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Abu Dhabi / Emirates Business The 11th International Conference of Al Noor opened on Thursday in Abu Dhabi under the distinguished patronage and presence of His Excellency Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development. The conference saw the participation of a large number of healthcare professionals from across the UAE and from abroad. In his ...

Paris / AFP Security forces responded with tear gas on Thursday as French students protesting proposed labour reforms hurled bottles at riot police in Paris and the western city of Nantes. The reforms, which were significantly watered down under pressure from a wave of protests, were adopted earlier Thursday by the cabinet of an increasingly unpopular President Francois Hollande, who ...

Bloomberg Richard Dearlove, former head of Britain’s MI6 overseas spying operation, said the security cost of leaving the European Union “would be low,” explicitly rejecting Home Secretary Theresa May’s argument for staying in the bloc. Following Tuesday’s terrorist attacks in Brussels, whether EU membership enhances or harms the safety of British people has become the top issue in the debate ...

Bloomberg The European Central Bank handed €7.3 billion ($8.2 billion) to euro-area banks in the seventh round of a program aimed at boosting lending to companies and consumers, shortly before it starts a new and more generous plan. The take-up in the targeted longer-term refinancing operation compares with €18.3 billion the ECB lent in a similar operation in December and ...

Bloomberg Russia’s ruble retreated for a second day on falling crude prices, while ING Groep NV said the drop would be steeper without demand from companies converting export revenue to pay a 1 trillion ruble ($14.5 billion) monthly tax bill. The currency fell 0.3 percent against the dollar to 68.9410 by 11:32 a.m. in Moscow, extending Wednesday’s 1.8 percent decline ...

Bloomberg As Britain ponders its future in the European Union, investors are betting an amount almost the size of Iceland’s economy on the pound falling to levels last seen in the 1980s. At least 11 billion pounds ($15.5 billion) has been wagered this year on options that would profit if sterling fell to or below $1.3502, a 4 percent drop ...

Sunaina Rana / EMIRATES BUSINESS The country’s recent cabinet reshuffle — which aims at economic diversification, reducing oil dependence — will boost the national economy, according to Dr Vasiliki Kostami, a renowned academician and management guru. She emphasised a that the reorganisation targets at bringing about an improvement in the service industry in the country. Citing UAE as an investment ...

RITIKA SHARMA / Emirates Business Gauging the gap in the electronic and automated payment solutions market, Dubai-based tech Giant KeyBS is planning to spread its wings into the African market. The company stated that it is keen to extend the reach through franchise programs in other markets and looks forward to significant growth in the near future due to apparent ...

EMIRATES BUSINESS Google has announced the arrival of Umm Al Quwain in Street View, a feature by Google Maps that will allow users to view and navigate 360 degree street-level imagery of major streets across the city. Street View was launched in May 2007 and is already available in more than 3000 cities across 63 countries around the world. Google ...

Sunaina Rana / EMIRATES BUSINESS dipndip — the world’s fastest growing chocolate cafe — continues its exponential growth as the company has recently signed a $32 million joint venture into the global market. The chocolate cafe has joined forces with Abu Dhabi-based Almed company to expand their business globally into four new territories. The company has 50 cafes in 13 ...