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  Bloomberg Russian-led talks on Syria ended with agreement on Tuesday to bolster a cease-fire even as apparent disputes with Iran, a staunch supporter of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, threaten to hold up efforts to end the six-year civil war. Russia, Turkey and Iran will set up “a trilateral mechanism to observe and ensure full compliance with the cease-fire, prevent ...

  Dubai / Emirates Business Dubai Creative Clusters Authority (DCCA), a government regulatory body mandated to foster the economic development of Dubai’s creative clusters and related knowledge industries, signed a partnership agreement with the UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention (MOHAP) to support the country’s efforts in developing the healthcare sector and providing an enabling environment for advancing the pharmaceuticals ...

  Bloomberg SAP SE raised its targets for 2020 as customers bought its latest suite of applications at a faster pace, and Chief Executive Officer Bill McDermott — a fan of Donald Trump’s “The Art of the Deal,” — said he wouldn’t “lay off the accelerator” on acquisitions, engineering investment or a potential share buyback. The updated outlook, on top ...

Bloomberg Uber Technologies Inc. is asking a California judge to grant a stamp of approval on what it says is the first decision by an arbitrator denying a driver’s bid to be treated as an employee instead of an independent contractor. It could be the first of many such rulings after a federal appeals court’s decision last year that most ...

  Bloomberg Rio Tinto Group agreed to sell its thermal coal assets in Australia’s Hunter Valley for as much as $2.45 billion as the world’s second-biggest mining company accelerates its move away from the fuel. Rio will sell its Coal & Allied Industries Ltd. subsidiary to Yancoal Australia Ltd., controlled by China’s Yanzhou Coal Mining Co., it said in a ...

  Bloomberg Samsung Electronics Co.’s profit more than doubled in the last three months of 2016 on robust semiconductor sales and a recovery in its mobile business, giving it enough stamina to buy back 9.3 trillion won ($8 billion) of its own shares. Net income rose to 6.92 trillion won in the December quarter, largely buoyed by rising prices for ...

  SYDNEY/ AP US President Donald Trump’s decision to pull out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, as promised, is prompting other member countries to seek ways to salvage the trade pact. Leaders of some of the 11 other nations involved in the initiative said they hope to push ahead with the agreement in some form, with or without the US. Australian ...

  Bloomberg Royal Philips NV’s health-equipment business in the US has come under scrutiny after the Dutch company disclosed a conflict with authorities over its heart defibrillators more than three years after the Food and Drug Administration warned about their reliability following a recall. Philips is in talks with the Department of Justice, representing the FDA, on a civil matter ...

  Dubai / Emirates Business The UAE ranked first in the global assessment of travel destinations with the best developed Halal ecosystems, according to the 2016-2017 Global Islamic Economy Report developed and produced by Thomson Reuters. The country is followed by Malaysia and Turkey in the global ranking system that evaluated the countries based on four criteria: inbound Muslim travel, ...

  Abu Dhabi / Emirates Business Abu Dhabi is set to play a leading role in coordinating efforts to meet the pressures of feeding 520 million people by 2030, one of the biggest challenges facing the Middle East today. MENA Food Production 2030 will take place at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre from March 20-21 during the Global Forum ...