BLOOMBERG French far-right leader Marine Le Pen said no foreign power has ever tried to influence her as she sought to shake off accusations that her party’s ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban have influenced her policies. She also criticised previous governments in Paris for increasing the economic reliance on Russia, including through energy …

ABU DHABI / GULF TIME Bloom Holding, one of the UAE’s foremost real estate development companies, has announced the launch of ‘Casares’, the third phase of its fully integrated and all-inclusive community in Abu Dhabi, Bloom Living. The launch of Casares follows the remarkable success of the first phase, Cordoba, and the second phase, Toledo, which are on track to …

ABU DHABI / WAM UAE President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan met on Tuesday with His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, at Qasr Al Bahr in Abu Dhabi. His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid was accompanied by HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid …

KUALA LUMPUR / WAM His Majesty King Al-Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmed Shah of Malaysia has received HH Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, at the Istana Negara Palace in Kuala Lumpur as part of the Crown Prince’s official visit to Malaysia. Regent of Pahang, Crown Prince Tengku Hassanal Ibrahim Alam Shah of Malaysia, …

SHARM EL SHEIK / WAM Dr Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and the COP28 President-Designate, called for a major boost to public and private finance to allow the African continent to battle climate change. In an address on Tuesday to the African Development Bank Annual Meeting, he said, “Africa has huge potential for low-carbon …

ABU DHABI / WAM The UAE Ministry of Finance has announced three new ministerial decisions for the purposes of Federal Decree-Law No 47 of 2022 on the Taxation of Corporations and Businesses. These include Ministerial Decision No 114 of 2023 on the Accounting Standards and Methods; Ministerial Decision No 115 of 2023 on Pensions and Social Security Funds; and Ministerial …

BLOOMBERG  India’s shorter-maturity bonds rallied and money market rates eased on bets that a withdrawal of the nation’s highest value currency note would leave banks with surplus cash to invest. As much as 1 trillion rupees ($12.1 billion) may be added to India’s financial system as authorities remove 2,000 rupee notes from circulation, according to QuantEco Research and Kotak Mahindra …

ABU DHABI / WAM HH Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Chairman of the Emirates Centre for Strategic Studies and Research (ECSSR), has presided over the meeting of the centre’s Board of Trustees. HH Sheikh Abdullah was briefed about the annual report, work plans, and programmes of the centre, as well as its continuous development …

SHARJAH / WAM The Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) has received diplomatic delegations from Guatemala and Indonesia to further strengthen economic ties and explore investment opportunities. The discussions primarily focussed on amplifying bilateral relations in industry, agriculture, food security, livestock, and more, as well as broadening trade exchanges and organising events to promote local products and markets. Welcoming …

ABU DHABI / WAM Masdar City has secured the LEED Gold O+M (operations and maintenance) rating for the corporate headquarters buildings of Irena, Masdar City, and Tabreed, meaning that each building owned by the Masdar Green REIT is now rated LEED Platinum or Gold. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) ratings, provided by the US Green Building Council, are …