New York / WAM The UAE presented its first ever Voluntary National Review (VNR), at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, providing a review of the country’s progress in implementing the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The presentation was delivered during the UN’s High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, the global gathering of decision-makers that has been ...

Abu Dhabi / WAM The Federal Tax Authority (FTA), has called on persons dealing with commercial real estate to apply the basic Value Added Tax, VAT, rate of five percent on all sales and rent of such properties, urging buyers to pay the due VAT before proceeding with the transfer of ownership. The Authority had organised an awareness tour for ...

Dhala / WAM The Emirates Red Crescent (ERC) distributed 600 food baskets to undeprivileged families in the villages of Al-Arayef, Al-Worah and Al-Bajh across the Dhala governorate of Yemen. Nabil Al-Afeef, Dhala province deputy, and Mohamed Fadl Ismail, Director of the Dhala Governor’s Office, oversaw the distribution of the food aid. Al-Afeef expressed his appreciation for UAE’s humanitarian and relief support ...

Abu Dhabi / WAM The National Health Insurance Company, Daman, has launched a new service that allows private sponsors to renew health insurance policies of family members and domestic staff online. The service is a significant upgrade over previous iteration, launched in 2016, which limited renewals to sponsored employees in eight professions, mostly domestic staff. During its trial phase, more ...

Dubai / WAM The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA), has been awarded three certificates by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO), in the fields of Information Security Management, IT Service Management, and Energy Management. Hamad Obaid Al Mansoori, TRA Director-General, received the certificates during a meeting with Ahmad Al Khatib, General Manager of the British Standards Institution in the Middle East ...

Dubai / WAM The UAE, represented by the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC), will be hosting the 4th Young Professionals in Space Conference (YPS, 2019), from October, 28-31 2019. The announcement was made during this year’s YPS conference, currently being held in Barcelona, and comes in recognition of the UAE efforts to encourage youth in the field of space science ...

Bloomberg Donald Trump was still dug in, unwilling to back down a day after siding with Vladimir Putin over US intelligence agencies in accepting the Russian leader’s denial of interfering in the 2016 US presidential election. That changed after a meeting between the president and Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, according to a person familiar ...

Bloomberg PM Narendra Modi’s government faces a no-confidence vote on Friday as the opposition uses the new monsoon session of India’s parliament to challenge his administration ahead of general elections early next year. With a majority in India’s 543-seat lower house of parliament, Modi’s coalition is expected to defeat the no-confidence vote. But the opposition, including the Congress party led ...

Bloomberg As they paced the dark, wood-paneled corridors deep in the heart of the British Parliament, Theresa May’s government enforcers were getting desperate. It looked as if the prime minister had finally run out of road. After 10 days in which her Brexit plans had been savaged by critics on all sides, a new rebellion was brewing. There were more ...

Bloomberg Poland’s ruling party will start the fast-track approval of a draft law meant to pre-empt potential punishment from the European Union and complete the most dramatic judicial revamp in the bloc’s former communist east. Racing against EU efforts to halt the overhaul, the Law & Justice party will begin debate on a bill during a three-day parliamentary session starting ...