Johannesburg / AFP Hundreds of coffee lovers queued early Thursday in an upmarket Johannesburg shopping centre as international chain Starbucks opened its first cafe in sub-Saharan Africa. The US-based global brand plans to open 12-15 more stores in South Africa over the next two years, with a long term plan of up to 150 outlets. “The timing is right. We are ...

  Doni, Ethiopia / AFP Outside a small store on a dirt track in the remote Ethiopian town of Doni, long queues wait for government cash handouts by the most modern of methods — mobile phone. Ethiopia, Africa’s second most populous country and one of its fastest growing economies, is pushing a new electronic payment service by phone — called M-Birr, ...

  London / AFP The 200th anniversary of the birth of Charlotte Bronte, whose intense and passionate vision of rural life in “Jane Eyre” has haunted generations of readers, was marked in Britain. Fans hosted a birthday party in the house in northern England where Charlotte and her sisters Emily and Anne grew up and wrote their books. The anniversary highlights ...

  RITIKA SHARMA / Emirates Business Lots of advertising, rigorous marketing, planned launches, promotion of holiday packages and substantial media attention — Travel Industry is on its toes for the biggest regional travel event — The Arabian Travel Market (ATM). Who’s who of the travel and tourism industry of the region — is all set to gather in the commercial ...

  Our Correspondent / EMIRATES BUSINESS Since its foundation in 1930, Citizen has promoted a multi-cultural mindset that fosters excellence and creativity. As a ‘citizen’ of the world, we make it our responsibility to help cultivate a culture of positive change and ongoing evolution through our craft. We take this mission seriously and eagerly welcome what the future may bring. ...

  RIYADH / WAM His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, arrived in Riyadh to participate in Wednesday’s summit between GCC leaders and Morocco, with the attendance of King Mohammed VI of Morocco, and the GCC leaders and President Barack Obama of the United States ...

  DUBAI / WAM The first Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Emaar Malls (DFM: EMAARMALLS), the shopping malls and retail business majority-owned by global property developer Emaar Properties, on Wednesday approved the proposal of the Board to distribute 10 per cent of the share capital, equivalent to AED 1.301 billion (US$ 354 million), as cash dividend for distribution to the ...

  ABU DHABI / WAM Bloomberg and Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the world’s newest international financial centre, have signed an exclusive launch of partnership leveraging Bloomberg’s new regionalised editorial platforms. The partnership aims to widen the understanding of the business landscapes in the Middle East region across these new platforms, including a dedicated digital destination, original television programming and ...

  ABU DHABI / WAM A top official from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) visited on Wednesday the UAE’s Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation (FANR) in Abu Dhabi to discuss the IAEA’s support for nuclear-related activities in the UAE. IAEA Deputy Director General for Technical Cooperation Dazhu Yang met with FANR senior management officials, led by Deputy Director General for ...

  SHARJAH / WAM Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq) announced that it is participating in the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2016, which is scheduled to take place from April 25-28 at Dubai World Trade Centre. ATM is the region’s leading travel trade event and Shurooq’s presence will mark the sixth consecutive time that the authority has exhibited at the ...