December, 2016

• 20 December

  Australia inks deal for French submarines

    Bloomberg Australia on Tuesday signed a mega deal to purchase a fleet of next-generation submarines from France, with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull hailing the vessels’ “cutting-edge technology”. French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian inked the inter-governmental agreement (IGA) in Adelaide that will see French shipbuilder DCNS design and build the Shortfin Barracudas. The total cost of the 12 submarines, ...

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• 20 December

  Uber quarterly loss exceeds $800mn after China exit

  

    Bloomberg Even as Uber Technologies Inc. exited China, the company’s financial loss has remained eye-popping. In the first nine months of this year, the ride-hailing company lost significantly more than $2.2 billion, according to a person familiar with the matter. In the third quarter, Uber lost more than $800 million, not including its Chinese operation. At the same time, ...

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• 20 December

  Alibaba lawsuit throws spotlight on ‘brushers’ gaming rankings

  

    Bloomberg A lawsuit filed by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. is shining a light on the fake reviews and purchases on its websites. China’s biggest e-commerce operator sued Shatui.com, which allegedly links merchants with people willing to falsify purchases and write positive comments that can drive sellers up Alibaba’s rankings. The suit in Hangzhou West Lake District People’s Court is ...

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• 20 December

  Tesla leaps ahead in race to ‘autonomous’ future

  

    Bloomberg There was, in hindsight, a clear element of risk to Tesla Motors Inc.’s decision to install Autopilot hardware in every car coming off the production line since October 2014. It paid a price, with federal regulators probing the deadly crash of a Model S while in driver-assist mode and critics slamming Tesla for rolling the technology out too ...

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• 20 December

  Tech assistants that love your voice

  

    Bloomberg Amazon’s Echo has made tangible the promise of an artificially intelligent personal assistant in every home. Those who own the voice-activated gadget (known colloquially as Alexa, after its female interlocutor) are prone to proselytizing “her” charms, applauding Alexa’s ability to call an Uber, order pizza or check a 10th-grader’s math homework. The company says more than 5,000 people ...

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• 20 December

  Zuckerberg builds software butler for his home

  

    San Francisco / AFP Mark Zuckerberg’s artificial intelligence-imbued software “butler” — named Jarvis — is now in service, and even plays with his family, the Facebook chief said. Zuckerberg took on the personal project this year, devoting about 100 hours to making a system inspired by the “Iron Man” film character Jarvis as a virtual assistant to help manage ...

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• 19 December

  Foreigners buy shares worth AED2.97bn on ADX

  

    ABU DHABI / WAM The value of shares bought by foreign investors registered at the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange in November 2016, amounted to AED2.97 billion, constituting 48.3 per cent of the total trading value. Meanwhile, foreign investors sell value during the same period reached AED2.9 billion, constituting 48.5 per cent of total turnover. As a result, net foreign ...

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• 19 December

  ADFD, Tanzania discuss vision to achieve sustainable growth

  

    ABU DHABI / WAM Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) received a visiting ministerial delegation from the United Republic of Tanzania at its headquarters. At the meeting, Adel Al Hosani, Director of ADFD’s Operations Department, discussed the fund’s current and upcoming socio-economic deve- lopment ventures in Tanzania with Makame Mbarawa, Tanzanian Minister of Works, Transport and Communication. Both parties ...

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• 19 December

  World’s largest purpose-built VIP terminal opens at Dubai South

  

    DUBAI / WAM In another remarkable first for Dubai South and the country, the VIP Terminal at Dubai South, the largest purpose-built facility of its kind in the world, has been inaugurated. The terminal is poised to be a game-changer in the business aviation sector, offering VIP customers a seamless travel experience, coupled with time and cost efficiencies within ...

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• 19 December

  People’s happiness scores 8.2 out of 10 in 4th Dubai Social Survey

  

    Dubai / WAM Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council, HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, on Monday reviewed the results of the fourth Dubai Social Survey conducted by Dubai’s Community Development Authority (CDA) in collaboration with Dubai Statistics Centre (DSC). The survey, which sampled 15,165 individuals, including 9,709 Emiratis, measures current levels of ...

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