New York / AFP Bitcoin, a Florida judge says, is not real money. Ironically, that could provide a boost to use of the crypto-currency which has remained in the shadows of the financial system. The July 22 ruling by Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Teresa Pooler means that no specific license is needed to buy and sell bitcoins. The judge dismissed ...

Washington / AFP The US trade deficit grew more than expected in June as imports jumped and the gap with China continued to widen, government data released showed. The country’s trade deficit with the rest of the world climbed 8.7 percent in June to a seasonally adjusted $44.5 billion. Analysts had only expected a 3.9 percent increase. The figures mark ...

Washington / Bloomberg Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. said second-quarter profit rose 25 percent as results improved at insurance units. Net income climbed to $5 billion from $4.01 billion a year earlier, the Omaha, Nebraska-based company said in a statement. Operating earnings, which exclude some investment results, were $2,803 a share, missing the average $2,911 estimate of three analysts surveyed ...

  La Paz / Bloomberg Ready or not, here comes Rio de Janeiro. The Olympic games opened on Friday with last-minute funding and an interim head of state, underscoring the economic and political turmoil gripping host country Brazil. Ceremony organizers had to make do with a budget that’s a fraction of the amount spent by 2012 Olympics host London. It ...

  Dubai / WAM The 18th Water, Energy, Technology, and Environment Exhibition (WETEX 2016), organised will showcase the ‘Dubai Green Zone’ project to encourage established and start-up companies, to set up their presence in the emirate and provide them with an ideal business environment to develop and market their green, sustainable technologies. WETEX 2016 is organised in line with directives from ...

  RIO DE JANEIRO / WAM The UAE sports delegation participated in the opening ceremony of the XXXI 2016 Summer Olympics held on Friday at Maracana Stadium in Copacabana area, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The UAE Parade was led by the Emirati talented swimmer Nada Al Badwawi who had the honour of hoisting the UAE’s flag at this mega event. The ...

Abu Dhabi / WAM His Highness Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council, the First Vice President of Al Ain Sports and Cultural Club, and the First Vice President of Honorary Board, issued a resolution forming a new board of directors of Al Ain Sports and Cultural Club. According to the resolution, the board ...

  MINSK / WAM The Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT) and the Belarusian State University of Informatics and Radioelectronics (BSUIR) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to enhance co-operation in information technology, and electrical and electronic engineering, and conduct joint scientific research. The three-year agreement provides for the exchange of scientific information, mutual visits of scientists and researchers, organising of ...

  Abu Dhabi / WAM The training centres of the UAE Armed Forces’ General Command have welcomed the national service recruits’ sixth batch that graduated from the secondary school for the academic year 2015-2016. Major-General Pilot Sheikh Ahmad bin Tahnoun bin Mohammed Al Nahyan, Chairman of the National and Reserve Service Authority, expressed his pride in this group of young Emiratis ...

  Dubai / WAM Dubai Health Authority (DHA) on Saturday announced the launch of an internal programme which aims to motivate employees, encourage them to reach their potential, and join the authority’s drive in creating a first class medical system in Dubai. Through the ‘Bekom Naftakher’, or ‘You’re our Pride’ initiative, employees who excel in demonstrating creativity and in making a ...