Bloomberg HSBC will now allow customers to verify their identities when opening an account by taking a selfie, reports Business Insider. Much like apartment-sharing app Airbnb, the bank will give customers the option of taking a headshot on their phone to complete an ID security check as part of the company’s mobile banking app. The function would replace other ...

  Bloomberg Baidu Inc. has unveiled its latest plans to stake out a spot in the burgeoning field of artificial intelligence, including a partnership with Nvidia Corp. to develop driver-less cars and taxis and a home gadget akin to Amazon.com Inc.’s popular Echo. Chief Executive Officer Robin Li is banking on its growing AI expertise to jumpstart a slowing search ...

  Sirjan / AFP The recent discovery of the tomb of Suleiman the Magnificent, considered the greatest Ottoman ruler, has raised hopes of a tourism boom in one of Hungary’s most impoverished areas. From hammam baths and crumbling minarets to battle site memorials and ruins of mosques, traces of the country’s 150-year-long stretch (1541-1699) in the Ottoman Empire are not ...

  Kabul / AFP Its scarred lion Marjan was for years a symbol of Afghan survival. Now, more than a decade after his death, Afghanistan remains battered by war but Kabul zoo is buzzing again — a haven for women, children and young lovers in a capital city that has little public space for anyone but men. The carnival of ...

  SHARJAH / WAM The Sharjah Islamic Bank PJSC (SIB) successfully issued a US$500 million sukuk (Islamic finance bond) in international capital markets, eliciting an outstanding response from investors and garnering orders to the tune of US$1.6 billion, thus resulting in being 3.2 times over-subscribed. With a maturity of five years, the sukuk was priced at a spread of 185 ...

  Dubai / WAM Schneider Electric, a global leader in energy management and automation, ranked Masdar Institute among its top 12 finalists in the sixth edition of its globally-renowned, annual ‘Go Green in the City’ student competition. Launched in 2011, ‘Go Green in the City’ is a platform that invites business and engineering students (second-year undergraduate or higher) to develop ...

  Dubai / WAM The UAE cabinet on Sunday adopted the National Space Policy of the UAE, the most important element in the national plan to develop the space sector. The Space Policy is rudimentary for driving the entire sector forward within the framework of the UAE National Agenda, part of the UAE Vision 2021. The UAE is working towards a stable ...

  Sharjah / WAM Sharjah Media Centre (SMC) invited submissions from journalists and media professionals to compete in the new ‘Best Press Report/Feature’ category of the fourth edition of the Sharjah Government Communication Award (SGCA) submissions for which are open from October 1 to January 20. Tariq Saeed Allay, SMC Director, said that through its numerous initiatives, the SMC seeks to ...

Abu Dhabi / WAM The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation has declared a public holiday from Sunday, September 11th till Tuesday, September 13, for private sector employees on the occasion of Eid Al Adha. It added that the employees in private firms will enjoy the three-day paid holiday. According to Article No. 74 of the Federal Law No.8 of 1980 ...

  Ras Al Khaimah / Emirates Business RAK Properties PJSC, Ras Al Khaimah’s biggest property developer listed on the Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange, has reported increased profits during the first half of this year, with revenues in excess of AED147 million between the months of January to June 2016. The reported half-year figures, announced ahead of the upcoming Cityscape Global ...