Sydney / AFP More than 45 million men, women and children globally are trapped in modern slavery, far more than previously thought, with two-thirds in the Asia-Pacific, a study showed on Tuesday. The details were revealed in the 2016 Global Slavery Index, a research report by the Walk Free Foundation, an initiative set up by Australian billionaire mining magnate and …

  Seoul / AFP North Korea apparently failed with an attempted missile launch on Tuesday, the latest in a series of setbacks for a ballistic weapons programme that aspires to threaten the US mainland. South Korea’s defence ministry detected the dawn launch effort, which Japan condemned as an unacceptable and “provocative” act. The ministry declined to speculate on the missile …

  LONDON Leaders of the campaign to end Britain’s membership in the European Union hope that next month’s referendum will make June 23, 2016, a date as luminous in modern British history as May 3, 1979, when voters made Margaret Thatcher prime minister. Michael Gove, secretary of justice and leader of the campaign for Brexit — Britain’s withdrawal from the …

  Had the OPEC meeting been held two months ago, the agenda would have been different in light of plummeting oil prices that hurt many economies and caused volatility at the global markets. But with the current surge in the oil price to around $50, the pressure on OPEC is remarkably easing. This will be reflected at the meeting on …

  Uganda, one of Pyongyang’s few allies, announced that it will put an end to its cooperation with North Korea. The announcement came following a meeting between South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni. After his meeting with Park on Sunday, Musevini announced that he’d decided that Uganda would cease its military cooperation with North Korea to …

For some time, tighter monetary policy by the U.S. Federal Reserve was perceived as the largest external economic threat to emerging countries, especially by those countries themselves. Judging from discussions with officials from those nations, as well as private-sector participants, this may no longer be the case. Another concern — the anti-globalization and anti-trade rhetoric of the U.S. presidential election …

  ALKESH SHARMA / Emirates Business Public-private partnerships (PPP) might be a comparatively new investment model, however, over the years it has been embraced in most of the corporate circles in the country. Fuelled by the government’s strong will and decision to diversify from an oil-based economy, PPP engagements — accounting to millions of dhirams — are presently evolving at …

  Dubai / Emirates Business Dubai’s strategic vision for cruise tourism targets one million cruise passengers to visit the emirate per year starting 2020, revealed Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, Chairman and CEO of DP World and Chairman of Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation. The strategy was the focus at a meeting that brought together Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, Major …

  OUR CORRESPONDENT / Emirates Business Mergers and acquisitions have been dominating the business ecosystem in UAE. At a time when financial institutions are shying away from giving easy loans and big lenders are becoming more cautious while releasing funds, mergers and acquisitions is emerging as a clear-cut mantra for corporate success. One such recent merger has seen the creation …

  Dubai / Emirates Business Bayt.com, the Middle East’s number one job site, has partnered with Udemy — a global marketplace for learning and teaching online — to provide job seekers in the Middle East with hundreds of courses to boost their employability and help them gain a competitive edge by mastering new skills. Bayt.com’s 25 million users can now …