Abu Dhabi / WAM His Holiness Pope Francis, the Head of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of the Vatican City, delivered a groundbreaking Papal Mass to more than 180,000 Catholics in the UAE. The scale of the event, which took place at Zayed Sports Stadium in Abu Dhabi, is unprecedented for an event of this kind in the Arabian Peninsula ...

Abu Dhabi / Emirates Business Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD), the leading national entity for international development aid, has allocated $21 million (AED77 million) to finance a specialised ophthalmology hospital in Mauritius as part of its commitment to boosting the healthcare sector in the island nation. HE Mohammed Saif Al Suwaidi, Director General of ADFD, and HE Mohamed Iqbal ...

Dubai / Emirates Business Dubai Cruise Tourism, a department of Dubai’s Department of Tourism & Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism), alongside its public and private sector partners welcomed cruise ship Oceana into Dubai for the debut of UK-based, P&O Cruises into the region as it homeports for the season. With Dubai as its official winter hub, the luxury vessel will commence ...

Bloomberg The US and South Korea reached a cost-sharing deal for American forces on the Korean Peninsula, relieving pressure on the seven-decade alliance after the Trump administration demanded that Seoul pay as much as 50 percent more. The State Department said in a statement that the US reached an agreement with South Korea on the so-called Special Measures Arrangement. The ...

Bloomberg Political parties are registering a record number of candidates ahead of the first general election in Thailand since a coup in 2014. More than 6,400 people from 60 political parties deposited their details with the Election Commission on Monday and Tuesday, the first two days of a five-day registration period. The number of parliamentary candidates is already more than ...

Bloomberg Nigeria’s air force bombarded suspected insurgent targets in northern Borno state, killing militants belonging to the IS of West Africa Province, the army said. The attack on February 2 followed intelligence reports showing the presence of the fighters and their equipment in the area, Ibikunle Daramola, a spokesman for the Nigerian Air Force, said in an emailed statement. Boko ...

Bloomberg Justin Trudeau brought together Venezuela’s neighbors to voice support for a peaceful handover of power, making a modest pledge of humanitarian aid for the country and those who’ve fled economic crisis under the regime of Nicolas Maduro. The Canadian prime minister hosted the Lima Group, which includes Brazil, Colombia and other Latin American nations, in Ottawa. The group recognized ...

Bloomberg Prime Minister Theresa May was expected start a two-day visit to Northern Ireland on to try to bolster support for her divorce deal with the European Union, as she faces fresh pressure to scrap the so-called backstop plan for the Irish border. The embattled premier has until next week to secure changes to the backstop — the insurance policy ...

Bloomberg Kicking off the year in a T-shirt proclaiming that she “loves, loves the EEA,” Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Soreide hinted at the high-stakes fight that’s brewing in Norway over its relationship with the European Union. Soreide’s show of passion comes 25 years after Norway linked itself to the EU in a free-trade deal as part of the European Economic ...

Bloomberg BP Plc joined its Big Oil peers by giving investors a positive surprise, exceeding profit estimates and earning better returns than its closest European rival. Shares surged by the most in almost three years. New projects delivered an increase in oil and gas output, while the company also worked its existing fields and refineries more efficiently than ever. That ...