AP An advertising boycott of YouTube is broadening, a sign that big-spending companies doubt Google’s ability to prevent marketing campaigns from appearing alongside repugnant videos. PepsiCo, Wal-Mart Stores and Starbucks confirmed that they have also suspended their advertising on YouTube after the Wall Street Journal found Google’s automated programs placed their brands on five videos containing racist content. AT&T, …

  Reuters Augmented reality may sound like something out of a science fiction film, but the technology is changing manufacturing across the world. From aerospace to automotives, AR is not only increasingly being used on the factory floor, it’s revolutionising it. AR overlays virtual reality over real objects, providing all the necessary data a technician needs to make an assessment …

  Dubai / Reuters OPEC members have argued for decades over whether they should monitor output or exports to gauge compliance with oil-output cuts. This month, Saudi Arabia has thrown a third metric – supply – into the debate. The move saw oil prices declining, with confused traders fearing Riyadh would pump more crude, thus complicating OPEC’s efforts to reduce …

  DUBAI / WAM The Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) issued a certificate completing the merger of the First Gulf Bank (FGB) and the National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD). The SCA has set March 30 as the last date for trading the respective shares of the two banks ahead of starting trading of new shares on Abu Dhabi Securities …

  ABU DHABI / Reuters Abu Dhabi investment firm Waha Capital PJSC is in talks with potential partners in Saudi Arabia as it looks to diversify investment in some key sectors outside the United Arab Emirates (UAE), its chairman said. Saudi Arabia is opening its economy to foreign investment as part of its 2030 vision whereby the Middle Eastern country …

  ABU DHABI / WAM Under the patronage of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and in partnership with Interpol and the Interpol Foundation for a Safer World, Abu Dhabi is preparing to host Ministers of Interior and Justice as well as experts and leaders from around the world for the inaugural ‘Unity for Security Forum’ taking …

  Abu Dhabi / WAM The total UAE foreign assistance provided to Yemen, between April 2015 and March 2017, within the framework of the UAE’s efficient humanitarian and development role and its rebuilding projects to support the Yemeni people, amounted to AED7.3 billion. The assistance aims to reduce the suffering of the Yemenis and is in compliance with the UAE’s humanitarian …

  Cairo / WAM The Zayed Giving Caravans have achieved their humanitarian missions in Egyptian villages, after the treatment of 2,000 children and elderly patients in Belbeis, Sharqiya Governorate, with the help of a mobile hospital equipped with advanced medical equipment, according to the best international standards. The mobile hospital’s volunteer medical team has provided free diagnostic, therapeutic, surgical and preventive …

  Dubai / WAM The UAE will host one of the largest pavilions at Astana EXPO 2017, spreading over 980 square meters, featuring a presence from major UAE organisations. EXPO 2017 will run from June 10 to September 11 in the Kazakhstan capital. The pavilion’s design and installation started last month and is being overseen under the auspices of the UAE’s …

  WASHINGTON / WAM The UAE appreciates the United States administration’s clear policy against extremism and terrorism, and its understanding of relevant regional consequences, said Dr Anwar bin Mohammed Gargash, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs. ”The war against terrorism requires concerted, united and focussed efforts and co-operation from both countries and civilised communities,” Dr. Gargash said in an intervention during …