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Abu Dhabi / WAM In line with its strategy aimed at ensuring the provision of all services that meet high standards of quality and efficiency, the National Media Council announced on Wednesday the launch of a unified call centre for customer service (600 5355585) to create an integrated platform for responding to customer inquiries, while providing quick and transparent information. ...

Bangalore / AFP A reported leopard sighting close to where a big cat injured five people at the weekend forced the closure of 130 schools in the southern Indian city of Bangalore on Thursday, the education authority said. Panic gripped an eastern suburb of the city after a woman claimed to have spotted a leopard six kilometres (four miles) away ...

Paris / AFP At least six children were killed when a school minibus crashed into a truck in western France on Thursday, police said, a day after another road accident involving a school bus left two youngsters dead. The head-on smash with a lorry carrying rubble happened at around 7:15 am (0615 GMT) in Rochefort in the Charente-Maritime region. The ...

Taipei / AFP As rescuers continue the grim task of digging bodies from the rubble of an apartment complex that collapsed in a Taiwan earthquake, anger is growing over the shoddy construction of the building and the island’s questionable safety record. The Wei-kuan building was the only high-rise to crumble completely in the 6.4 magnitude earthquake that shook the southern ...

KANDAHAR / AP Four Afghan policemen were killed and another seven wounded when one of their colleagues opened fire on them in the volatile southern province of Kandahar, an official said on Thursday. The rogue policeman was shot dead by another officer in the incident late Wednesday night, said Zia Durrani, spokesman for the provincial police. The shootings, which took ...

Cairo / AFP At least 70 people were injured in Egypt on Thursday when a passenger train derailed and two of its cars overturned, the health ministry said. The accident occurred in Bani Sueif province south of Cairo as the train was headed to the Egyptian capital from the temple city of Luxor. “Fifty-eight people were treated for their injuries ...

Paris / AFP Around 4.5 million pupils in OECD countries have failed to attain a sufficient level of proficiency in either reading, maths or science at the age of 15, according to a new study released by the think-tank. That figure equates to more than one in four of 15-year-olds in the 34 OECD nations. Analysis of results from the ...

RITIKA SHARMA / Emirates Business Emiratisation rang loud and clear at the ongoing National Career Exhibition 2016, Sharjah. Backing UAE’s pledge to nurture local talent and provide superior training and growth opportunities to Emiratis, participating companies said they were fully dedicated to create a national workforce. Rashed Al Ansari, General Manager, Al Ansari Exchange, one of the main participants at ...

Sunaina Rana / EMIRATES BUSINESS Economic confidence among CEOs in the MENA region has hit a three-year low in the final quarter of 2015, according to a new survey, which attributes the trend to oil price plunge and political, social unrests in many of the nations. The YPO Global Pulse Confidence Index for the MENA declined for the fifth consecutive ...

Ritika Sharma / EMIRATES BUSINESS Gains are in for interior fit-out companies in the UAE as real estate in the region is getting a push from the ensuing Expo 2020. The estimated size of the interior and fit-out market grew at a pace of 8.5 percent and reached US$7.98 billion in 2015. On the same lines, Cloisall, the GCC’s leading ...