Abu Dhabi / WAM The Department of Urban Planning and Municipalities (DPM), is among several government entities that have initiated preparations for the World Urban Forum 2020 (WUF10), in Abu Dhabi – the first WUF to be held in the Arab region. The emirate has been selected by UN-Habitat to host the prestigious event, which brings together global leaders to ...

Dubai / WAM Dr Aisha bint Butti bin Bishr, Director-General of the Smart Dubai Office (SDO), presented the chapter on happy cities from the Global Happiness Policy Report, issued by the World Happiness Council on the sidelines of the 6th World Government Summit (WGS 2018). The Council had held a meeting at the Summit, attended by Ohoud bint Khalfan Al Roumi, ...

LONDON / Reuters The rise in global oil production, led by the United States, is likely to outpace growth in demand this year, the International Energy Agency said on Tuesday. The Paris-based IEA raised its forecast for oil demand growth in 2018 to 1.4 million barrels per day, from a previous projection of 1.3 million bpd, after the International Monetary ...

Bloomberg Oil demand in India rose 10.3 percent in the first month of 2018, the fourth straight monthly gain. Total oil consumption expanded at the fastest pace in 14 months to 16.9 million tons from 15.3 million a year ago, according to the oil ministry’s Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell. Improvement in road freight transport following the stabilization of the ...

CAIRO / Reuters BP is looking to invest over $1 billion in Egypt this year, making the country once again a top destination for investment, its CEO said. Speaking at an industry event in Egypt, Bob Dudley said the company was no longer owed any money by the Egyptian government. “The government owes us no money,” he said on the ...

Bloomberg Natural gas is getting edged out of power markets across the US by two energy sources that, together, are proving to be an unbeatable mix: solar and batteries. In just the latest example, First Solar Inc. won a power contract to supply Arizona’s biggest utility when electricity demand on its system typically peaks, between 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. ...

Bloomberg UK utilities may have to delay or give up on building power stations as new generators won only a fraction of the capacity offered in a tender to provide backup electricity. The auction process, set up to encourage new installations, only saw 1.5 percent of the total going to proposed plants. The lack of new projects could put pressure ...

Bloomberg US forces killed scores of Russian contract soldiers in Syria last week in what may be the deadliest clash between citizens of the former foes since the Cold War, according to a US official and three Russians familiar with the matter. More than 200 mercenaries, mostly Russians fighting on behalf of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, died in a failed ...

Bloomberg Kim Jong Un expressed satisfaction with South Korea’s treatment of his sister during a visit to mark the opening of the Winter Olympics, and called for more efforts to improve ties between the countries. A high-level delegation including the North Korean leader’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, spent three days in South Korea before returning on Sunday to Pyongyang. South ...

Bloomberg China’s once-powerful politician Sun Zhengcai is to stand trial for bribery, state media announced, moving a step closer to the conclusion of a case that has brought down one of the country’s political elite. The case involving Sun will be heard in Tianjin, about 100 kilometers (62 miles) from Beijing, according to the Xinhua News Agency. The 54-year-old Sun, ...