Bloomberg Someday soon you may not have to show a driver’s license or passport at the airport security lane in the US. The Transportation Security Administration unveiled a multistep plan to make increased use of facial recognition and other biometric identification tools to improve accuracy and speed wait times. TSA, which has tested biometric systems in Los Angeles and Atlanta, ...

ABU DHABI / Emirates Business The value of Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A), transactions with any Middle Eastern & North African (Mena) involvement rea-ched $45.1 billion during the first nine months of 2018, according to Refinitiv, formally Financial & Risk business division of Thomson Reuters. The amount is 65% more than the value recorded during same period in 2017 and an ...

DUBAI / WAM Accenture and Etisalat Digital have developed an interactive 3D flythrough experience of what the Expo 2020 Dubai site will look like in two years’ time. Called Explore 2020, it was expected to be unveiled at Etisalat booth at the Gitex Technology Week. Unveiled less than a week before Expo’s two-years-to-go milestone, the 3D environment, rendered in real ...

DUBAI / WAM The Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company, Masdar, has implemented Tejari-JAGGAER sour- cing and eProcurement system to facilitate an automated, efficient and paperless procurement and contracts system for the company. One of Masdar’s core objectives is to support the UAE Energy Strategy 2050, which aims to increase clean energy 25 to 50 percent. Masdar recognises that a streamlined ...

Bloomberg Abu Dhabi shelved plans for an initial public offering of a 25 percent stake in Spanish oil refiner Cepsa. “Recent international economic developments have created uncertainty in international capital markets,” said Cepsa, which is controlled by Abu Dhabi’s state-owned Mubadala Investment Co. The offering would have valued Spain-based Cepsa at between 7 billion euros ($8.1 billion) and 8.1 billion ...

DUBAI / WAM Arab Health, an exhibition for healthcare and trade professionals in the Mena region, has outlined the role of tech start-ups in playing a more vital role in the healthcare industry in areas such as personalised medicine and more efficient technology-enabled care models. The report, titled ‘Technology: Accelerating Innovation Across Healthcare’, revealed that digital health start-ups are said ...

CAIRO / WAM Noura bint Mohammed Al Kaabi, Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development, announced that the UAE will host the 22nd Conference of Arab Culture Ministers in 2020, which coincides with the 50th anniversary of the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organisation (Alecso), and the UAE’s hosting of the world’s arts and culture at Expo 2020 in Dubai. ...

ABU DHABI / WAM The Department of Energy (DoE), the leading entity of the energy sector in Abu Dhabi, has launched the electronic licensing (e-licence) for small-scale regulated activities through Abu Dhabi Government pavilion at GITEX Technology Week 2018 held in Dubai World Trade Centre. The new initiative brings several advantages related to the mechanism of issuing licences such as ...

DUBAI / WAM The Organising Committee of the 5th World Green Economy Summit (WGES), 2018, held a press conference on Monday to announce its readiness to hold the summit, which aims to support the UAE’s efforts to achieve sustainable development and consolidate Dubai’s position as the global green economy capital. Held under the patronage of the Vice President, Prime Minister ...

ABU DHABI / WAM Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of State and Group CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc), met Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India, at an invitation-only energy leaders’ roundtable, as the UAE seeks to expand partnership and investment opportunities, especially in the energy sector. The roundtable, held in New Delhi, was also ...