DUBAI/WAM The New Year began on a high note for Dubai Duty Free with the operation announcing an all-time sales record of AED 7.885 billion (US$2.16 billion) for 2023, representing a 24.39 percent increase over the previous year and 6.40 percent up on pre-pandemic in 2019. December finished with record monthly sales of AED 807.6 million (US$221 million), an 8.37 ...

ABU DHABI/WAM The General Pension and Social Security Authority (GPSSA) has announced the pension disbursement dates for the year 2024. GPSSA said that pension disbursements will take place on the 27th of each month, with exceptions to months such as January, April and July, where pension will be disbursed on the 26, in addition to October, where pension will be ...

CAIRO/WAM AD Ports Group today initialled a 15-year concession agreement with the Red Sea Port Authority (RSPA), to operate and manage three cruise terminals at Safaga, Hurghada, and Sharm El Sheikh ports. The agreement also encompasses the renovation of the Sharm El Sheikh terminal, with the ultimate aim of enhancing the cruise tourism experience in Egypt. A definitive concession agreement ...

DUBAI / WAM The 29th edition of the Dubai International Pharmaceutical Technologies Conference and Exhibition – Duphat 2024, is set to kick off next week, spanning three days from January 9 at the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC). The largest pharmaceutical gathering in the Middle East and Africa will witness its largest event size to date as it expects to ...

SHARJAH / WAM HH Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Deputy Ruler of Sharjah and President of the University of Sharjah, met on Thursday with a delegation of students from Harvard University, at the Sharjah Academy For Astronomy, Space Sciences and Technology. During the meeting, Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed reviewed the educational renaissance of the emirate of Sharjah ...

ABU DHABI / WAM AIQ, a technology pioneer focused on driving artificial intelligence-powered transformation across industries, announced its collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to make AIQ’s WellInsight software available through AWS Marketplace. AIQ is the first ever local Software as a Service (SaaS) solution provider in the Energy domain within the GCC to market its products via the AWS ...

ABU DHABI / WAM UAE President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan has issued a Federal Decree establishing the International Humanitarian and Philanthropic Council. Chaired by His Highness Sheikh Theyab bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman of the Office of Development and Martyrs Families Affairs at the Presidential Court, the council is responsible for supervising international humanitarian ...

BLOOMBERG Apple Inc got itself a new bear as expectations of soft demand for its latest iPhone prompted analysts at Barclays Plc to downgrade the stock. Shares fell 3.6% on January 2, their biggest one-day percentage drop since September, and the decline erased more than $107 billion in market value. Barclays analysts led by Tim Long cut their rating on ...

BLOOMBERG The world’s most prolific smartphone maker is leaning into artificial intelligence as the key to unlocking greater sales this year. Samsung Electronics Co announced it plans to launch its next flagship device on January 17 in San Jose, California — likely to be known as the Galaxy S24 — with a livestreamed event. The teaser to the launch promises ...

BLOOMBERG Airbus SE is weighing the purchase of Atos SE’s cybersecurity and data unit in a deal that would value the business at as much as €1.8 billion ($2 billion) including debt and help the embattled French software company raise funds. The European planemaker is in early talks for Atos’s big data and security unit to speed up its digital ...