Bloomberg For years, Ji Ping has put up with Beijing’s smog, traffic and high prices, but this could be the last straw. A government plan threatens to pull down the walls of her gated community and maybe even drive a public road through its manicured gardens. “There are already so many things I’m not happy about here,” says Ji, 48, ...

Hamburg / Reuters In-flight Wi-Fi may sound like a great way to keep in touch with friends and family or catch up on work, but services are often so slow, you’re better off sticking to the in-flight magazine. New satellite-based Wi-Fi services promise to change that, prompting a grab for capacity and customers by companies such as Inmarsat Plc, Viasat ...

Braunschweig, Germany / DPA What’s the use of old-style telephone books when all the numbers can be looked up on the internet? Untold millions of people must have thumbed through the thin pages of directories seeking a plumber or a travel agent for a holiday. But today you can find all that information on the internet. No longer do you ...

RITIKA SHARMA / Emirates Business Due to oil price slump, 2016 seems to be a cautious year for most of the industries. However, UAE real estate market looks somewhat unaffected. According to a GCC-centric survey, real estate industry salaries are expected to remain stable in the coming months of 2016. The average monthly salaries for the Middle East real estate ...

Dubai / Emirates Business LBC Express Inc., the Philippines’ leading courier and cargo solutions provider, is planning to further expand to the UAE and across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region after the opening of its new and bigger warehouse in Dubai. The company has opened an 11,700 square feet warehouse in Al Qouz, Dubai to serve one of the ...

ABU DHABI / Emirates Business A major retail development on Al Reem Island has been granted detailed approval by the Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council (UPC) in Q4 2015. The 27 projects and master plans approved in Q4 brings the total number awarded detailed approval in 2015 to 101, with a gross floor area (GFA) of 13.58 million meter-square — ...

Dubai / Emirates Business The Annual Dealer Meet organised by Total Marketing Middle East (TMME) — a subsidiary of Total — saw more than 150 dealers from across the UAE participating. The meet began with a warm welcome message from David Kalife, the Managing Director of TMME, in which he reiterated Total’s trust in its partners and thanked them for ...

Abu Dhabi / Emirates Business Middle East and Africa (MEA) PC market suffered a 28.7 percent year-on-year slump in shipments in the final quarter of 2015, according to the latest insights from global technology research and consulting firm International Data Corporation (IDC). Shipments fell for the third consecutive quarter in Q4 2015, with the decline representing the steepest ever recorded ...

Brussels / AFP Belgium has charged two new suspects over last month’s deadly Brussels airport and metro attacks, as police pursue the investigation “night and day”, the federal prosecutor’s office said on Tuesday. A statement said Smail F and Ibrahim F were “charged with participation in the activities of a terrorist group, terrorist murders and attempts to commit terrorist murders, ...

Brussels / AFP The European Union on Tuesday renewed sanctions against Iran over its human rights record, even as it relaxes damaging measures imposed on Tehran to force it to rein in its disputed nuclear programme. “The Council (of member states) decided to extend until April 13, 2017 its restrictive measures against 82 people and one entity in view of ...