Bloomberg Increased surveillance and government interference with reporting amid a crackdown on Xinjiang’s Muslims fueled a “significant deterioration” in the work environment for correspondents in China last year, the country’s foreign journalists’ organisation said. Reporting grew much harder in the far western region, where the detention and “re-education” of up to 1 million minority Muslim Uighurs has attracted global outcry, ...

Bloomberg NATO approved the accession protocol for soon-to-be renamed North Macedonia, weeks after the former Yugoslav republic and Greece settled a decades-long dispute that hindered its membership. At the center of a tug-of-war for influence between Russia and the West, the Balkan state cleared its biggest hurdle to joining the military alliance last month by agreeing to change its name ...

Bloomberg Nigeria’s Senate asked the Supreme Court to rule on whether President Muhammadu Buhari breached the constitution by suspending Chief Justice Walter Onnoghen, stoking political tensions in the West African nation just weeks before a general election. The case marks a key legal test to Onnoghen’s ouster last week that’s sparked condemnation from the opposition and legal community because the ...

Bloomberg Theresa May faces losing control of Brexit to Parliament on Tuesday in a series of crucial votes that will shape Britain’s split from the European Union. Despite a last minute gamble aimed at buying off rebels in her Conservative Party, the prime minister was expected to face a knife-edge battle to block a proposal that would hand Parliament the ...

Abu Dhabi / WAM The United Arab Emirates Central Bank (UAECB) and the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (Sama) on Tuesday announced in a joint statement the launch of the common digital currency project ‘Aber’, which will be used in financial settlements between the two countries through Blockchains and Distributed Ledgers technologies. This comes under the framework of ‘Proof-of-Concept’, which can ...

Abu Dhabi / WAM The Government of the United Arab Emirates announced on Tuesday that it initiated World Trade Organisation (WTO), dispute-settlement proceedings against Qatar following its ban of the sale of UAE products in Qatari markets. The move comes following the Qatari Ministry of Economy’s ban on the sale of consumer goods manufactured in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and ...

Dubai / WAM Dubai Land Department (DLD) launched its real estate promotion plan for the Real Estate Investment Promotion Investment Management Sector during a press conference held on Tuesday in presence of HE Sultan Butti bin Mejren, Director General of DLD. During the conference, Majida Ali Rashid, CEO of the Real Estate Investment Promotion Investment Management Sector at DLD, discussed ...

Sharjah / WAM Sharjah’s Executive Council on Tuesday approved the first list of 816 beneficiaries who could turn their housing loans into grants, at its weekly meeting chaired by HH Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of Sharjah and Chairman of the Sharjah Executive Council. On the directives of His Highness Dr. Sheikh ...

Abu Dhabi / WAM The Ministry of Health and Prevention (MOHAP), announced the launch of ‘Smart Health Track’, a new smart services initiative in collaboration with the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs- Dubai (GDRFA). Smart Gates at Dubai Airports will be equipped with thermal cameras capable of detecting passengers’ body temperature by scanning their face and body thermal print. Data ...

Dubai / WAM Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza), affiliated with DP World UAE Region – participated at Arab Health 2019, where it highlighted prospects for global healthcare majors in the region. The free zone is home to more than 160 healthcare and pharmaceutical companies from over 38 countries and accounted for over 30 percent of Dubai’s total trade value for ...