LATAKIA / WAM The Emirates Red Crescent (ERC) delegation distributed food parcels to more than 600 medical personnel working in hospitals in the Syrian Governorate of Latakia, as part of “Operation Gallant Knight 2” launched by the Joint Operations Command of the Ministry of Defence. The ERC delegation announced the continuation of the second phase of its initiative, “We did ...

DUBAI / WAM The Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) has launched a first-of-its-kind India Jewellery Exposition Centre (IJEX) in the UAE during a special event to commemorate the first anniversary of the UAE-India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement. Announced during the Cepa Beyond Trade celebration, IJEX will provide a platform for India’s micro, small, and medium jewellery enterprises (MSMEs) ...

ABU DHABI / WAM Mohamed Hadi Al Hussaini, Minister of State for Financial Affairs, headed the UAE delegation participating in the Annual Meetings of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group, which were held under the theme “Partnerships to Fend off Crises” and took place in Jeddah, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The meetings focussed on improving cooperation to tackle challenges ...

DUBAI / WAM Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has embarked on a trial operation of the “First Autonomous Electric Abra”, with a capacity to carry eight passengers. It was manufactured locally at the RTA’s Al Garhoud Marine Maintenance Centre, featuring a design that preserves the heritage identity of the abras. The initial journey of this abra took place from ...

BLOOMBERG  Societe Generale SA’s fixed-income trading unit outperformed most peers in a volatile first quarter, as clients reacting to interest-rate hikes spurred revenue in an otherwise tough trading period. Income from debt and currencies trading jumped 16% from a year earlier, compared with a 9% gain at rival BNP Paribas, according to a statement. Revenue at the equities-trading unit fell ...

BLOOMBERG  HSBC Holdings Plc will pay a combined $75 million to settle a top US regulator’s allegations that it engaged in manipulative and deceptive trading practices and broke recordkeeping rules. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said that a US unit of the London-based bank would pay $45 million over its past trading related to swaps and bond issuances, among ...

BLOOMBERG  UBS Group AG Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Sergio Ermotti, who’s overseeing the takeover of Credit Suisse Group AG in a government-brokered rescue, said he saw problems at UBS’s smaller competitor as early as 2015. “UBS was very well positioned from 2015, we had done our homework after the financial crisis,” Ermotti said in an interview with the Schweiz am ...

BLOOMBERG  Electric bicycles are poised for a breakout year in Europe’s biggest economy. Battery-powered two-wheelers will outsell traditional bikes in Germany for the first time in 2023, according to projections from the country’s industry group. They’re already dominant in the mountain bike category, where nine in ten bicycles are powered by a motor. While the e-bike boom hasn’t meaningfully pushed ...

BLOOMBERG  For months, Google has been under pressure to reinvent its core search business and respond to the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) programmes that can generate content. Google started introducing more to the public — slowly. At its annual developer conference, Google unveiled a version of its search engine that uses large language models, AI tools that are trained ...

DUBAI / WAM Dubai Municipality has further expanded its beach tourism offering with the opening of three new beaches for night swimming in Jumeirah 2, Jumeirah 3 and Umm Suqeim 1. The 800-metre-long night-swimming beaches feature lighting systems, which enable residents and tourists to swim around the clock, and electronic screens that display content aimed at increasing safety awareness among ...