BLOOMBERG Brazil raised its estimate for this year’s budget gap to account for rising government spending and declining revenue amid a weakening economy. The primary fiscal deficit, which doesn’t take into account interest payments, will reach 177.4 billion reais ($36.1 billion) this year, compared with a previous forecast of 141.4 billion reais, according to an official report. Public expenses were ...

BLOOMBERG Stocks in Europe struggled for traction on Thursday as activity surveys showed a recession in the euro area is looking increasingly likely. S&P Global’s purchasing managers’ index was in contraction again in November, hitting 47.1, data showed. While that’s a bigger uptick than anticipated by economists, it marks the sixth consecutive month below the 50 level that indicates expansion. ...

ABU DHABI / WAM In a global competition for students and educators that saw hundreds of entries from 43 countries, a five-member student team from GEMS Our Own English High School, Dubai, is among the finalists in the student category. An educator from Cambridge High School, Abu Dhabi, is a top contender in the teacher category. The young people and ...

ABU DHABI / WAM The Federal Tax Authority (FTA) has achieved a significant milestone in its tourist tax refund programme, with the total number of electronic transactions surpassing 15.43 million since the system’s implementation nearly five years ago, said Director-General of the FTA. During the first nine months of the current year alone, over 3.44 million transactions were processed, reflecting ...

ABU DHABI / WAM Hub71, Abu Dhabi’s global tech ecosystem, has signed a strategic cross-border partnership with the Seoul Metropolitan Government, to support the international growth and commercial activities of tech startups in the UAE and South Korea. The strategic partnership is based on mutual support and collaboration, which builds on the robust trade relations established between the two countries. ...

DUBAI/ WAM Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Presidential Court, Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Tahnoun Al Nahyan, Advisor for Special Affairs at the Ministry of Presidential Court, and Dr Abdulrahman Al Awar, Minister of Human Resources and Emiratisation, honoured the winners of the first ...

ABU DHABI/ WAM President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan today received Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Bahrain, at Qasr Al Bateen in Abu Dhabi. During the meeting, His Highness welcomed the Bahraini Foreign Minister, who conveyed the greetings of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of ...

RIYADH/ WAM The World Bank has projected a 3.4% growth in the real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the UAE by the year 2023, with expectations of further increase to 3.7% in 2024. According to the recently published World Bank Gulf Economic Update (GEU) report, the Bank anticipated the UAE’s non-oil GDP growth to reach 4.5% in 2023, driven by ...

ABU DHABI/ WAM H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs, congratulated David Cameron on the occasion of his appointment as the UK’s Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs. During a phone a call, Sheikh Abdullah expressed his best wishes to Secretary Cameron for success in his duties, praising the historical ties between their ...

RAS AL KHAIMAH/ WAM H.H. Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah, received today, at his palace in the Saqr bin Mohammed City, Kinana Modar Jamaluddeen, Representative of Sultan Al Bohra in the UAE. Sheikh Saud discussed with Jamaluddeen a number of humanitarian issues of mutual concern, noting that tolerance and coexistence ...