DUBAI / WAM Dubai Culture and Arts Authority, Dubai Culture, the emirate’s dedicated entity for culture, arts and heritage, has launched the second edition of its reading corner at Modhesh World, Dubai’s ultimate indoor fun destination for families and children. Following the success of last year’s reading corner, the new edition features an expanded range of educational and entertainment activities ...

Bloomberg Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro faced growing pressure to cancel plans to rewrite the constitution on Monday with an emboldened opposition calling for a 24-hour strike this week and US President Donald Trump warning of “strong and swift economic actions.” A day after 7.5 million Venezuelans participated in an unofficial referendum to reject the constituent assembly and to call for ...

Bloomberg Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will try his hand at mediating the Gulf crisis with visits to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar, even as his country entrenches its military presence on Qatari soil. “Qatar’s sovereign rights must be protected,” Defense Minister Fikri Isik said on Monday ahead of Erdogan’s July 23-24 visit. “On the other hand, we are saying ...

Bloomberg Brexit negotiators will get down to the technical details of the divorce on Tuesday, tackling issues from nuclear cooperation to residency rights, as Prime Minister Theresa May seeks to silence public sparring among her ministers. UK Brexit Secretary David Davis and EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier are leaving their teams to hash out the details and Davis is back ...

Bloomberg Iran’s foreign minister said his nation’s vow not to seek nuclear weapons “never expires,” even as the Trump administration accused the Islamic Republic of violating the “ spirit” of a 2015 accord easing sanctions. “Iran is committed to not producing nuclear weapons,” Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Monday at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. ...

Bloomberg Russia stepped up pressure on the US to return seized diplomatic compounds in one of the first tests of whether Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin can convert the personal rapport of their initial meeting into improved relations. After talks in Washington between US Undersecretary of State Thomas Shannon and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, the Foreign Ministry in ...

Bloomberg Australia will create a Home Affairs ministry to boost anti-terrorism links between government agencies, in the nation’s biggest security shakeup in more than 40 years, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said. To be led by current Minister for Immigration and Border Protection Peter Dutton, the portfolio will be based on the UK’s Home Office and have oversight of federal police, ...

Bloomberg A cut by Rio Tinto Group to its full-year iron ore shipping guidance is set to bolster prices that have rebounded into a bull market on stronger-than-expected demand in China. Iron ore futures in Singapore surged as the world’s No. 2 exporter flagged on Tuesday that cargoes from Australia are expected at about 330mn metric tons in 2017. That’s ...

Bloomberg India’s vast rural hinterland, which makes up 70 percent of the South Asian country’s population, is showing signs of recovery from last year’s cash crunch, boosting optimism that increased spending will help the broader economy regain its vigor. The micro-finance industry is rebounding, real rural incomes are rising and unemployment is falling, according to brokerage Motilal Oswal Securities Ltd. ...

Bloomberg Home prices surged in China’s smaller cities even as property curbs dragged down values in Beijing and Shanghai in June, highlighting the challenge for authorities trying to limit bubble risks. New-home prices, excluding government-subsidized housing, rose month-on-month in 60 of 70 cities, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday. That compared with 56 in May. In Beijing, prices ...