser Arvind ...

Bloomberg Tencent Holdings Ltd. is leading the acquisition of 14 percent of billionaire Wang Jianlin’s Wanda Commercial Properties Co. for $5.4 billion, a deal that will begin the target company’s retreat from real estate development. Online mall JD.com Inc., Sunac China Holdings Ltd. and Suning Commerce Group Co.—a retailer backed by e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.— will also take ...

Bloomberg The sun never sets on China’s trade and infrastructure ambitions. With the addition of the Arctic and Latin America, Chinese President Xi Jinping’s signature Belt and Road Initiative has become truly global. Only the US, its neighbour Canada and ally Japan have yet to be included in the plan, which seeks to build or upgrade a network of highways, ...

Bloomberg The enthusiasm in the oil markets is breaking records. Hedge funds reported record wagers on continued price increases for both US and global oil benchmarks, along with gasoline and diesel. Meanwhile, producers are hedging production at record rates as oil experiences its best January since 2006. “There is a lot of interest in the direction of crude oil,” Rob ...

BAGHDAD / Reuters Iraq plans to build an oil refinery at the port of Fao on the Gulf with two Chinese companies, and is seeking investors to build three more, the oil ministry said on its website on Monday. The refinery in Fao will have a 300,000 barrel-per-day capacity and include a petrochemical plant, it said. Two other refineries, each ...

LONDON / Reuters Tehran is ready to file a case with the International Court of Arbitration (ICA) over the quality and price of gas it receives from Turkmenistan, the Iranian oil minister said on Monday, as a dispute between the two nations over payments escalates. The Central Asian nation stopped gas exports to Iran in January 2017, saying it was ...

Bloomberg In the latest reminder that coal still dominates the world’s biggest energy consumer, Chinese power producers are warning of supply tightness while one northern province plans to pause switching homes and industries to natural gas to avoid further heating shortages. Four of China’s biggest generators sent an “emergency report” dated Jan. 22 to the National Development & Reform Commission, ...