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  Berlin / AFP Germany’s top court on Thursday gave the government the go-ahead to approve a planned EU-Canada free trade deal, in a setback for activists who had sought to block the agreement. The Constitutional Court did set certain conditions however, stipulating that Germany may only commit to the so-called CETA deal if it wins assurances that it can ...

  Brussels / AFP The EU misspent 5.5 billion euros ($6 billion) in 2015, the bloc’s financial watchdog said Thursday, warning that Brussels needed to regain the trust of European citizens shaken by Brexit and other crises. Badly spent funds went on paying overcharged personnel costs for developing cloud computing services, it said. Another example included aid earmarked for small- ...

  New York / AFP Coca-Cola and Pepsi, the two major US soda giants, have given millions of dollars to health organizations while quietly fighting anti-obesity measures such as taxes on soft drinks, a new study shows. The Coca-Cola Co and PepsiCo, from 2011 to 2015, sponsored 96 national health organizations battling public health problems such as obesity, diabetes and ...

  DUBAI / Emirates Business As much as 94% of all companies in the UAE are SMEs. Together, they contribute 30% of the country’s GDP, and employ 72% of the country’s working population. The figures come from BLOOVO.COM’s latest research on the beneficial role SMEs play in catalysing economic diversification and employment regionwide. SMEs operate extensively throughout the rest of ...

  ABU DHABI / Emirates Business Etihad Airways has received the Skytrax Certified 5-Star Airline Rating — the most coveted quality standard in the airline industry, further strengthening its position as a leader in innovative guest experience, service and hospitality. The rating follows an exhaustive three month audit of the airline’s global product and service offering by the London-based research ...

  Dubai / Emirates Business EY MENA announces the launch of EY Growth Solutions — a new business model of innovative on-demand solutions, offering companies access to subscription services with inbuilt flexibility, standardization and competitive pricing. Gerard Gallagher, MENA Advisory Leader, EY, says: “Companies in the region are impacted by new taxes like VAT, digital innovations and changing customer demand. ...

  Dubai / Emirates Business In collaboration with Artspace Dubai, The Alfred Basbous Foundation inaugurated on Thursday its fourth exhibition in Dubai. “Figurative to abstraction”, a two part exhibition of selected studies, drawings and works of the late renowned artist will stay on view until November 10, and the second part taking place on November 23, until January of next ...

  Bloomberg Egypt has received a $2 billion deposit from Saudi Arabia, an Egyptian central bank official said, bringing it closer to securing a $12 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund. The official, who asked not to be identified because the information isn’t yet public yet, didn’t specify when Egypt received the funds. Net foreign reserves rose by $3 ...

  Bloomberg Saudi Arabia’s main state grain buyer SAGO said on Thursday it was seeking to purchase 595,000 tonnes of hard wheat from global suppliers in an international tender. The deadline for submitting offers was 2359 Saudi time (2059 GMT) on Oct. 14, with the wheat due to be shipped between Dec. 1, 2016 and Jan. 30, 2017, it said. ...

  Dubai / WAM The founding committee of the Dubai Islamic Economy Development Centre (DIEDC) is in advanced discussions with the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) regarding provisional approval for an Islamic wholesale banking license for Emirates Trade Bank, the centre announced on Wednesday. Emirates Trade Bank will be the first of its kind global Sharia-compliant bank ...