May, 2023

• 1 May

  Sheikh Sultan forms BoT of Sharjah Maritime Academy

  

  SHARJAH / WAM His Highness Dr Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, in his capacity as President of the Sharjah Maritime Academy, issued Decision No 1 of 2023 forming the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the academy. According to the decision, the Board of Trustees of the Sharjah Maritime Academy will be formed ...

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• 1 May

  Sheikha Bodour Al Qasimi commences International Booksellers Conference

  

  SHARJAH / WAM Sheikha Bodour Al Qasimi, Founder and CEO of Kalimat Group, and Immediate Past President of International Publishers Association, highlighted environmental pressures, material shortages and hyper-inflation of energy and other costs of business during the opening of the Sharjah International Booksellers Conference, a pioneering event that is building upon the success of its inaugural event last year. Organised ...

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• 1 May

  Dubai’s DMA to enhance transparency of local sea container charges

  

  DUBAI / WAM Dubai Maritime Authority (DMA), at the Ports, Customs, and Free Zone Corporation, the government authority responsible for regulating, coordinating, and supervising all aspects of Dubai’s maritime sector, has introduced Directive No 1 of 2023 on Transparency of Local Sea Container Charges in Dubai. The directive requires all service providers to declare their local sea container charges to ...

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• 1 May

  European Union’s employment rate peaks at 75% in 2022

  

  BRUSSELS / WAM In 2022, 75% (193.5 million) of the European Union’s (EU) 20-64-year-olds were employed, the highest share recorded since the start of the time series in 2009, according to data on the labour force published by Eurostat. The employment rate dropped to 72% in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but rebounded to 73% in 2021 and further ...

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• 1 May

  Singapore voices ‘grave concern’ over South China Sea tensions

  

  BLOOMBERG Singapore’s top diplomat expressed “grave concern” over altercations in the South China Sea following a near collision between Chinese and Philippine vessels in the highly-contested region. Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said his government wants all nations, including superpowers, to work together to ensure “free access and opportunities” in Southeast Asia and its sea lanes. “So obviously we do view ...

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• 1 May

  Dozens injured in new Russian missile strikes

  

  BLOOMBERG Russia targeted Ukrainian cities with cruise missiles in the early hours on Monday that Ukraine’s army chief said were mostly intercepted. At least 34 people were reported hurt by a missile strike in Ukraine’s central Dnipropetrovsk region. The barrage of attacks comes as Ukraine prepares for another ground offensive against Russian forces. Ukraine pushed back Russian troops from some ...

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• 1 May

  At least 18 killed as bus plunges off cliff in Mexico

  

  MEXICO CITY / WAM At least 18 people were killed and 33 injured when a bus fell off a cliff in western Mexico, Reuters said. The prosecutor’s office in Nayarit, the state where the accident occurred, said the vehicle fell some 15 metres (49.21 feet) down a ravine on a highway connecting the state capital Tepic and the tourist destination ...

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• 1 May

  Ruling party candidate scores big win in Paraguay vote

  

  BLOOMBERG Santiago Pena, a former finance minister, scored a major victory in Paraguay’s presidential election, as voters gave the ruling Colorado Party a third straight mandate to run the South American country. Pena, 44, had 43 percent of the vote with more than 98 percent of voting stations counted, according to preliminary results from the electoral court. His main challenger, ...

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• 1 May

  China’s factory sector contracts as recovery concerns linger

  

  BLOOMBERG China’s manufacturing activity unexpectedly contracted in April, a sign the economic recovery remains patchy and may be struggling to sustain momentum. The official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) fell to 49.2 from 51.9 in March, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said. The gauge dropped below the level of 50 — which signals contraction from the previous month — ...

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• 1 May

  Singapore should avoid economic contraction in 2023, says PM Loong

  

  BLOOMBERG Singapore should avoid an outright contraction in its economy this year, despite being battered by the effects of a global slowdown, the city state’s prime minister said. While the city-state’s economic growth will slow, inflation may moderate in the second half of this year, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in an e-mailed speech. The Monetary Authority of Singapore ...

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