Schwerin / AFP Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party braced for a backlash at state polls on Sunday, while anti-migrant populists are poised for major gains a year after the German leader opened the borders to refugees. Around 1.33 million voters are electing a new regional parliament for the northeastern state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, which is also home to Merkel’s constituency Stralsund. …

  ABU DHABI / Emirates Business Demand for seamless connection to the Internet of Things will drive wearable shipments to double by 2020, says a new Frost & Sullivan report prepared in collaboration with GITEX Technology Week. Wearables are computing devices that can be worn as clothing or accessories — including smart watches, glasses, bands, cameras, and clothing. By recording, …

  Abu Dhabi / Emirates Business A GCC-wide survey of 600 multinational companies and locally-owned conglomerates – the largest study of its kind in the Gulf region – has forecasted that salary earnings will increase an average of 4.7% in 2017, demonstrating a more optimistic outlook across the board as GDP growth is also expected to climb in the year …

  Dubai / Emirates Business A10 Networks (NYSE: ATEN), a technology leader in application networking, announced that it has joined the Cisco® Solution Partner Program as a Solution Provider. The Internet of Everything (IoE) continues to bring together people, processes, data and things to enhance the relevancy of network connections. As a member of the Cisco Solution Partner Program, A10 …

  Sharjah / Emirates Business ‘1001 Titles,’ an initiative from Knowledge without Borders, has announced the release of its debut collection of publications. The inaugural series of books from the project, which was launched in conjunction with 2016 being declared as the Year of Reading, is the first step in its plan of releasing 1001 new Emirati books during this …

  Bloomberg Chinese President Xi Jinping urged world leaders to avoid “empty talk” and confront sluggish economic growth and rising protectionism as their summit opened on Sunday in the scenic city of Hangzhou. Xi welcomed Group of 20 presidents and prime ministers with a handshake, and an extended clasp with Barack Obama, as both men smiled despite protocol stumbles around …

  Hangzhou / AFP Despite warm relations between Moscow and Beijing, Vladimir Putin brought a chilly gift for his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping as they met on the sidelines of the G20 summit on Sunday: a tub of ice cream. Putin did not divulge the flavour of the frozen gift as he was welcomed by Xi at an official government …

  Hangzhou / AFP A tarmac tiff between US and Chinese officials over media access highlighted the gap between views on human rights and press freedom, US President Barack Obama said on Sunday after the incident soured the start of a global summit. China’s government minders gave American National Security Advisor Susan Rice and other US officials trouble over press …

  Hong Kong / AFP Young Hong Kong independence activists calling for a complete break from China stood in major elections for the first time on Sunday, the biggest vote since 2014 pro-democracy rallies. They are fighting for seats in the Legislative Council, or LegCo—Hong Kong’s lawmaking body —as concerns grow that Beijing is tightening its grip on the semi-autonomous …

  Manila / AFP The Philippines has asked China to explain the increased presence of Chinese vessels near the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea, the defence secretary said on Sunday, expressing “grave concern”. Philippine Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said a Philippine air force plane saw four Chinese coast guard ships, two barge-like vessels and two suspected troop …