News

  Hanoi / AFP Vietnam and Iran pledged on Thursday to boost future trade to $2 billion, as Tehran seeks to jump-start its sputtering economy after crippling international sanctions were lifted this year. Iran’s moderate President Hassan Rouhani, in Vietnam on a three-country swing through Southeast Asia, has come under fire from conservative critics who say the nuclear deal signed ...

  Tokyo / AFP Shares in Japanese IT giant Fujitsu soared on Thursday on news it is considering merging its struggling personal computer division with China’s Lenovo, the world’s biggest PC maker. A deal would mark the latest move by a Japanese firm to hive off struggling divisions to repair their finances, with Toshiba and Sony among a string of ...

  Jakarta / AFP Indonesia hailed a tax amnesty as a major success after it raised more than $7 billion in its first few months, but criticism is mounting that the controversial scheme lets the super-rich off the hook. Authorities began the flagship policy with much fanfare in July, asking Indonesians to declare their hidden wealth in exchange for paying ...

  Seoul / AP Samsung said on Thursday it was buying a prominent US artificial intelligence (AI) start-up founded by the creators of Siri — the voice-based digital assistant used on the iPhones of arch-rival Apple. The South Korean giant said the acquisition of California-based Viv Labs would bolster voice-based services across the full range of its electronics products that ...

  Dubai / Emirates Business The design community in Dubai is ready to stage the largest celebration of design and creativity in the Middle East, collectively underlining Dubai’s rich and multi-faceted design landscape. When Dubai Design Week kicks off on October 24, design professionals, residents and visitors will be able to engage in more than 150 events over six days ...

  Emirates Business Etihad Airways Partners (EAP), a unique partnership of eight airlines, has announced further steps aimed at aligning the benefits for tiered members of the separate frequent flyer programmes operated by each airline. The latest enhancements incorporate customer feedback on benefits they value and are part of an ongoing strategy to enhance the customer proposition and create the ...

  Dubai / Emirates Business Almost two thirds (65%) of business managers in the UAE said their company’s corporate wellness progamme had improved the health of their employees, according to a survey carried out by Middle East business intelligence provider MEED. Almost half of respondents (48%) said that corporate wellness programmes had improved employee engagement, 35% said the schemes had ...

  Dubai / Emirates Business Methods of payment are changing for customers in the UAE, with many now switching from cash to digital. In the first half of 2016, the number of du customers paying bills online through the telco’s faster Quick Pay service shot up nearly 50%, compared to the same period last year. Quick Pay is the latest ...

  Bloomberg OPEC could cut production at its late November meeting in Vienna by another one percent more than the amount agreed in Algiers last month, if producers reckon it is needed, Algeria’s Energy Minister Nouredine Bouterfa has told local Ennahar TV. He also told Ennahar that OPEC and non-OPEC members would hold an informal meeting in Istanbul Oct. 8-13 ...

  ABU DHABI / WAM The UAE established the foundations and favourable circumstances for excellence in education and in other sectors in a short time providing a driver for continuous development, thanks to the directives of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, said His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and ...