Bloomberg Oil dropped back below $15 a barrel as swelling global crude stockpiles made it more difficult for leading producers to balance the market by curbing output. Futures in New York slid 16%, snapping a four-day gain. While US drilling is sliding and Saudi Arabia started reducing output ahead of the start date for Opec+ supply cuts, an immense glut ...

RIYADH / WAM The government of Saudi Arabia signed a SR995 million contract with China to provide nine million Covid-19 tests for nine million people in the Kingdom. The Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported that the decision came “as a result of a phone call made between the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud ...

Bloomberg India is considering a proposal to guarantee as much as 3 trillion rupees ($39 billion) of loans to small businesses as part of a plan to restart Asia’s third-largest economy, which is reeling under the impact of a 40-day lockdown, people with knowledge of the matter said. Under the proposal, small firms will be eligible to borrow an additional ...

ABU DHABI / WAM The Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority (ADAFSA) executed 142,063 transactions for the public through its digital channels and customer service centres across the emirate of Abu Dhabi, during the first quarter of 2020. The number of services conducted using the ADAFSA’s smart application and website reached 138,423, accounting for 97.4 percent of the total ...

Dubai / WAM The Arab Reading Challenge (ARC) initiative has announced holding online interactive sessions on Instagram to promote reading among students. Through eight interactive sessions during the Holy Month of Ramadan, children’s books authors, experts and media figures will address a variety of topics on reading and share tips on book selection, storytelling and writing. The sessions, to broadcast ...

ABU DHABI / WAM The Abu Dhabi Commercial Court has held 579 remote trials with various litigation degrees of First Instance and Appeal, through video-conference system, since the activation of the remote work plan of the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department (ADJD). According to detailed information, the judges of the Commercial Court held 165 hearings in the Chambers of First Instance, ...

ABU DHABI / WAM The Ministry of State for Federal National Council Affairs (MFNCA) formed a ‘Youth Council’ in coordination with the Federal Youth Authority to empower youth and enable them to play their part in serving their country, in line with the UAE’s leadership directives. In a statement by the ministry on Monday, the MFNCA’s Young Employees Council will ...

Dubai / Emirates Business Dubai Chamber’s Sustainability Network organised a webinar on ensuring the continuity of the supply and distribution chain and protecting workers in light of the challenges businesses are facing due to Covid-19. The webinar, titled “Covid 19: Responding to the Pandemic to Ensure Supply Chain Continuity and Worker Safety” organised by the Supply Chain Task Force. It ...

Beirut / WAM The Grand Mufti of the Republic of Lebanon, Sheikh Abdel Latif Derian, thanked the United Arab Emirates for its “confidence in Dar al-Fatwa to distribute the aid it received through its UAE embassy in Lebanon to those who are most in need and deserving of assistance.” Derian said, “It comes as no surprise from the UAE; known ...

ABU DHABI / Emirates Business Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi (Kizad), a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi Ports on Monday announced that it has successfully brought online a new set of services which will enable customers to avail of more of its services from anywhere in the world, in collaboration with Maqta Gateway, developer and operator of the first Port Community ...