News

  Abu Dhabi / WAM The Emirates Red Crescent received a donation of AED3 million from the Emirates Islamic Bank in response to the humanitarian agency’s ‘For You, Somalia’ campaign, launched to raise funds to help people suffering from famine and drought in the Horn of Africa country. The charity telethon was launched earlier this month by the Emirates Red Crescent ...

  Dubai / WAM The General Department of Organisations Protective Security and Emergency (OPSE), Event’s Security Committee is participating in the inaugural edition of the Major Events Safety and Security Summit (ME3S), organised by Reed Exhibitions, in collaboration with Major Events International (MEI). The two-day summit is the first-of-its-kind ‘community experience’ summit that addresses safety and security challenges specific to major ...

  ABU DHABI / WAM Abu Dhabi Ports, the master developer, operator and manager of the Emirate’s commercial and community ports as well as Khalifa Industrial Zone (KIZAD, has announced the launch of the Khalifa Port Free Trade Zone (KPFTZ) the largest free zone area in the Middle East, to the European market at the Hannover Messe exhibition in Germany. ...

  DUBAI / WAM Passenger traffic at Dubai World Central (DWC), Dubai’s second international hub, grew an impressive 29.5 percent during the first quarter of 2017 with 333,780 passengers passing through the facility compared to 257,813 in the same period in 2016 according to Dubai Airports, which also released its 2017 forecast for DWC passenger numbers. Commenting on the announcement, ...

  DUBAI / WAM The country’s first solar-powered gas station has been opened by the Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC), in yet a new sign reflecting the country’s increased focus on maintaining the highest standards of sustainability and clean energy. The service station lies on the city’s main Sheikh Zayed Road thoroughfare and is covered with solar panels that can generate ...

  Dubai / Emirates Business Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), the leading international financial hub in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region, on Wednesday launched the ‘DIFC Media Majlis’, a dedicated workspace for accredited members of the press. Complemented by a resource-rich online newsroom, DIFC’s latest initiative will allow journalists to work from a convenient, central location ...

  Bloomberg When Russia’s biggest tanker operator launches four new vessels next year, they won’t just be carrying oil to northern Europe but the hopes of the liquefied natural gas industry. Sovcomflot’s Aframax ships, capable of shifting 600,000 barrels of oil through the icy waters of the Baltic Sea to the port of Rotterdam, will be the first tankers run ...

  BEIRUT / Reuters Lebanon’s government has prequalified eight more companies to bid for its first round of offshore exploration and production licences after prequalifying 46 companies in 2013, Energy and Water Minister Cesar Abou Khalil said on Wednesday. The bidding process for offshore blocks 1, 4, 8, 9 and 10, was postponed for years because of political paralysis in ...

  Bloomberg Lotte Group plans to divide four key businesses valued at about $12 billion into operating and holding units, slashing the number of cross shareholdings to 18 from 67 and allowing its chairman to tighten his grip on a hotels-to-retail conglomerate rocked by a years-long family feud and a corruption trial. Lotte Confectionery Co. will absorb the investment companies ...

  Bloomberg Netflix Inc. agreed to provide television series to China-based iQiyi.com, the streaming-video service controlled by Baidu Inc., gaining access to the only major film market that had eluded the world’s largest paid video service. The licensing deal covers television dramas, animated series, documentaries and variety shows, iQiyi said in an emailed statement on Wednesday. Popular Netflix original content ...