London / AFP British retail sales jumped by 1.3 percent in April from a month earlier, official figures showed on Thursday, handing a boost to the economy following a string of weak data. Sales by volume shot higher last month compared with a drop of 0.5 percent in March, the Office for National Statistics said in a statement. March’s …

  Washington / Bloomberg American Airlines Group Inc. is stepping up efforts to reduce delays at U.S. airport security checkpoints after bottlenecks caused passengers to wait for hours and miss some flights this week. The carrier will spend $4 million to hire more contractors to assist Transportation Security Administration personnel with non-screening functions, Chief Operating Officer Robert Isom said in …

  Dubai / Emirates Business Gulf Air and TransSys Solutions announced that they have partnered to enhance Oracle E-Business Suite capabilities and features to utilise latest technologies such as mobility and interface to Hybrid Cloud. The agreement was signed by Dr Jassim Haji, Director Information Technology, Gulf Air and PrabuBalasubramanyan, Executive Director, TransSys Solutions. As part of Gulf Air’s digital …

  New York / Bloomberg Southwest Airlines Co.’s growth plans may be jeopardized by a lawsuit filed by its pilots union over flying Boeing Co.’s newest 737 jetliner, Chief Executive Officer Gary Kelly said. The Southwest Airlines Pilots Association, representing 8,300 aviators, on Monday asked a federal court to block the carrier from flying the 737 Max until the plane …

  Washington / Bloomberg General Electric Co.’s top executive sees power generation and renewable energy buoying profits as the industrial giant struggles with persistent challenges in the oil and gas market. The non-petroleum energy units could boost sales by at least 10 percent this year as the company sees “strong” order prospects for equipment and services, Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey …

  Dubai / Emirates Business Veritas Technologies — the leader in information management — has released new research findings that illuminate the most effective information governance practices that empower organisations to extract as much value as possible out of their information while reducing related risks and costs. The study found that 94% of organisations have a formal information governance programme …

  Ritika Sharma / Emirates Business There is an urgent need of accessing the best practices and challenges faced by Public Relations industry in the UAE, which according to experts is one of the most important arms of the overall media industry. In order to create the much needed platform, UAE’s prominent PR practitioners plan to come together to discuss …

  Dubai / Emirates Business Startup accelerator TURN8 recently concluded their growth programme for new global tech startups. The event celebrated the startups validating their business models, accelerating their sales and marketing efforts, and raising additional funding. The event was supported by DP World, Forbes Middle East, Dubai Startup Hub and MENA Private Equity Association who are in constant search …

  Abu Dhabi / Emirates Business Khalifa University PhD researchers, Dr. Hassan Jishi and Dr. Yarjan Abdul Samad, have been hard at work on their thesis research, which involved the creation and use of complex materials, the applications of which have the potential to benefit the aerospace and healthcare industries in the UAE and beyond. Dr. Hassan Jishi researched new …

  Dubai / Emirates Business Two thirds (66%) of board members in Dubai say their anti-bribery and corruption policies do not work effectively, according to a new international study from Eversheds. Beneath the Surface engaged with 500 board-level executives in large organisations across 12 countries – including 50 in Dubai – to find out how businesses are responding to bribery …