December, 2016

• 21 December

  Trump’s ambiguity in foreign policy

  

    Most presidents wait until inauguration before sparking their first foreign policy crises. Donald Trump has a month to go and he has already wandered into two — one with China and one with Russia. How will these foreign challenges shape Trump’s early months in office? His freewheeling style seems to have discombobulated China, which has some unexpected benefits. But ...

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• 21 December

  Where India’s cash war went wrong

  

    As India continues its scorched-earth campaign against cash, the question baffling many analysts is why a country so unfamiliar with digital payments would outlaw 86 percent of its currency, the most-favoured method of settling transactions. Sample the following three factoids from a study led by Tufts University researchers: Fewer than 10% of Indians have ever used any kind of ...

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• 21 December

  Poland’s Populists run into trouble

    A little over a year ago, Poland’s Law and Justice Party (PiS) swept to power promising to challenge the political elite, restore national control of the country’s affairs, and realign government with traditional conservative values. Since then concerns have grown, at home and in Europe’s capitals, that Poland has taken a wrong turn. The government’s most recent moves do ...

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• 21 December

  Weak lira a wake-up call for Erdogan’s Turkey

    An off-duty Turkish cop killed Andrey Karlov, Russia’s ambassador to Ankara. If this killing had happened few months back, the repercussion would have been unimaginable. The murder of Andrey Karlov, the first Moscow envoy to be killed in his post in almost 90 years, was an open provocation aimed at derailing the normalisation of Russian-Turkish relations and Syria peace ...

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• 21 December

  Dubai unveils AED47.3bn budget

  

    Dubai / WAM In his capacity as Ruler of Dubai, Vice President, Prime Minister, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum approved the Government of Dubai’s Budget Law No. (17) for the year 2016 for the emirate’s 2017 general budget, with AED47.3 billion expenditure, according to the new budget classification. Issued earlier this year, the Financial Regulations for the ...

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• 21 December

  Emirates NBD named ‘Bank of the Year – UAE 2016’

  

    Dubai / WAM Emirates NBD, a leading bank in the region, on Wednesday announced that it has been named The Banker’s ‘Bank of the Year – UAE 2016’. The awards, considered among the most prestigious by the global banking community, recognise Emirates NBD’s strong financials and pioneering approach to the digitalisation of banking. In awarding the top UAE title to ...

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• 21 December

  Dubai Customs launches Drug Smart Encyclopedia

    Dubai / WAM Dubai Customs has recently launched the ‘Drug Smart Encyclopaedia’, the latest innovation by the Customs Training Centre at Dubai Customs, in cooperation with the Ministry of Interior, represented by the Federal Police School in Sharjah. The encyclopaedia is the first of its kind worldwide and includes all types of drugs illustrated by information, images and videos, with ...

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• 21 December

  Etihad, Tanzania’s Precision Air unveil codeshare pact

    Abu Dhabi / WAM In a move that extends its reach across East Africa, Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, on Wednesday announced that it has entered into a codeshare agreement with Precision Air, Tanzania’s leading domestic airline. Under the new codeshare agreement, Etihad Airways will place its EY code on Precision Air flights between Dar ...

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• 21 December

  FANR, Insurance Authority sign deal over policy assessment

    Abu Dhabi / WAM In line with its commitment to cooperate with relevant entities in undertaking its regulatory role, the UAE’s Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation (FANR) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Insurance Authority. The MoU promotes the exchange of information between the two entities and cooperation in the assessment and evaluation of insurance policies and sources ...

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• 21 December

  Germany hunts Tunisian suspect after IS-claimed truck attack

  

    Berlin / AFP German police launched a manhunt on Wednesday for a Tunisian suspected of driving the truck that ploughed through a Berlin Christmas market in a deadly assault claimed by the IS extremist group. Media reports said asylum office papers believed to belong to the man were found in the cab of the 40-tonne lorry used in the ...

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