ABU DHABI/ WAM The market capitalisation of the 20 largest companies listed on the local stock exchanges by market value reached AED2.8 trillion by the end of this week, with further increases expected in line with the markets’ plans to double their market value to AED 6 trillion in the coming years. The 20 listed companies accounted for 77.6 per …

PARIS/WAM  French President Emmanuel Macron appointed Michel Barnier, the European Union’s former Brexit negotiator, as prime minister on Thursday. Barnier is tasked with forming a new government, which is likely to end weeks of political deadlock after Macron called a snap election that delivered an unwieldy hung parliament. Barnier will now have to survive a no-confidence vote in the National …

NEW YORK/WAM United Nations officials on Wednesday called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the immediate and unconditional release of all remaining hostages, and a massive scale-up of humanitarian aid to Gaza. The appeals were made by Rosemary DiCarlo, UN Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, and Edem Wosornu, Director of Operations at the UN’s Office for the Coordination of …