January, 2017

• 1 January

  1.8mn people in Dubai used public transport on New Year’s eve

  

    Dubai / WAM The number of passengers riding public transit on New Year’s Eve 2017 in Dubai reached 1,793,691 riders, according to statistics released by the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA). The metro network carried 769,817 riders, made up of 509,089 riders using the Red Line, and 260,728 riders on the Green Line. The Tram served 32,850 riders, while public ...

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• 1 January

  Speed limit on Maliha Road reduced to 100km/h

    Sharjah / WAM In order to improve road safety, the Sharjah Police have recommended lowering the speed limit along the Maliha Road, particularly the section between Al Badea Bridge and Sheikh Khalifa Road exit, from 120 km/h to 100 km/h. The new speed limit has become effective with the beginning of 2017. The decision was taken on the basis of ...

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• 1 January

  Korean Air pledges to tighten ‘grip’ on unruly passengers

  

    Seoul / AFP Korean Air said it would let its crew use stun guns more aggressively and put more male staff aboard flights to clamp down on violence, after an incident involving an unruly passenger. South Korea’s flag carrier said it was tightening security after 1980s US pop singer Richard Marx lashed out at the company on social media ...

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• 1 January

  Online shopping app gains ground in UAE

  

    Emirates Business Club Factory, the international smartphone shopping application, has witnessed significant growth since its launch in the Middle East. The one-stop shopping destination ranks amongst the top 10 free shopping apps in the UAE with home décor, handbags, beauty products, and clothes as the top five most popular products amongst users. Bringing over one million products together on ...

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• 1 January

  Kate Spade to start formal auction next month

  

    Bloomberg Kate Spade & Co., which is exploring a sale of the handbag maker, plans to kick off a formal auction process next month, with interest from six possible bidders, according to a person familiar with the situation. The New York-based retailer is working with financial advisers on sale preparations, said the person, who asked not to be identified ...

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• 1 January

  Iran to buy 20 short-haul aircraft from Europe’s ATR

    BEIRUT / AFP Iran and European planemaker ATR are due to sign a deal next week for the purchase of 20 short-haul passenger aircraft, an Iranian official said, weeks after Tehran finalised deals with Boeing and Airbus. ATR, co-owned by Airbus and Italy’s Leonardo Finmeccanica , in February reported preliminary orders from Iran for 20 twin-engine turboprop ATR 72-600 ...

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• 1 January

  Convenience stores boom in S Korea

  

    Bloomberg The rising number of single-person households in South Korea is helping to fuel a boom in neighborhood convenience stores, one of the few bright spots in the nation’s sluggish economy. The number of convenience stores has jumped by more than half over the past five years, to 32,000 this year, according to the Korea Association of Convenience Store ...

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• 1 January

  Foxconn invests $8bn in China LCD plant

    Beijing / AFP Taiwan tech-giant Foxconn plans to build an $8.8-billion factory in China, state media said Saturday, amid reports its billionaire boss is cooling off on future US investments. Foxconn, a major Apple supplier, will spend the vast sum on an industrial complex in the sprawling southern city of Guangzhou. The factory will make large-screen liquid crystal displays ...

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• 1 January

  Istanbul nightclub massacre kills 39, attacker on the run

  

    Istanbul / AFP Thirty-nine people, including many foreigners, were killed on Sunday when a gunman went on a rampage at an exclusive nightclub in Istanbul where revellers were celebrating the New Year. As police launched a dragnet for the assailant, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the carnage sought to sow chaos and undermine peace, but Turkey would never bow ...

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• 1 January

  Rebel fire from Yemen kills Saudi soldier

    Riyadh / AFP Cross-border rebel fire from Yemen has killed a soldier in Saudi Arabia, which is leading a coalition fighting the insurgents in its war-torn neighbour, the interior ministry said. The soldier was killed on Saturday in the southern border area of Jazan as an army post came under a barrage of gunfire and shelling from the Huthi ...

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