Dubai / Emirates Business In a move to enhance visa application services to travellers from the UAE to Russia, VFS Global, in partnership with the Consulate General of the Russian Federation, launched the first Russia Visa Application Centre in the Middle East region, in Dubai. Services at this centre commenced from January 22. Residents of the UAE can visit ...

  Sharjah / Emirates Business His Excellency Marwan bin Jassim Al Sarkal, CEO of the Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq), was awarded with the ‘Golden Friends of India’ award in recognition of his pivotal role in promoting economic and investment relationships between Sharjah and India. Mohammad Al Musharrkh, Director of the Sharjah FDI Office (Invest in Sharjah), received the ...

  Abu Dhabi / Emirates Business Scientists at New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) have developed a new technique to remove toxic contaminants from water. CalP, as it has been named, is calix (4) arene-based superhydrophobic porous material that acts as a water purifier by repelling water and attracting toxins like oil and dye. “CalP is a light brown powdered ...

  Abu Dhabi / Emirates Business Zayed University officially inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi), the governmental authority responsible for the preservation, protection and promotion of the emirate’s cultural heritage, tourism and culture at Zayed University in Abu Dhabi campus. The MoU was signed by Professor Reyadh AlMehaideb, Vice President ...

  Bloomberg OPEC and non-OPEC countries have made a strong start to lowering their oil output under the first such pact in more than a decade, energy ministers said on Sunday as producers look to reduce oversupply and support prices. “The deal is a success …All the countries are sticking to the deal …(the) results are above expectations,” Russian Energy ...

  LONDON / Reuters The US gas market has tightened significantly over the last nine months as low prices have spurred strong consumption and exports while slashing drilling of new wells. The market has rebalanced despite an unusually mild winter so far, which points to the degree of underlying tightness and suggests prices will need to remain higher in 2017 ...

  KHOBAR / Reuters Saudi Aramco plans to boost gas production at its Hawiyah and Haradh plants to meet growing domestic energy needs, industry sources said. The projects, estimated to cost approximately $4 billion, would see engineering companies expand the processing capacity at Hawiyah by 1.3 billion standard cubic feet per day. Hawiyah gas plant currently processes 2.5 billion scfd ...

  WASHINGTON / AP The Pentagon says it disagrees with Republicans in North Carolina who claim a $400 million clean energy project slated to power data centers for Amazon.com Inc. poses a threat to national security. State legislative leaders have asked the incoming Trump administration to either kill or require major changes to the nearly completed wind farm, which they ...

  Bloomberg Thailand is nursing a slide in Chinese holidaymakers after cracking down on low-budget tours from the world’s most-populous country, muddying the Southeast Asian nation’s economic growth outlook. Arrivals fell 16 percent in December from a year ago, extending a slide that began after Thailand in September clamped down on operators bringing in large groups from China on cut-price ...

  Bloomberg Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying hit out at independence advocates and called for developing city parks to cool housing prices in his fifth and final policy address. The speech represented Leung’s last chance to define his legacy and set the agenda for potential successors after his surprise decision last month not to seek a second term. The ...