News

  Dubai / WAM Ohood bint Khalfan Al Roumi, Minister of State for Happiness, has urged the private sector to launch humanitarian initiatives to improve the public’s access to medical services, lauding Thumbay Group’s Happiness Hour initiative. The programme will see the group offer free medical consultations for patients in their hospitals and clinics across the UAE for one hour every ...

Dubai / WAM The Department of Economic Development (DED) in Dubai has fined 25 shops in the emirate on a single day for engaging in unauthorised activities and illegal money transactions. The shops were found to have enticed Bangladeshi expatriates with the offer of cheaper money transfers to their home country with the help of an app called ‘Bkash.’ “DED acted ...

  Dubai / WAM Mattar Al Tayer, Director-General and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) announced the completion of 30 percent of the first contract for the improvement of Airport Street involving the construction of Rashidiya and Casablanca interchanges. The completion rate has reached 25 percent in other contract covering Nad Al Hamar and ...

  Bloomberg The push to bring self-driving cars to American roads got a significant boost when the nation’s chief auto safety regulator essentially cleared Tesla Motors Inc.’s Autopilot system of fault in a fatal 2016 crash. The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that the owner of a Tesla Motors Inc. Model S sedan that drove itself into the ...

  Bloomberg Canada will consider pursuing a new multilateral Pacific Rim trade deal now that President Donald Trump has signaled the US is abandoning the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Trade Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said in an interview shortly before Trump’s inauguration Canada would consider all its options with fellow TPP states, including whether a new deal can be salvaged without US participation. ...

  SAN FRANCISCO / AP Originally cast in a starring role, Netflix’s original DVD-by-mail service has been reduced to a bit player — one that may eventually get killed off as the company focuses on its booming video streaming service. Netflix’s fourth-quarter earnings report released Wednesday provided the latest glimpse at the DVD service’s descent into oblivion as the streaming ...

  Bloomberg The UK economy looks to have finished 2016 on a high. That’s according to the latest Bloomberg News survey of economists, which predicts 0.5 percent growth in the fourth quarter. That would follow expansion of 0.6 percent in both the third and second quarters. The Office for National Statistics will publish the data on Jan. 26 in London. ...

  Bloomberg California’s utilities are asking for more than $1 billion to spend on electric car-charging stations that will help the state meet its goal of getting 1.5 million zero-emissions vehicles on the road by 2025. Edison International’s Southern California Edison utility asked state regulators for permission to collect $570 million from customers over five years to pay for, among ...

  Dubai / Emirates Business The most significant representation of leading F&B brands the MENA region has ever seen will soon be converging in Dubai, as more than 140 major international food and beverage producers come together at the new Power Brands segment at Gulfood 2017. Represented by a contingent of major food industry heavyweights including Unilever, Nestle, Del Monte ...

  Dubai / Emirates Business Mashreq, UAE’s leading financial institution announced on Saturday that it is the first bank in the region to offer its customers early access to Samsung Pay – a best in class and secure mobile payment service that works as a contactless credit or debit card. With the roll-out of Samsung Pay, Mashreq reinforces its position ...