RIYADH / Reuters Saudi Arabian budget carrier flynas is to buy 80 Airbus A320neo narrow body jets in a deal worth $8.6 billion that includes upgrading an earlier order, it said on Monday. The 80 A320neo order is valued at $8.6 billion, flynas Chairman Ayed Al Jeaid said at press conference in Riyadh on Monday. The order is for ...

  DUBAI / Emirates Business The United Arab Emirates now leads the Western Asia and North Africa region in the Global Talent Competitiveness Index (GTCI) 2017, according to a report released by Adecco Middle East. The UAE was also ranked 19th out of the 118 participating countries, surpassing most nations in the ‘Attract’, ‘Retain’ and ‘Enable’ pillars of the survey. ...

  Abu Dhabi / Emirates Business The Masdar Institute of Science and Technology (MIST), an independent, research-driven, graduate-level university focused on advanced energy and sustainable technologies, announced that its CubeSat development program has completed the preliminary design review (PDR), marking a critical milestone for the Institute’s Space Systems and Technology program, which was designed by Masdar Institute faculty with support ...

  Dubai / Emirates Business The Mohammed Bin Rashid School of Government (MBRSG), a research and teaching institution specialized in public policy in the Arab world, has launched a six-week Dubai Data Compliance Course – a training program for leaders from 14 government entities in the UAE. The program aims to upskill leaders through teaching them how to use data ...

  Dubai / Emirates Business Dubai Land Department has extended the application deadline for The Gulf Real Estate Awards until the February 15, allowing hopeful candidates a longer period in which to submit their applications. Mahmoud El Burai, Executive Director of Dubai Real Estate Institute (DREI), said: “In light of the high level of applicant interest from a wide number ...

  Abu Dhabi / Emirates Business Showcasing its commitment to sustainability, the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC) is an exhibitor and Platinum Sponsor of the 10th edition of the World Future Energy Summit (WFES). A part of the prominent Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week 2017, the summit is taking place at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC) between January 16th ...

  NEW YORK / AP His inauguration days away, President-elect Donald Trump is continuing to lash out at critics in the intelligence community and Democrats in Congress who are vowing to skip his swearing-in ceremony. The tough-talking Republican questioned whether the CIA director himself was “the leaker of fake news” in a Sunday night tweet. The extraordinary criticism from the incoming ...

  JERUSALEM / AP A close associate of Israel’s prime minister says the presidency of Donald Trump could be a chance for the Palestinians to return to peace negotiations with more “realistic” expectations. Regional Cooperation Minister Tzahi Hanegbi said on Monday that Trump offers the Israelis and Palestinians an opportunity to start fresh, after years of tough pressure on Israel from ...

  BAGHDAD / AP A senior Iraqi commander says fierce clashes between special forces and IS militants are taking place in two neighborhoods in eastern Mosul. The head of Iraq’s elite counterterrorism forces, Gen. Abdel Ghani al-Asadi, told Iraqi state TV on Monday that his forces pushed deeper into the Shurta and Andalus neighborhoods. Al-Asadi described the streets as “clean” of ...

  DAVOS / AP The heads of major UN organizations on Monday called for access to civilians cut off from humanitarian aid in Syria, saying the world “must not stand silent” even though the high-profile siege of the Syrian city of Aleppo is over. The joint appeal from the UN’s refugee agency, humanitarian aid coordinator OCHA, children’s agency UNICEF, the World ...