Masonry Layout

  London / AFP Energy giant Royal Dutch Shell on Wednesday said it was cutting at least another 2,200 jobs owing to low oil prices and following its takeover of smaller rival BG Group. “Shell staff have today been informed about the progress being made on integrating BG into the company, and on further measures that are necessary to ensure ...

  Bloomberg Chinese officials plan to ask their American counterparts in annual talks next month about the chance of a Federal Reserve interest-rate increase in June, according to people familiar with the matter. The Chinese delegation will try to deduce whether a June or a July rate rise is more likely, as their nation’s policy makers prepare for the potential ...

  Bloomberg Oil extended its advance to near $50 a barrel as weekly U.S. industry data showed crude stockpiles declined, easing a glut. Futures rose as much as 1.7 percent in New York on Wednesday, marking a third day of gains. U.S. oil inventories, which are near the highest in 80 years, dropped by 5.14 million barrels last week, the ...

  Sharjah / WAM HH Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council, Ruler of Sharjah and President of American University of Sharjah (AUS) received Bill McDermott, Chief Executive Officer of SAP, in his office at AUS on Tuesday. The meeting was attended by Hamid Jafar, member of the AUS Board of Trustees and Chairman of the ...

  DUBAI / WAM His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, honoured 50 young Emirati scientists who won the Think Science Competition 2016 at a ceremony held at the Higher Colleges of Technology in Dubai on Tuesday. Organised by Emirates Youth Foundation, the event was also attended ...

  BAGHDAD / AP Even as Iraq slowly claws back territory from the IS group, faith in the government is crumbling among many, particularly the country’s Shiites, angered by political disarray and the continual pounding of the capital, Baghdad, by militants’ bombings. Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi triumphantly announced the beginning of operations to retake the IS-held city Fallujah, promising over ...

  Beirut / AFP Washington and Moscow scrambled to salvage Syria’s shaky ceasefire on Tuesday as the country reeled from extremist bombings that killed more than 160 people in President Bashar Al Assad’s coastal heartland. A regime offensive outside the capital has severely strained an already fragile nationwide ceasefire between the regime and non-jihadist rebels intended to pave the way ...

  Tokyo/ AFP The lacklustre global economy should take centre stage as world leaders gather in Japan this week, but with no agreement likely on igniting growth, Barack Obama’s visit to the atomic-bombed city of Hiroshima looks set to capture the limelight. A gathering Chinese slowdown, weak oil prices and the looming threat of Britain’s exit from the European Union ...

  Hanoi / AFP US President Barack Obama told communist Vietnam on Tuesday that basic human rights would not jeopardise its stability, in an impassioned appeal for the one-party state to abandon authoritarianism. In a sweeping speech, which harked back to the bloody war that defined both nations but also looked to the future, Obama said that “upholding rights is ...

  ALKESH SHARMA / Emirates Business Middle East corporate sector needs to overhaul its in-house strategic planning activities and adopt the best practices to float smoothly even during crisis situation. Moreover, a stout strategic planning in place could capably address the recurring resilience concerns among the enterprises. Survey reports say that over 73 percent of the Middle East enterprises put ...